Wendell Carter Jr - The Block Panther Edition

[3noD]

You know how rookies get much less popular after they have played for a year?

It struck me that a lot of the negativity around WCJ is based around the fact that he played at Duke. As a result, people saw him play a LOT more than they saw some of the other people. You get to see their warts and problems, which normally doesn't occur until after a rookie has played for a year.

If the Bulls had drafted a 19 year old 6'10" kid with a 39" vertical who had 3p range, a wide body, rebounding ability and WCJ's stats out of Southwest Missouri State, I suspect that people would be much, much happier with the pick.

I'm not saying that WCJ is a future stud. I just feel that players out of Duke don't have that new car smell that random players do. The more I read about the kid, the more I like him as a pick.

There's really nothing to support that. If it was in any way true, Jahlil Okafor would never, ever, ever have been talked about as a #1 pick.

And of course people would like him a lot more if he had a 39" vertical. He's probably got like a 28" vertical and he still went 7th.

Yeah but Zaire Smith. Watch out man, he’s taking the league by storm. That’s modern basketball!


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[MalagaBulls]

Well, let's just go all the way here. If your goal is to win titles, you have to have one of the greatest players of all time on your roster. Maybe you can eke out one or two like Detroit or Dallas but for the most part, unless you have Kobe, MJ, Bird, Duncan, LBJ, Curry, etc. on your roster, you have no shot at a title regardless of how many Joakim Noah's you have.

Well it's funny you mention Detroit, because you look at their frontcourt and what did they have? Two absolutely elite defenders. Only one of them was actually even competent on offense.

So one could argue that you'd actually have a better shot at building a title winner with, say, a Jaren Jackson/Bam Adebayo-type of frontcourt. Just load up on good but not superstar perimeter players and that might work like it did for them.

If your goal is titles, then what you want is for Chicago to:
- Trade capspace for future picks
- Try to miss the playoffs again next year and hope to get lucky

This has been what I wished they had done and I know they won't. They simply don't plan like that and it's why frankly I wish they had just kept Jimmy Butler because that's basically what this team is on the road to again anyways.

The Bulls really haven't screwed up yet but yeah, I kind of think its around the corner. IMHO, they did fine in the draft. Not great, but fine. At this point, its all about asset management and I don't think that the Bulls turned one of their picks into an untradeable bust (McDermott, Snell, Teague, Tyrus, etc.).

Where the rubber hits the road here is free agency. If they go "all in" trying to build a 42 win team than I'll be right next to you blasting away. They really need to hold their fire and continue to accumulate assets. This team is at least a year away from even trying to win.

I think there is a decent chance they overachieve and might make 8th seed. Depending on how Carter & Hutchison develop you coukd actually see enough improvement to make the playoffs, or not.

[SfBull]

I was high on Bamba but always liked Carter having watched many games and highlights of him .So I´m very happy with that pick.But I don´t believe that it will translate in a playoff caliber team ,we´ll likely end with 25-30 wins again even without tanking and will be back in the lottery with another rules but it´s our reality now and we have to live with it.

[wonderboy2]

Is anybody concerned that Carter will get bullied vs Embid, Drummond, Deandre Jordan, lopezes, Zokic of the league? Carter seem way smaller than those guys. I have to admit I focused more on Bagley at Duke than Carter.

[ReturnofJPR]

This isn't the 80s or 90s. The NBA has changed the game so that its all about scoring and that is evidenced by last season teams scoring more points than they ever have in NBA History! As long as you have a good offensive game, are aggressive, and not young/a rookie then you will get to the charity strike in today's game. Bulls are lucky they picked high this year and got their C. Next season it looks to be SG/SF top heavy in the draft instead of C like this year's draft was. Carter and Lauri are going to get to the line a lot as they gain experience and respect Fromm the officials. And with slashers like Lavine and Hutch, Chicago's offense is primed for today's league.

[waffle]

carter is big and strong. I would be surprised if he got bullied by anyone

and a couple of people have stated that he is slow on his 2nd and 3rd jumps when the exact opposite is considered one of his strengths.

[ReturnofJPR]

Carter is about 25 pounds heavier than Bamba despite being 3 inches shorter. We are lucky Bagley stole his shine at Duke or he would of been a top 3 pick.

[JimmyJammer]

I actually think it is a disrespect to Carter to compare him to Horford. If you look at their college career trajectory, you'll get the idea. As a freshman, Horford was averaging about 6ppg and less than 7rebs and his perimeter skills and 3pt shot were non-existent. The only stats of Horford that compare to Carter's freshman season is his junior year, and there was not even any 3pt shot to speak of either. So technically, Carter was doing at 18-19 what Horford was doing at 21 years of age. Carter should be compared to guys like Webber and Blake Griffin.

Horford had more quickness. Had ability to switch onto guards. Where Carter looked more like Kendrick Perkins as a perimeter defender. Very slow feet and poor technique. If it wasn't for the zone Duke implemented, not sure if he'd have the same success protecting the rim either. Horford used his quickness to his advantage. But I do believe Carter has more skill.

There you are again comparing the Horford of today to a 19yr old future rookie. I watched plenty of Horford's games in college and he was not doing all that you are saying, because Noah was the one doing them. Noah was the more versatile defenders between the two in College. Noah was the one rotating to perimeter players, whereas Horford was defending the bigger and more physical guys. And, on the other side of the floor, it is not even a contest. Horford was raw offensively during his first two years of college, meanwhile Carter already had a polished game as a freshman. Carter was one of the most efficient college players at the young age of 18-19, and that says a lot.

[The Box Office]

No. I had Mikal Bridges higher than Wendell Carter. Time will tell.

[Red Larrivee]

Is anybody concerned that Carter will get bullied vs Embid, Drummond, Deandre Jordan, lopezes, Zokic of the league? Carter seem way smaller than those guys. I have to admit I focused more on Bagley at Duke than Carter.

He's shorter in height but not lacking in size, length or reach. Carter's post defense is excellent.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Benedict Miller]

I actually think it is a disrespect to Carter to compare him to Horford. If you look at their college career trajectory, you'll get the idea. As a freshman, Horford was averaging about 6ppg and less than 7rebs and his perimeter skills and 3pt shot were non-existent. The only stats of Horford that compare to Carter's freshman season is his junior year, and there was not even any 3pt shot to speak of either. So technically, Carter was doing at 18-19 what Horford was doing at 21 years of age. Carter should be compared to guys like Webber and Blake Griffin.

Horford had more quickness. Had ability to switch onto guards. Where Carter looked more like Kendrick Perkins as a perimeter defender. Very slow feet and poor technique. If it wasn't for the zone Duke implemented, not sure if he'd have the same success protecting the rim either. Horford used his quickness to his advantage. But I do believe Carter has more skill.

There you are again comparing the Horford of today to a 19yr old future rookie. I watched plenty of Horford's games in college and he was not doing all that you are saying, because Noah was the one doing them. Noah was the more versatile defenders between the two in College. Noah was the one rotating to perimeter players, whereas Horford was defending the bigger and more physical guys. And, on the other side of the floor, it is not even a contest. Horford was raw offensively during his first two years of college, meanwhile Carter already had a polished game as a freshman. Carter was one of the most efficient college players at the young age of 18-19, and that says a lot.

Carter has a more developed game at the same age, but is nowhere as quick laterally as Horford. It is what it is.

[MrFortune3]

Is anybody concerned that Carter will get bullied vs Embid, Drummond, Deandre Jordan, lopezes, Zokic of the league? Carter seem way smaller than those guys. I have to admit I focused more on Bagley at Duke than Carter.

Nope. Carter has a NBA ready body. He is not lacking in strength, he just needs experience and to enhance his lateral agility and quickness.

[ThisGuyFawkes]

In regards to anyone asking why we traded Jimmy if we're still going to remain a treadmill/2nd round team; I will say that I'd rather watch a team of young, smart players sharing the ball. It's just a personal preference, and I'd be way more excited to see this current team reach the playoffs rather than watch a full season's worth of iso ball.

[Dominator83]

The problem with all this talk that this frontcourt can be "good enough" defensively is already a bad sign if your goal is to actually win titles.

You straight up do not win titles without at least one excellent defending big man playing major minutes.

Well, let's just go all the way here. If your goal is to win titles, you have to have one of the greatest players of all time on your roster. Maybe you can eke out one or two like Detroit or Dallas but for the most part, unless you have Kobe, MJ, Bird, Duncan, LBJ, Curry, etc. on your roster, you have no shot at a title regardless of how many Joakim Noah's you have.

The Bulls don't have that player. Only a few players in this draft even have a shot at that level of play and I would put less than 50/50 odds on any of them.

If your goal is titles, then what you want is for Chicago to:
- Trade capspace for future picks
- Try to miss the playoffs again next year and hope to get lucky

Chicago's shot at building a title winner by putting in the foundation at this year's draft was killed when they got to pick 7.

Dirk was still at a very high level that year. So i really wouldn't call that Detroit-like. I guess in the sense that it was 3 great players vs 1, but still Dirk was still one of those. But I get your point for sure. Right now as it looks, were likely gonna end up in another Hinrich/Gordon/Deng era, which is fine when your still less than a decade removed from a dynasty. But after 1 ECF appearance in 20 years? The last thing we want is another Hinrich/Gordon/Deng era

[MrFortune3]

In regards to anyone asking why we traded Jimmy if we're still going to remain a treadmill/2nd round team; I will say that I'd rather watch a team of young, smart players sharing the ball. It's just a personal preference, and I'd be way more excited to see this current team reach the playoffs rather than watch a full season's worth of iso ball.

The Bulls roster right now stands at
#13 OA - 2014 LaVine
#14 OA - 2015 Payne
#22 OA - 2015 Portis
#5 OA - 2016 Dunn
#14 OA - 2016 Valentine
#7 OA - 2017 Markkanen
#7 OA - 2018 Carter Jr
#22 OA - 2018 Hutchison

That is 8 players taken in the top 25 in the past 5 drafts.

There is talent there, it needs to be developed, crafted and honed into the best fitting team it can be.
You have floor spacing, shooting, defense and athleticism, it's up to Hoiberg to get those guys to mesh and play for one another.

[Dominator83]

In regards to anyone asking why we traded Jimmy if we're still going to remain a treadmill/2nd round team; I will say that I'd rather watch a team of young, smart players sharing the ball. It's just a personal preference, and I'd be way more excited to see this current team reach the playoffs rather than watch a full season's worth of iso ball.

Well part of that problem was pairing Jimmy with Rondo and a washed up Wade. I would love to see Jimmy come back in free agency next year and see what he can do with what should atleast be a much better team

[Dresden]

I'm sure Carter will get pushed around a bit, just because he hasn't been in an nba strength training program yet, and he's young and older guys know a lot of tricks on what they can get away with, etc. It will take Carter a few years to catch up to some of those guys in terms of strength and knowing how to fight for position, etc. But he's got a big enough frame that that shouldn't be a problem in a few years.

[johnnyvann840]

In regards to anyone asking why we traded Jimmy if we're still going to remain a treadmill/2nd round team; I will say that I'd rather watch a team of young, smart players sharing the ball. It's just a personal preference, and I'd be way more excited to see this current team reach the playoffs rather than watch a full season's worth of iso ball.

Problem with this take is that the wing we got back in the Butler trade, Zach Lavine, has a much higher usage and iso's much more than Jimmy Butler does. He's also not as good at it as Jimmy. Averages half the assists, isn't even in the same stratosphere when it comes to efficiency, gets to the line much less, doesn't play smart at all, has an extremely low basketball IQ, and he only plays one side of the floor and is one of the worst defensive players in the NBA at his position. When Lavine is on the floor the last things you can accurately say when describing the Bulls play is "less iso", "smart play" or "sharing the ball". Bulls, with Lavine, become extremely iso oriented and not in a good way. They don't share the ball, Lavine's usage rate is approx the same as Lebron James at about 30%. Jimmy Butler had a usage rate last year of 24.9 (about 5 full points less than Lavine). So, if your personal preference is less iso and more sharing the ball and smart play, you're probably not gonna like watching the Bulls this year should we re-sign Zach.

[PrimzyBulls81]

Watch on YouTube

I think we have really good center for future with WC,the more time goes by,the more I like this pick.
Also Hutch, really good vibe about him,that he might be big positive surprise...

[Ctownbulls]

The only reason I question the pick is that I felt Lauri would have been better suited at the 5 in the new NBA. We will have to see if Carter and Lauri will be able to make it work in the new, faster paced NBA.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk