Options to fix the PF hole

[sco]

Whoever we get at the four/backup five has to be able to guard Giannis or there's not a lot of point in upgrading because otherwise the Caruso (when facing perimeter heavy teams) or DJJ (when facing Durant) as the fifth guy lineups are going to be the better, more frequently utilized groups anyway.

I wish the Grizzlies weren't so good and still in biding time mode because a podcast I listen to suggested Kyle Anderson and he'd be about perfect. There's just not a lot of the old man strength guys like PJ Tucker, James Johnson or even Blake Griffin who are on bad teams and we can't get Thad back under most circumstances.

Anybody else got any other ideas?

You make a couple key points!

Totally agree that our primary focus should be getting a guy who is an defensive upgrade at guarding the big, offensively dominant PF's of the game (ie Durant, Giannis, etc.) to make them slightly less efficient than average. It's not to necessarily add another capable scorer, necessarily; however, whoever we are talking about needs to be enough of an offensive threat not cheat off of. More on the scoring point, IMO, adding another high-utilization scorer to the starting mix is likely to be more damaging than helpful. I like that Ball (pre-covid) had been ramping up his scoring, and bumping him down the ladder is a bad thing for chemistry. The only scoring consideration is that if we include Coby, we'd need to find a replacement bench scorer (either directly but doesn't need to be at guard spot or through shifting starter minutes).

I also agree that the right sort of guy to target are the over 30 guys who still have gas in the tank, but aren't looking to be high minute, high utilization guys. The good teams know that, that's why BKN, went out and got a ton of them during the offseason. Guys who I'm focused on at PF are guys like Taj (if Knicks fall out of playoff contention - unlikely) or Covington. Kleber may fit that mold too.

[prolific passer]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

[drosestruts]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

I mean - everyone should be worried about the Nets. Kevin Durant alone scares me. Kevin Durant alone almost took the Nets to the Finals last year.

[sco]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

I mean - everyone should be worried about the Nets. Kevin Durant alone scares me. Kevin Durant alone almost took the Nets to the Finals last year.

Yeah, they're doing well without Kyrie. If he comes back, even for road games, that's a tough team to beat. They might try to lose home court advantage?

[micromonkey]

I gotta trust in AKME at this point. I was not initially a fan of some of the moves we made offseason but have been proven utterly and completely wrong (the DDR crow tastes delicious and even gets better as the season goes along by the way). So I got to think they likely make the right move or not if it isn't a win cost/benefit wise....I'd say Grant/Sabonis or maybe Covington/Barnes but WTF do I know .

[NecessaryEvil]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

Regular season wins don't mean anything. KD & Kyrie both have title experience and Harden has finals experience. Not to mention, as a trio they're pretty unreal.

You should be worried about them.

[Bulls2021]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

I mean - everyone should be worried about the Nets. Kevin Durant alone scares me. Kevin Durant alone almost took the Nets to the Finals last year.

We've been looking for solutions in all the wrong places. I've figured out who we need if we really want to stop Durant.

[petebraun0]

with all the 10 days going around, some big is going to prove himself to be okay, but still get cut.
let's pick up a top pf that looks great while covering for a covid player. Some big somewhere is going to prove himself as a
legitimate NBA player.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

[prolific passer]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

I'm surprised the bulls arent playing Bell more. Just have him go out and defend and rebound.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

I'm surprised the bulls arent playing Bell more. Just have him go out and defend and rebound.

Maybe needs more time in practice. He seems like a guy that can help out in spots.

[drosestruts]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

I'm surprised the bulls arent playing Bell more. Just have him go out and defend and rebound.

I'm not, considering he sucks at both defending and rebounding.

Guys don't do that thing where we fall in love with the shiny new object. I know we have a history with Jordan Bell, but he's not good. Let's not do this.

[GoBlue72391]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

This sounds scarily similar to the "I'm not worried about the Heat, we swept them in the regular season" line from a decade ago.

Sure, they have a 7 foot SF playing PF, and KD has never been a big, strong, physical player. That's all true, but to counteract that we have a 6'4" SG and a 6'5" SF playing PF so...

He's Kevin Durant. I am worried about Kevin Durant and so should you. They also have Harden and maybe Kyrie. They are not to be taken lightly to any extent.

[GoBlue72391]

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

I'm surprised the bulls arent playing Bell more. Just have him go out and defend and rebound.

Maybe needs more time in practice. He seems like a guy that can help out in spots.

I think Bell is more of an undersized C nowadays than a guy who can defend the modern PFs out on the perimeter which are mostly SFs playing down a position.

[GoBlue72391]

Look I understand we beat them but the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season. Adjustments get made on a game by game basis. We should be worried yet still confident. Durant may be a 3 playing the 4 but he is not the size of a typical 3. Need a guy with size who can stay with Durant and Giannis. DJJ might be our best bet but we need a plan B. Also doesn't hurt to get some depth with this type of player with injuries/covid.

Not too worried about bodying up true PF's, just someone who can come in and guard both inside and out and rebound. Not too much to ask right. Doesn't even need to be a starter. Just another guy BD can plug in as needed.

I'm surprised the bulls arent playing Bell more. Just have him go out and defend and rebound.

I'm not, considering he sucks at both defending and rebounding.

Guys don't do that thing where we fall in love with the shiny new object. I know we have a history with Jordan Bell, but he's not good. Let's not do this.

I mean, he averages 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and a surprising 4 assists per 36 over his career as an undersized 6'8" C. That's pretty good, I would say. As an overall player he's probably not good (otherwise he would have been on a roster already), but he's clearly an above-average rebounder and defender if nothing else. I just doubt his ability to guard to the perimeter.

[sdeezy]

I'm not really worried about the nets as the bulls beat them this season. They are pretty much a small ball team as Durant is a 3 playing the 4. All be it he is 6'10" but not like a strong 6'10" like Giannis. Need a guy who can body up the true power forwards of the game.

This is a wild thing to say, considering Kevin Durant came within a big toe of single handedly dragging the Nets to the Finals. That dude can absolutely beat you by himself if you dont have enough defenders to constantly bother him

[Portiseyes]

Not sure who the Bulls should go after for back-up PF, but I don't nec see it making sense to trade anyone from our rotation right now, esp with Pat coming back for the playoffs and possible buy-out options. Not going to cry in my cherios if Bulls trade the Portland pick, but then again I sort of have some level of confidence for Blazers to right the ship enough to at least make the play-in, and then I'll put my money on dame... so it's a coin flip, but could be a very valuable frp just outside the lottery. Maybe combined with our pick we can snag a player at the back end of the lottery?

For our starting PF I really think AKME should target Derrick Jones Jr. from Portland. He's a pesky defender when locked-in and I think he might have enough length and speed to at least bother Giannis and Durant, and be pretty switchable in the team concept. If we can find a solid back-up PF for the time being, I won't even be bothered if he fouls at a more than ideal rate. He's shooting on fairly low volume this year, but his 60/40/83 splits look absolutely fantastic and I don't really think this team needs a lot of volume out of the power forward. What excites me the most about DJJ is the possibility of him and Ball really developing a connection! Could basically be an automatic 3-4 assists / night for Lonzo, with DJJ running constant back door cuts and posting up at the corner 3. Maybe I'm just a dreamer and there's no way we can get him from Portland the way he's playing this year.

Oddly, the only thing I'm worried about is whether Billy will actually start him and give him the minimum 25 minutes a night he'll need to develop chemistry w/ the starting unit and be ready for the playoffs. I know it's sort of a nonsensical concern, like there's some past beef or something and Billy would let his emotions get in the way of sound basketball decisions, but I just can't shake this bizarro worry.

[nomorezorro]

i think billy would smartly recognize that the center position would allow djj to do more stuff around the rim as compared to the perimeter-oriented pf position in his offense

[Portiseyes]

I could see Billy trying DJJ out at the 5... he's proven that he does love to experiment with lilliputian line-ups, especially with the bulls short on front-court players. But then I think someone on the coaching staff would talk him out of this fever dream because DJJ is not a 5 for all the obvious reasons, beyond like 6 or 7 min a game to push pace and transition, and we are looking for Options to fix the PF hole.

And it's not like we want DJJ posting up or generally playing Vuc's role in our offense. We want him cutting, posting for corner 3's and crashing the boards. We want him and Lonzo swarming on D. And if he's not getting enough defensive attention at the perimeter he can keep splashing 3's at 40% for all I care... I mean rumor had it that he was really working on his 3 over the summer and he's only 24, so why not see if he can keep his %'s up with some more minutes and a little more usage. Seems rational.

I'd rather target a back-up PF (which is a huge immediate need with both Pat and Green out), let DJJ settle into the starting role that I think he's at least earned a real shot at, and maybe look at flipping TBJ (or Bradley) for Olynyk.

[HoopsterJones]

Not sure who the Bulls should go after for back-up PF, but I don't nec see it making sense to trade anyone from our rotation right now, esp with Pat coming back for the playoffs and possible buy-out options. Not going to cry in my cherios if Bulls trade the Portland pick, but then again I sort of have some level of confidence for Blazers to right the ship enough to at least make the play-in, and then I'll put my money on dame... so it's a coin flip, but could be a very valuable frp just outside the lottery. Maybe combined with our pick we can snag a player at the back end of the lottery?

For our starting PF I really think AKME should target Derrick Jones Jr. from Portland. He's a pesky defender when locked-in and I think he might have enough length and speed to at least bother Giannis and Durant, and be pretty switchable in the team concept. If we can find a solid back-up PF for the time being, I won't even be bothered if he fouls at a more than ideal rate. He's shooting on fairly low volume this year, but his 60/40/83 splits look absolutely fantastic and I don't really think this team needs a lot of volume out of the power forward. What excites me the most about DJJ is the possibility of him and Ball really developing a connection! Could basically be an automatic 3-4 assists / night for Lonzo, with DJJ running constant back door cuts and posting up at the corner 3. Maybe I'm just a dreamer and there's no way we can get him from Portland the way he's playing this year.

Oddly, the only thing I'm worried about is whether Billy will actually start him and give him the minimum 25 minutes a night he'll need to develop chemistry w/ the starting unit and be ready for the playoffs. I know it's sort of a nonsensical concern, like there's some past beef or something and Billy would let his emotions get in the way of sound basketball decisions, but I just can't shake this bizarro worry.

The Bulls already have Derrick Jones JR on the roster. He was acquired in the Lauri sign and trade with Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr going to POR, and Derrick Jones JR and a lottery protected FRP going to CHI.