UMFan83

Rumors are its a 2025 unprotected 1st. That could be very bad. I'm also not really sure who the Bulls were bidding against. But I'm over the top happy about acquiring DeRozan so yeah

Getting DeRozan would turn me from “somewhat excited” to “counting the days until the first game” excited. Still not winning a title but would be a super fun team

I listened to the entire Rizzo interview and its definitely not as bad as those quotes make it seem. He even talks about what a strong relationship he has with Jed and how they talked after everything settled down after the trade. Also spoke with Theo a bit too. I think he's definitely annoyed at the comments and frustrated the Cubs didnt come close to the number he was expecting for an extension, but I don't think the Jed comments and his response burned any bridges. I'm not saying he's re-signing or anything but I wouldn't take it off the table based on this interview. He did deflect when directly asked if he'd consider the Cubs this offseason though. One interesting thing he said is when asked about what changed after the NLCS runs he mentioned that Tim Buss leaving the organization after 2018 really changed the culture in the clubhouse.

Ouch. Sounds like Rizzo's hinting that the guys were unhappy as well. Hoyer made the right decision, IMO, but Hoyer might've been better off not saying anything. It sounds like the common denominator he is referring to is the Cubs not offering any of the 3 what they believe they are worth. Not sure if that is what you were implying or if you thought his comments were referring to some other unknown reason why all 3 chose not to resign in Chicago. I certainly hope its the former because the later has ramifications as Jed attempts to rebuild the team. But Rizzo going out of his way to go on ESPN 1000 to fire back on Jed's comments is definitely not a great look for the Cubs.

It’s called a dropped third strike I played baseball from age 5 through HS and never once did I hear reaching first on a dropped 3rd strike called stealing first base. It's an Albany expression

I thought everyone knew that Fields is a huge fan of the Atlantic League

It was the offense for sure. So maddeningly inconsistent, and for years. I think that inaction when it started to become clear the core wasn't becoming what we thought it would is the disappointment. I think by 2019 it had become apparent that the offensive core just wasn't going to get it done, due to regression and inconsistency, I think if we're being honest, we can say we saw that offensively things weren't going to go as we hoped. It was the latter part of 2018 in particular that made me seriously start questioning, at least quietly. What could have been done? Deal one or two of them to mix it up a bit (and replenish the farm a bit after it had been depleted by trades). For example, I think dealing Schwarber and signing re-signing Castellanos after 2019 would have been a good move (though admittedly at the time I was still seduced a bit by Kyle's power potential). I also think that 2018/19 was probably the point where you really want to choose the players you want to extend, and make a strong play. I go back and forth on whether we ever should have gotten rid of Schwarber. I get wanting to mix up the offensive profile that obviously wasn't working, but if you ignore 2020 (when numerous players had terrible years and immediately bounced back this year), his offensive numbers have been a steady progression every year since 2017. 2017: .211/.315/.467/.782, 0.1 bWAR 2018: .238/.356/.467/.823, 2.1 bWAR 2019: .250/.339/.531/.871, 2.4 bWAR 2021: .253/.340/.570/.910, 2.2 bWAR so far Every year his BA, SLG, OPS and bWAR have risen. fWAR shows his 2018 being better than 2019 (3.2 vs. 2.6), and its the only year he a positive defensive player. I get it though, he was often frustrating, prone to striking out, grounding into the shift etc, but non-tendering him seemed really short sighted even if it was for cheapass Ricketts reasons. They should have kept Schwarber AND signed Castellanos, but obviously our ownership would have allowed that.

I’ve said that for awhile about Javy. His best attributes are the things that will decline worst. Can you imagine Javy without elite bat speed? Or 1-2 steps slow on defense? Or quick reaction time? I still want him though because he has so much swag I’m going through swag withdrawal right now. as I said in the post above, I'm pretty sure these skills age better than old man skills, counter-intuitively. You think bat speed ages slower than other things? I was always under believe that it was one of the first things to decline

I’ve said that for awhile about Javy. His best attributes are the things that will decline worst. Can you imagine Javy without elite bat speed? Or 1-2 steps slow on defense? Or quick reaction time? I still want him though because he has so much swag I’m going through swag withdrawal right now.

He's not a great pick and roll point guard so I can understand why NOLA might be down on him as he's not a perfect fit with Zion. But the Bulls don't necessarily need a PnR point guard.

Not sure how legit

Sato, Temple and a 2nd-rounder going to NO in the deal apparently Leave things open to use Lauri in another S&T....like with the Spurs

It's by design but still crazy to see how much salary they shed

Well Ball is unofficially officially a Bull

Such an interesting thought. Apparently they can sign Lonzo and DeRozan to near max deals and still afford an extension for Lavine. Team is still not winning the title, and it could have some major defensive problems with Lavine, Derozan and Vuc getting huge minutes, but it would probably be a second round playoff team. I don't think its touching Brooklyn, Milwaukee or possibly even Philly but it would make me a lot more interested in Bulls basketball.

Foles with some interesting comments...basically trying to recruit himself to Indy, implying that he rejected trades over the offseason because he wants to go to the right fit, saying hes a better QB now than when he was in Philly for the SB, etc

I'm just going to assume those players are Kawhi, Lowry and DeRozan

So if we sign Ball and NO doesn't match, and make a few other moves, how does everyone feel about the team realistically having a ceiling of a second round playoff team? I think they are at a point where they have 2 options: 1. burn it down and start over again as its unlikely that anyone they drafted is going to develop into a superstar. Maybe PWill has a shot still but its not terribly likely. 2. build a team that has everything but a superstar and hope one forces your way to Chicago. It helps that LaVine is starting to get that star recognition, face time with real superstars in Tokyo etc. And the way they've built the team, you'd have your PG, SG, C locked in with a decent versatile bench. You have decent roster assets but obviously missing that 1st round pick in 2023. It seems like a team that a SS could force their way to and turn them into a quasi contender. Of course getting a superstar is by far the hardest part and while Chicago is not Sacramento or Cleveland, its a second tier market compared to the LAs and Miamis of the world. But it is viable enough to sell a superstar on if they were convinced it was a place they could win immediately. Clearly they are going with option 2 here, which could lead to a lot more NBA mediocrity, but at least might have that 1-2 years where they are fun because we're good for the first time in awhile before it becomes clear that they're never going to be good enough.

Do we believe Clemson? Anyways it would be funny if it were true and the SEC said sure Clemson, but no to FSU

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/college/gcu/2021/08/02/alhambra-ace-daniel-avitia-not-signing-cubs-pitch-gcu/5458579001/

After what happened on Friday, hook this horsefeathers up to my veins. I'm sure Nagy will ruin it by stubbornly sticking to his stupid plan as the Bears go 7-10 but whatever.

Right...and the Ricketts bought the team 12 years ago for like $800m. The franchise value isn't liquid but it does mean that the family isn't going to go bankrupt if they spent too much on the team after renovating Wrigley and fronting a bunch of construction projects around the park. They have the ability to be a top 3 payroll but choose not to. They remind me of Reinsdorf and the Bulls, who also rakes in a crapload of revenue but has been hesitant to spend like it unless the team is a piece or two away. The only time Reinsdorf was willing to go over the luxury tax is when they were coming off an ECF appearance and needed a SG to take the next step. It's the same kind of thing too, he is clever enough to have excuses to appease a majority of people. 'Of course the Bulls were bottom 10 in payroll for the last 4 years, often flirting with missing the salary floor, they were rebuilding and we don't spend just to spend' is what they say even though JR is out there selling 2nd round picks for cash.

He is on the Score right now. I forgot to turn it on, but the Score's web player allows you to easily rewind to earlier in the show unlike ESPN. I have a work call in a few minutes but I'll probably listen afterwards. But if anyone hears it, feel free to share.

Alexi Lalas had them something like this last night (cant remember the exact order of Panama and El Salvador, but certain about the other placings): 1. USA 2. Mexico 3. Canada 4. Honduras 5. Jamaica 6. El Salvador 7. Panama 8. Costa Rica