Way too early NBA draft thread 2021

[Repeat 3-peat]

Cade Cunningham helps lead Oklahoma State over Baylor

[Dan Z]

I mean there are tons of players drafted after White who are better than White, so I'm a bit taken aback by the question.

Ehh... He's outperforming Culver and Jaxson Hayes who were drafted ahead of him. After him, Tyler Herro is absolutely a miss on our part. I like Clarke better and Keldon Johnson is doing better as well. After those three, guys like PJ Washington, Rui, and Bazely are all fairly close to White. I'd like to see how they are all doing in year three before deciding where Coby ranks, but it's certainlly not feeling like a Kittles over Bryant type of situation.

I'd take Hayes over White.

Clarke was the obvious miss. And that was obvious on draft night.

Is Clarke really that good? He's 24 years old and it looks like his stats have gone down a little (while his minutes went up). I'll admit though that I haven't watched him much this year.

Keldon Johnson was 29th pick. Most teams missed on him.

Tyler Herro is good, but how much better is he than Coby? He's a year older, shoots worse from three, scores about the same, rebounds the same, and has less assists. However I don't watch him close enough to really know.

I haven't watched Bazely. Are you basing that on how you think he projects down the road? He's a big shooting under 40%, but like Coby he's also 20 years old (I know Coby just turned 21 in February. Bazely turns 21 in June).

I like Rui and Washington, but I don't have an issue with the Bulls picking Coby over them.

Hayes still seems to be a raw prospect.

[Jcool0]

Read on Twitter

[Kukoc-Lauri]

Ariel Hupkorti in second round is my pick. Imagine Felicio in peak condition, who can ran is huge and dont made all stupid plays all the time. Hupkorti is center we wished Felicio would became, Garuba is small ball center we wished Carter would turn out to be, Cristopher is better version of White, Bouknight is young Zach, Moody is healthy Porter, Jackson is better Gafford, Giddey is young Sato, Wagner is kinda Laurish with handles.

[coldfish]

The Bulls right now have the 10th worst record. They have an 11.4% chance of a top 4 pick. They are 1 game in the win column from having the 6th worst. That would give them a 37% chance of a top 4 pick.

I have been strongly against a soft tank but man, this team looks like it is going nowhere. If you trade Lavine, the Bulls are likely years away from thinking about the playoffs. Another 3-4 years of pain. If you let him walk, it might even be worse because you would be starting from scratch with even worse draft picks. AK is walking a very thin line right now.

[DuckIII]

The Bulls right now have the 10th worst record. They have an 11.4% chance of a top 4 pick. They are 1 game in the win column from having the 6th worst. That would give them a 37% chance of a top 4 pick.

I have been strongly against a soft tank but man, this team looks like it is going nowhere. If you trade Lavine, the Bulls are likely years away from thinking about the playoffs. Another 3-4 years of pain. If you let him walk, it might even be worse because you would be starting from scratch with even worse draft picks. AK is walking a very thin line right now.

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

[coldfish]

The Bulls right now have the 10th worst record. They have an 11.4% chance of a top 4 pick. They are 1 game in the win column from having the 6th worst. That would give them a 37% chance of a top 4 pick.

I have been strongly against a soft tank but man, this team looks like it is going nowhere. If you trade Lavine, the Bulls are likely years away from thinking about the playoffs. Another 3-4 years of pain. If you let him walk, it might even be worse because you would be starting from scratch with even worse draft picks. AK is walking a very thin line right now.

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

[DuckIII]

The Bulls right now have the 10th worst record. They have an 11.4% chance of a top 4 pick. They are 1 game in the win column from having the 6th worst. That would give them a 37% chance of a top 4 pick.

I have been strongly against a soft tank but man, this team looks like it is going nowhere. If you trade Lavine, the Bulls are likely years away from thinking about the playoffs. Another 3-4 years of pain. If you let him walk, it might even be worse because you would be starting from scratch with even worse draft picks. AK is walking a very thin line right now.

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

Our roster does not suck. It’s just not good enough. We don’t have to gut the team, bottom out, and risk seeing Zach walk because of it.

We are fortunate so many teams are grouped so tightly. We can increase our own draft stock and obtain additional assets, without gutting the team, and still quickly turn around a sustainable post season run behind Lavine, an improving Williams, free agency and the rest of the remaining roster.

To me this is the clear path forward given our current roster, the tight gap between teams, and the strength of this draft.

[DuckIII]

Read on Twitter

The funny thing is those are basically his per game averages. Stud.

[Almost Retired]

Ariel Hupkorti in second round is my pick. Imagine Felicio in peak condition, who can ran is huge and dont made all stupid plays all the time. Hupkorti is center we wished Felicio would became, Garuba is small ball center we wished Carter would turn out to be, Cristopher is better version of White, Bouknight is young Zach, Moody is healthy Porter, Jackson is better Gafford, Giddey is young Sato, Wagner is kinda Laurish with handles.

Agree that Hukporti would be a great 2nd Round choice if he's still available. But realistically the Bulls would need to have him play a year in Europe before bringing him over. He needs to develop against stronger competition. Or would he do a year of G-League? He does have great long term potential. But he's 18 years old. He's not going to help us next year. I'd also like to pick up Isaiah Todd or Benedict Mathurin if either was available. Which is why I'd sure like to see AK pull off some type of deal with the Pelicans. Get Kira Lewis or Lonzo and one of the 3 high second round picks the Pels have. They have 3 picks higher up in the 2nd round than ours projects to be. And this draft class is deep. We have a lot of expendable marginal talent on this team we could throw overboard, the question is are there any takers? Likely not. In a dream world we'd send then Wendell and get back Lonzo and a 2nd. Could Wendell play the 4 for the Pelicans with Adams at Center and Zion playing the "3". I'd hate to give up Lauri. But Wendell is not a Center in this league. We need to move on from him and he could use the change of scenery as well.

[DuckIII]

Ayo looking great out there.

If the refs let Kofi bang down low and he doesn’t get in foul trouble and their other guards are draining their shots, which they’re more than capable of, this Illini team is almost unstoppable. Really are one of the teams that could win it all, so well rounded.

Illinois has “the formula” for a deep tourney run. Outstanding guard play, excellent three point shooting from multiple threats, a 9 deep bench with almost no fall off, multiple iso options, and two strong post options if the perimeter has an off night.

I used to have Gonzaga and Baylor a tier above everyone else. But no one is clicking like Illinois right now. They’ve won 12 of their last 13, 5 were against ranked teams and 3 against top 10 teams.

It only takes one loss obviously, but no one wants to play Illinois right now. They are still getting better every week.

[othawhitemeat]

Read on Twitter

The funny thing is those are basically his per game averages. Stud.

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

Our roster does not suck. It’s just not good enough. We don’t have to gut the team, bottom out, and risk seeing Zach walk because of it.

We are fortunate so many teams are grouped so tightly. We can increase our own draft stock and obtain additional assets, without gutting the team, and still quickly turn around a sustainable post season run behind Lavine, an improving Williams, free agency and the rest of the remaining roster.

To me this is the clear path forward given our current roster, the tight gap between teams, and the strength of this draft.

Im going to agree w Duck but also emphasize free agency. We most likely wont get a stud but can get a very productive player or two with our cap space along with an good pick in a good draft. If there is a year to do it why not do this during a shortened NBA season. There are options such as Drummond and John Collins, risks in players such as Oladipo, player ls that are still good but aging in Derozen and Lowry. I mean if we can either get a center that can defend or a point guard that can be just average we are a playoff team.

With the combo of Lavine, cap space, and a high draft pick in one year? We have a unique chance to go from mediocre to pretty good in a short time. Just have to have a little luck and start a small mini tank for another month or so.

[Almost Retired]

Read on Twitter

The funny thing is those are basically his per game averages. Stud.

Thinner college age Dwayne Wade. Stats back that up. Can't wait to watch the Iowa v Illini game later today. Maybe the tough schedule will give us enough losses where we'll be in a draft position to take this kid. I think he starts for us Year One next to Zach, or at the very least leads the second unit with Coby as the SG. Ayo has a complete package. Maybe not elite at one thing, but highly skilled and versatile with his whole game. And he's consistent. Face mask or no face mask. Ice water in his veins too.

[Almost Retired]

Ayo looking great out there.

If the refs let Kofi bang down low and he doesn’t get in foul trouble and their other guards are draining their shots, which they’re more than capable of, this Illini team is almost unstoppable. Really are one of the teams that could win it all, so well rounded.

Do a soft tank and get rid of Carter and/or Thad. Try to pick up a low First and a couple high second rounders. Draft Ayo and Kofi to add immediately. Also draft Hukporti and Isiaih Todd for the future. Stash Hukporti in Europe for a year or two. Add Todd to the bench as a long, fluid developmental SF.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

The Bulls right now have the 10th worst record. They have an 11.4% chance of a top 4 pick. They are 1 game in the win column from having the 6th worst. That would give them a 37% chance of a top 4 pick.

I have been strongly against a soft tank but man, this team looks like it is going nowhere. If you trade Lavine, the Bulls are likely years away from thinking about the playoffs. Another 3-4 years of pain. If you let him walk, it might even be worse because you would be starting from scratch with even worse draft picks. AK is walking a very thin line right now.

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

The optimistic take:

This team has 8 players whose contracts expire at the end of the year, if you let Thad and Sato out of their contracts.

The largest contracts on the team in the offseason is Lavine at 19 million, and after him is Pat at 7 million!

There is an incredible amount of flexibility for AK to mold this team however he wants. I’m guessing this flexibility was a big plus to the Bulls job, and we are seeing this year being used pretty strictly as an evaluation year.

There are no top tier free agents, but the Bulls were never going to get one of those anyways. They need to try and do what Detroit did, overpay on a guy you really like and hope he breaks out, like Grant. Get one or two of those players, add another high pick and another year of improvement for Pat, and this team could look completely different next year. Billy and Zach will hopefully be more appealing to free agents in the offseason.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

Our roster does not suck. It’s just not good enough. We don’t have to gut the team, bottom out, and risk seeing Zach walk because of it.

We are fortunate so many teams are grouped so tightly. We can increase our own draft stock and obtain additional assets, without gutting the team, and still quickly turn around a sustainable post season run behind Lavine, an improving Williams, free agency and the rest of the remaining roster.

To me this is the clear path forward given our current roster, the tight gap between teams, and the strength of this draft.

Trade Thad. That’s it.

If we did nothing else, we’d come away with an extra pick or two and an improved Bulls 2021 1st.

Selling Zach on that is the FO’s job. If he throws himself on the tracks and says absolutely not, ok, fine that’s different. But short of that, you make the obvious move and work on making it right with him.

[coldfish]

You can’t trade this 25 year old version of Lavine.

But what you can (in my opinion should) do is look to trade others to get extra 2021 draft assets. This season means so much less than that.

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

The optimistic take:

This team has 8 players whose contracts expire at the end of the year, if you let Thad and Sato out of their contracts.

The largest contracts on the team in the offseason is Lavine at 19 million, and after him is Pat at 7 million!

There is an incredible amount of flexibility for AK to mold this team however he wants. I’m guessing this flexibility was a big plus to the Bulls job, and we are seeing this year being used pretty strictly as an evaluation year.

There are no top tier free agents, but the Bulls were never going to get one of those anyways. They need to try and do what Detroit did, overpay on a guy you really like and hope he breaks out, like Grant. Get one or two of those players, add another high pick and another year of improvement for Pat, and this team could look completely different next year. Billy and Zach will hopefully be more appealing to free agents in the offseason.

The big problem is that Sato and Thad are two of the team's best players and the free agent market is awful. If you dump those guys and go into free agency, you probably end up with worse players.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/

That list is really, really terrible. Not only do you have few top players, the next group up sucks too and is going to get paid a fortune.

[coldfish]

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

Our roster does not suck. It’s just not good enough. We don’t have to gut the team, bottom out, and risk seeing Zach walk because of it.

We are fortunate so many teams are grouped so tightly. We can increase our own draft stock and obtain additional assets, without gutting the team, and still quickly turn around a sustainable post season run behind Lavine, an improving Williams, free agency and the rest of the remaining roster.

To me this is the clear path forward given our current roster, the tight gap between teams, and the strength of this draft.

Trade Thad. That’s it.

If we did nothing else, we’d come away with an extra pick or two and an improved Bulls 2021 1st.

Selling Zach on that is the FO’s job. If he throws himself on the tracks and says absolutely not, ok, fine that’s different. But short of that, you make the obvious move and work on making it right with him.

Let's be realistic. Zach has publicly said "Thad has been the team's MVP". Outside of himself, he isn't wrong. Dumping Thad just so you can draft the next Patrick Williams (who Zach knows sucks just as much as we do) is a clear sign the team has no interest in winning any time soon. AK can use whatever words he wants but if he dumps Thad, his actions are telling Zach to GTFO in 2022.

Its a very, very thin line here. For whatever reason, people are making these suggestions based on the assumption that Zach is an idiot or that he has infinite patience to waste his career on a lottery team. On July 1 2022, Zach has absolutely no tie to the Chicago Bulls other than being able to offer him a contract that goes 5 years instead of 4, which most top playing 26 year olds don't care about.

[DuckIII]

Read on Twitter

The funny thing is those are basically his per game averages. Stud.

Thinner college age Dwayne Wade. Stats back that up. Can't wait to watch the Iowa v Illini game later today. Maybe the tough schedule will give us enough losses where we'll be in a draft position to take this kid. I think he starts for us Year One next to Zach, or at the very least leads the second unit with Coby as the SG. Ayo has a complete package. Maybe not elite at one thing, but highly skilled and versatile with his whole game. And he's consistent. Face mask or no face mask. Ice water in his veins too.

I definitely think he’s a great fit for the Bulls and have stated numerous times in this thread that I think his career will exceed his draft position. He’s going to succeed.

That said, he doesn’t have Dwayne Wade’s explosiveness at all. An explosiveness that was already apparent in college.

I don’t expect Ayo to be a star in the NBA. But I do expect him to be a damn good starter who plays a winning brand of basketball.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

I tend to agree that any scenario where the team doesn't have Lavine is going to result in years of pain. The problem I have is that he could leave. People are really underselling this possibility. He is getting techs left and right and is noticeably pissed. Beyond that, time moves quickly. If the Bulls wait 3 years for draft picks to develop, Lavine is going to be 28 and will have a short window even if you do keep him.

I really have no suggestions. If the Bulls go the draft route to build around Lavine, they better get players who are ready to contribute very quickly. 4 year projects aren't going to cut it. The trade market looks to be totally dead. Free agency too.

What I will say is that I'm not too enamored with Coby, Pat, Wendell and Lauri. These guys aren't showing much. As many people have pointed out to me, when the Bulls win its usually Lavine plus the vets doing the work.

The optimistic take:

This team has 8 players whose contracts expire at the end of the year, if you let Thad and Sato out of their contracts.

The largest contracts on the team in the offseason is Lavine at 19 million, and after him is Pat at 7 million!

There is an incredible amount of flexibility for AK to mold this team however he wants. I’m guessing this flexibility was a big plus to the Bulls job, and we are seeing this year being used pretty strictly as an evaluation year.

There are no top tier free agents, but the Bulls were never going to get one of those anyways. They need to try and do what Detroit did, overpay on a guy you really like and hope he breaks out, like Grant. Get one or two of those players, add another high pick and another year of improvement for Pat, and this team could look completely different next year. Billy and Zach will hopefully be more appealing to free agents in the offseason.

The big problem is that Sato and Thad are two of the team's best players and the free agent market is awful. If you dump those guys and go into free agency, you probably end up with worse players.

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/

That list is really, really terrible. Not only do you have few top players, the next group up sucks too and is going to get paid a fortune.

We probably have different opinions on how terrible it is. I don’t think it’s good, but I think there are a some good second tier guys. I’m throwing 20+ million at Collins and Allen at midnight. After that, Trent/THT/Ball/Duncan/Graham/Hart are some breakout candidates.

But that’s also why a high draft pick is something I’ve been advocating for. Things look a lot better next year if you can add Cade or Suggs or Green or Mobley to this team. I know the percentages are low, but the percentages are low for every route to success.