Freakonomics: Losing is not a Winning Strategy

[ryan44]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

It's not that we believe Thibs will tank. We just flat out suck hot ass this year. And if we make that Deng trade, we've indirectly tanked ourselves anyway. He's literally carry this sorry squad right now.

We just lost to a Davis-less Pelicans team.

Correction, the Bulls lost to a Davis-less Pelicans team at home after having the previous day off, while the Pelicans were on the 2nd night of a B2B.

[DRose4MVP]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

It's not that we believe Thibs will tank. We just flat out suck hot ass this year. And if we make that Deng trade, we've indirectly tanked ourselves anyway. He's literally carry this sorry squad right now.

We just lost to a Davis-less Pelicans team.

Yeah, I'm curious if the people that keep saying we'll make the playoffs or be the 3rd seed are watching us play. We lost to the Jazz, the Cavs, and now the Pelicans. Is the writing now clear enough on the wall for all of you? This team is clearly not good enough.

[patagonia]

Wanting to get an asset for Deng doesn't require wanting the team to lose. And what big man are we going to get that is better than Noah?

Big men are not as necessary anymore. Miami is proving that. You're better off with multiple GOOD 3 point shooters than a offensively limted big man nowadays.

Hell, Boozer and Taj can handle the C position nowadays.

Miami has the best player in the game along with Wade and Bosh and their biggest weakness is interior defense and rebounding. Tyson Chandler made was a huge reason they lost to Dallas and they were one free throw away from losing to Duncan and friends. The one team they did beat had no big man, either.

[Hangtime84]

Bulls have a lot of good looking assets and can make this re-tool process even stronger if they do end up being a lotto team this year.

If Chicago gains a TOP 10 lotto pick this year + Mircotic + Rose back that can push us back into contender status insanely fast and give us additional 10 year window.

[Polynice4Pippen]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

We don't need to make this one side vs. the other. Some would consider those watching this team play without Derrick and still believing they're a 3 seed as delusional. So "annoying", "embarrassing", "delusional", we're all Bulls fans nonetheless.

[DRose4MVP]

Naw. I'd rather lose in 5 games to the Heat in the playoffs, feel like crap after its over with, and then draft #19 and get a guy who will never be anything other than a role player.

The playoffs are an invaluable experience. Look at what it did for Butler last year.

One year of no playoffs is not going to effect our guys. We'll be in the playoffs next year. This tank only lasts for 60 more games people. Not eternity! lol

Plus, Butler's playoff success sure hasn't transferred over to this season because he's playing with alongside Rose when Rose is healthy and Hinrich when Rose is hurt. It's doing nothing for his game when our team is complete.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Tyson Chandler made was a huge reason they lost to Dallas and they were one free throw away from losing to Duncan and friends.

Dallas also had Barea, Terry and Kidd lighting up the 3. San Antonio also had Danny Green having a historic 3 point shooting series, Gary Neal lighting it up, as well as Leonard dropping a bomb every now and then.

OKC lost that series against Miami solely due to Harden deciding to suck ass and miss all those 3's he normally makes.

Give me 3-4 legit 3 point shooters over Noah...And I don't mean Dunleavey shooter. I mean Norris Cole, Shane Battier 3 point shooters.

[ryan44]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

We don't need to make this one side vs. the other. Some would consider those watching this team play without Derrick and still believing they're a 3 seed as delusional. So "annoying", "embarrassing", "delusional", we're all Bulls fans nonetheless.

Actually, I wouldn't put it past Thibs to find a way to drag the team to a #3 or #4 seed this year. That's not the problem. The problem is that what is gained by that? A 5-game (at best) whipping by the Heat or Pacers in round 2? People have laughed at teams like the Bucks for years when that was their ceiling. Now that's what some fans want to achieve for the Bulls?

[patagonia]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

[Hokie]

Bulls have a lot of good looking assets and can make this re-tool process even stronger if they do end up being a lotto team this year.

If Chicago gains a TOP 10 lotto pick this year + Mircotic + Rose back that can push us back into contender status insanely fast and give us additional 10 year window.

Exactly. I have a man-crush on Dante Exum (I bet King Cuban does too), and, for fun, let's just say he falls to 5th and that's where we pick (and we take him). Our assets:

Rose
Exum
Mirotic
Butler
Taj
Snell
Noah
Charlotte pick (probably around 15th or so)

That is a hell of a foundation, one that I'm not sure any other team in the league could match. Landing a top 6-8 pick would do absolute wonders for this team's long-term outlook, IMO.

[DRose4MVP]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

Clearly you're not comprehending what he is saying. He's saying he'd rather have 3-4 legit shooters on the team instead of Noah.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

If Miami told us they'd give us Cole, Battier and James Jones for just Noah, they couldn't get my assets fast enough. We can find another hustle big man. We're already developing one in Murphy.

[Red8911]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

We don't need to make this one side vs. the other. Some would consider those watching this team play without Derrick and still believing they're a 3 seed as delusional. So "annoying", "embarrassing", "delusional", we're all Bulls fans nonetheless.

Ok but their still not tanking lol,did you see the game tonight? did that look like tanking? Its not going to happen,and everybody knows that but keeps talking about it.

[patagonia]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

Clearly you're not comprehending what he is saying. He's saying he'd rather have 3-4 legit shooters on the team instead of Noah.

No one is trading 3 or 4 shooters for Noah. People need to be realistic in what they expect out of these trades.

[TheSuzerain]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

If Miami told us they'd give us Cole, Battier and James Jones for just Noah, they couldn't get my assets fast enough. We can find another hustle big man. We're already developing one in Murphy.

I wouldn't trade for Jim Jones considering all the Kool-Aid we have flowing on this board.

Could be dangerous.

[heir_jordan22]

I came across an article that offers an interesting take on the tanking debate. More specifically, it argues that tanking is "not a winning strategy in the NBA." I think it's a useful read for everyone on the board, and may shed some new insight into the board's debate.

http://freakonomics.com/2013/10/29/losi ... n-the-nba/

One section particularly stood out to me:

Now some might argue that this next draft is different. This next draft is supposed to have such players as Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Julius Randle.

But let’s imagine these players are like LeBron. It is important to remember that LeBron never won a title with the teams that acquired his services on draft night. In fact, in the lottery era (since 1985) only the San Antonio Spurs (with David Robinson and Tim Duncan) have drafted a player number one and won a title with that player. Every other number one pick failed to bring a title to the team that “won” the lottery.

Personally, I felt even more compelled to post this because the enthusiasm some posters have for the Bulls losing games disgusts me.

Mods: I apologize if this article has been posted elsewhere.

Something that makes us similar to the Spurs that most teams who select in the top of the draft don't have, Derrick Rose. An MVP caliber player. Superstars rarely get #1 pick placed next to them.

Think about what would've happened if the Heat ended up with Rose instead of Beasley. They would've most likely won at least one title with that combo. Multiple. They would be unguardable on the perimeter.

[kristov]

You guys can want to tank all you want,but you know it wont happen.I truly believe they will get the third seed.Its just very annoying and embarrassing to see bulls fans wanting to lose.

We don't need to make this one side vs. the other. Some would consider those watching this team play without Derrick and still believing they're a 3 seed as delusional. So "annoying", "embarrassing", "delusional", we're all Bulls fans nonetheless.

But they're not constantly posting in the game thread.

[patagonia]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

If Miami told us they'd give us Cole, Battier and James Jones for just Noah, they couldn't get my assets fast enough. We can find another hustle big man. We're already developing one in Murphy.

That is an awful trade for the Bulls.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Norris Cole over Noah? Are you crazy?

Clearly you're not comprehending what he is saying. He's saying he'd rather have 3-4 legit shooters on the team instead of Noah.

No one is trading 3 or 4 shooters for Noah. People need to be realistic in what they expect out of these trades.

We know that, but the point is that I find multiple shooters over Noah so much more valuable that if that opportunity ever arose, Noah is gone, no questions asked for me.

[patagonia]

Clearly you're not comprehending what he is saying. He's saying he'd rather have 3-4 legit shooters on the team instead of Noah.

No one is trading 3 or 4 shooters for Noah. People need to be realistic in what they expect out of these trades.

We know that, but the point is that I find multiple shooters over Noah so much more valuable that if that opportunity ever arose, Noah is gone, no questions asked for me.

You might as well wish for a pony.

And you still need interior defense and rebounding to win a chip.