The Armchair GM Knows Best Thread - Choose Your Own Adventure

[knoxville7]

Well you cannot come back with the same team next season no matter what. I'm thinking a mini blow up/tank then regrouping in 2024 with hopefully a few fresh draftees and sizable amount of cap space.

-Trade DeRozan
-Trade Caruso
-S&T Vuc (or let walk)
-S&T Coby

Next off season shed Lonzo's salary either by medical retirement or trade/buyout.

I doubt many will like this idea, but what about trading derozan and signing Kyrie?

Bulls clearly need a PG with the death of Lonzo Ball.

Kyrie and Lavine in the backcourt and you resign Vuc if he’s in for a team friendly deal.

 

[Icculus]

Hell No to that cancerous, anti-Semitic piece of shit. I would rather see if Toronto would want to deal Fred van Fleet like @clonetrooper264 suggested.

 

[knoxville7]

Hell No to that cancerous, anti-Semitic piece of shit. I would rather see if Toronto would want to deal Fred van Fleet like @clonetrooper264 suggested.

I totally agree he’s a shit stain of a human

 

[Scoot26]

I doubt many will like this idea, but what about trading derozan and signing Kyrie?

Bulls clearly need a PG with the death of Lonzo Ball.

Kyrie and Lavine in the backcourt and you resign Vuc if he’s in for a team friendly deal.

Noooooooppppeeeee

 

[knoxville7]

Noooooooppppeeeee

Again, I know he’s a shitty person. But, that doesn’t change the fact he’s an elite basketball player and is certainly an upgrade over derozan ON the basketball court

 

[clonetrooper264]

Drama following Kyrie aside, you technically have the same issue of availability because you never know when he's gonna go off an do something that'll prevent him from playing or just not play of his own accord. He's an elite talent for sure, but his impact hasn't been the most positive lately

 

[Scoot26]

Again, I know he’s a shitty person. But, that doesn’t change the fact he’s an elite basketball player and is certainly an upgrade over derozan ON the basketball court

He's a highly talented basketball player. However, since he's gone off on his own from LeBron, his talents have resulted in winning basketball.

The Celtics made an ECF without him his first year there, then lost in the 2nd round to the Bucks 4-1 the following year with him. The Celtics returned to the ECF the next year after he was gone, and then to the Finals two years later.

The Nets went as Durant went. When Durant was out, Kyrie couldn't carry that team anywhere. Even with them both on the court last year, they were swept in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The Mavericks went from 4th seed to out of the playoffs after trading for him.

Then we can bring into his shitty personal drama he brings everywhere he goes.

He doesn't help teams, he drags them down.

 

[knoxville7]

He's a highly talented basketball player. However, since he's gone off on his own from LeBron, his talents have resulted in winning basketball.

The Celtics made an ECF without him his first year there, then lost in the 2nd round to the Bucks 4-1 the following year with him. The Celtics returned to the ECF the next year after he was gone, and then to the Finals two years later.

The Nets went as Durant went. When Durant was out, Kyrie couldn't carry that team anywhere. Even with them both on the court last year, they were swept in the 1st round of the playoffs.

The Mavericks went from 4th seed to out of the playoffs after trading for him.

Then we can bring into his shitty personal drama he brings everywhere he goes.

He doesn't help teams, he drags them down.

While everything you said is factual in that it happened, I think we both know better than to put all of those shortcomings on Kyrie basketball wise

I’m not saying he’s a guy that’s going to carry a team to a ring, but there’s only like 5 of those guys in the league at most.

I’m no fan of his, but I do think the bulls are a better team if you swap him in derozans place due to fit. Now, they are still not a title contender with him…I agree there. Another move or two would need to be made still likely

 

[Scoot26]

While everything you said is factual in that it happened, I think we both know better than to put all of those shortcomings on Kyrie basketball wise

I’m not saying he’s a guy that’s going to carry a team to a ring, but there’s only like 5 of those guys in the league at most.

I’m no fan of his, but I do think the bulls are a better team if you swap him in derozans place due to fit. Now, they are still not a title contender with him…I agree there. Another move or two would need to be made still likely

Guess I just don't see the point. I'd rather just tank and take a chance on a draft pick.

Neither DeMar nor Kyrie elevates your team enough. Though DeMar at least isn't a personal distraction to the team.

 

[knoxville7]

Guess I just don't see the point. I'd rather just tank and take a chance on a draft pick.

Neither DeMar nor Kyrie elevates your team enough. Though DeMar at least isn't a personal distraction to the team.

I guess I just feel the impact at PG would help this team a lot more

And another move would need to be made still to improve the roster, as mentioned.

Tanking away for a draft pick may be a decent option. Just no guarantees you get that top pick. Especially if Lavine is still on the roster.

Would need to trade away ALOT of guys to make tanking realistic

 

[knoxville7]

Plus, it would improve the 3 point shooting and volume as well, which I know Clone loves

 

[Scoot26]

I guess I just feel the impact at PG would help this team a lot more

And another move would need to be made still to improve the roster, as mentioned.

Tanking away for a draft pick may be a decent option. Just no guarantees you get that top pick. Especially if Lavine is still on the roster.

Would need to trade away ALOT of guys to make tanking realistic

Bulls do need a PG. Don't see Kyrie as the guy though for a variety of reasons. Rather try someone else.

The Bulls aren't going to be bad enough to have the worst record in the league. They don't necessarily need the #1 pick to find a really good player. But with the lottery they still would have a solid chance at the #1 pick, or even moving up.

Lavine doesn't elevate the team enough to keep them playoff worthy by any means, but certainly does to keep them from being the absolute worst.

 

[knoxville7]

Bulls do need a PG. Don't see Kyrie as the guy though for a variety of reasons. Rather try someone else.

The Bulls aren't going to be bad enough to have the worst record in the league. They don't necessarily need the #1 pick to find a really good player. But with the lottery they still would have a solid chance at the #1 pick, or even moving up.

Lavine doesn't elevate the team enough to keep them playoff worthy by any means, but certainly does to keep them from being the absolute worst.

Well, like you said…they need an upgrade at PG. looking at the market, I don’t see many good options out there and Kyrie is clearly the best available PG this offseason

You add his 3 point shooting and overall ability to get a bucket, and they do become a much more “modern” offense with Kyrie and Lavine being 40% three point shooters on 8 attempts per game each

 

[clonetrooper264]

Plus, it would improve the 3 point shooting and volume as well, which I know Clone loves

This bit is true

I only really harp on the 3pt shooting thing because I feel like with better 3pt shooting (both accuracy and volume) combined with the current defense scheme (somehow good for top 5ish in the league) that should be good enough to improve to a top 6 team. Even if defense takes a hit to say around 15th, if we can get the offensive rating up to about 15, that should be a top 6 team in the East. Currently the Bulls are 23rd in offensive rating

 

[knoxville7]

This bit is true

I only really harp on the 3pt shooting thing because I feel like with better 3pt shooting (both accuracy and volume) combined with the current defense scheme (somehow good for top 5ish in the league) that should be good enough to improve to a top 6 team. Even if defense takes a hit to say around 15th, if we can get the offensive rating up to about 15, that should be a top 6 team in the East. Currently the Bulls are 23rd in offensive rating

I completely agree the bulls need to find good 3 point shooters that take a good bit of them a game

That’s why I bring up Kyrie. Dude shoots it at 39% on about 8 attempts a game. That’s the kind of boost to the 3 point shooting the bulls definitely need

You put out a lineup that has Kyrie, ZL, and PWill and you’ve got some legit 3 point shooting going on

You can pencil in 7/18 from 3 per game from those 3 guys

 

[clonetrooper264]

I completely agree the bulls need to find good 3 point shooters that take a good bit of them a game

That’s why I bring up Kyrie. Dude shoots it at 39% on about 8 attempts a game. That’s the kind of boost to the 3 point shooting the bulls definitely need

You put out a lineup that has Kyrie, ZL, and PWill and you’ve got some legit 3 point shooting going on

You can pencil in 7/18 from 3 per game from those 3 guys

On paper, yup. The devil's advocate is that Kyrie hasn't brought success with him wherever he goes, so there's an intangible there that's detracting from his otherwise undeniable skill level.

 

[knoxville7]

On paper, yup. The devil's advocate is that Kyrie hasn't brought success with him wherever he goes, so there's an intangible there that's detracting from his otherwise undeniable skill level.

I think it’s called the teammates around him. Like, sure he had KD and harden in Brooklyn, but they only played like 15 games together. And they were really really good in those games

Like most players, the roster around them matters

 

[RoseMVP1]

I think they have to explore trading Demar. I love what he’s done but he just doesn’t help when It comes to stretching the floor and I also think Pat should be getting more touches.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I think they have to explore trading Demar. I love what he’s done but he just doesn’t help when It comes to stretching the floor and I also think Pat should be getting more touches.

I concur. I'll even credit Demar for trying to shoot more 3s towards the end of the year, but it's just not going to work with this roster makeup. We also saw some decent growth from Pat this year (nothing amazing, but will still respect doubling his 3pt volume and retaining a 40+% average), but we're left still wanting to see more because we get some flashes still.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I think it’s called the teammates around him. Like, sure he had KD and harden in Brooklyn, but they only played like 15 games together. And they were really really good in those games

Like most players, the roster around them matters

Except Lillard, then you just end up in the cellar lol

But sure one player alone doesn't make or break a franchise...usually. Kyrie has played with some pretty great players post Lebron but still we don't see the results. The Nets big 3 should've been a title contending team in theory, but yet they only played 16 games together. Is that Kyrie's fault? Partly. Is it KD and Harden's fault? Probably also partly. Those three were on the Nets for about a calendar year, 16 games together in that stretch is pretty wild. That aside, even just two of the three should have resulted in success, and for a bit it did this season with KD and Kyrie before KD got injured. But then you hear Kyrie wants a trade. He gets his trade and is paired with another great player in Doncic...no success.

Let's rewind further, season prior to the Harden trade the Nets were 2 games below .500, but Kyrie only played 20 games due to shoulder issues. Prior to that you have 2 seasons in Boston where Kyrie did make the 2nd round of the playoffs with Kyrie playing 126 out of 164 games playing alongside a young Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, a not yet dead Gordon Hayward and a not yet super old Al Horford.

So yes, the team matters, but we have seen in each of those spots that Kyrie can and has been the cause for distraction in those teams. I don't think Kyrie has been on any truly bad teams since leaving Cleveland. Flawed teams, sure, but nothing where you're saying "man without Kyrie that team would be in the dumps"