Bulls 2016-2017 Season

[David]

don't even read all that it's just rambling

[bcl412]

I mostly hate how they built a team that can't shoot when shooting threes is how you win ball games in 2017. A team built around Butler can win 50 plus games if done right and the East outside of Cleveland isn't great. A solid team is good enough to be fun to watch and give the bit of hope that's needed to make the playoffs fun. I hate the idea of trading Butler. The guy deserves to win some games and do more than fight for the 8th seed.

[Banedon]

http://deadspin.com/the-bulls-are-melting-down-1791643301

[WrigleyField 22]

I mostly hate how they built a team that can't shoot when shooting threes is how you win ball games in 2017. A team built around Butler can win 50 plus games if done right and the East outside of Cleveland isn't great. A solid team is good enough to be fun to watch and give the bit of hope that's needed to make the playoffs fun. I hate the idea of trading Butler. The guy deserves to win some games and do more than fight for the 8th seed.

I'll say this from a roster construction standpoint; if Mirotic and McDermott hit three like they did last year, this team is probably top 4 in the East. It was a bad decision to put your three point reliance an a couple high rate shooters rather than spreading the love around a little bit.

 

Were they going to always be light on 3's? Yes, but they were built to and have made up for it in other ways, like FT. That they are even clinging to a playoff spot by a thread with their 3 pt rate is actually pretty amazing. Although neither is a true PG, a Etwaun Moore/Justin Holiday rotation would look pretty good right now.

 

So going forward? Probably better off trying to surround Jimmy and Wade with a bunch of 33-35% 3pt shooters rather than relying on a couple very high rate shooters.

[UMFan83]

 

the right answer is add good players around butler and wade in the offseason (much like they did in 2010), not blow it up and become irrelevant and unwatchable for years so that maybe they can end up with someone as good as jimmy if they're lucky and then we can be all excited about being mediocre but watchable for the first time in years.

 

I respect your stubborn desire to keep building a high floor low ceiling playoff team but the 2010 team had 4 players under contract when they added on: Rose, Noah, Deng, Taj, 3 of them future all-stars, all of them in their early to mid-20's. Ideally they would have added a star with the cap space that they had (enough for about 1.75 max contracts), but they were a team you could build a quasi contender around acquiring some good role players.

 

This team is Jimmy Butler, a 35 year old version of Dwyane Wade, and a bunch of garbage (assuming Taj doesn't resign). McDermott is ok, Lopez is ok, you *might* get one good player out of Grant/Valentine/Portis, might. This isn't a team that needs a few pieces to be a contender. Maybe to be respectable 2nd round out in a weak conference, which I think you are on record saying you are ok with. But my point is, the 2010 offseason Bulls and the 2017 offseason Bulls are in completely different places.

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, last night was a disaster:

 

http://deadspin.com/the-bulls-are-melting-down-1791643301

 

This team is toast.

[Banedon]

[Andy]

http://deadspin.com/the-bulls-are-melting-down-1791643301

If they're going to be terrible, at least they're entertaining?

 

I'll steer clear of restating the 'why the horsefeathers did you fire Thibs' rant that I've already made several times, and just agree with the general thought that GarPax hired a coach to run a certain kind of roster and then went out and acquired a whole bunch of people that don't fit that idea one iota. Hoiberg is almost certainly a terrible coach, but I do feel bad for him trying to win with this mismatched group.

 

I don't follow all the Bulls, but at least one went on a mini-Tweetstorm last night in response to Wade and Butler, FWIW:

 

 

[Sammy Sofa]

The team is, like, 90% horsefeathers. No coach was saving this.

 

Man, remember when we all thought Mirotic was going to be so good? What a bust.

[WrigleyField 22]

The team is, like, 90% horsefeathers. No coach was saving this.

 

Man, remember when we all thought Mirotic was going to be so good? What a bust.

I just remember stupid people on RealGM clinging onto Mirotic and the Charlotte pick and not wanting to trade them. I wanna say it was for something awesome too like Aldridge.

[Flames24Rulz]

The team is, like, 90% horsefeathers. No coach was saving this.

 

Man, remember when we all thought Mirotic was going to be so good? What a bust.

 

Yeah. That month that he had in March of 2015, I think he suckered a lot of us into thinking what he could be. He's a total bum now.

[Flames24Rulz]

The team is, like, 90% horsefeathers. No coach was saving this.

 

Man, remember when we all thought Mirotic was going to be so good? What a bust.

I just remember stupid people on RealGM clinging onto Mirotic and the Charlotte pick and not wanting to trade them. I wanna say it was for something awesome too like Aldridge.

 

I thought it was Love.

[WrigleyField 22]

The team is, like, 90% horsefeathers. No coach was saving this.

 

Man, remember when we all thought Mirotic was going to be so good? What a bust.

I just remember stupid people on RealGM clinging onto Mirotic and the Charlotte pick and not wanting to trade them. I wanna say it was for something awesome too like Aldridge.

 

I thought it was Love.

Ah probably for Mirotic, yea. "But Mirotic is the next Love!"

[Sammy Sofa]

Oh, I was definitely one of those people; I remember more than a couple scenarios being brought up trading Mirotic before he came over and thinking the Bulls would be nuts to do it. Blah.

[bcl412]

Stretch 4's are entising and every so often Niko looks like he could be something. Then he sucks a bunch and does stupid things and shoots from too far away.

[David]

Oh, I was definitely one of those people; I remember more than a couple scenarios being brought up trading Mirotic before he came over and thinking the Bulls would be nuts to do it. Blah.

i've never seen a player with such bizarre shot selection

[Sammy Sofa]

Oh, I was definitely one of those people; I remember more than a couple scenarios being brought up trading Mirotic before he came over and thinking the Bulls would be nuts to do it. Blah.

i've never seen a player with such bizarre shot selection

 

It's baffling; I swear half the time he's headed out there a little drunk.

[SpongeWorthy]

 

the right answer is add good players around butler and wade in the offseason (much like they did in 2010), not blow it up and become irrelevant and unwatchable for years so that maybe they can end up with someone as good as jimmy if they're lucky and then we can be all excited about being mediocre but watchable for the first time in years.

 

I respect your stubborn desire to keep building a high floor low ceiling playoff team but the 2010 team had 4 players under contract when they added on: Rose, Noah, Deng, Taj, 3 of them future all-stars, all of them in their early to mid-20's. Ideally they would have added a star with the cap space that they had (enough for about 1.75 max contracts), but they were a team you could build a quasi contender around acquiring some good role players.

 

This team is Jimmy Butler, a 35 year old version of Dwyane Wade, and a bunch of garbage (assuming Taj doesn't resign). McDermott is ok, Lopez is ok, you *might* get one good player out of Grant/Valentine/Portis, might. This isn't a team that needs a few pieces to be a contender. Maybe to be respectable 2nd round out in a weak conference, which I think you are on record saying you are ok with. But my point is, the 2010 offseason Bulls and the 2017 offseason Bulls are in completely different places.

 

what is so watchable about this current iteration of the bulls anyway? butler's great but he's a throwback to the ISO ball era of Kobe and Jordan but not as good. wade is just old man game at this point. the rest of the team is garbage to middling.

 

i don't view a bad team deliberately bottoming out as being inherently less entertaining than whatever it is the bulls are right now.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, I saw Butler described as a younger Melo with better defense but worse shooting, and, well, that kinda nails it. We keep waiting for him to take steps forward, but any offense run through him is basically "Jimmy eats up the shot clock until it forces a shot" too often. He's good, but he's not "build your team around this guy"-good.

[WrigleyField 22]

Yeah, I saw Butler described as a younger Melo with better defense but worse shooting, and, well, that kinda nails it. We keep waiting for him to take steps forward, but any offense run through him is basically "Jimmy eats up the shot clock until it forces a shot" too often. He's good, but he's not "build your team around this guy"-good.

Man that just seems like way to high of a bar to set for "not building around", especially in an era where team building is usually measured in the number of stars you assemble.

 

"Geeze can you imagine how pointless it would be to watch Jimmy play with a bunch of other All Stars" basically

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, I saw Butler described as a younger Melo with better defense but worse shooting, and, well, that kinda nails it. We keep waiting for him to take steps forward, but any offense run through him is basically "Jimmy eats up the shot clock until it forces a shot" too often. He's good, but he's not "build your team around this guy"-good.

Man that just seems like way to high of a bar to set for "not building around", especially in an era where team building is usually measured in the number of stars you assemble.

 

"Geeze can you imagine how pointless it would be to watch Jimmy play with a bunch of other All Stars" basically

 

I don't think Butler could play with a bunch of all stars.

[davell]

 

I want the Bulls to have their own Royal Rumble.

 

Fun bad time.

[Derwood]

I've basically chosen to not watch the team this year. Not out of protest, but out of disinterest. I can't imagine spending two hours watching them anymore

[Sammy Sofa]

I like how signing Rondo was a trainwreck literally everyone but the Bulls could see coming.

[David]

Calls out the guys who scored like 75 points last night lol