Chicago Bulls Thread

for what's it worth, ESPN Insider aka The "Experts" Formally Known As DraftExpress has you guys taking:

7. Chicago Bulls

Wendell Carter Jr.
Duke
Age: 19.0
C

Height: 6-10 | Weight: 263

Small forward is a definite position of need, but Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis are entering the final year of their contracts, so it also makes sense to think about drafting a big man who complements Lauri Markkanen on both ends of the floor.

Carter's feel and versatility are promising in a number of ways. He is a physically mature big man with a 263-pound frame and 7-foot-3 wingspan, which will allow him to play center in the NBA with ease.

Management did a fine job this year. Minus the Felecio deal, the moves they made were solid.

Yeah we disagree on that, especially the Butler deal, but let's move on...

Valentine doubled his production this year and is a good 3pt shooter on high volume. Even added a floater to his game. Portis may be a punk but he has become a reliable scorer off the bench. It was a roller coaster ride for Niko. thanks to the heavens it’s over.

Rollercoaster ride for Niko - I blame Hoiberg for that. He's been inconsistent since Hoiberg took over when he really should've fitted right into his system. That's coaching. He went on a roll before we traded him (another trade they botched, I might add), and he's continued that for New Orleans right into the playoffs where he was their third best player behind Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday. Just think about that, then compare him with Portis. 3rd best player a playoff team that made the Western Conference second round as opposed to an undisciplined punk who's a bad teammate and not as good of a basketball player. I know who I'd want more on the roster...

Valentine's career high point came when he won Summer League MVP. He'll never be more than a bench warmer on a playoff contender, maybe come off the bench for 5-10 minutes to shoot a few shots to change the flow of the game, that's about it...doubling your production sounds better than it is when its from 5 to 10 ppg, especially when he shot twice as many shots as JB, Wade, Rondo etc all left the team.

Those guys may not have all star appearances in their future but this team needs their own guys to develop. They’ll never get out of the basement if they continue to miss on draft picks/not accumulate assets. Obviously a lot riding on the return from the Butler trade and the upcoming draft pick as well.

I completely understand the need to having role players on the roster, but right now what this team needs is legit stars to build from as a foundation after shipping out All-Star and All-NBA player Jimmy Butler, and it doesn't help that the best role player vet who could've been a mentor to these young ones was shipped out for Cam fucking Payne.

I’m not sure how you’ve already come to a conclusion these prospects are deadbeats. Perhaps you’re merely just overstating their weaknesses (some incorrectly says the michigan native) listed on websites (lol). Whoever they get @7 is not going to be polished/haven't been playing professional since they were in diapers like Doncic

I'm not rating them badly because they haven't been pros, I'm rating them badly because they aren't ready in the NBA and should be staying a few more years in college to develop instead of coming in and being absolute shit, and we need players who can play.

I'm stating their weaknesses that I saw on tape, not reading them on websites. If you can't watch their game footage and see the same weaknesses then we really have nothing to talk about. You don't even need to look at his numbers to see that Jaren Jackson is skinny as fuck and gets pushed around in games against fellow college players, how do you think he'll do against grown men? Porter Jr on the other hand only played what? 3 games due to his back injury? and looked really bad in all of those games. With our dodgy medical staff do you think it's wise to draft him based on the fact that he's coming off a serious injury and there might be long term repercussions? That alone should strike him off the list.

He averaged 6 rebounds a game, playing 22 minutes, and it was still only one rebound off the team leaders. Other than Ward he was probably the most consistent offensive rebounder on the team. He was eighth in the Big Ten in rebounding percentage.

and Michael Beasley averaged 12.4 rebounds a game with 4 offensive boards. Didn't turn out to be much of a rebounder in the NBA did he? Of course, not saying he's going to be a Beasley, but with that frame he's not going to get more than 6 rebounds a game in the NBA playing out of position at center, which he will if he plays alongside Lauri. We need something better than Robin Lopez, not worse.

Did I mention that he's still 18?!? He's younger than the HSer in the Draft!

That's not really a concern for me, if he's not a 28 year old pretending to be 18 i really don't care about age. In fact, being that young means his entire rookie contract will be spent on learning how to play basketball, which will really suck for us if we take him and suffer a few more years of mediocrity before he may or may not turn out good.

Then again, we have a college coach pretending he can coach the NBA, so maybe more college players instead of NBA players will get him more comfortable.

Playing out of control is like the last thing you could call him, if anything he was often too concessionary to the veterans who were worse.

17.4 turnover percentage and 23.5 usage rate tells me a different story. Obviously I haven't seen all of his games but from the few clips that I have found of him playing his turnovers come when he's driving wildly into the paint, making moves before he thinks about what he's doing. Not showing good basketball IQ is a no-no for me.

I agree he's a good shot blocker and has potential but he's still undisciplined on defense, committing a lot of cheap fouls. Like I said, i reckon he's comparable with Thon Maker. He'll be a good fit in Memphis due to them already having a legit center in Gasol. Not with us when we have a lightweight stretch 4 in Lauri.

Wendell looks like a big boy, I'm wary of Duke products but I haven't done any homework on him so I'll pass on commenting.

So let’s hear why the butler trade was bad (other than they could have gotten a “better” deal). I dont remember your thoughts on it. I wondered what that side was going to argue considering the lack of assets, Jimmy Butler impending free agency (and age), and Rondo/Wade still on the payroll.

Niko changed uniforms but still brought the same inconsistency. Actually he was a less efficient scorer playing with a much more talented pelican team. The 20, 30 point games are fun to watch but the follow up disappearing acts were mind blowing. And his contract was up. btw. when Niko was on a roll, does hoiberg get any credit for that??

I don’t remember hearing reading any reports of portis being a bad teammate with the exception of punching out niko (lol). After the incident there was no incident and really, not even one audio or off the record quote from a teammate saying portis was a bad teammate.

You don’t like Portis or Valentine? What’s your expectation for players drafted at 14 & 22? I agree we need all stars but it’s unlikely coming from players drafted at those positions.

Brook Lopez is fine as a mentor. Definitely was sad to see Taj go

I'm not rating them badly because they haven't been pros, I'm rating them badly because they aren't ready in the NBA and should be staying a few more years in college to develop instead of coming in and being absolute shit, and we need players who can play.

You can’t have it both ways though. It’s a rarity for underclassmen to be ready to play. You pick an upperclassman they are more nba ready but they have limited ceiling. Mamba is more raw than JJjr. And what the hell about Mcdermott? He fits the experienced college player description to a T. Fuck what a miss on that one.

As i stated, haven’t watched much of any of these prospects. i'm still forming my opinion on just a few of them. How many games/ game tape of the prospects have you seen?

Fair call on PorterJr and his injury concern

Carter seems decent, but reports about his lack of quickness in his reactions on defense and being the last player up the court are a little troubling. Looks like he's got a respectable shooting touch though, and can block and rebound, so that's promising. They're comparing him to Juwan Howard and Al Horford; if that's at all a realistic ceiling, that's not too shabby. I'm not going to get too hyped, but if they end up picking him, he seems like he'd be worth taking a shot on.

Mikal Bridges might be a decent option as well. Not without his issues, but not a bad player to get at that pick.

I was of the opinion that trading Butler away was a bad idea, period. He's an all-NBA player entering his prime with a team-friendly contract, we were in no hurry to deal him away and had all the leverage, what we got in return is not good enough. Easily could've kept him and rebuild around him (and they wasted a year of being able to do that by signing Rondo and Wade despite saying we need youth and athleticism....)

The way Hoiberg handled the whole thing with Niko-Portis was terrible, confrontations happen all the time in practices around the league, rarely if ever escalates to sucker punches. That's the coach's fault for not putting a stop to things before it got out of hand.

Punching out a teammate isn't bad enough? Like I said after the incident, the fact that some of the players were backing Portis in that incident shows the entire locker room has character issues and need to be cleaned out. This is different, btw, from MJ punching Kerr in practice because #1 MJ knew he was in the wrong #2 Phil intervened and fixed the issue #3 They addressed it and moved on. Here GarPax Hoiberg just slapped Portis on the wrist and swept the whole thing under the carpet.

Role players at 14-22 are fine, we are picking 7th atm. I expect a fringe starter at worst, not another bench-warmer/role player; and McDermott is exactly why I don't want Porter Jr, they are practically the same player except the kid is taller and has back issues; and I'll rather go for sophomores and juniors rather than freshman or seniors. It takes really exceptional talent for freshman to be able to come in and play well in the NBA after a one-and-done season (ie Irving, Rose), unless they have strong fundamental skills already like a Jayson Tatum, I would prefer the Donovan Mitchells and Kyle Kuzmas rather than guys like Jonathan Isaac or Marquese Chriss who just aren't ready.

The guys I've commented about I've watched 2-3 full games of. Obviously Porter barely played but I did see all 53 minutes (out of 3 games) that he played in, not impressive to say the least.

Hoiberg is not a good (NBA) coach, period.
I remember games last year where his assistants did his job while he did nothing

You could say the bulls were one year late in tearing it down haha. I think we can both agree its hard to land a franchise talent.

Not sure anyone couldve stopped a sucker punch other than bruce lee. Thats why its called a sucker punch. The guys were complete professionals on the court. Everyone did good on it. Are there still character issues with the team? Who else needs to be cleaned out? Has there been any other reports of locker room turmoil? Even when garpax instituted the tank late season?!

Doug and MJP the same? Buckets was a big time college scorer on ridiculous efficiency and was a decent athlete. I dont see the similarirties

Thats a bit revisionist historian there on mitchell and kuzma. You even admitted no one was that high on mitchell. Though i must say i wanted the bulls to pick him but said hes unlikely to be available at their spot (this was before the butler trade)

Hoiberg is not a good (NBA) coach, period.
I remember games last year where his assistants did his job while he did nothing

Yep, he's rubbish. I have no idea how he's lasted 3 seasons and about to go on his fourth. If Thibs winning 66% of his games and getting into playoffs every season with subpar rosters can get him fired in 5, surely Hoiberg consistently losing and being mediocre should've gotten him out the door already?

Not sure anyone couldve stopped a sucker punch other than bruce lee. Thats why its called a sucker punch.

It's called stopping it before it escalates to the point where there's a serious confrontation and sucker punches happen. Notice them getting too heated? Send them home. Sit them out. Throw a bucket of ice over their heads, do something. According to reports this was a long time coming, those two fighting for each others' spot over the last few season isn't new. Hoiberg and GarPax saw all the signs, didn't do shit about it.

Doug and MJP the same? Buckets was a big time college scorer on ridiculous efficiency and was a decent athlete. I dont see the similarirties

MPJ not as good as Doug but they are both tweeners who can score in a variety of ways but especially shooting outside (MPJ streaky shooter, likes to shoot, isn't nearly as good at it as McBuckets). Both can't create for others, I don't think MPJ can really create that well for himself either, and both terrible on defensive end. MPJ post back injury has shown barely above average athleticism in his 3 games. He screams shit Doug to me.

Thats a bit revisionist historian there on mitchell and kuzma

You can say that for literally anybody that was drafted prior to this one. I used them as examples as they were the most recent cases of sophomore (Mitchell) and junior (Kuzma) players who transitioned well.

Would Red Auerbach get these bulls into the playoffs or even last year's embarrassment of a roster past the 1st round?

I’m convinced NIko used some kind of racial slur on Portis which explains why Portis snapped, his teammates backed up Ports, and just a “slap on the wrist” for Portis. you thought it was handled bad? imagine if Niko and or Ports refused to report back to the bulls, filed charges against each other/bulls organization? get over the punch already

Sorry, Valor. That’s reaching for straws re Mcbuckets vs MPJ. Mcbuckets was an accomplished college SENIOR scoring from all the over place without the all world athleticism. Porter’s resume is built on man childing against high school kids

You can say that for literally anybody that was drafted prior to this one. I used them as examples as they were the most recent cases of sophomore (Mitchell) and junior (Kuzma) players who transitioned well.

I’ll play the game too. Tatum, Markkanen, Adebayo, just to name a few, were all freshman and they transitioned well. Incidentally the first 11 picks of last year’s draft were freshmen. Just saying. we can agree some draft sites will proclaim a prospect is nba ready. Were there any reports last year of Mitchell and Kuzma mentioning they were NBA ready/were going to transition well in their rookie year? LOL c’mon.

on a lighter note, our boy, Grayson Allen, scored quite well on the agility drills. he may not even be there at pick #22

If there was racial slurs involved, it would've been reported and Mirotic would've faced repercussions from the league, especially in this climate. That's reaching from you mate and a very unfair accusation on Mirotic, who is the victim. I get it, you like Portis, that's alright, but don't defend or make excuses for what he did.

Dude smashed his own teammate's face so hard Mirotic ended up with a fracture and a concussion, that's malicious and beyond a simple scuffle, it's disgusting behaviour. We all grew up playing basketball and other team sports and we know you're supposed to stick up for your teammate and fight for them, there's disagreements but you don't try to kill each other during those disagreements.

Re: McBuckets vs MPJ, that's why I'm calling MPJ a SHIT version of McBuckets. It's not about senior or freshman etc, it's about their strengths and weaknesses and how that could potentially translate to the next level. MPJ nowhere close to the player McBuckets was in college, but they have similar strengths and weaknesses.

Markkanen played in Europe before going to Arizona, let's not pretend he's a product of the disgusting AAU/NCAA system that's destroying talents. Tatum is a rare breed who actually has fundamentals. Adebayo is a pure energy player, not much development needed, just physically. He's a career role player.

Lastly....you want Grayson Allen? No wonder why you're sticking up for Portis.

We don’t know the full story of how it all played out. You claim there were character issues/locker room turmoil/ the organization swept it under the rug? Because most of the players were backing up Portis? Sounds like Niko was in the wrong somehow. And what turmoi/character issuesl?

Niko and Portis reconciled. No reports of them having problems on the court since the incident. The players union and commissioner didn’t step in. Sounds like you want Portis to take lethal injection for his behavior

I don’t particularly like Portis and think he was wrong for the punch. I do give him credit for putting in the work this past offseason. Did Niko ever improve? he had a great March in his stint here and you kiss feet

I joke about Allen. Relax for a sec

So where on earth did your racial slur accusations come from? I say there's character issues because of some of them backing the guy who was clearly in the wrong. I don't care who they thought was correct or whatever in that argument, but as soon as a sucker punch was thrown Portis was 100% in the wrong and the team should've condemned him, just like how Noah was benched by his teammates in 08 after confronting Ron Adams in practice. This current crop shows no principles or leadership.

They reconciled in front of cameras, and never spoke to each other again. Mirotic made it clear it was him or Portis, doesn't sound too cordial to me. I want Portis to be kicked out of the team for that, I would've suspended him for a lot longer than 8 friggin games for starters. GarPax gave him a slap on the wrist and swept it under the carpet, then backed Portis by trading Mirotic. Disgusting.

Niko was the Pelican's third best player in the playoffs and they got to the second round. Didn't miss a beat without Cousins due to his presence. Kissing feet? More like I see a better player there than the brat with violent tendencies that's still wearing a Bulls jersey and see how little in return we got for that better player.

Paxson said and i quote “both players own responsibility in the incident”. Sorry, no relevant parties stepped in or demanded more to happen to Portis. i guess there are a bunch of bad guys on this team for backing up Portis. It’s fair to speculate something of racial nature sparked it. I can’t fathom why teammates would be up Portis if not for some legit reason.

Or maybe niko said your mom sucks cocks in hell? Who knows. Maybe a 30for 30 will come out and we’ll get all the details

Did you want those 2 to be BFF’s? They didn’t like each other but yet they remained professional. Even saw them give each other high fives. Your just sounding bitter bro. Move on

And since you brought it up, the Pels trade was a win for the bulls. They got a 1st round pick for a disgruntled player they weren’t going to resign anyway. Asik’s dead money isn’t a significant cap strain.

You still trying to make a case for NIko’s awesomeness using the same points from a previous post? Then just scroll up for my previous counter points

It's possible teammates backed up Portis because they like him better, or Niko did something else to instigate that type of reaction. Also, how are you so sure that the majority of the team backed Portis up?

Mentioning that a racial slur may have been said with absolutley no evidence of the fact, purely guessing, attacking Nikos character with said guess, is pretty bold and quite ridiculous.

Controversial comments with no backing like that is sometimes the reason why radio hosts, analysts, on air personalities in general get fired or suspended.

It's possible teammates backed up Portis because they like him better, or Niko did something else to instigate that type of reaction. Also, how are you so sure that the majority of the team backed Portis up?

Mentioning that a racial slur may have been said with absolutley no evidence of the fact, purely guessing, attacking Nikos character with said guess, is pretty bold and quite ridiculous.

Controversial comments with no backing like that is sometimes the reason why radio hosts, analysts, on air personalities in general get fired or suspended.

Thank you, finally some sense around here.

They liked Portis better because Niko is more reserved/quiet and is foreign. After Pau left there's no more Spanish mates on the team for Niko to bond with.

AG if you want to go personal and all that shit there's no point talking anymore.


New report regarding Luka Doncic

there's a belief the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, who have the second and third overall picks, respectively, could pass on Doncic "in favor of American frontcourt players."

Not even surprised, like I've been saying all along there's an anti-European prospect bias in the league. Reckon we can trade up to 4 with Portis, 7, 22, and a future first and it'll be bloody worth it.

cocks in hell wasn't personal. it was a quote from the exorcist. i was implying it's possible niko could have said that to portis lol. up until that punch, there weren't any questions marks about Poris character.

it was reported niko wasn't working out/hooping with teammates while at the advocate center during the offseason. no spanish fly around is a bogus excuse. go work out with the rest of your teammates and build some chemistry. i think it was goodwill or cowley who reported that niko did "come at" portis. twice. just saying niko is not some saint.

remember, adam silver and the players union were fine with how GarPax handled it. No grievances. those are FACTS.

but hey i think its clear your opinions on both parties in the discussion lol

i think i would shit myself if the bulls picked Carter

pretty stupid for any team to be tipping their hand on their who they prefer.. at least this early

If porter is healthy and is still there @7, he's the bulls pick

some reports resurfacing of Bamba working out for the bulls this friday

latest espn mock has the bulls picking trae young (and passing on MPJ)

seems like MPJ can somewhat control which team will pick him by having that choice of what medical information to disclose to teams.

wendell carter coming in for a workout today.

my preference for this week @7
mpj, bamba, mikhal bridges

Reinsdorf Not really dispelling the cheap reputation he's earned. Bulls didnt want to pay 10k to watch some international prospects?

That is a racket btw by whoever runs that. Charging 10k cmon.

cowley reporting the bulls are apparently not happy with Dunn's offseason work ethic/ are enamored with young and sexton.

now that would be something if they did pick a PG. i say that's just GarPax not showing their hand. don't think they've scheduled a workout with any of those

be great if the bulls trade for denver's pick at the cost of taking on faried's salary

or the more unlikely scenario of moving up for memphis pick/take on chandler parsons awful contract.

keeping the thread alive lol

anniversary of the jordan flu game. awesome amazon prime has some of these "classics"

anniversary of the jordan hangover game

FTFY

cowley reporting the bulls are apparently not happy with Dunn's offseason work ethic/ are enamored with young and sexton.

now that would be something if they did pick a PG. i say that's just GarPax not showing their hand. don't think they've scheduled a workout with any of those

It would be a waste to draft a PG if they'll keep Lavine and they still have the PG of the future in Cameron Payne for crying out loud! It's either go for a dependable scoring wing or a center who can both defend and spread the floor on offense for me. I prefer the latter with Wendell Carter on mind. All this time I'm wanting them to have a Derrick Favors type of player (not the "injured most of the season" type of course) and Carter seems like one. I reckon MPJ will not be there anymore at 7 and if he's still on board, they should just trade it for later since the kid can't be a 3 guy and they have the Finnish guy and Portis already.

must've been one helluva party, shadow

guess it's smokescreen time. i'd be surprised if its a pg the bulls pick @7.

carter's skillset makes sense. any duke big man i'll always have reservations about though

while mpj is who i prefer to take, i do question if he can be a 3. seen a few vids pre injury. can bring the ball up but doesn't look like he has the handles to get past a guy. in open space he does look good but creating in half court not so much.

locked on had their mock, surprisingly bagley was there @7 lol