Wendell Carter Jr - The Block Panther Edition

[Jcool0]

This has been my arguement and why I wanted Mikal over Wendell.

If Dunn Lavine or Hutch don’t become stars we are Screwed.

But Mikal wont ever be a top 20 wing.

Debatable. Will be ridiculously efficient. Is Otto top 20?

Meh now that is debatable.

[wolffy]

I'm going to try to be a bit more positive about Wendell. I was wrong about Lauri; maybe I'll be wrong about Wendell too.

To that end, here is a video analysis from The Stepien that argues that Wendell has the ability to guard decently well on the perimeter and that his problems doing so to date have stemmed from poor technique. The analyst actually found a few examples of Wendell demonstrating some ability in this area. He also found some horrible closeouts that will make your hair stand on end.

Maybe we should focus on the good stuff.

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/06/11/wendell-carter-quick-enough-todays-nba/

I appreciate you being more positive on the kid. He's 19 years old and he's been told where he needs to improve... let's give him a chance to do so and actually watch him in the NBA before we say he can't do this or he's a bust.

I don't think many of us are worried about him being a bust.

[TheSuzerain]

Lol. Back on topic then. WCJ is not as bad as you're making him out to be.

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Saying he's not Clint Capela with a jump shot is calling him bad? Really?

I'm more referring to your overarching posts on WCJ in general. I'm not touching the Capella comparison because it is not a good one.

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Please post examples. I'm not down on WCJ at all as a center prospect.

[RedBulls23]

If the Bulls take on dengs contract and get Kuz I believe we can make it to the playoffs next year. Is that a good thing? Or should we tank?

PG Dunn
SG Lavine
SF Kuzma
PF Lauri
C Carter

Bench

Hutchison
Portis
Valentine
Lopez
Holiday

Unless making the playoffs coincides with 2 players on this roster showing they are/have Superstar/Stars potential in general, then making the playoffs would be bad. Now I don't think they should shamelessly tank like last season, but I do think that they should move vets and just play the young guys. See what happens with that. If the young guys are good enough to make the playoffs, then so be it, but it shouldn't be because you played your vets and they helped you win games.

[bad knees]

I predict Wendell Carter becomes a fringe top 10 center in the league.

I also think the 10th best center is probably worth less than the 20th best wing or the 15th best PG.

This has been my arguement and why I wanted Mikal over Wendell.

If Dunn Lavine or Hutch don’t become stars we are Screwed.

I like Dunn and sort of like LaVine (at least his potential), but I don't hold a lot of hope for them becoming stars. Thus, my next pie in the sky hope/plan for the Bulls is that they give LaVine a 1+1 contract this summer, so that they have the potential room for two max FAs next summer. Then sign Jimmy and Kyrie.

Kyrie/Dunn
Hutch/Val
Jimmy/Val
Lauri
WCJ

That would be a fun team.

[Indomitable]

I think this is a great pick. I love your frontcourt.

ofcourse you do. you are not fan of this team. But thanks. Good luck in Finals next year!

Are they buying tickets

[Truebiscuit]

I'm going to try to be a bit more positive about Wendell. I was wrong about Lauri; maybe I'll be wrong about Wendell too.

To that end, here is a video analysis from The Stepien that argues that Wendell has the ability to guard decently well on the perimeter and that his problems doing so to date have stemmed from poor technique. The analyst actually found a few examples of Wendell demonstrating some ability in this area. He also found some horrible closeouts that will make your hair stand on end.

Maybe we should focus on the good stuff.

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/06/11/wendell-carter-quick-enough-todays-nba/

I appreciate you being more positive on the kid. He's 19 years old and he's been told where he needs to improve... let's give him a chance to do so and actually watch him in the NBA before we say he can't do this or he's a bust.

I don't think many of us are worried about him being a bust.

Read through this thread man, it's ridiculous (in my opinion).

[Indomitable]

I just want to remind everyone that JJJ and Wendell Carter Jr have extremely similar measurements and JJJ isn't exactly an elite athlete.

This. Some of the Carter takes in this thread are laughably hyperbolic. Carter isn't nearly as bad an athlete as some here want you to believe. He is in fact a good athlete - he just isn't 'elite'.

I think this was a good pick and Carter is an excellent fit next to Lauri. The idea that this somehow insures the Bulls a decade of mediocrity is ridiculous. The draft is nothing but a crapshoot and Carter has as much a chance to break out as anyone.

https://247sports.com/college/duke/Bolt/Duke-Blue-Devils-Basketball-Wendell-Carter-vertical-leap-70388030/


Hyperbole but ok

He is slightly more athletic then Miller

[Indomitable]

And if Capela couldn't stay on the floor in the playoffs, then god help Wendell Carter.

This is a misconception in my opinion. Capela was one of the main reasons the Rockets got to the WCF; he played plenty of minutes in the earlier rounds and was super effective. Big men are still insanely valuable in today's NBA - we just need a different type of big man. I think Lauri and WCJ both fit the bill, in that they space the floor without sacrificing much in defense.

The Warriors are a complete outlier: we're not competing with them directly, nor are we going to see another team like them ever again. The Rockets and Cavs playing small ball is a product of the Warriors, not the other way around. As all of the young bigs we have evolve as players, you can bet that an aging warriors and rockets team isn't going to want to go small any more.

Capella was taken off the floor because he was an offensive liability. I like Wendell and believe he will be a truly excellent player.

[Chi town]

So sorry bay kind of burn and production are we looking at?

20mog
10ppg
7rpg

[BigUps]

Just remember, Denzel was one of the worst defenders in college, lacked in lateral agility and is perfectly fine at defending in the NBA.

[keobulls]

I'm going to try to be a bit more positive about Wendell. I was wrong about Lauri; maybe I'll be wrong about Wendell too.

To that end, here is a video analysis from The Stepien that argues that Wendell has the ability to guard decently well on the perimeter and that his problems doing so to date have stemmed from poor technique. The analyst actually found a few examples of Wendell demonstrating some ability in this area. He also found some horrible closeouts that will make your hair stand on end.

Maybe we should focus on the good stuff.

https://www.thestepien.com/2018/06/11/wendell-carter-quick-enough-todays-nba/

From a team perspective, could you imagine being WCJ this past year at Duke and busting your hump on every switch to contain when you see that Bagley isn't even containing the man that is standing in front of him? I love playing defense when I play, but that ish would get old faster than left out cheese.

[MrSparkle]

I just read in KC’s article in the hard copy Chicago Tribune that the Bulls declined to trade up with MEM because “the Bulls weren’t interested in swallowing the two years and $49 million remaining on Chandler Parsons’ contract.”

Make me barf. We’d rather spend that cap space on what - overpaying LaVine and then overpaying Portis?


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Well, for whatever it's worth it was a tough choice because WCJ wasn't a wash-over prospect. There is a realistic chance he outplays Bamba, JJJ, Bagley and even Ayton, as far as big men go. Probably not, but it's tough trading up when that chance exists.

IMO Doncic would've been worth it but, but between JJJ and Bamba, you can't dump that much cap flexibility for a high-reward/high-risk trade, especially since it was a choice of big men. If athletic/skilled wings were on the table, it'd be a different conversation.

Ultimately "losing" MPJ's ceiling as a top prospect to injury was a big blow to this draft. IMO it went from 8-deep to 7, and that hurt our options considering we're 7. Especially sucked for CLE.

I'm a little bummed about how plain the draft went, but at the same time, it's OK. Both the CHI and NOP picks were lower than we would've liked, but that's why you don't count a "tank top-3 pick" as a piece of an all-star trade (I'm gonna continue rubbing it in, in response to the ridiculous talking point from all the pro-Jimmy trade people last year).

We are in a bit of a dangerous position because we have a deep roster with no legitimate all-star, let alone a superstar/top-10 type. In many ways, soft rebuilding around Jimmy and parts would've been a comparable scenario to what we've got right now. I mean, besides Lauri M., none of the assets we've acquired are "untouchable". You could've acquired 8.1 PER Dunn, ACL/RFA Zach, Chandler Hutchinson (and so on) with the assets we had... and the cap was going to completely clear up the next 2 summers with Wade/Rondo/RoLo coming off the books. AFAIC it's basically Jimmy vs. Lauri. I'll let LM's sophomore season answer that debate.

But on the flip side, if we atleast look like a team that has fun playing with each other, Lauri/Carter work as a tandem, Dunn takes a step, and Hutchinson proves to be a starter... then I won't complain. I seriously think we're a 1st round team with arguable 2nd rd. potential depending on the draw. It's basically like the 04/05 Bulls team right now. We have a lot of NBA-ready youth and prime player depth, and it's a deep roster. Not gonna get far, but and the future cap situation is unsustainable once extensions kick in, but that's the team GarPax seem to like.

[keobulls]

I predict Wendell Carter becomes a fringe top 10 center in the league.

I also think the 10th best center is probably worth less than the 20th best wing or the 15th best PG.

This has been my arguement and why I wanted Mikal over Wendell.

If Dunn Lavine or Hutch don’t become stars we are Screwed.

I like Dunn and sort of like LaVine (at least his potential), but I don't hold a lot of hope for them becoming stars. Thus, my next pie in the sky hope/plan for the Bulls is that they give LaVine a 1+1 contract this summer, so that they have the potential room for two max FAs next summer. Then sign Jimmy and Kyrie.

Kyrie/Dunn
Hutch/Val
Jimmy/Val
Lauri
WCJ

That would be a fun team.

I like Jimmy, but he has kind of become the Thibs of players. Non-stop busting your rear all season to fizzle out in the playoffs (not saying they do as individuals, but their teams always do). If you had a team full of Thibs-like coaches and Jimmy-like players you could probably win a chip, but normal people are not going on the ride with them. I think that is part of why the P. Jackson and MJ dynamic worked. You can't have an insanely demanding best player AND coach, it seems to be too much.

[TankForAyton]

People are forgetting...

1. Carter is 19... he will get better and he has the body, athletcism, and skills to do that

2. He can shoot. Immediately he makes the floor spaced much better for Lauri and our guards.

3. He is our best big defender from day one. He makes Portis and Lauri better right away.


I wanted Luka or JJJ. I think Carter will be better overall than Ayton, Bagley, and Bamba. I think he will be better than Horford. My issue is that he cannibalizes Lauri's impact.

I think as things progress WCJ plays 32mpg at C and Lauri the other 16. Lauri plays 20mpg at PF and we trade Bobby for a small ball wing PF that plays the other 28mpg at PF.

Carter is not our best defender right away. You’re absolutely crazy.

There is serious question as to whether or not he can defend the pnr. Not only that, his lateral quickness is at best, debatable, if not a serious major flaw.

The odds of Carter being better than one of Bagley, Bamba, or Ayton is low, the chances he is better than all 3 is about zero.

I’m praying Carter becomes a good starter.

[TankForAyton]

If we’re clinging onto hope that Hutch or Dunn become stars - were absolutely doomed. I’m hoping they become functional starters.

[fleet]

Not sure this has been posted but might bring some hopes up, I know it made me aware of Carter last summer. Imo he outplayed Ayton here:

Watch on YouTube

That's good tape. What jumps out at you is that he is competitively more into the game than Ayton is.

[TankForAyton]

We were probably better off swinging on Zhaire Smith and hoping he could become a LaVine like SF with more dog in him.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Not sure this has been posted but might bring some hopes up, I know it made me aware of Carter last summer. Imo he outplayed Ayton here:

Watch on YouTube

Yeah he was ballin in that game. Looked very engaged. I like how he pushed the ball up the court a couple times. Shows good sportsmanship. And for those of you who prefer stats over watching Wendell had 30pts 16rebs and Ayton had 19pts 10rebs.

[fleet]

The Brow, Cousins, Embiid, Towns, Jokic, Gobert, Drummond, Ayton, Capela, Adams, Turner, Bamba — there are a lot of good young centers in the NBA. Small-ball may not be the name of the game in the NBA for too much longer.

Key is, can they run and play small well enough to take advantage of their size in certain situations that may occur in the paint. The game and rules changes force bigs to adapt. Adding a bunch of big guys won't change the game itself imo. They still are gonna have to be able to play well away from the hoop, or their minutes are going to suffer.