I was attempting to say that I don't knock I left the I out thought you would make the inference. I was referring to you I was referring to me.

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Got it

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

FTFY

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They will be.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

I have seen the enemy and the enemy is thee!

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So if the Bulls had signed LBJ rather than Gasol - thus making Taj a starter - that would somehow elevate him in your eyes? Kind of an odd perspective IMO.
Also, what is "arguably an All Star"? Wasn't Nas's guy Lance almost an All Star?

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

If Taj were a starter with no Gasol on the team it would not have changed my opinion of him at all. He still would have been a bench player that was starting by default. For all the talk about bad basketball thoughts Bulls management agrees with me because they have never viewed him as a starter. No matter how you spin it he has been a career bench guy. Actually last yr Lance was arguably an all star because some people argued that he should be on the all star team. He was viewed as a guy that just missed making it. I think it had more to do with Indiana's success at the time. They were searching for a second guy to make it as they always do win a team is leading the league. Josh Smith has been a better player than Taj for most of his career and it didn't change until he began playing for the bankrupt Pistons. I defy all the Taj lovers to find me one site that lists him among the top 15 pfs. If you find one that does I can guarantee you that I can find many more that don't.

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Dunleavy is currently a bench player that is starting by default if you need an example. Gibson is better than Dunleavy but if you put LBJ on the team without Gasol those roles flip flop.

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You can't have it both ways. You argued that the Bulls wouldn't have signed Gasol if they viewed Taj as a starter. Then you say he would only have been a starter by default if they hadn't signed him.
Your starter criteria is both subjective and flawed...just like the arguable all star designation.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

I am not making the argument that Gibson is a top 15 pf. I do believe, however, that he is better than Josh Smith. The career achievement that you keep referencing is a strawman as I don't recall reading comments from Nas or others comparing the 2 other than in present tense (which you apparently seem to agree with).

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

What is a fact is that he hasn't been a starter at any point of his career and Josh Smith has been a starter for most of his. That suggests that he is a better player than Taj. I'm conceding that he has not played like it during the past yr. Josh Smith has been a better player than Taj for most of his career and I think he will be better going forward. If you look at skill set he does just about everything better than Taj. That is was makes him better. Josh Smith has been regarded as a top 15 power forward and Taj never has how does that make Taj. better?

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The Bulls have looked to upgrade the PF position each yr. that he has been on the team. What does that suggest about how they view him ultimately. Actually Mirotic is going to begin to take minutes away because he is obviously better at basketball than Taj.

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This entire discussion began when someone suggested that Taj would start on most teams. Josh Smith was one of 20 people I believed would start over Taj. Let's remove Josh from the equation. There are still more 15 PFS that would start over Taj. My basic premise was that he was overrated by a number of Bulls fans. One guy had him as high 8th best PF in the league. I will stand by my original Josh comments though I'm not the biggest Josh fan I believe he is better than Taj. that's all

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Again, you jump back and forth in time frame. I don't care -nor is it relevant to this discussion- how good people believed Josh Smith was or would be 3 or 4 years ago. Doesn't mean diddly. The argument being made by myself and pretty much everyone else on this board is that Taj is currently a better player. Further, The Bulls have not been actively seeking a replacement - they simply have been trying to improve by targeting the best available players. Gasol is a Player that gets them closer to a championship. That doesn't diminish Taj, nor does being a top level 6th man.

The beauty of of these discussions is that they are subjective and thus lack finality. However,

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

Taj Gibson started 70 games his rookie season.

This isn't going well for you.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Taj Gibson started 70 games his rookie season.



By default which only proves my point. Look at the Bulls roster of Power Forwards that yr. His starting led to the signing of Boozer.

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I have doing a little back tracking and it appears that Nas was not alone in love of Lance. It appears that the Taj lovers were also big fans of Lance "best bulls shooting guard since Jordan. All of this is tied together. Pau Gasol torpedoed both those moves and now we can't let it go.

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Bulls power forwards that yr. Chris Richard Tyrus Thomas James Johnson Hakim Warrick Taj Gibson. That really was some achievement starting over that group of stumble bums.

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I think Josh Smith is still the better player and we will see how this Houston thing plays out. If he bombs in Houston then I fold the tent. He is not three to fours removed from being a good player or better than Taj. It was just a yr ago and 1 yr ago Taj was taught to be a bit of a disappointment. Remember all the articles related to his being a disappointment. It was just a yr. Ago

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Pistons 2-0 since, including a 103-80 thrashing of the Cavs in Cleveland.

Pistons up by 20 on the hapless Magic. Will be 3-0 since cutting Josh Smith.

Smith's new team is 1-2 since adding Smith to their roster.

Please refer to him as "formerly Arguably an All Star" Josh Smith.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

I'm still not buying it. Rockets 2 losses were to the Spurs and the Wizards. It's early money. The Pistons stink but the Magic stink even more

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When you can refer to Taj as formerly Arguably a bench player then we can have a discussion.

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It's still early and he doesn't know the offense but he's sucked the past 2 games.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I've definitely seen him do some stupid shit the past two games. Ironically it didn't involve shooting threes. Stupid turnovers mostly.

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I'll stick with Taj "currently a better player than Josh Smith" Gibson.

Besides, you are the only one I've read that believes being one of the best 6th men in the league is some kind of put down.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

His being better is a recent phenomenon. It's not a put down but let's not forget that J.R. Smith only two yrs ago was a top 6th man. There is always a reason a guy is a bench player. Also in case you have not noticed Gibsons minutes have been declining. This started because there was a group of people that stated he would start on most teams. The only person on that list that they are focusing on is Smith. Even before this yr Smith was considered a top 15 PF. I saw the lists. Taj isn't a top 15 PF on any lists. That would suggests that I am not the only person that believes Josh is better. He hasn't played that way recently. I don't do snapshot evaluations as some do. It is those types of evaluations that led to the love of Lance and the dismissal of Pau. I look at the full body of a person's work and if you compare the two it really isn't a comparison. They also are the same age which eliminates the whole upside portion of the debate. I appreciate Taj for what he is a good bench player. If he starts for you he would be in the bottom 10 pfs in the league.

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Taj is a much smarter player who understands his limitations. Neither trait applies to Smith. He was a better defender the minute he walked on the floor. He has worked on his game and steadily improved his offense each season. Despite his athletic advantages, Smith has declined as a player.

With regard to your obsession with starting, it's not just posters in this board that think it - all of the TNT announcers agreed he would be a starter for many teams. Personally I really don't care if he ever starts...still a good and valuable player.

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Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.- JD Vance
If you committed violence on that day, obviously, you shouldn’t be pardoned.- JD Vance on the J-6 insurrectionists

Just not a top 15 pf. That was where this originated. It's not about whether he is a good player or not. He is ok and I think a lot of Bulls fans overrated him. He missed games and the Bulls really didn't miss him. Two yrs ago there were numerous articles suggesting how disappointing he was after signing the contract. He has been a solid bench player but he has never won a 6th man of the yr award. He may not be the Bulls best bench player at the moment. He is am undersized pf who really doesn't have an offensive game. He can't pass and really doesn't have a post game. He is an effort guy and people love effort guys. There were people on here suggesting that it would be ludicrous for Pau Gasol to start over him. How laughable does that appear to be now?

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