I very publicly hated the pick. Glad I was wrong. He’s gonna be great if he can stay healthy.

Bulls should be competitive next year and you need to be that before you can be one of the best teams or begin to draw FA interest. I think they’ll be fine in the summer of 2019 and 2020 as far as attracting FAs.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Unless you’re the Lakers or Heat that can sell weather and lifestyle. Not too many Pau Gasols in the league who dig the Chicago opera scene. Could be wrong though!

I don’t care if they’re competitive or not next season (it’d be nice to get another lottery pick next year because I don’t think they’re competing for a championship much less a playoff spot next year), as long as they remain flexible with the cap. I’d much rather sign the Rudy Gays and Dante Exums and Jeff Greens and Shabaz Napiers on 1 year deals. And if Lauri becomes a superstar like you think he will be, the Bulls shouldn’t have a problem being a top free agent destination next summer and the summer after.

Regarding FF's point about competitive I do not buy it. If you are to be that way you are spending too much to be able to attract the few superstars necessary to win it all. Not enough dollars.

So you are then left to have to be incredibly lucky and make every single right move i.e. San Antonio and Golden State. Or you have to have a crap team with an enormous cap to allow for a Miami like arrangement.

It seems clear that there are not enough of the mega star caliber players to allow for a more competitive league. Maybe it is a way in which the game is played, coached and officiated that allows such a select handful of stars to dominate. I simply cannot believe there aren't enough talented ball players in the world to fill more teams playing a style in which competition could be closer.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

No worries, they are fine per David Griffin

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Kings interested in signing LaVine to an offer sheet.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bulls ... ach-lavine

The numbers that the Bulls are looking to offer him are right about what he is worth. Wouldn't do more than 20 per year for him. If someone gets out their body for Lavine (25-30 per year) adios amigos.

_________________

I'll help LaVine pack.

_________________

For the right price i'd keep him.

_________________

Why give up on him already? He has a lot of skills. How long do you want the team to be in rebuilding mode?

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

You can't sign him and screw yourself up with the cap. Keeping him because you don't want to lose him is the wrong move. If some team wants to overpay for him then let him roll.

_________________

Yeah, I can agree with that. But offering him a max deal is insane and will clog up cap space when for when they really want to compete in the east.

_________________

I don't think Dunn is anything though. Can't shoot. So it means the rebuild is Carter and Markkanen with some spare parts.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

If only there was such a thing as free agency where the Bulls could pick up some better players.

I get really frustrated hearing teams get all creative and do crazy things trying to change their fortunes. Then I see what the Bulls do.

_________________
Elections have consequences.

I dont think most of us are ready to give up on him, but we are also not ready to back up the brinks truck and give him a max deal. If a team offers him a max deal then let him go. If it is a reasonable deal then match it.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

This team still has Reinny and a front office that is shitty. Along with a coach who is pretty bad. Those may not be total game changers for a player in free agency but it certainly doesn't help the cause.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

I think that it is the nature of the game itself that is the problem in that there are only five players on the court and maybe seven that affect the game. So when a few great players decide to go to an already good team, they almost dominate by definition. I think that the owners in the league did this to themselves and have effectively destroyed the competitive element in professional basketball. Lebron has maybe three of four dominant years ahead of him at best so whoever he leaves the Cavs for, is going to be one of the teams in the NBA finals once again to face Golden State who might as well be given the west right now.
Me? I'm going to go out next season and watch high school games once again.

_________________
An Ode to the Texas man who shot an Antifa terrorist:

Oh, he might have went on livin'
But he made one fatal slip
When he tried to match the Ranger
With the big iron on his hip

Supposedly Bulls and LaVine are very far apart in negotiations right now. Gives me hope they won’t match a dumb contract.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Bulls interested in Jabari.

_________________

I'm sure Jabari is looking for a ton of cash also.

Well yeah, why wouldn't he?

_________________

Rather have LaVine than Jabari.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

so they traded Jimmy Butler and tanked a season so they could get Wendell Carter Jr and Jabari Parker lmao

I’d much rather have Jabari than LaVine. I’d be furious if they paid $20M+/year for him though.

America, the Bulls didn’t tank last year. That’s what everyone is so pissed about.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I'd heard that about 6-8 weeks ago from a very reliable source. I hope they sign him but i wonder where he'll play. Don't know if he can guard 3's and Marrkanan is the 4 of the future.

_________________

He can’t really guard anyone from what I’ve seen and heard but yes I want him too. At the right price though, right? You aren’t signing Jabari to 4 years/$80 mil are you?

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I might roll the dice on that. He previously turned down 3 yr 54 mil so he might think he is worth 20 a year.

I'd pay him before i pay Lavine.

_________________

Didn't they get in trouble for sitting their best players down the stretch?

I think it was more of a public scolding but that was near the end of the year. For the first 40+ games they were putting their best product out there and trying to compete. The Mirotic run in December is why they didn’t pick in the top 4 this year.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Parker doesn't make them a playoff team...and where does he play? Make a trade to make a trade is so Chicago

_________________
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.