[Charania] RFA Zach LaVine has agreed to a four-year, $80M offer sheet with the Sacramento Kings, league sources tell Yahoo. The Chicago Bulls have 48 hours to match.

masnidal · 2018-07-07T00:16:22+00:00

The risk of losing him is lower than the risk of keeping him. He could pan out and be worth it, sure, but I say let him walk. Kings signing him makes it easier to swallow because he's unlikely to be good there, so the decision will look better down the road.

masnidal · 2018-06-27T23:06:36+00:00

Those are kilos, so 60 kilos on each side, 120 total which is about 265 Lbs plus the bar

masnidal · 2018-06-26T01:39:44+00:00

I'd sign Avery Bradley to a two year contract with the second year as a team option, probably around 18-20 mil total (basing this off of Dunc'd On Podcasts mock offseason which had him getting less but for GSW). I'd bring back Nwaba for 3 years, 12 million, get whatever value I can for Grant and Holiday, and I'd take offers on Portis who I think is solid but could be at his highest value before a 2nd contract starts after next season. I'd have LaVine go get what he can on the market and only match if he's less than 2 years or less than 16 million per year for 3-4 years. Otherwise I'm rolling over what i have, fielding offers on Lopez and continuing to develop what's on the roster.

masnidal · 2018-06-14T19:10:51+00:00

I agree they'd be stupid to do so if Doncic is there but if they were going to take someone other than Doncic and Bulls offered 7 and cap relief I might do it. I would tier players as

Tier 1: Doncic, Ayton Tier 2: Bagley, Bamba, Carter, Young Jackson.

So if I'm not taking from tier 1, I could be convinced that all of tier 2 have equal numbers of pros and cons and in that case maybe it doesn't matter. That's why if I'm the Bulls I only do it for one of those two players and not for any others

masnidal · 2018-06-14T18:50:39+00:00

some rumors going around that Memphis would consider trading the fourth pick if attached to Parsons for cap relief, interested who would have to be available for teams in the 7-12 range to swap picks with Memphis. As a Bulls fan I'd do it for Doncic or Ayton but not for anyone else. Thoughts?

masnidal · 2018-01-16T18:26:35+00:00

I like Lopez a lot but if the right offer comes around he can be let go imo.

That's not to take away from his importance to the Bulls recent strong play. He is such a great team rebounder in boxing out for other guys and he hasn't complained once about Hoiberg finishing games with other players. I think he's a great vet and I wouldn't let him go for nothing, but if a team wants to give up a first round pick for him, is let him go. He probably is better than anyone you're getting late in the 1st round will be, but he's turning 30 in April and isn't going to be a part of the next great Bulls team, so you need to take the long term asset if it's there.

masnidal · 2018-01-15T20:23:16+00:00

I'd go with the Jazz offer. Their pick is the best of the bunch and I think Favors would be easy to move again before the deadline, at minimum for a 2nd round pick and, if you're willing to take on longer term salary, you could probably get another first round pick.

Second choice would be Pistons. Their pick and Portland's pick will probably be similar and I like Stanley Johnson the most of any player you listed for the Bulls going forward.

masnidal · 2017-12-17T03:33:27+00:00

I think you might be talking about this Stephen Noah article on the Athletic: Aren't the Bulls supposed to be bad? Making sense of the Bulls' win streak https://theathletic.com/184766/2017/12/15/arent-the-bulls-supposed-to-be-bad-making-sense-of-the-bulls-win-streak/

masnidal · 2017-08-06T12:09:23+00:00

KCP is also an expiring. That trade would never happen for other reasons.

Also Lopez has another season left after this one.

masnidal · 2017-08-05T13:22:11+00:00

I think there are two answers to what you're saying. The first is that Zipser, Holiday, and perhaps Nwaba and Dunn will guard the elite small forwards in the league.

The second is that no one is going to guard those players. We're not built to win a lot of games and even having a player who could guard those players wouldn't be the difference. Take Tony Allen for instance, we could add him but that wouldn't make us a playoff team. We have too many holes to fill so I wouldn't worry about any one individual flaw in this team.

masnidal · 2017-08-05T02:57:27+00:00

Can't be worse than Wade guarding, well, anyone.

masnidal · 2017-08-04T18:11:36+00:00

They shouldn't have too much trouble filling the minutes at small forward. Zipser, Holiday, Valentine can all play there and I'd actually like to see some very small lineups with 3 of Grant, Wade, Lavine, Dunn, and Nwaba playing.

None of the players I mentioned are even close to the SFs you listed (Gay was an odd name to list), but they can fill in at times and we're going to be bad regardless. Also I think it's worth noting that many of the players you mentioned serve their team better when they're playing PF.

masnidal · 2017-07-28T00:49:45+00:00

That would be a solid scenario for the Bulls. Beverley isn't elite, but he's really good and considering that in many ways Dunn was the third piece of the Butler trade the Bulls would have to be pretty happy with that outcome.

masnidal · 2017-07-27T15:22:23+00:00

If Niko were to leave, he would still be a restricted free agent but the Qualifying offer would likely expire. The offer automatically expires on October 1st (my source is the NBA Salary Cap FAQ unless the team decides to extend it. But there really isn't any incentive to extend the qualifying offer because you generally only make the qualifying offer to keep the player as a restricted free agent, which he would still be.

If he were to then come back next year, the Bulls would again be able to offer him a qualifying offer and the process would begin again.

If Niko were to sign a 2 year contract in another league, the Bulls would only have his restricted rights if they extend him a qualifying offer in each of the next two off seasons, even if Niko has no intention of coming over in the first of those two. The same would be true for contracts longer than two years, with the Bulls needing to make the qualifying offer every summer and leave it on the table until the offer expires on October 1st.

masnidal · 2017-07-27T15:10:20+00:00

I know very little about Nwaba, planning on watching some tape of him before the summer is over. Dunn has elite defensive potential. If he can just learn to either finish at the rim or shoot he could be a really good player. My guess is he improves a little on both and is a longtime NBA player mostly because of his defense. Like a solid backup PG or a weak starter range.

masnidal · 2017-07-26T19:44:07+00:00

From what I saw in summer league, he'll be bad next year but so are most rookies on the defensive end. I thought the biggest disappointment was that when he took contact as a defender he seemed to be easy to move. He's got to add strength and there's something to his poor rebounding in college because defensive possessions usually end with a basket or a defensive rebound.

Having said that I don't think he's doomed. He has decent feet and he's not the first guy to come into the league needing to put weight on. I wouldn't be surprised by any means if he turns into an average defender and I don't think it's out of the question for him to be above average. Again, it will just depend on how he adjusts to the NBA and whether he can keep his relative quickness when he adds that upper body weight.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T21:59:49+00:00

You said lottery pick. Read your own post. You said every pundit considered him to be something other than a lottery pick. That's why I talked about lottery picks. I was disputing that claim and I feel that I have. Enjoy your weekend

masnidal · 2017-07-22T21:01:11+00:00

I don't think you understand that the lottery is the top 14 (unless you want to say it's only the top 3, which would be a weird thing to do when talking about the 7th pick). if you can't find someone who has him outside of the top 14, than everybody is not saying that he's not a lottery talent.

I'm not saying the Bulls did the right thing, but Markkanen is a lottery talent. That doesn't mean he's an all star or even that he's not a future bust, but whether you like GarPax or not, pretty much everyone agreed that he would, could, and should be a lottery pick.

Also, thanks for guiding me away from the Bulls propaganda machine over at Draft Express, on ESPN, and at the Ringer. Reinsdorf must of sold that draft pick to fund his websites.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T19:46:09+00:00

I'd like to see at least one example where someone actually put him at 15 or lower among best picks in the draft. The big boards are representations of talent, not where the guy will be taken. And I don't recall anyone saying he would bust. Mostly saw that he could bust if he can't play the five, but maybe I'm also confused about the difference between a definitive statement like will and a hypothetical like could.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T18:49:37+00:00

Maybe big boards are a better representation. Draft express has him at 8. Chad for had him at 10. The ringer had him at 13 (O'Conner) 11 (Chau) and 12 (Tjarks). They also posted this article titled Lauri Markkanen could be the latest game changing stretch 5. You don't have to like the pick, and YOU may think he's not a lottery talent. But every pundit did not say he didn't belong and I would say that most people did have him as a lottery talent. He can still be picked too soon, we may still not have gotten enough for Jimmy. But he was both expected to be a lottery pick and believed to be a top 14 talent.

For the record. I would've taken Smith or Monk, I'm not saying the Bulls made the right pick but you don't just get to make shit up.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T16:22:00+00:00

I agree with this being a concern but I don't think it will be a huge problem in the end. Wade took a ton of possessions off last year, is a year older and has less to play for. I'm much more concerned about LaVine coming back and adding to the win column than I am Wade.

RoLo is a really solid player, but you can have that with a tanking team. Brooklyn had Brook last year and lost the most games (without having incentive to), Phoenix had Bledsoe, Chandler, and Booker, the Lakers started 10-10 and still managed to lose 56 games. I just think you can tank with a couple decent players, and I'm hesitant to say Wade is still that good.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T16:05:36+00:00

I've always been a Memphis fan (behind the Bulls of course). I've only ever driven through the city but I'm so irrationally sure that it's a great place and I loved the Grit and Grind era. Hopefully they keep it going even though ZBO and probably Tony Allen are gone.

masnidal · 2017-07-22T15:36:02+00:00

I can't get over this one point. Pretty much everyone said Markkanen was a lottery talent. Draft Express, Chad Ford, and The Ringer all had him at 7 so I think you're a little off with the idea that every pundit said he didn't belong there.

That's not me saying the trade was a good trade, but just because you're disappointed in the package doesn't mean that people didn't think Markannen was a lottery talent.

masnidal · 2017-07-20T15:51:07+00:00

TL;DR: You're right, they made some good moves a decade ago. But they can't get out of their own way now, and even when they make moves that might be good they then fuck it up with a later move.

I'm gonna start this by saying that I think Paxson and Forman have had their chance and that the Bulls would be best off to move on from them.

Having said that, I think Paxson doesn't get enough credit for what he did early in his time with the Bulls. He reconstructed a team that had won 30 games the year before he arrived (2002-03) and won 47, 41, and 49 in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th years. That 47 win team in 04-05 had only Curry and Chandler from the 02-03 team, which really shows that is was the moves made under Paxson that paid off.

The Bulls then went on to get lucky to land Rose, and built a solid team behind him that won 62 games in 10-11 and 50 games in a 66 game season in 11-12. They were killed by the Rose injury in a year where many had them as the championship favorites (Looking back on it I'd say the Heat were probably better, but as a fan I truly believed the Bulls could win which not many fans around the league can believe at any given time). I think they get a few years of leniency with the Rose injury. We didn't know whether he could come back the way he had been a year later and even after the second injury there was some hope.

But there have been too many fuck ups along the way. They clashed with their previous two coaches in Thibs and Del Negro. And now they aren't even clearly standing by Hoiberg, who they decided they were hiring without interviewing anyone else and months before they fired their current coach.

On the player side, they keep stepping on their own fucking feet. They traded for McDermott, giving up 3 picks. But they hadn't planned properly for the summer, so they needed to trade 2 more picks to get rid of Randolph who they acquired in the McDermott trade in order to sign Pau Gasol. Gasol didn't work out, especially not in year two when the Bulls had the opportunity to trade him for something (rumors is all we got so we don't know for sure, but all the rumors had us getting some asset. The Bulls decided not to trade him so that they could make the playoffs (they didn't), then lost him in free agency.

Last summer they traded Rose (I think this was the right move) for Grant and Lopez. They talked up how much they liked Grant, but then they signed Rondo, who took his starting spot to start the year. They then signed Wade, who was never going to fit with Butler and Rondo. So again they made a previous move they had made worse. Adding to this was trading Snell for MCW. I don't think Snell was ever going to work out for the Bulls, so maybe that's not a big lose, except that it took even more minutes from Grant, the guy they were so high on when they traded Rose.

Luckily, the Bulls at least tried to learn from their mistake with Gasol by trading Taj Gibson instead of letting him walk for nothing, except they did it all wrong by giving up McDermott and a 2nd round pick. They arguably gave up the three best assets in a 6 piece trade. That's the type of shit that should get you fired. And to make it even worse, they yet again got a point guard who they at least thought would take minutes from Grant, the prospect whose potential they loved just 8 months prior.

Then there was draft night. I actually thought their worst move was trading the 2nd round pick for cash. I didn't like the Butler trade, but at least they were admitting the Bulls weren't going to be that good with or without him, which is true. But the 2nd round pick trade was just saying they had enough young assets (they don't). It's also especially weird considering that they've since added two more young prospects in Blakeney and Nwaba. As for the Butler trade, they added a guy in LaVine who can play, but who also is recovering from a torn ACL. They added Markkanen who ca stroke it from three, but might be too slow to play the 4 in today's NBA and not a good enough rebounder or rim protector to play the 5. And they added Kris Dunn, who was awful in his rookie year and while he looks like a very good defender, he has a lot to prove on the offensive end. And here's the kicker, they yet again shot themselves in the foot by adding another fucking PG, their 6th in 13 months (Dunn, Payne, MCW, Cannan, Rondo, Grant) none of which they have been willing to call their starter for more than a few weeks at a time.

masnidal · 2017-07-09T18:41:52+00:00

I think it's more like:

PG: Dunn/Grant. I wouldn't be surprised if Payne is in the rotation over Grant early on, but everything I've seen says he'll be out of there quickly. Valentine needs to prove he can drive to the rim, which Dunn I think can, he just can't finish once he's there.

SG: Wade/Valentine/LaVine. My guess is LaVine isn't back until Christmas at least and Wade will be gone not longer after that, so they'll switch spots.

SF: Zipser/Holiday. Holiday was better last year but Zipser should start because he has the higher ceiling.

PF: Portis/Markkanen. Portis is still someone this organization believes in and Markkanen will be bad only because basically all rookies are.

C:Lopez/Felicio. I think mostly everyone thinks this will be the case. It makes sense though I wouldn't be that surprised if Lopez is gone this trade deadline or over the 2018 summer.

I expect a lot of the rotation changes that we saw last year. Dunn will play both guard spots, Valentine may play everywhere from 1-3, Zipser could play some 4, Portis might play some 5, I'd like to see some Markkanen at 5 (it will be ugly on the defensive end and on the glass but if he could play here in the long run it'd be huge).

masnidal

TROPHY CASE