Options to fix the PF hole

[StunnerKO]

Word on the street is Clarke is cooked

[Salo23]

Can someone fill me in on Brandon Clarke's strengths and weaknesses? High IQ? Motor? Rebounding? Defense? Offense? Yes, I've read some reports but more interested in hearing from the smarter folks who are here on this board, not the people who write scouting reports and also put the Bulls as a .500 team.

He fell in the draft because he was a much older prospect (college senior, 23-24 years old) with the playing style of a traditional big, but had poor measurements at the nba combine in terms of height, weight and wingspan for a big.

But he was insanely productive in college based on a lot of advanced metrics/statistics and could jump out of the gym with highlight reel dunks and blocks.

[heir_jordan22]

Can someone fill me in on Brandon Clarke's strengths and weaknesses? High IQ? Motor? Rebounding? Defense? Offense? Yes, I've read some reports but more interested in hearing from the smarter folks who are here on this board, not the people who write scouting reports and also put the Bulls as a .500 team.

I really liked Clarke early on in his career. He is hard working and smart. If I had to find a comparison as it relates to the Bulls, it would be Taj Gibson with a little worse defense. At least, stylistically.

That said, Clarke plays the game like a big man and not a wing player. That isn't what the Bulls are looking for obviously. They want a tall small forward at the PF spot, not a small center. I doubt Clarke would be on their radar.

You're probably right but idk of NY who are decent and available. Jerani Grant is a pipe dream. It would've been great if we got involved in the lalers-wizards trade and ended up with Kuzma, but that's not happening at this point. Maybe Avdija. Or if we somehow steal Ben Simmons.

[coldfish]

Can someone fill me in on Brandon Clarke's strengths and weaknesses? High IQ? Motor? Rebounding? Defense? Offense? Yes, I've read some reports but more interested in hearing from the smarter folks who are here on this board, not the people who write scouting reports and also put the Bulls as a .500 team.

I really liked Clarke early on in his career. He is hard working and smart. If I had to find a comparison as it relates to the Bulls, it would be Taj Gibson with a little worse defense. At least, stylistically.

That said, Clarke plays the game like a big man and not a wing player. That isn't what the Bulls are looking for obviously. They want a tall small forward at the PF spot, not a small center. I doubt Clarke would be on their radar.

You're probably right but idk of NY who are decent and available. Jerani Grant is a pipe dream. It would've been great if we got involved in the lalers-wizards trade and ended up with Kuzma, but that's not happening at this point. Maybe Avdija. Or if we somehow steal Ben Simmons.

IMO, one of two things happens:
- The team struggles from here on out and they decide to hold on to their assets
- The team plays really well and they cash in more assets in an attempt to go for it

I think that Pat + Coby + expiring + Portland pick could get you a reasonably good PF. The question is if Chicago is willing to pay the tax for it next year once Lavine's extension kicks in.

[superdave]

The only two guys who move the needle past what we have are Maxi Kleber and Mo Bamba. Size, defense, with catch and shoot 3-pt shooting. Looking at advanced stats, Bagley ain’t it.

[rtblues]

Whatever the "fix" is, it shouldn't come at the cost of trading of young, un-developed, top-10 draft choices.
First off, Coby provides a possible answer to another problem area the Bulls have, 3-pt/bench scoring, and he is still young.
And PW is only 20 ffs!

I'd rather commit to PW missing the year, which would qualify the Bulls to get the "injured player exception", because what can be realistically expected of PW after missing the whole season, should he return in time for the end of the season or playoffs? I'd rather get that exception and not rely on a rusty PW in a late-season/playoff type of pressure situations. He wasn't ever really providing that much before he got hurt. He's not going to change much coming back late. Rather get a guy on the exception who can help now.

I sure wouldn't trade him or Coby unless the return was some extraordinary cache that they simply couldn't refuse.

[heir_jordan22]

I really liked Clarke early on in his career. He is hard working and smart. If I had to find a comparison as it relates to the Bulls, it would be Taj Gibson with a little worse defense. At least, stylistically.

That said, Clarke plays the game like a big man and not a wing player. That isn't what the Bulls are looking for obviously. They want a tall small forward at the PF spot, not a small center. I doubt Clarke would be on their radar.

You're probably right but idk of NY who are decent and available. Jerani Grant is a pipe dream. It would've been great if we got involved in the lalers-wizards trade and ended up with Kuzma, but that's not happening at this point. Maybe Avdija. Or if we somehow steal Ben Simmons.

IMO, one of two things happens:
- The team struggles from here on out and they decide to hold on to their assets
- The team plays really well and they cash in more assets in an attempt to go for it

I think that Pat + Coby + expiring + Portland pick could get you a reasonably good PF. The question is if Chicago is willing to pay the tax for it next year once Lavine's extension kicks in.

The guy I really want is Jonathan Isaac if he's healthy. He's exactly what you said earlier, a tall SF who plays PF. Can guard well at pretty much all positions, excellent shot blocker. Not there offensively but on this team that wouldn't matter very y much in my opinion. He'd change everything for us defensively

[coldfish]

Whatever the "fix" is, it shouldn't come at the cost of trading of young, un-developed, top-10 draft choices.
First off, Coby provides a possible answer to another problem area the Bulls have, 3-pt/bench scoring, and he is still young.
And PW is only 20 ffs!

I'd rather commit to PW missing the year, which would qualify the Bulls to get the "injured player exception", because what can be realistically expected of PW after missing the whole season, should he return in time for the end of the season or playoffs? I'd rather get that exception and not rely on a rusty PW in a late-season/playoff type of pressure situations. He wasn't ever really providing that much before he got hurt. He's not going to change much coming back late. Rather get a guy on the exception who can help now.

I sure wouldn't trade him or Coby unless the return was some extraordinary cache that they simply couldn't refuse.

Remember that this incarnation of the Bulls has a very short window. Vucevic and Derozan and Caruso will be gone in a few years.

You have to be pretty confident that those guys will be big time contributors soon or that in the long term they will be great players in order to justify harming the team this year to keep them.

[FecesOfDeath]

Keep an eye on Kevin Knox. An athletic big SF with a three point shot and decent handles for his position. I actually think his skillset would be a great fit for this roster, if he can pick up the system. Thibs doesn't play him at all, which means he should be a buy low candidate.

[DxC17]

Keep an eye on Kevin Knox. An athletic big SF with a three point shot and decent handles for his position. I actually think his skillset would be a great fit for this roster, if he can pick up the system. Thibs doesn't play him at all, which means he should be a buy low candidate.

No thanks. Career 36.9% FG shooter with no strong skill of any kind on the court. Athletic but can’t play D. Knox started his career off bad & somehow kept getting worse. He is not a NBA caliber player IMO, and is lucky to be on the Knicks roster.

[NecessaryEvil]

Keep an eye on Kevin Knox. An athletic big SF with a three point shot and decent handles for his position. I actually think his skillset would be a great fit for this roster, if he can pick up the system. Thibs doesn't play him at all, which means he should be a buy low candidate.

If Thibs won't play you, you're trash.

[Butler4thewin]

I’m all for going all in but if Lavine doesn’t show he’s the man in big games we atleast know to trade him after a sign

[Michael Jackson]

You're probably right but idk of NY who are decent and available. Jerani Grant is a pipe dream. It would've been great if we got involved in the lalers-wizards trade and ended up with Kuzma, but that's not happening at this point. Maybe Avdija. Or if we somehow steal Ben Simmons.

IMO, one of two things happens:
- The team struggles from here on out and they decide to hold on to their assets
- The team plays really well and they cash in more assets in an attempt to go for it

I think that Pat + Coby + expiring + Portland pick could get you a reasonably good PF. The question is if Chicago is willing to pay the tax for it next year once Lavine's extension kicks in.

The guy I really want is Jonathan Isaac if he's healthy. He's exactly what you said earlier, a tall SF who plays PF. Can guard well at pretty much all positions, excellent shot blocker. Not there offensively but on this team that wouldn't matter very y much in my opinion. He'd change everything for us defensively

Yeah but I don’t think Orlando wants to move him. He is one of the guys they stuck with when cleaning house.

[Hangtime84]

The guy I really want is Jonathan Isaac if he's healthy. He's exactly what you said earlier, a tall SF who plays PF. Can guard well at pretty much all positions, excellent shot blocker. Not there offensively but on this team that wouldn't matter very y much in my opinion. He'd change everything for us defensively

Team No Vaccine i'm good and i like him a lot has a player. Vuc could be asked about him.

[CaPiTanAK]

I think the Magic is a seller on Mohamed Bamba. I think a 2 second rounders might do it or a conditional first might do it.

[Lunartic]

Mo Bamba would be a ideal. Isaac would be great too. The Bulls will not thrive in the playoffs if they cannot rebound.

[Grodoboldo]

Mo Bamba would be a ideal. Isaac would be great too. The Bulls will not thrive in the playoffs if they cannot rebound.

I'd love both of them on them here, but given Orlando's rebuilg status, I don't see them giving them up easily.

Bamba is probably attainable, as he'll be a RFA and they already extended MCJ, but we'd have to give something up. Also, we'll be in the tax next year, so we'd probably need to have aligned an acceptable value for his extension in the offseason.

[Grodoboldo]

Read on Twitter

@ShamsCharania: Sources: Phoenix is declining center Jalen Smith’s third-year rookie option ($4.7M), making him an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 9.5 points and 8 rebounds in four preseason games after posting 16.25 PPG/12.5 RPG in summer league.

I know the thread is about this year in particular, but I'd take a flyer on him next season at the minimum or in a two-way contract. He was supposed to be a small ball center who could provide weak-side rim protection and shooting.

[2weekswithpay]

Read on Twitter

@ShamsCharania: Sources: Phoenix is declining center Jalen Smith’s third-year rookie option ($4.7M), making him an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 9.5 points and 8 rebounds in four preseason games after posting 16.25 PPG/12.5 RPG in summer league.

I know the thread is about this year in particular, but I'd take a flyer on him next season at the minimum or in a two-way contract. He was supposed to be a small ball center who could provide weak-side rim protection and shooting.

Kinda worrying that they're giving up on him after 1 season. Does he suck in practice or is this a way to avoid the tax?

[MGB8]

Read on Twitter

@ShamsCharania: Sources: Phoenix is declining center Jalen Smith’s third-year rookie option ($4.7M), making him an unrestricted free agent in 2022. The 6-foot-10 big man averaged 9.5 points and 8 rebounds in four preseason games after posting 16.25 PPG/12.5 RPG in summer league.

I know the thread is about this year in particular, but I'd take a flyer on him next season at the minimum or in a two-way contract. He was supposed to be a small ball center who could provide weak-side rim protection and shooting.

Kinda worrying that they're giving up on him after 1 season. Does he suck in practice or is this a way to avoid the tax?

Very possibly both - but he's young.