Bulls '22-'23 Season Thread

[UMFan83]

[We Got The Whole 9]

How the hell do you give up 144 points to the Bulls

[muntjack]

Except for Coby White, no bull shot under 60%. That's bonkers.

[UMFan83]

Well that was something.

 

7 points scored in the final 2 seconds of the game. Unfortunately the Hawks scored 4 of those points.

Edited December 12, 2022 by UMFan83

[Wilson A2000]

Wow. Exciting, but a Bulls loss.

[UMFan83]

Wow. Exciting, but a Bulls loss.

 

Yep. My level of apathy towards the Bulls is strong. They gave me entertaining basketball so I’m satisfied

[Wilson A2000]

Part of the reason that Demar and Zach are very good players but haven’t been part of great teams is that they don’t know how to exploit the other team’s weaknesses. They don’t have basketball IQ like that. Zach and Demar gotta get their shots no matter what. Well that’s only going to take you so far. They gotta feed Vooch. Vooch has to demand the ball more. Make the defense collapse on him and then find the open perimeter player. Donovan has to insist on this too. How can everyone else see it but Billy and Demar and Zach can’t?

[Old Style]

Vooch would actually have to step foot in the lane for your plan to work. He doesn’t do much of that.

[UMFan83]

Chicago sports strikes again

 

[Thurman Merman]

Chicago sports strikes again

 

If Lonzo can't come back this year, trade dero

[Andy]

Chicago sports strikes again

 

How much of the Bulls current cap is being used on Lonzo, who will probably never play again, and LaVine, who will probably never be 100% again?

 

I think "just blow it up" is mostly lazy fan take nonsense, but there's no path to contention if so much of your available money is wasted on utterly useless or hopelessly depressed assets.

[17 Seconds]

Chicago sports strikes again

 

If Lonzo can't come back this year, trade dero

 

trade him now regardless. we're delaying the inevitable here

[Cubswin11]

You absolutely have to trade Derozan and Caruso, listen on Lavine and then take whatever for Vuc or other pieces.

[17 Seconds]

i don't think anyone wants busted ass zach lavine, but it would be nice to unload him

[WrigleyField 22]

Chicago sports strikes again

 

How much of the Bulls current cap is being used on Lonzo, who will probably never play again, and LaVine, who will probably never be 100% again?

 

I think "just blow it up" is mostly lazy fan take nonsense, but there's no path to contention if so much of your available money is wasted on utterly useless or hopelessly depressed assets.

This isn't a very easy core to blow up even. I don't think this FO is gonna go the tank route, either.

 

They'll most likely lose that second 1st from the Vuc pick this year which frees up their remaining draft liabilities. And they may actually get that Portland pick this year.

 

Even if you could salary dump Derozan for an expiring and say a young player, the soonest they'd be FA relevant still would be 2024 offseason. I don't think they can clear their other dead weight for 2023 (or if it's even a relevant FA year). So moving him doesn't really change that timeline. So you'd have to really like the young player and asset combo coming back. No one's trading for Lonzo. Vuc.. Could they play the reverse side of the contract dump and get a 2 year contract and asset back for him as an expiring?

 

They're best effort may be just to tread water and hope for the best on Lonzo and try and keep things flexible for 2024 /25 - short MLE type deals and no trading away picks unless it's for a legit superstar, not just an all star. I guess resign Ayo?

[17 Seconds]

They're best effort may be just to tread water and hope for the best on Lonzo and try and keep things flexible for 2024 /25 - short MLE type deals and no trading away picks unless it's for a legit superstar, not just an all star. I guess resign Ayo?

 

but why? even if Lonzo miraculously comes back, they are a 45-50 win team with no hopes of a championship, and demar is going to start falling off a cliff here pretty soon.

[UMFan83]

This isn't a very easy core to blow up even. I don't think this FO is gonna go the tank route, either.

 

They'll most likely lose that second 1st from the Vuc pick this year which frees up their remaining draft liabilities. And they may actually get that Portland pick this year.

 

 

They still owe San Antonio a 1st in 2025 (top 10 protected, or top 8 protected in 2026)

[17 Seconds]

really it doesn't matter., because every path they can take right now sucks

[WrigleyField 22]

They're best effort may be just to tread water and hope for the best on Lonzo and try and keep things flexible for 2024 /25 - short MLE type deals and no trading away picks unless it's for a legit superstar, not just an all star. I guess resign Ayo?

 

but why? even if Lonzo miraculously comes back, they are a 45-50 win team with no hopes of a championship, and demar is going to start falling off a cliff here pretty soon.

Well mainly based off my belief this FO isnt a tanking type. So treading for a year is better than trying to fix it (potentially having to use up more assets)

 

If they wanted to blow it up, it's mainly for the tank. I doubt they can get a lot of high quality picks back. It would just be setting up for losses.

[17 Seconds]

They're best effort may be just to tread water and hope for the best on Lonzo and try and keep things flexible for 2024 /25 - short MLE type deals and no trading away picks unless it's for a legit superstar, not just an all star. I guess resign Ayo?

 

but why? even if Lonzo miraculously comes back, they are a 45-50 win team with no hopes of a championship, and demar is going to start falling off a cliff here pretty soon.

Well mainly based off my belief this FO isnt a tanking type. So treading for a year is better than trying to fix it (potentially having to use up more assets)

 

If they wanted to blow it up, it's mainly for the tank. I doubt they can get a lot of high quality picks back. It would just be setting up for losses.

 

i don't think they are either. i think reinsdorf told them to build a quick playoff-ish team and that it doesn't matter if they're contenders. they'll probably do whatever they can to re-tool and try to get back to 45 wins

[Tryptamine]

I just can't think of anyway to fix things that isn't going to take 3 to 5 years. They're like the 2020 Cub team but Heyward is on year 1 of his deal.

[17 Seconds]

I just can't think of anyway to fix things that isn't going to take 3 to 5 years. They're like the 2020 Cub team but Heyward is on year 1 of his deal.

 

they're like the blackhawks but somehow 2 years behind

[UMFan83]

If you're taking "blow it up" off the table, what do you do if your the Bulls? Best hope is that they can swing some sort of trade and get a piece that can help you be a 2nd round team. But the Bulls assets are not great if you are considering DeRozan and LaVine untouchable. Vuc's expiring is likely only interesting for a contender who is looking to add another piece to their roster. Not really going to get a valuable player or prospect back, most likely a draft pick. Our younger guys have only lost value over the last year. Coby and Ayo are both expiring contracts and neither seem like anything more than role player. PWill is putting up some numbers but metrics show him as a slightly below average player. While he's still young its getting harder to sell teams on his potential.

 

Like I just don't know how you can stay the course at this point, especially if Lonzo doesn't play this year. Are they just going to take it on the chin and give up a top 10 pick to Orlando and then run it back again next year? I'm not necessarily on "Team Blow Up" but I'm just struggling to see options for building onto the current team to make them less depressingly hopeless.

[UMFan83]

I just can't think of anyway to fix things that isn't going to take 3 to 5 years. They're like the 2020 Cub team but Heyward is on year 1 of his deal.

 

they're like the blackhawks but somehow 2 years behind

 

that was kind of my thought, they are in denial about their need to rebuild. But AKME doesn't seem like a FO that is going to be open to a gut rebuild and will keep doubling down on mediocrity.

[WrigleyField 22]

I'm not a big believer in the Philly style "Trust the Process" tank either tbh. I think theres, merit to never completely blowing it up and entering an extended downturn.

 

But yea, forgot they owe another pick still after they pay out the Orlando one.

 

So if not a blowup, then it's a shakeup needed? And based on age and current value, you're probably better off trading DDR, and making bet on Lavine. If Lonzo is done, the ideal is probably Derozan for a young point guard, to be what Lonzo is supposed to be, and secondary wing piece. Maybe still try to spin off Vuc for more of a two way center. Not sure that does a ton, but might be a better overall pairing of skills.

 

Sooo any team fit that?