Official: DeRozan! Player of the Week p69

[Michael Jackson]

This is awesome Bulls are officially contenders my friends !!!!!

I wouldn’t put us at contender level yet… punchers chance contender but definitely a real NBA team now.

[umfan83]

I know everyone is scared to say it but why can't this team contend? How many top 4s are better?

Its not completely dismissible, but its in maybe the 10 percentile of possible outcomes. If the playoffs played out like they did this year we'd certainly have a shot with all the injuries. Ball and PWilliams may take leaps this year. Lots of possibilities out there, so it's not impossible but more likely we are a step below the teams with multiple true superstars IMO

[fleet]

Bulls basketball is fun again. First time in like 8 years?

Sign& Trade Lauri for some draft capital to recoup some of what AK has given up. Frankly if you could get a protected first for White, do that too. See if you can do Caruso into the Thies TPE and split the MLE for depth signings.

[maxhatter]

So, doing some very basic math, I think we would have to lose Lauri or keep him for not much money(or S&T him for cheap contracts) in order to have the full nontaxpayer mle. Tax line is at ~136M. Makes you wonder if JR's desire to not pay tax will make keeping Lauri less likely.

Ball = 21M
DDR = 28M
Caruso = 9M
Zach = 19.5M
Vuc = 24M
PWill = 7.4M
Coby = 5.8M
TBJ = 5.1M
Lauri = 20.1M(cap hold)
JeVonte Green = 2M(cap hold)
Dotson = 1.5M(cap hold)

143.4M = Total

Very rudimentary math though.

Lauri isn't signing here or anywhere else for his $20.1M cap hold. I get your argument, but if you sign Lauri for a deal starting at $13M (which is probably the max market price for him) they still stay under the the tax line

[BeatDaCavs420]

Im tired of losing I dont care if this makes us a treadmill team. Those times was way better than the last few years of hell

[FriedRise]

There's more to it than just the roster you're seeing right now. With what AKME has done during the last trade deadline + this offseason, players around the league now see Chicago as a destination again. They were able to trade for and sign all star level talent not completely past their prime. This makeover is a big deal for the future of the organization because we were always left with the leftovers or were forced to stand pat because nobody wanted to talk to us.

Reputation matters, and this is how you start at the organization level.

[nomorezorro]

So, doing some very basic math, I think we would have to lose Lauri or keep him for not much money(or S&T him for cheap contracts) in order to have the full nontaxpayer mle. Tax line is at ~136M. Makes you wonder if JR's desire to not pay tax will make keeping Lauri less likely.

Ball = 21M
DDR = 28M
Caruso = 9M
Zach = 19.5M
Vuc = 24M
PWill = 7.4M
Coby = 5.8M
TBJ = 5.1M
Lauri = 20.1M(cap hold)
JeVonte Green = 2M(cap hold)
Dotson = 1.5M(cap hold)

143.4M = Total

Very rudimentary math though.

the guys we just signed are going to be starting at cheaper than their AAV because their contracts are escalating, i assume. lonzo would start at something like $19.5m, derozan at $27m, caruso at $8.5

if that's true, we're at basically $117 million for players fully under contract. $120.5 million if you add in the non-lauri cap holds (which we could easily rescind), $121.5 with the last minimum roster charge cap hold. that's ~$14.5m available in the first year for lauri or whoever we s+t him for

if we wanna sign someone with the bae, that mucks things up a little though. not 100% sure how simonovic and ayo fit in either

[kulaz3000]

This is awesome Bulls are officially contenders my friends !!!!!

I wouldn’t put us at contender level yet… punchers chance contender but definitely a real NBA team now.

Contenders as in a championship team? Not even close.

We should hover around the 4-6 mark, and anything less would be a huge disappointment.

I think the front office's end game is to ultimately acquire a superstar in a trade, keeping an eye out for the likes of Lillard etc. Star players who are disgruntled or not overly pleased with their current situation.

I'll be rooting for this rendition of the Bulls team as is right now, but I think in 2 seasons, this team is going to look a lot different.

[Ctownbulls]

From a talent perspective does anyone really believe the Bulls couldn't play with Atlanta or Phoenix from this year. Obviously, some other teams have more talent but we are in the mix now. If a few things fall right and the Bulls get lucky with injuries they got a shot.

[d boy gentleman]

ALL HAIL LORD ARTURAS!! LONG LIVE LORD MARC!!

[CBS7]

We aren't better than the nets or bucks, but should be able contend with anyone else. And an injury or two from being another Hawks\Suns story.

[DuckIII]

You guys realize that Derozan is one of the worst playoff performers of all time, correct?

And the sample size is quite large.

Don't care. He's a complimentary player now, not someone expected to carry an offense.

[NecessaryEvil]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[DuckIII]

I don’t want to be a downer, only that if AK was confident in Pat stepping up his game aggression I bet the Bulls don’t make this deal.

I don't think it means that at all. I think it means Williams is now our PF.

[NecessaryEvil]

Read on Twitter

?s=20

[bad knees]

Wow, wow, wow! So excited!

What an upgrade!

Closing lineup:

Caruso
Lavine
Ball
DeRozan
Vuc

OMG. We are going to be on national tv all the time, and in the middle of the playoffs. OMG.

[ChettheJet]

This is a stunner and a total revamp of the roster from before the deadline. Holdovers now being Lavine, White, Williams, depending on Lauri it will be 12 new faces out of 15.

BUT we'll have somebody whizzing and moaning about not having a backup center because they can't be a fan.

I don't care if they are over the cap or into the luxury tax, Reinsdorf was at his happiest winning championships in baseball or basketball and I think it's sinking in to him that they're celebrating 23 years since Jordan won and retired the second time. Jerry hasn't got many years left so push all the chips into the pot and see what you're hand gives you.

This shows Lavine they expect him to resign and start winning. And with Ball and Derozen signed, Lavine reups, Vucevic up in 2 years the contracts will be staggered at expiring in 1,2,3,4 years with White, Williams and Dosunmo mixed in.

I don't like trading another pick I'm surprised that SAS are willing to wait until 2025 for it but maybe Lauri going out does something to get one back.

[waffle]

holy crap. Go do errands for a few minutes.....

We are going to be a MISERABLE team to play against.....LOVE THAT

[tedwilliams1999]

Bulls basketball is fun again. First time in like 8 years?

Sign& Trade Lauri for some draft capital to recoup some of what AK has given up. Frankly if you could get a protected first for White, do that too. See if you can do Caruso into the Thies TPE and split the MLE for depth signings.

I think I'd actually hold on to Coby - role players on winning teams always tend to have more perceived value around the league. We could probably get a few more pieces in a Coby trade at this time next year if we wanted to move on from him.

Although we still are missing our 2023 and now 2025 draft picks, we should be able to recuperate some of that draft capital in various trades in the future.

[transplant]

You guys realize that Derozan is one of the worst playoff performers of all time, correct?

And the sample size is quite large.

Don't care. He's a complimentary player now, not someone expected to carry an offense.

What are we looking at? Ball-LaVine-DeRozen-Williams-Vucevic? Ideally, DeRozen's the 4th option (3rd if Williams doesn't step up).