Just for fun: What do you do to go all in on this team?

[Hangtime84]

Vuc and Noa plus whatever pick combination we might need to include (2026 bulls pick, Portland pick, future picks, whatever.) for JJJ and scottie pippen jr. works on the trade checker. Memphis can rebuild with young talent and bulls get their man in the middle of the future.


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JJJ was my guy until he signed that contract

[Dan Z]

I agree with others here that Hartenstein in the offseason makes the most sense, if okc lets him go and the numbers work. Otherwise try to draft or bargain shop for a defensive big.

How much cap space will the Bulls have this off season?

My guess is they won't have enough to get Hartenstein (and that's only if OKC lets him go), so draft or bargain shop defensive big seem like the realistic option.

We will have a ridiculous amount of cap space. Vuc, Coby, Ayo, Heurter, Terry and Collins are all going to be coming off the books if we choose to let them walk.

I'd be surprised if we let them walk.

Coby probably get a big raise, Huerter has been an important player for the team since he got here. Ayo is having a career year.

Terry probably moves on. Collins too. Vuc...maybe. He's playing well but is 35 years old.

That cuts into the 90 million.

I looked at a list of free agents and Hartenstein is the only one worth going after (besides re-signing our players).

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents

[GoBlue72391]

Walker Kessler out for the season for Utah. I would think that would be a catalyst to them committing to yet another tank season.

Lauri has already expressed frustration over tanking and being held out of games, so I would think the Kessler injury makes it even more likely they look to move Lauri so they can commit to tanking.

I doubt we'll target him, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

[HomoSapien]

Walker Kessler out for the season for Utah. I would think that would be a catalyst to them committing to yet another tank season.

Lauri has already expressed frustration over tanking and being held out of games, so I would think the Kessler injury makes it even more likely they look to move Lauri so they can commit to tanking.

I doubt we'll target him, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Wow, that's a shame. He was one of my top targets and was off to a strong start this season.

[HomoSapien]

Ja Morant is a name worth talking about. A few years ago I would have given up a war chest for him. His stock is at the lowest it has probably been and he will likely ask for a trade soon. I would hate to do anything that could mess up Giddey's momentum but Morant is the type of name this thread was created to discuss.

To discuss and dismiss in this instance, I think. He doesn't make much sense as an all-in option. For it to be logical you'd need to trade Giddey as part of the deal. I guess there are probably a lot of folks who would do that, but Ja's too big of a wildcard at this point. Despite that his trade price might be lowered, it will still be incredibly high because there will be at least one team out there that will give up a ton for him.

Its an interesting question though. I wonder how many posters would bail on what we are doing now to quickly to reboot around Ja. He's certainly an elite talent and when he's on he's one of the most exciting players to watch.

Ja is a questionable fit next to Giddey, no doubt. He's incredibly troubled and probably stupid. This is the type of trade that could be an instant chemistry killer. I definitely see all the reasons you wouldn't trade for Morant. Here's why I think it's worth having the convo:

1.) Pure talent-wise, he'd be the best talent on the team.
2.) It's proven that you can build a strong team around Morant. In the years he's healthy, the Grizzlies have shown the ability to be a mid-50s win team.
3.) Though Giddey deserves to be the primary playmaker, we have evidence that he can coexist with another playmaker in Trae Jones.
4.) He's still only 26. At 22, he finished 7th in the MVP race and the All-NBA 2nd team. Basically, when he's playing focused and at his best you have an MVP candidate.

When I initially made that post, I felt like Morant's trade value was actually pretty low. I think we could get him for Coby and fillers (Collins and Carter). That's it. Coby is a perfect citizen and Morant isn't, but I don't think there's a person in the world that believes Coby is the superior talent. Since that post, this Tweet has been circulating.

Read on Twitter

Again he's definitely not the perfect fit, but we'll be hard-pressed to find a better player on the trade market.

[HomoSapien]

One more name to keep an eye on: Pascal Siakam.

Indiana is completely in-flux right now. Hali's out the year. Turner left for the Bucks. Siakam will be 32 next year.

I'm not sure what the asking price would be, but between potentially having two picks, Essengue, Ayo, a bunch of expiring contracts, and Jalen Smith who they really liked --- we could produce an interesting offer.

[jnrjr79]

One more name to keep an eye on: Pascal Siakam.

Indiana is completely in-flux right now. Hali's out the year. Turner left for the Bucks. Siakam will be 32 next year.

I'm not sure what the asking price would be, but between potentially having two picks, Essengue, Ayo, a bunch of expiring contracts, and Jalen Smith who they really liked --- we could produce an interesting offer.

Looks like Smith + Collins + Huerter would work, salary-wise, if the Pacers want Smith + cap relief. How much draft capital would you throw in? If Ayo is included in the deal, I’d be inclined to include fewer draft assets, but the Pacers might not see it that way with no guarantee they’d be able to hang onto him.

[Red Larrivee]

I'd be interested in Kessler, but it really depends on how married the Bulls are to having a 5 out. A good, starting level 5 who can defend and shoot 3s is just very rare.

[Red Larrivee]

Ja is a questionable fit next to Giddey, no doubt. He's incredibly troubled and probably stupid. This is the type of trade that could be an instant chemistry killer. I definitely see all the reasons you wouldn't trade for Morant. Here's why I think it's worth having the convo:

1.) Pure talent-wise, he'd be the best talent on the team.
2.) It's proven that you can build a strong team around Morant. In the years he's healthy, the Grizzlies have shown the ability to be a mid-50s win team.
3.) Though Giddey deserves to be the primary playmaker, we have evidence that he can coexist with another playmaker in Trae Jones.
4.) He's still only 26. At 22, he finished 7th in the MVP race and the All-NBA 2nd team. Basically, when he's playing focused and at his best you have an MVP candidate.

When I initially made that post, I felt like Morant's trade value was actually pretty low. I think we could get him for Coby and fillers (Collins and Carter). That's it. Coby is a perfect citizen and Morant isn't, but I don't think there's a person in the world that believes Coby is the superior talent. Since that post, this Tweet has been circulating.

Read on Twitter

Again he's definitely not the perfect fit, but we'll be hard-pressed to find a better player on the trade market.

I feel like with Ja, we're going mostly off name value and not reality. He hasn't been the same player he was earlier in his career for a while now. His % of FGAs at the rim has decreased year by year and he's been under 31% from three four seasons in a row. Once you add the off-court issues to the mix, it's just unnecessarily risky.

[Jeffster81]

Trade for Daniel Gafford.

I don't think there is a home run get. Even in free agency next year. I think we work on the smaller margins to get us there.

That would be my plan. Improve on the margin and bide your time until an "go all in" type player becomes available and jump on that opportunity.

[DuckIII]

Guys like Lauri and Ja, come on. We don't need to be in some panicked hurry to shove square pegs into round holes again. We have great contracts, young evolving players with high ceilings, time and options.

Just let it happen and when (if internal development is not enough, and it might be if we are patient enough to find out) a really logical big time guy comes along, go for it. But the beauty of our situation, one of several beautiful things really, is that we absolutely do not need to rush these types of things.

[coldfish]

Guys like Lauri and Ja, come on. We don't need to be in some panicked hurry to shove square pegs into round holes again. We have great contracts, young evolving players with high ceilings, time and options.

Just let it happen and when (if internal development is not enough, and it might be if we are patient enough to find out) a really logical big time guy comes along, go for it. But the beauty of our situation, one of several beautiful things really, is that we absolutely do not need to rush these types of things.

There are two windows. The first window closes this trade deadline and that is Coby White's contract. If he is still on the roster after the trade deadline, the team is going to have to pay up a lot to keep him or lose him for nothing. Trading him and other assets for a guy who is on a longer deal makes some sense.

To a lesser extent this is true for Ayo, Vucevic, Collins and Huerter too. All unrestricted free agents.

The second window is Matas' contract. He will get a big fat extension in 2028. Giddey is the year after that.

Overall, my concern is the first window. I would hate to see the team do well this year, make no moves and then watch the whole roster get poached and replaced with lesser players in free agency, closing the door on the team before it really fully opened.

I agree about Ja and Markkanen but I do think the team should strongly consider a consolidation trade just this year.

[League Circles]

I mean assuming the core looks like Matas, Giddey and Coby, with Patrick and Noa and Jones kinda fixtures due to their contracts, I think it looks something like this:

Assume Vuc is still MAgic and while we'd be seeking another C of course, not necessarily giving him up. And assuming all of the above guys are here because we like them too much or their trade value or contract is so unclear, I'd shop a package like this:

One of Ayo or Huerter

plus

One of Collins or Smith

For the best defensive C who can at least do something on offense (jumpers ideally or at least finishing inside on cuts etc), or, the best sharpshooter.

When you're good you don't want to make a drastic trade.

[Chi town]

From another thread…

Hartenstein…

And he’s a champion.

He has to be our #1 target. No way OKC will keep him. Sorber was drafted for same role but out hurt.

Problem is he won’t be traded this season. We should have enough space to sign him in the summer though.

[Chi town]

Resign…

Coby 4/100

Vuc 1/12M

Ayo 3/50

Walk: Huerter and Collins

Sign Hartenstein 4/140

Giddey/Tre
Coby/Ayo
Okoro/Buz
Buz/Pat/Noa
Hart/Vuc