Wendell Carter Jr - The Block Panther Edition

[League Circles]

I don't think you read my post closely. Lavine is one of the main reasons I want Rolo in the lineup.

Lavine has only played 3 full seasons. His play in the few games he did play last season did not show any understanding of playing within the offense. It did not look like a mature game, and the only leadership quality he showed was a willingness to take "the" shot. You expect hm to step in at 23 years of age after not playing for most of the last 2 seasons and lead the team on the court? Also, many are concerned he will be too ball dominant; so you want to put him in charge of leading a bunch of rooks and 2nd year players?

I am all for allowing Lavine to slowly gel into a leader role as he shows he is ready for it.

What I haven't seen after listing all of my reasons, are any reasons Carter should start, other than "he was a #7 draft pick". Lots of #7 and higher draft picks don't start immediately. What is the big need for him to be in the starting lineup? How is it more advantageous for him to play 25 minutes as a starter as compared to off the bench? Why s it a detriment to put him in the best possible position to succeed?

A number of people such as myself have suggested that Carter should maybe start due to being better at basketball (which will play itself out over the preseason - could go either way).

The preseason will not tell you whether he is better at basketball. The likelihoodof him being better than Rolo day one is almost nil. Even if he does appear to be better at basketball, the effect it will have on the rest of the team on the court and all the omreasons I listed far outweigh the benefit.

If the starting lineup at the other positions was Rondo, butler, wade, Niko I would have a completely different opinion.

Its a team sport. A lot of six men through the years have been better than at least one of the players starting ahead of them.

"Being better at basketball" is pretty generic and lazy,, dont you think?

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

[Chi town]

I start RoLo for a few reasons

The best centers start. Rolo is used to guarding them, and he is very strong. Carter can break in against second teamers

Lauri-32/Portis-16
Rolo-20/Carter/20/Portis 8

something like that for now is fine

Make Carter earn the mins.

This is the best min distribution I’ve seen. Move RoLo down to 10mpg once Portis and Carter earn the burn

[Ronny_G]

I say we let them battle it out in training camp and may the best man win. This will ensure WCJ earns his job and his teammates respect. If he’s such a beast he should be able to take the job, if not let him develop a bit longer behind Lopez

[Hangtime84]

I say we let them battle it our in training camp and may the best man win. This will ensure WCJ earns his job and his teammates respect. If he’s such a beast he should be able to take the job, if not let him develop a bit longer behind Lopez

I liked a lot of the bigs in this draft. But every one of them I felt would benefit a lot simply by just practicing against Lopez, however the two i felt would benefit the most were both Ayton and Carter.

[rtblues]

Look, it's a win. This pick.

Think about winding up with Mo Bamba? 2 years away from being a year away...
Nerlens Noel 2.0

Carter is eons ahead of most of the rookies, esp among the BIGS, in basketball IQ, and he's 6'11" can hit 3s, rebounds and plays D, guarding multiple positions. Lots to like.

[robert76]

A number of people such as myself have suggested that Carter should maybe start due to being better at basketball (which will play itself out over the preseason - could go either way).

The preseason will not tell you whether he is better at basketball. The likelihoodof him being better than Rolo day one is almost nil. Even if he does appear to be better at basketball, the effect it will have on the rest of the team on the court and all the omreasons I listed far outweigh the benefit.

If the starting lineup at the other positions was Rondo, butler, wade, Niko I would have a completely different opinion.

Its a team sport. A lot of six men through the years have been better than at least one of the players starting ahead of them.

"Being better at basketball" is pretty generic and lazy,, dont you think?

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

Wasn't the management's decision not to play him during the tank? I remember people saying he's a great pro for understanding the situation. Now you're saying he elected to sit and not play?

Also, experience is an important factor in any job. And RoLo has plenty of it against top NBA players, while WCJ has zero. I'd be extremely surprised if Robin is not the starter on day one.

[Mbrahv0528]

The preseason will not tell you whether he is better at basketball. The likelihoodof him being better than Rolo day one is almost nil. Even if he does appear to be better at basketball, the effect it will have on the rest of the team on the court and all the omreasons I listed far outweigh the benefit.

If the starting lineup at the other positions was Rondo, butler, wade, Niko I would have a completely different opinion.

Its a team sport. A lot of six men through the years have been better than at least one of the players starting ahead of them.

"Being better at basketball" is pretty generic and lazy,, dont you think?

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

Wasn't the management's decision not to play him during the tank? I remember people saying he's a great pro for understanding the situation. Now you're saying he elected to sit and not play?

Also, experience is an important factor in any job. And RoLo has plenty of it against top NBA players, while WCJ has zero. I'd be extremely surprised if Robin is not the starter on day one.

No, you're right sir! I'm not sure where the other poster got that information, but it is entirely incorrect lol.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[League Circles]

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

Wasn't the management's decision not to play him during the tank? I remember people saying he's a great pro for understanding the situation. Now you're saying he elected to sit and not play?

Also, experience is an important factor in any job. And RoLo has plenty of it against top NBA players, while WCJ has zero. I'd be extremely surprised if Robin is not the starter on day one.

No, you're right sir! I'm not sure where the other poster got that information, but it is entirely incorrect lol.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I'm 99% sure that it was reported that for at least some of his missed games, he was offered the chance to play reduced minutes off the bench and declined, preferring to sit out entirely rather than be active in assisting the tank. Might have been reported by one of our insiders here on this board.

[Stratmaster]

A number of people such as myself have suggested that Carter should maybe start due to being better at basketball (which will play itself out over the preseason - could go either way).

The preseason will not tell you whether he is better at basketball. The likelihoodof him being better than Rolo day one is almost nil. Even if he does appear to be better at basketball, the effect it will have on the rest of the team on the court and all the omreasons I listed far outweigh the benefit.

If the starting lineup at the other positions was Rondo, butler, wade, Niko I would have a completely different opinion.

Its a team sport. A lot of six men through the years have been better than at least one of the players starting ahead of them.

"Being better at basketball" is pretty generic and lazy,, dont you think?

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

[League Circles]

The preseason will not tell you whether he is better at basketball. The likelihoodof him being better than Rolo day one is almost nil. Even if he does appear to be better at basketball, the effect it will have on the rest of the team on the court and all the omreasons I listed far outweigh the benefit.

If the starting lineup at the other positions was Rondo, butler, wade, Niko I would have a completely different opinion.

Its a team sport. A lot of six men through the years have been better than at least one of the players starting ahead of them.

"Being better at basketball" is pretty generic and lazy,, dont you think?

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

I've said that IF he looks better through preseason, I don't think Lopez' legendary vocal leadership for all of the mediocre and bad teams he's played for should be enough to outweigh what would then be Carter's superior game.

You said chances were virtually nil that Carter would be better. I don't know how you could watch the NBA so long and think that that would be so shocking. Lopez is an average to below average starting NBA center who has never led any team to anything of importance. I like him and he's a solid vet but IF Carter looks better, I'm not interested in having the inferior, expiring contract player out there instead under the idea that he's going to do something to get Zach Lavine to play more under control or something that he can't do from the bench, or that Hoiberg or Carter can't do.

[sco]

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

I've said that IF he looks better through preseason, I don't think Lopez' legendary vocal leadership for all of the mediocre and bad teams he's played for should be enough to outweigh what would then be Carter's superior game.

You said chances were virtually nil that Carter would be better. I don't know how you could watch the NBA so long and think that that would be so shocking. Lopez is an average to below average starting NBA center who has never led any team to anything of importance. I like him and he's a solid vet but IF Carter looks better, I'm not interested in having the inferior, expiring contract player out there instead under the idea that he's going to do something to get Zach Lavine to play more under control or something that he can't do from the bench, or that Hoiberg or Carter can't do.

I would slightly alter you IF statement to say IF the team looks better with RoLo vs. WCJ. I worry about Zach and Parker ball hogging and not playing defense, and I see RoLo helping correct that on the floor for the early part of the season.

[Stratmaster]

No, I don't think it's any more generic and lazy than thinking Lopez is gonna have these guys play substantially different with him on the bench vs on the court. It's certainly possible I'll admit, while you think it's almost impossible for our well rounded smart young lottery pick to be better than mediocre journeyman Lopez. Recall Lopez literally elected to sit in street clothes instead of play last year. Not sure why anyone thinks he's something special as a vocal leader. Maybe Carter will be?

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

I've said that IF he looks better through preseason, I don't think Lopez' legendary vocal leadership for all of the mediocre and bad teams he's played for should be enough to outweigh what would then be Carter's superior game.

You said chances were virtually nil that Carter would be better. I don't know how you could watch the NBA so long and think that that would be so shocking. Lopez is an average to below average starting NBA center who has never led any team to anything of importance. I like him and he's a solid vet but IF Carter looks better, I'm not interested in having the inferior, expiring contract player out there instead under the idea that he's going to do something to get Zach Lavine to play more under control or something that he can't do from the bench, or that Hoiberg or Carter can't do.

I said the chances are almost nil Carter will be better on day one. To think otherwise is to think that there is no difference between college and pro basketball and that no adjustments are required to make that move into the pro game. It ignores the talent level difference, the difference in the speed of the game, the difference in work load, the level of travel, the level of pressure.

You seem to think I want Lopez to start because I like Lopez. I want Lopez to start because I like Carter. Why not give him the best chance possible for early success?

Again, i have given 6 (actually now about 8) reasons why Lopez should start. You have said if Carter is better in preseason he should start. Preseason?? Lopez will likely barely play in preseason.

If that is your basis for starting carter; to make that decision based on a few preseason games Carter would have to be dominating at aJordan/LBJ level in the preseason because... well hell...its freaking preseason. "Practice".

[Stratmaster]

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

I've said that IF he looks better through preseason, I don't think Lopez' legendary vocal leadership for all of the mediocre and bad teams he's played for should be enough to outweigh what would then be Carter's superior game.

You said chances were virtually nil that Carter would be better. I don't know how you could watch the NBA so long and think that that would be so shocking. Lopez is an average to below average starting NBA center who has never led any team to anything of importance. I like him and he's a solid vet but IF Carter looks better, I'm not interested in having the inferior, expiring contract player out there instead under the idea that he's going to do something to get Zach Lavine to play more under control or something that he can't do from the bench, or that Hoiberg or Carter can't do.

I would slightly alter you IF statement to say IF the team looks better with RoLo vs. WCJ. I worry about Zach and Parker ball hogging and not playing defense, and I see RoLo helping correct that on the floor for the early part of the season.

Yep. Those are two of the 8 reasons I have given.

[League Circles]

So why is it again you think Carter should start? Because he might be better than Lopez. Got it. Thanks for the in depth analysis. I give up, you are right. He should start because you want him to.

I've said that IF he looks better through preseason, I don't think Lopez' legendary vocal leadership for all of the mediocre and bad teams he's played for should be enough to outweigh what would then be Carter's superior game.

You said chances were virtually nil that Carter would be better. I don't know how you could watch the NBA so long and think that that would be so shocking. Lopez is an average to below average starting NBA center who has never led any team to anything of importance. I like him and he's a solid vet but IF Carter looks better, I'm not interested in having the inferior, expiring contract player out there instead under the idea that he's going to do something to get Zach Lavine to play more under control or something that he can't do from the bench, or that Hoiberg or Carter can't do.

I said the chances are almost nil Carter will be better on day one. To think otherwise is to think that there is no difference between college and pro basketball and that no adjustments are required to make that move into the pro game. It ignores the talent level difference, the difference in the speed of the game, the difference in work load, the level of travel, the level of pressure.

You seem to think I want Lopez to start because I like Lopez. I want Lopez to start because I like Carter. Why not give him the best chance possible for early success?

Again, i have given 6 (actually now about 8) reasons why Lopez should start. You have said if Carter is better in preseason he should start. Preseason?? Lopez will likely barely play in preseason.

If that is your basis for starting carter; to make that decision based on a few preseason games Carter would have to be dominating at aJordan/LBJ level in the preseason because... well hell...its freaking preseason. "Practice".

If I recall correctly, you sort of started this by asking people to give any reason why Carter should start, so I pointed out the one big obvious one that some people may believe that Carter is simply better, DESPITE the learning curve and leadership issues that you mention. I'm not ignoring those at all, I'm simply suggesting that MAYBE Carter will be better for the team (and as an individual), despite the negatives you've mentioned. The reasoning is that he appears to have a LOT more talent to me. I also do not really see any evidence for Lopez being anything special in terms of leadership or getting guys to play the right way who are on the court with him. My evidence for that is that he is mostly played on mediocre and bad teams his whole career. It's easy on a bad team to point to somebody as being a real good pro or leader. It just doesn't necessarily make it true. For example is there any particular reason you think that Lopez will be better at keeping the young guys playing the right way than Justin holiday?

The way your first paragraph reads here it's almost as if you think no rookies should ever start as long as there is a mediocre player available at their position. Is that your philosophy?

I don't think it's important that Lopez won't be playing much in preseason. We know what he plays like, and it's like a very, very average NBA C IMO. So if Carter is looking like an actual good NBA Center, then I say give him a try. Especially if he's not making detrimental mental mistakes on the court.

I don't really believe that Lopez is going to be able to keep Lavine and Parker in check. I don't really think anyone will. I think the most likely outcome with them is declining Parkers option amd looking to dump Lavine within a year or two. I don't think those are overwhelmingly likely outcomes, but slightly more likely than other outcomes, regardless of who the starting C is.

[RememberLu]

I would start Carter right away. Our other young players, who are to be the future of our core, will all be day 1 starters. Plug Carter into that starting spot to let him grow with the core. I don't believe that a player as smart, skilled and well-rounded as him will suffer from a crisis of confidence. If one facet of his game isn't working, he has 3 other things he can fall back on. I think Lopez is very likely to be traded by the deadline, and I see no reason to delay the starting 5 of the future by keeping our latest acquisition on the bench. He was the #7 pick

There are many great players who never came off the bench. Kevin Durant started in his rookie year, Kyrie Irving started, Chris Paul started. I just don't believe that this "easing players in gently" thing matters much for high draft picks who aren't known to suffer from a lack of confidence. This isn't MLB.

[bigworld2017]

Carter should not start at the beginning of the season because the Bulls don't need him to start right away. He's not even 20 years old. Let RoLo and Wendell split the minutes evenly, Let Wendell gain experience and confidence against 2nd teamers to start with. After the first of the year, if Wendell has made sufficient strides, has learned the opposing player tendencies, etc. you flip the roles of RoLo and Carter. Carter becomes the starter and also gets the crunch time minutes in competitive games. RoLo mentors in practice and even during games. RoLo's days are numbered in the league. He might be able to milk 2 or 3 more years depending on his price tag. But certainly he sees the handwriting on the wall. This might be an opportunity for him to start thinking along the lines of becoming a coach if he has the desire to stay in the game. Carter is a better athlete than RoLo by every conceivable measure. RoLo has the experience. Once RoLo's experience rubs off on Carter then having the rook start become the natural progression of things. No need to rush it. We're not a contender. Let the kids develop. Carter will be the starter by the time out First round playoff series starts.

[musiqsoulchild]

We matched Zach.
We added Jabari.
We added two rookies that we think will contribute right away.
We also didn't do any moves to just create more cap space next season ( like Melo trade).

How does one think that Lopez us not going to be a central part of the Center rotation given all of the above?

Bulls want to maximise wins this year. So, Lopez and Holiday will play. A lot.

[cool007]

How can anyone say that don't start Carter and let him earn or slowly get into the things etc???

If we didn't do that with Lauri then why are we going to do that with WCJ? WCJ is not going to be a focal point of our offense, is not a primary ball handler, not our 1st, 2nd or even a 3rd option. He is also not felicio (who would need to "EARN" the minutes at starting spot).

Let WCJ play, let him play screen and roll/pop with our backcourt, let him build chemistry with Dunn/Lauri and other starters. There won't be too much on his shoulders to start the season anyway.

If anything, I think he will benefit greatly playing next to better players and he can also make life easier for other starters as well with his defense and shot blocking.

[MrFortune3]

How can anyone say that don't start Carter and let him earn or slowly get into the things etc???

If we didn't do that with Lauri then why are we going to do that with WCJ? WCJ is not going to be a focal point of our offense, is not a primary ball handler, not our 1st, 2nd or even a 3rd option. He is also not felicio (who would need to "EARN" the minutes at starting spot).

Let WCJ play, let him play screen and roll/pop with our backcourt, let him build chemistry with Dunn/Lauri and other starters. There won't be too much on his shoulders to start the season anyway.

If anything, I think he will benefit greatly playing next to better players and he can also make life easier for other starters as well with his defense and shot blocking.

The plan was for Lauri to slowly be eased into playing. Portis and Niko were supposed to log a bunch of the minutes early on and then the fight happened and that changed everything.

[Hangtime84]

We matched Zach.
We added Jabari.
We added two rookies that we think will contribute right away.
We also didn't do any moves to just create more cap space next season ( like Melo trade).

How does one think that Lopez us not going to be a central part of the Center rotation given all of the above?

Bulls want to maximise wins this year. So, Lopez and Holiday will play. A lot.

I think you focus on teaching your young guys the new defensive schemes. You start building chemistry with Wendell and Lauri unless they are truly **** up. It's not about this year it's about the following ones.