I actually was right about him not being a point. That was about it though. You got the win. He still stinks though and most seem to agree. Did you ever admit you were wrong about Taj? What about Noah? Butler? Til I uncovered the truth.

A lot of people fail to admit their wrongs. Hell you continue to fight the Portis is TYRUS fight. Can you finally admit you are wrong on tgat?

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Just three days ago I had the Bull being able to play with any team in the East not named Cleveland. Now, well, I'm a bit concerned to say the least.

Adding another scorer has to be a top priority or this season is going to get away from them in a hurry. Opposing teams are going to continue to double team Butler and it'd be asking too much of Wade for him to carry the load at this stage in his career.

I'd be on the phone to Sacramento daily to try and pry Cousins away. Things might still blow up in your face with that mix in the locker room, but a steady diet of Niko pump faking and shooting 30 footers aint gonna get the job done on the offensive end.

They need McDermott and MCW back. Can't watch too much more of Canaan. He blows.

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Robin Lopez was a good pickup for Rose. However, they would have been better off getting something back for Pau Gasol last year.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

Their bench might be the worst in the NBA

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Befitting their status as having one of the worst front offices

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Adopt the Riley playbook circa 2009-2010. Infiltrate the network of future stud free agents (Davis, Towns, the guy on Philly, etc.) and leverage your influence with that circle to have things go your way during free agency. The Spurs model is a crap shoot since it depends on hitting on mid to late round picks over the course of 3-5 years.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Remember the halcyon days when comments about the greatness that is Timberwolves basketball wasn't considered objectionable?

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I sure do.

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Unless an elite free agent joins the Bulls or they add one through the draft (picking in the middle of the round), this team is stick as a 35-45 win team depending on health, players up/downs.

I don't think trading Jimmy Butler for the #5 pick in the draft is a move forward, but I'm not sure hitting rock bottom is the answer either. Tough spot for the Bulls.

Rondo gonna ask for a trade or his release tomorrow.

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Who wants a PG who can't shoot and who seems disinterested in playing? I'm sure the Bulls will have plenty of suitors. As for releasing him, wouldn't he have to agree to a buy out so the Bulls aren't on the hook for both years of his deal? So far, Rondo seems to be dealing with his benching publicly ok, but this could take time for this to sort out. The Bulls could try to move him, but that may not be until the trading deadline to see if something presents itself (garbage for garbage type trade), he could find himself back starting if MCW doesn't offer much, and then this could drag into the off-season.

I just regard this as yet another instance of unforeseeable bad luck for GarPax and Fred. Who could have ever predicted that Rajon Rondo wouldn't be good at basketball in 2016?

The Bulls were going to have Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy playing if they didn't sign Rondo. Rondo is still an upgrade over those two bums.

Paxson attempted to make the Bulls relevant by signing Wade and Rodo. 6-8 seed probably was their goal.

The most problematic thing for the Bulls isn't Rondo. None of their young players are NBA ready. They also have decided to build around a guy that really isn't a franchise player. This is really starting to look like Krause with Jalen Rose.

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This is the crux of the matter. No other team in the league actively aims for the 8th seed like the Bulls nor pretends that the mere act of making the playoffs makes them "relevant." Now Paxson's giving interviews where he appears to be contemplating a tank job when far too many teams have already initiated the process and no one on the roster has trade value outside of Butler.

I'd have accepted Grant or Calderon or Rose starting if it actually signaled a commitment to a long-term rebuild (bracketing the issue of whether Paxson and his muppet-looking crony should have any control over a prospective rebuild). Heading into this offseason Butler was the only significant contract on the books through 2018, and his contract is actually a bargain since it was signed before the cap went up. Now it looks like Grant may still end up starting before the end of the year as Fred desperately shuffles players around to run his "system," only the Bulls will have wasted time, money, and draft position to reach that point, all thanks to GarPax's efforts to paper over the cracks of the putrid roster they've constructed.

Paxson didn't really aim to be 8th until this year. Say what you want about him but the Bulls had a team that was a legit contender for the past 5 years. Injuries derailed that. It is easy to say you would have taken Calderon but he isn't even a professional player at this stage. As soon as his contract is up he will be out the league.

The biggest mistake that the Bulls made was to believe that they could build around Butler. He isn't a franchise player. People will take it as a criticism it isnt. He is a good player but he isn't elite and in the NBA you win with Elite players.

The Fred system thing is overblown too. The Bulls don't have guys that run his system but that doesn't matter either. They don't have very talented guys and that falls on Paxson.

You fire Hoiberg then you fire GarPax then you look to trade Butler.

I've seen enough of his iso ball for one lifetime. Time to roll while he still has value. I don't mind iso ball but he isn't good enough offensively to dominate the ball as much as he does.

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That's on Fred. This is his 2nd season with a roster that can't run his system. Maybe he should make some changes to his offense or quit.

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They could run any system they want and they'd still be losers. They can run them all out including Butler. Paxson shouldn't be allowed to oversee another rebuild. Has been on the job 13 years and has had enough time.

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No argument here. I want everyone gone too. I'm just making a point that a coach needs to make adjustments to what he has available on the floor. Fred seems unwilling or incapable of doing that.

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Hoiberg I think has made adjustments. He allows Butler and Wade to play a lot of isoball particularly during the 2nd Halves of games. There isn't a game that doesn't go by where Stacey King isn't whining about isoball. You know exactly whom he is referring when you watch the game.

I don't think Hoiberg has the temperament or the sway in the organization to call out Butler. He is going to ride this one out get paid and them probably go back to the college ranks.

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The Bulls were never going to be a legit contender last year either. You can pretend that bringing in an Iowa State coach was the lone upgrade needed for the roster but you'd be alone with the front office in believing that it was injuries alone that did them in.

Building around Butler is the least of their worries. As I pointed out above, his contract is a bargain and isn't anywhere close to what franchise guys will be getting paid the next several years. The mere fact that the Bulls decided to waste the money and assets they had outside of Butler doesn't mean the Butler contract itself was a mistake.

Fred signed off on Rondo being just what the doctor ordered to run his offense in the offseason. That says it all right there.


How much of Jimmy's ISO ball a product of the incompetence surrounding him rather than just who he is as a player? The Bulls offense is still significantly better when he's on the floor than when he's not, despite how maddening it is to see him dominating possessions.

No one knows for sure if injuries killed the Bulls or not. Injuries make any coach look bad i.e. Doc Rivers. Probably not will Gasoline declining rapidly as the season went on.

It is a problem going forward if Butler still wants to be the "man". Even if they surround him with better players if he emphasizes the need to be "leader" or best player that is a problem as it was last year.

Rondo was still an upgrade over what they had and in my opinion isn't the biggest problem the Bulls have currently.

As far as the isoball goes Butler looks guys off too much. McDermott has never had a problem shooting the ball. If he is open pass the ball. Butler plays hero ball and he isn't good enough offensively to do that.

Hoiberg also has gotten into trying to establish Taj on the block. That's dumb. They run isolation plays for him every game and it is getting them absolutely nowhere.

Hoiberg can be a bad coach but this team isn't "a coach away" from doing anything. It is a poorly constructed team and head should roll from the top down to the best player.

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What? McDermott looking off 3s has been one of the chief complaints about him this year, aside from not making them anywhere near consistently enough. Again, I don't like to watch Butler's ISO-ball but the fact remains that the Bulls are much better offensively when he's on the court.

Aside from that, teams have also gotten smart about McDermott being the lone actual shooting threat. He didn't get looks in the second half against Milwaukee for instance not simply because Butler was playing excessive heroball, but also because when the Bucks would collapse it would be Mirotic they'd leave wide open.

Butler is the least of the Bulls worries on offense or in general. There's a 10-point spread in their offensive rating between when he's on the court and when he's off. It makes no sense to rate Butler as a major problem for this team given your acknowledgment of the utter schlock surrounding him, and this is doubly so since he's one of the few people on the team who can be arsed to play defense.

Why does Stacey King constantly complain about isoball then.

There are two arguments which often get conflated 1. The problem 2. It problem. Butler and his isolation ball isn't the problem but it is a problem. The Bulls have a number of problems. The biggest problem afflicting the Bulls has to do with personnel.

Their last 2 draft picks aren't even in the rotation. Paxson overrated just how good his best player happens to be. He wasn't the only one either. Number of people here thought he was top 10 too. I had him at 20 but he is probably 20-25. I'd take those two kids in Milwaukee right now over him.

Hoiberg doesn't hold guys accountable but in reality what can he really do to Mirotic if Portis can't play? What can he do to Butler when he has been paraded for over a year as the franchise player?

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And I'd say to the extent that Butler's ball dominance is a "problem" it's completely inseparable from the Bulls personnel necessitating him in that role. Butler has had no problem taking lesser roles on the offense when he's been surrounded by better offensive talent. This is akin to blaming Rose for taking too many shots and not "facilitating" enough when he played with no one who could create their own shot or contribute much of anything on offense.

Butler was comfortable when he was attempting to establish himself in the league. Since he has been the guy he has played more selfishly. In the 4th quarter of games no one other than he and Wade touch the ball.

In the game the other night Ch.9 went to replay where the Defense was overloaded to Butlers side and he dribbled in backed out dribbled back him and McDermott was wide open in the corner. That happens a lot and the younger point guards are deferring to him and Wade too much.

Is Butlers isoball the biggest problem? Probably not but it's a problem. I'm looking at the Bulls if and when they get better players. It reminds me a lot of Jalen Rose when he was here. Can't win with guys like that.

Also last year it was important to Butler for it to be his team. He didn't really want to defer to Rose and that is one of the reasons Rose was moved.

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Butler had no problem once again deferring to superior offensive talent when he played for the national team. He played an active role in recruiting Wade and Rondo here, for better or worse, and even deferred to their "leadership" a great deal in the lead up to this season. I'll worry about his potentially harmful effects on better players on the Bulls if the team ever actually acquires better players. As it is, this is a bottom 5 roster without Butler on the team and complaining about him playing heroball is missing the forest for the trees.

He rarely played on the national team and every guy takes a back seat to some degree i.e. Demarcus Cousins. He is the best player but the him as best player has been a bust. Hoiberg may not be a coach but he isn't the worst thing about this team either. They are not a coach away from being good either. That is why the incessant need to focus on him that some have is misguided. They fire him tomorrow and the Bulls aren't much better. Having Butler only makes them marginally better. He is an All Star but to think they should build around him is foolish. When i look at a lot of good teams you will usually find 2-3 guys that I'd rather have.

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You might find 2-3 players you'd rather have.

I don't think good GM's would.

Did Butler deny you an autograph once?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Butler is top 10 in the league in RPM. Again, every personnel excuse you trot out for Hoiberg applies just as much to Butler. Apparently, this trash roster is simply unworkable for a coach but does somehow prove you can't or shouldn't build around Butler. The team is either garbage for both or for neither; as it is, it just reads like you're happy to make excuses for "The Mayor" but want to continue grinding the axe about the guy who's far and away the best player on the team.