The Chicago Bulls Are Stuck in NBA Hell

[theanimal23]

Watch on YouTube

[Red8911]

F that guy

[League Circles]

Didn't know Bill Simons was still a thing.

NBA hell is a figment of the imagination of desperate "writers".

We have what, like half the cap committed to after next season? Yeah, totally "stuck" lol.

But, but, but we don't have "future assets" to improve with!

(Looks around at great players selected with picks anyone could have in Jokic, Butler, Giannis, Kawhi, etc)

[Jcool0]

Didn't know Bill Simons was still a thing.

NBA hell is a figment of the imagination of desperate "writers".

We have what, like half the cap committed to after next season? Yeah, totally "stuck" lol.

But, but, but we don't have "future assets" to improve with!

(Looks around at great players selected with picks anyone could have in Jokic, Butler, Giannis, Kawhi, etc)

He still has one of the most popular sports podcasts.

[ChettheJet]

Is this the guy where there's a thread on the trade board the week of the draft saying someone he trusted told him that Zion would not be a Pelican by Thursday (draft day)? Popular doesn't equal quality. citing the Jerry Springer show

[League Circles]

Didn't know Bill Simons was still a thing.

NBA hell is a figment of the imagination of desperate "writers".

We have what, like half the cap committed to after next season? Yeah, totally "stuck" lol.

But, but, but we don't have "future assets" to improve with!

(Looks around at great players selected with picks anyone could have in Jokic, Butler, Giannis, Kawhi, etc)

He still has one of the most popular sports podcasts.

That's a great accomplishment for someone so unlikable.

[Am2626]

Didn't know Bill Simons was still a thing.

NBA hell is a figment of the imagination of desperate "writers".

We have what, like half the cap committed to after next season? Yeah, totally "stuck" lol.

But, but, but we don't have "future assets" to improve with!

(Looks around at great players selected with picks anyone could have in Jokic, Butler, Giannis, Kawhi, etc)

There is one reason and only one reason why the Bulls are in NBA Hell and at best mediocrity. That is Bulls Ownership. Look at a team like the Suns that had a garbage owner for all these years and now with an ownership change and an Owner that actually prioritizes winning above profits, the Suns have built a superteam and will probably be the favorites to win it all next year.

[drosestruts]

Didn't know Bill Simons was still a thing.

NBA hell is a figment of the imagination of desperate "writers".

We have what, like half the cap committed to after next season? Yeah, totally "stuck" lol.

But, but, but we don't have "future assets" to improve with!

(Looks around at great players selected with picks anyone could have in Jokic, Butler, Giannis, Kawhi, etc)

There is one reason and only one reason why the Bulls are in NBA Hell and at best mediocrity. That is Bulls Ownership. Look at a team like the Suns that had a garbage owner for all these years and now with an ownership change and an Owner that actually prioritizes winning above profits, the Suns have built a superteam and will probably be the favorites to win it all next year.

Suns probably don't make it past the 2nd round

[drosestruts]

Some short memories Bulls fans. Are you already longing for the days of winning 22 games like 2017 - 2020.

I'll never understand why other teams' young players have unlimited untapped potential, but our young players are what they are.

I see people on this board clamoring for Jalen Suggs or RJ Hampton, then in the next breath dismissing Patrick Williams, Dalen Terry, or even Julian Phillips before he's every stepped foot on an NBA court.

Debbie-downers through and through. Seems to be a Chicago sports fan thing in general, not limited to just the Bulls.

[cubd8]

That's pretty accurate. Bulls are stuck in mediocrity.
What's their upside (currently)? Probably making the playoffs as a non-play in team and getting a quick exit?
What's their downside (currently)? Seeing Vuc and Demar decline, injuries continue to be an issue and the same issues (shooting, lack of athleticism, etc.) aren't solved puts them in the bottom 10 in the league.
What's realistic (currently)? Probably more of the same. Some nice wins, but same holes continue to exist, they probably are somewhere between 7 and 13 most of the season.

Really, they need to move DeMar, try to get 1-2 players who can fill roles and change the current shape of the team. I don't think the team really changes their trajectory, but we do know the current roster is not likely to improve even if they add a player or two from the free agency pool.

[MrSparkle]

TBF, 25 NBA teams are stuck in NBA hell. Just wait until Lebron, Kawhi, Durant and Jimmy can’t play all-star basketball anymore (or any, depending on injuries/age). What’s Milwaukee doing with no picks and an aging/injured/overpaid Khris and Jrue?

I thought Denver was in a predicament with Jamal’s ACL, Porter’s back… and look, they won a ring.

Anyway, NBA hot takes are stupid. The thing about basketball, is you are always/literally 1 very good player from being very good... and 1 injury away from being potentially decimated. Clippers and Nets should’ve met in the finals back-to-back 3x and exchanged rings. Instead, they’ve struggled to make it to the first round.

I agree that the Bulls don’t have a winning core right now, besides Caruso and Demar. And some fluff pieces about their 2nd rd/undrafted pickups aren’t going to change the fact that we have a mediocre roster. But they should get another 2 years to see what happens with their development.

If after 5 years, the roster has nothing to show, then it’s fair to both sides to move on. But 5y in GM time is standard fare to go through some ups and downs.

[TheSuzerain]

TBF, 25 NBA teams are stuck in NBA hell. Just wait until Lebron, Kawhi, Durant and Jimmy can’t play all-star basketball anymore (or any, depending on injuries/age). What’s Milwaukee doing with no picks and an aging/injured/overpaid Khris and Jrue?

I thought Denver was in a predicament with Jamal’s ACL, Porter’s back… and look, they won a ring.

Anyway, NBA hot takes are stupid. The thing about basketball, is you are always literally 1 very good player… from being very good. 1 injury away from being potentially decimated. Clippers and Nets should’ve ran it back 3x and exchanged rings. Instead, they’ve struggled to make it to the first round.

This said, I agree that the Bulls don’t have a winning core right now, besides Caruso and Demar.

No. Most teams are in NBA purgatory.

We are in hell.

[MAQ]

This current roster feels limited but overall, feels like the organization has options.

We may remain stuck because the folks calling the shots haven't will continue to make bad ones...but the flexibility is there.

[MrSparkle]

TBF, 25 NBA teams are stuck in NBA hell. Just wait until Lebron, Kawhi, Durant and Jimmy can’t play all-star basketball anymore (or any, depending on injuries/age). What’s Milwaukee doing with no picks and an aging/injured/overpaid Khris and Jrue?

I thought Denver was in a predicament with Jamal’s ACL, Porter’s back… and look, they won a ring.

Anyway, NBA hot takes are stupid. The thing about basketball, is you are always literally 1 very good player… from being very good. 1 injury away from being potentially decimated. Clippers and Nets should’ve ran it back 3x and exchanged rings. Instead, they’ve struggled to make it to the first round.

This said, I agree that the Bulls don’t have a winning core right now, besides Caruso and Demar.

No. Most teams are in NBA purgatory.

We are in hell.

Thanks for the clarification.

For a while I thought that NBA purgatory “was” hell.

[TheSuzerain]

TBF, 25 NBA teams are stuck in NBA hell. Just wait until Lebron, Kawhi, Durant and Jimmy can’t play all-star basketball anymore (or any, depending on injuries/age). What’s Milwaukee doing with no picks and an aging/injured/overpaid Khris and Jrue?

I thought Denver was in a predicament with Jamal’s ACL, Porter’s back… and look, they won a ring.

Anyway, NBA hot takes are stupid. The thing about basketball, is you are always literally 1 very good player… from being very good. 1 injury away from being potentially decimated. Clippers and Nets should’ve ran it back 3x and exchanged rings. Instead, they’ve struggled to make it to the first round.

This said, I agree that the Bulls don’t have a winning core right now, besides Caruso and Demar.

No. Most teams are in NBA purgatory.

We are in hell.

Thanks for the clarification.

For a while I thought that NBA purgatory “was” hell.

Me too.

But then we replaced GarPax with Arturas who is setting a new standard for incompetence.

[stepic]

The thing about basketball, is you are always/literally 1 very good player from being very good... and 1 injury away from being potentially decimated.

Bulls don't have that very good player though, and given we're slightly too good to get one via draft (unless fluking into one like Denver did with the Joker), there doesn't seem to be a way of getting one. relying on a very very lucky draft or a very lopsided trade isn't particularly great planning to win a title. so yeah, i'd say we're in hell.

[MrSparkle]

The thing about basketball, is you are always/literally 1 very good player from being very good... and 1 injury away from being potentially decimated.

Bulls don't have that very good player though, and given we're slightly too good to get one via draft (unless fluking into one like Denver did with the Joker), there doesn't seem to be a way of getting one. relying on a very very lucky draft or a very lopsided trade isn't particularly great planning to win a title. so yeah, i'd say we're in hell.

Teams that got very good players without a lopsided trade or a top-10 pick:

Bucks, Heat, Nuggets, Lakers

Teams that floundered with their top picks, but found success with lesser moves: Suns (Ayton was the smallest part of their success), Warriors (thanks Wiseman for the memories)... Raptors made a lopsided trade for Kawhi, but they also found tons of success with late picks and cheap pickups.

The Celtics are pretty much the only home-grown/top-6 pick farm that's been consistently making deep runs. So yeah, when 7/8 conference finalists of the last 5 years were in no better or worse position at points than the Bulls of today (arguably worse in most cases, when you consider Miami's cap hell, Lakers' lack of depth, etc.)... We do have 27/29 FRPs to trade, manageable contracts, 3 fringe all-stars, 1 DPOY, and multiple prospects.

Like I said, it's not sexy, but it's not hell.

Hell would be if that Demar/Spurs pick was unprotected...

Demar and Vuc were resigned to max contracts...

Caruso was expiring and needed a new deal this summer...

Pat and Coby were averaging 15+ PPG (and still the same caliber players... basically more touches on a loser), eligible/in place to ask for huge extensions...

Lonzo was on a max deal (or we owed some FRPs for that S&T)... Or Lonzo was in and out of the line-up with zero consistency (let's suppose the mystery knee thing kept coming back every 30 games, he plays 10 games well, then regresses, etc.). Having a guy quality for a DPE or medical retirement with 40/2 left is kind of a best-case scenario from a really sad situation.

The worst thing by far would be if Zach gets a major injury... (Hate to say it , but ACL re-injuries are fairly common - my continued/paranoid reason for wanting to move him sooner than later, especially as he seems to have some knee issue flare up each season).

But like I said... The over-dramatization of this team's situation is plain goofy. I just listed 6 things that would actually put us in NBA hell. I could list 6 things that are actually good about this team, unlike the Boylen and Rose ACL years.

[DuckIII]

I can’t listen to these two dudes for 35 minutes regardless of who they are. But if you are right you are right. I don’t know their rationale, but their conclusion is correct by my definition of “NBA Hell.”

The important thing to remember here is that we absolutely do not have to be and it is completely within the organization’s power to change that any time they want. There’s a difference between being in hell and being stuck there. We aren’t stuck. We just appear to be okay with it.

[Stratmaster]

I can’t listen to these two dudes for 35 minutes regardless of who they are. But if you are right you are right. I don’t know their rationale, but their conclusion is correct by my definition of “NBA Hell.”

The important thing to remember here is that we absolutely do not have to be and it is completely within the organization’s power to change that any time they want.

My definition of NBA hell is watching a team win 30 games or less in a season.

Obviously, heaven being in the Finals.

The Bulls are somewhere in-between.

[League Circles]

Yeah, NBA hell is either having no talent on your roster (think 1999 Bulls) or having your cap spoken for for years to come on a bad team that isn't young.

Fortunately neither applies to us.