Bulls 2022 Offseason Discussion Thread (FREE AGENCY)

Enasic

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I mean if we're going by 20 years.. they made the Finals in 2008 and 2010, winning once. If you mean post-KG.. they have three ECF appearances.
Good call I was referring to post KG.
 

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I'd put him in the top 30, maybe top 20 of players because his defensive impact is massive obviously. But we've also seen teams completely neutralize him by forcing him to matchup with a someone with perimeter skills and pulling him away from the basket.
Reason I ask is he’s top 10 in PER, Win value added, etc…
 

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As Founder and President of the "I Hate Coby White Association" he can't get out of my Bulls basketball life quick enough. Vuc has got to go as well. He is a very high needs player. I don't mean in the diva sense, but in the 'he needs to be involved early' or 'he needs the offense to run a certain way through him' type of player.

There's obviously no way to move Lonzo, but I would be very interested in any offers that came my way.

I'm not sure Lavine is a max player.

I don't think Gobert is as good defensively as most, however he is a physical presence that the team desperately needs.

I'd draft Mark Williams from Duke.
Pretty sure I’m the founder, but agreed lol
 

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In my perspective, I don't see many big changes happening. So instead of just saying who needs to leave, I'll try to address the big needs on the roster.

1. Size
It's been known the whole season that we're lacking a PF. Can PWill be that guy in the future? Who knows, but even if the answer is yes there is still a need for size on this team. Pretty much the whole rotation stands between 6'5 and 6'7 with Vuc and Thompson being the only bigs. And Thompson is only 6'9. With Simonovic likely still a couple years away from being any meaningful rotation player (if he gets there at all), there's pretty much no bigs on the roster in 2 years time and only Vuc, Simonovic, and Tony Bradley (player option apparently) are under contract for next season. Given BD's reluctance to actually use Tony Bradley at all, there's room for up to 3 rotational bigs on the roster, depending on how you feel about PWill.

FA pickings are slim to say the least. Among PFs listed on spotrac, potentially helpful options include Robert Covington, Chris Boucher (likely to re-sign with Toronto), Bobby Portis (likely to stay with Milwaukee), Trey Lyles (team option), and Montrezl Harrell. Among Cs there's not much either, but some options include Demarcus Cousins, Mitchell Robinson (likely re-signing with NY), Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and Javale McGee.

2. Shooting
It's well documented that the Bulls are near the bottom of the league in 3PA, but for much of the season were near the top in 3pt%. Some of that is the Derozan effect, but this team could certainly use more consistent shooting from 3 with volume. Without Lonzo's 42% shooting from 3, we have been left to see Coby White's streaky performances and Alex Caruso's shooting woes due recovering from a plethora of injuries simultaneously, as well as Ayo's inconsistency as our primary 3pt shooters outside of Zach. Even if we were to say that Caruso will return to 40% shooting form as he had with the Lakers last season, he is still only attempting 3 attempts per game.

While Matt Thomas is a good shooter, clearly he has many weaknesses that keep him off the court. Potential shooters that could crack the rotation and are FAs this offseason include Malik Monk, Bryn Forbes, Robert Covington, TJ Warren, and an intriguing option in Victor Oladipo.

There is also the potential to hire shooting coaches. Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, has worked with many NBA players with great success including Bobby Portis, public enemy #1 Grayson Allen, Danny Green, and Kentavious Calwell-Pope. Portis in particular has experienced significant improvement since working with Lethal Shooter. Were I a part of the Bulls FO, I'd look into getting some players to work with this guy, or at the very least get some more consistency out of players you know will be shooting the ball. Someone like Javonte Green's value could skyrocket with a consistent corner 3.

3. Defense
This one I am going to pin more on the coaching staff than anyone else. I can't claim to know in full what BD's scheme is, but it has gotten progressively worse every single month. Whatever it is, it needs some revamping. You don't need elite defenders across your roster to have an elite defense. There's so many breakdowns that happen now that seemed to not happen earlier in the year. Maybe players were more engaged earlier in the season when there was more winning, but regardless of what it is, the scheme needs to be better and adjustments need to happen quicker. How long does it take to realize that double teaming so and so has led to 5 open shots for someone else?


At the end of the day, I think the only real changes we'll see is in the role players. I don't see Vuc going anywhere, despite the many clamoring for his departure. Coby I can see being moved for a PF not previously mentioned, but don't expect any game changers anywhere. However, hopefully with some of the holes being filled and the right types of players in the rotation we can go from a 1st round sweep expectation to a solid 2nd round appearance.
 

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Reason I ask is he’s top 10 in PER, Win value added, etc…
Heck Jonas Valenciunas is up there as well in those stats. Something about PER these days, players are going nuts. Javale McGee has a PER of 22.96. Willy Hernangomez has a PER of 22.44. For reference Demar is at 23.36 and Gobert at 24.87.

Not saying Gobert isn't a great player, but something about these stats feels less definitive than it used to.

I mean, Vuc is 15th in both value added and estimated wins added. In particular those two stats are heavily skewed to the center position.
 

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In my perspective, I don't see many big changes happening. So instead of just saying who needs to leave, I'll try to address the big needs on the roster.

1. Size
It's been known the whole season that we're lacking a PF. Can PWill be that guy in the future? Who knows, but even if the answer is yes there is still a need for size on this team. Pretty much the whole rotation stands between 6'5 and 6'7 with Vuc and Thompson being the only bigs. And Thompson is only 6'9. With Simonovic likely still a couple years away from being any meaningful rotation player (if he gets there at all), there's pretty much no bigs on the roster in 2 years time and only Vuc, Simonovic, and Tony Bradley (player option apparently) are under contract for next season. Given BD's reluctance to actually use Tony Bradley at all, there's room for up to 3 rotational bigs on the roster, depending on how you feel about PWill.

FA pickings are slim to say the least. Among PFs listed on spotrac, potentially helpful options include Robert Covington, Chris Boucher (likely to re-sign with Toronto), Bobby Portis (likely to stay with Milwaukee), Trey Lyles (team option), and Montrezl Harrell. Among Cs there's not much either, but some options include Demarcus Cousins, Mitchell Robinson (likely re-signing with NY), Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and Javale McGee.

2. Shooting
It's well documented that the Bulls are near the bottom of the league in 3PA, but for much of the season were near the top in 3pt%. Some of that is the Derozan effect, but this team could certainly use more consistent shooting from 3 with volume. Without Lonzo's 42% shooting from 3, we have been left to see Coby White's streaky performances and Alex Caruso's shooting woes due recovering from a plethora of injuries simultaneously, as well as Ayo's inconsistency as our primary 3pt shooters outside of Zach. Even if we were to say that Caruso will return to 40% shooting form as he had with the Lakers last season, he is still only attempting 3 attempts per game.

While Matt Thomas is a good shooter, clearly he has many weaknesses that keep him off the court. Potential shooters that could crack the rotation and are FAs this offseason include Malik Monk, Bryn Forbes, Robert Covington, TJ Warren, and an intriguing option in Victor Oladipo.

There is also the potential to hire shooting coaches. Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, has worked with many NBA players with great success including Bobby Portis, public enemy #1 Grayson Allen, Danny Green, and Kentavious Calwell-Pope. Portis in particular has experienced significant improvement since working with Lethal Shooter. Were I a part of the Bulls FO, I'd look into getting some players to work with this guy, or at the very least get some more consistency out of players you know will be shooting the ball. Someone like Javonte Green's value could skyrocket with a consistent corner 3.

3. Defense
This one I am going to pin more on the coaching staff than anyone else. I can't claim to know in full what BD's scheme is, but it has gotten progressively worse every single month. Whatever it is, it needs some revamping. You don't need elite defenders across your roster to have an elite defense. There's so many breakdowns that happen now that seemed to not happen earlier in the year. Maybe players were more engaged earlier in the season when there was more winning, but regardless of what it is, the scheme needs to be better and adjustments need to happen quicker. How long does it take to realize that double teaming so and so has led to 5 open shots for someone else?


At the end of the day, I think the only real changes we'll see is in the role players. I don't see Vuc going anywhere, despite the many clamoring for his departure. Coby I can see being moved for a PF not previously mentioned, but don't expect any game changers anywhere. However, hopefully with some of the holes being filled and the right types of players in the rotation we can go from a 1st round sweep expectation to a solid 2nd round appearance.
I like the idea of McGee or whiteside as cheaper back up options for defensive bigs for sure

and Coby(plus contract matching) and maybe a pick for jerami grant this offseason could still make sense
 

knoxville7

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Heck Jonas Valenciunas is up there as well in those stats. Something about PER these days, players are going nuts. Javale McGee has a PER of 22.96. Willy Hernangomez has a PER of 22.44. For reference Demar is at 23.36 and Gobert at 24.87.

Not saying Gobert isn't a great player, but something about these stats feels less definitive than it used to.

I mean, Vuc is 15th in both value added and estimated wins added. In particular those two stats are heavily skewed to the center position.
Agreed. In VORP Gobert comes in the 15-20 range, which I think is a more accurate reflection. But, I’m sure I’ll get criticized for mentioning VORP being a more accurate metric lol
 

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Agreed. In VORP Gobert comes in the 15-20 range, which I think is a more accurate reflection. But, I’m sure I’ll get criticized for mentioning VORP being a more accurate metric lol
I mean, it depends on what you're saying it's more accurate than. I'll say VORP is probably more accurate than Value Added, but I am not as sure if it's true of PER in general. In the case of Gobert it might be that VORP is more accurate
 

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I like the idea of McGee or whiteside as cheaper back up options for defensive bigs for sure

and Coby(plus contract matching) and maybe a pick for jerami grant this offseason could still make sense
I like the idea of Grant, but I am not sure if Detroit will just give him to us for Coby and salary, even with the pick.

Technically Grant is a little bit expensive at 20M per year also. Not that it's a deal breaker, but it does give you the salary you need to match, and I'm not really sure how much Coby is covering of that...it could be less than half.
 

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I like the idea of McGee or whiteside as cheaper back up options for defensive bigs for sure

and Coby(plus contract matching) and maybe a pick for jerami grant this offseason could still make sense
Good call on Grant.
 

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Here’s a question for everyone…where do people consider Gobert to be ranked?
He ain't no superstar, but he's a damn fine defensive player. Probably basically agree with what Clone said about him.

I'd take him on this team.
 

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I like the idea of Grant, but I am not sure if Detroit will just give him to us for Coby and salary, even with the pick.

Technically Grant is a little bit expensive at 20M per year also. Not that it's a deal breaker, but it does give you the salary you need to match, and I'm not really sure how much Coby is covering of that...it could be less than half.
Considering grant will be entering the final year of his contract next season, makes him a lil less valuable than he was at this past trade deadline. But of course, none of us know if Detroit would have interest In coby and a pick or not
 

Enasic

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In my perspective, I don't see many big changes happening. So instead of just saying who needs to leave, I'll try to address the big needs on the roster.

1. Size
It's been known the whole season that we're lacking a PF. Can PWill be that guy in the future? Who knows, but even if the answer is yes there is still a need for size on this team. Pretty much the whole rotation stands between 6'5 and 6'7 with Vuc and Thompson being the only bigs. And Thompson is only 6'9. With Simonovic likely still a couple years away from being any meaningful rotation player (if he gets there at all), there's pretty much no bigs on the roster in 2 years time and only Vuc, Simonovic, and Tony Bradley (player option apparently) are under contract for next season. Given BD's reluctance to actually use Tony Bradley at all, there's room for up to 3 rotational bigs on the roster, depending on how you feel about PWill.

FA pickings are slim to say the least. Among PFs listed on spotrac, potentially helpful options include Robert Covington, Chris Boucher (likely to re-sign with Toronto), Bobby Portis (likely to stay with Milwaukee), Trey Lyles (team option), and Montrezl Harrell. Among Cs there's not much either, but some options include Demarcus Cousins, Mitchell Robinson (likely re-signing with NY), Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and Javale McGee.

2. Shooting
It's well documented that the Bulls are near the bottom of the league in 3PA, but for much of the season were near the top in 3pt%. Some of that is the Derozan effect, but this team could certainly use more consistent shooting from 3 with volume. Without Lonzo's 42% shooting from 3, we have been left to see Coby White's streaky performances and Alex Caruso's shooting woes due recovering from a plethora of injuries simultaneously, as well as Ayo's inconsistency as our primary 3pt shooters outside of Zach. Even if we were to say that Caruso will return to 40% shooting form as he had with the Lakers last season, he is still only attempting 3 attempts per game.

While Matt Thomas is a good shooter, clearly he has many weaknesses that keep him off the court. Potential shooters that could crack the rotation and are FAs this offseason include Malik Monk, Bryn Forbes, Robert Covington, TJ Warren, and an intriguing option in Victor Oladipo.

There is also the potential to hire shooting coaches. Chris Matthews, aka Lethal Shooter, has worked with many NBA players with great success including Bobby Portis, public enemy #1 Grayson Allen, Danny Green, and Kentavious Calwell-Pope. Portis in particular has experienced significant improvement since working with Lethal Shooter. Were I a part of the Bulls FO, I'd look into getting some players to work with this guy, or at the very least get some more consistency out of players you know will be shooting the ball. Someone like Javonte Green's value could skyrocket with a consistent corner 3.

3. Defense
This one I am going to pin more on the coaching staff than anyone else. I can't claim to know in full what BD's scheme is, but it has gotten progressively worse every single month. Whatever it is, it needs some revamping. You don't need elite defenders across your roster to have an elite defense. There's so many breakdowns that happen now that seemed to not happen earlier in the year. Maybe players were more engaged earlier in the season when there was more winning, but regardless of what it is, the scheme needs to be better and adjustments need to happen quicker. How long does it take to realize that double teaming so and so has led to 5 open shots for someone else?


At the end of the day, I think the only real changes we'll see is in the role players. I don't see Vuc going anywhere, despite the many clamoring for his departure. Coby I can see being moved for a PF not previously mentioned, but don't expect any game changers anywhere. However, hopefully with some of the holes being filled and the right types of players in the rotation we can go from a 1st round sweep expectation to a solid 2nd round appearance.
Bobby would be such a great fit here.

If Vuc is still on the roster next year that’s a failure. The trade backfired. Seemed like a good move at the time, but WCJ basically performed equal to Vuc this season, is significantly younger and cheaper, and Bulls could have drafted Wagner to come off the bench….in sdddition to having a first next year.

From a “Bulls Culture” and mentality perspective, Vuc should not be on the roster. He’s weak mentally and physically, a sieve defensively and simply not a winner. If I were building a team, he’s simply not a player I could have on the roster.
 

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Considering grant will be entering the final year of his contract next season, makes him a lil less valuable than he was at this past trade deadline. But of course, none of us know if Detroit would have interest In coby and a pick or not
My gut instinct would be that Detroit would have no interest in Coby whatsoever unless they're also sending back one of their plethora of guards also. They have Cory Joseph, Cade Cunningham, Frank Jackson, Killian Hayes, and Saben Lee that they've been using at guard for pretty much the whole year, depending on who was healthy. Is Coby definitely better than some of those names to Detroit? Maybe.
 

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My gut instinct would be that Detroit would have no interest in Coby whatsoever unless they're also sending back one of their plethora of guards also. They have Cory Joseph, Cade Cunningham, Frank Jackson, Killian Hayes, and Saben Lee that they've been using at guard for pretty much the whole year, depending on who was healthy. Is Coby definitely better than some of those names to Detroit? Maybe.
Yeah, hard to speak on behalf of them one way or another. All we can do is speculate. However, it’s almost as if the trade deadline was the time to move coby…when his value was at its highest, he was actually playing solid offensively at least then. Now, probably can’t get much for him. i tried to tell you guys
 

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I must say when we traded WCJ for Vuc I wasn't expecting Vuc to become the most hated Bulls player not named Coby White.
 

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Yeah, hard to speak on behalf of them one way or another. All we can do is speculate. However, it’s almost as if the trade deadline was the time to move coby…when his value was at its highest, he was actually playing solid offensively at least then. Now, probably can’t get much for him. i tried to tell you guys
Who's to say AKME didn't try? Maybe Coby's value was cheeks even then
 

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I must say when we traded WCJ for Vuc I wasn't expecting Vuc to become the most hated Bulls player not named Coby White.
Sometimes when guys toil in anonymity with teams like Orlando, you don't realize how bad they are. But it should be a sign that the team is that bad with a supposed star on the roster.
 

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Who's to say AKME didn't try? Maybe Coby's value was cheeks even then
And they may have tried, who knows…again, merely speculation one way or another.

what I’m speaking to is the numerous people on this board that hated the idea of trading coby at the deadline, and now a month or two later are clamoring for him to be gone
 

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