I do think it's funny reading random comments online about how mad people seem to be that Pat looked the same as usual last night. I'm not defending Pat for being bad, but what exactly were people expecting from a guy who spent all summer rehabbing his foot?
But yeah, the starters are clearly a terrible fit and this team is going to lose a ton of games thanks to their defense. The only thing that can make this season remotely entertaining is if we see genuine progress from the young guys.
This is undefeated 2021-2022 pre-season erasure! You know AKME still has that banner hanging from the rafters in their minds.
And next you're going to tell me that being summer league champs is stupid and completely meaningless too and that shining moment of winning the 2016 summer league championship with MVP Jerian Grant had no bearing on the season either!
between the collapse of local journalism and complete erosion of interest in this team, i am fully expecting zach to get traded in november and for billy to casually let everyone know in like, mid january
And Saturday KC with the shoot around update from Donovan saying Lonzo had knee soreness
I'd question the media even bothering to ask especially when Lonzo provides his own updates on Instagram. But KC isn't media he works for the channel broadcasting this reality show.
As a Bulls sicko and a YouTube TV subscriber, I went and got a cheap digital OTA antenna. Signal was horrible and I had to bail out pretty quickly. My only observation: is Ayo the best player on this team? (probably Coby but he looked a bit positionally confused out there)...I think Ayo just might be. ILL - - INI!
It maybe hard for local Bulls fans to even watch Bulls games on CHSN right now, unless you have an antenna to your TV or streaming device. According to CHSN you can only access through only 4 streaming services.
And three of those are DirecTV products though I’m curious to see how many people still have UVerse as it hasn’t been advertised for years. I’m pretty sure that it’s not coming to YouTube TV or Hulu Live, but they will probably make a deal with Xfinity right before the season starts.
I do wonder if that 'deal' will be putting them on the higher tier so basic XFinity subscribers have to pay $10 extra this year to watch this team. I think they did that with Marquee Network but not until very recently when the Cubs season was already over
I'm surprised more people on here aren't talking about the fact that the NHL season has already started and the NBA regular season is fast approaching and there's still no CHSN app.
To me, the most exciting thing a non-Wemby prospect can do is a) play tenacious defense and b) Jack up a ton of shots.
Guys who just Jack shots but can’t play D often end up being inefficient scorers because they’re never really part of winning teams. Some can make it, but it’s not always.
On the other hand, guys who play good D, but take fewer shots seem to not develop their offense as quickly. Think Patrick Williams. Efficient offensive player, good defender, but because of injuries and being on a team “trying” to win, I just don’t think he’s ever had the number of possessions as a scorer playmaker to truly develop . Maybe he never would have anyway, but I also don’t think he’s been set up to thrive. (Also think of Cody White really thriving once the lead scorer duties were turned over to him.)
But the guys who play D are going to get a lot of playing time because the coach trusts them. If they’re also given the chance to make mistakes and score, I think they can really turn into 2-way players.
It's only one pre-season game, but by the end of the first quarter I was begging AK to trade Vooch anywhere at any cost. Unbearable to watch, especially on defense (blow by after blow by).
Just finished the first episode of the new By The Horns podcast from CHSN. It's still titled Bulls Talk Podcast with the Bulls Talk Podcast photo that says NBC Sports on it (at least on PocketCasts), so that seems about right.
Completely new hosts, which surprised me. I thought KC would still be on it. They spent the first 10 minutes talking about how great the MJ Bulls were before finally talking about the current Bulls. They tried to talk down the bad parts (defense) and talk up the good parts (Matas and Ayo mostly), which is about what I'd expect for a podcast that's basically directly owned by Jerry.
The other hosts (Kevin Anderson and Tony Gill) did not move to CHSN from NBCS. Gilly went to CHGO and Anderson took a job outside of sports media.
KC is a tv personality now, maybe? I recognize Drew Stevens as he is one of the few independent media members covering the team (though he doesn't travel), and has good thoughts on Twitter IMO. Camron Smith is more of a TV host background and now works for CHSN, I don't know his Bulls reporter bonifides (if any)
KC didn't offer much, so I'm hopeful these new hosts will add something to *the discourse*. As you all know there are a lot of Bulls podcasts, and nearly all of them are dogshit and/or quickly fade away as interest in the team dwindles
One of them was definitely more willing to be realistic about things while the other often quickly tried to smooth things over and make the Bulls situation not sound as bad. I do wonder if Stevens was the one willing to be more frank about things while the CHSN guy tried to toe the company line more.
It was audio-only so I couldn't put faces to names.
“They spent the first 10 minutes talking about how great the MJ Bulls were before finally talking about the current Bulls.”
That’s so sad. You know, I was thinking about this the other day due to Rose’s retirement…
We’re now 13 years removed from Rose winning the MVP. That’s the same amount of years that separated his MVP award from the last Bulls title.
So we’re almost 15 years removed from the last time the Bulls were actual title contenders and almost 30 years removed from the last time they won a title. In the time since the Bulls traded Butler, we’ve won a single playoff game, the Knicks and Timberwolves have become perennial contenders, and the Kings have built an above average team that recently took the Warriors to seven games. The Wizards, Pistons, and Hornets are the only teams in the league that can match our level of futility the past decade.
So yeah, I don’t want to hear any Bulls employees talking about the Jordan years. There are grown adults who have graduated college and started families who were born after that era ended. This is a bottom tier franchise and it’s time for everyone to accept that.
Absolutely. The Pistons, Wizards, and Hornets are considered by most as unserious franchises. The Bulls are absolutely in the same realm as those teams. They just happen to be in the third biggest market and got lucky that they drafted the greatest player of all time.
I think anyone old enough to remember the 90s hates the Bulls now. I certainly do. It's a travesty that Jerry gets to keep all the money Michael earned the organization.
because they don't think players deserve as much credit as they get from fans. Whereas executives and other parts of the organization deserve more. Jerry Krause has his banner raised, Rose won't. They expressed ignorance as to why Krause('s ghost) got booed last year
I’m going to make two predictions that I think have a solid 20% chance of happening that I think actually will:
1) Bulls win 33-35 games and finish 10th in the East. They trade neither LaVine nor Vucevic because they’re “competing.” (I don’t believe they are tanking nor rebuilding; they just “happened” into trading Caruso and letting DeRozan walk.)
2) (if healthy enough) Victor Wembanyama will finish in the Top 3 in the MVP race with a stat line we may have never seen: 27 pts, 14 rebs, 5 assists, 5 blks, 1.5 stls. DPOY, 1st Team All-NBA. MIP.
I think Chris Paul has been a tremendous in running the pick-and-roll. Going from Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones to Chris Paul and Tyus Jones as point guards will be huge for his offensive efficiency. Adding in Harrison Barnes and development from the other young players is going to be legitimately “relevant.”
Tyus was such a perfect candidate to sign for the MLE and move to a contender the minute he was eligible to be traded. Dinwiddie's probably hosed in Dallas, for instance. The Knicks have Cam Payne off the bench. These are teams that think they're one player away. I might have done the same with Caleb Martin too.
If you can't pull something off, then you have a solid PG to work with your youth movement (lol) or a role player anyone would love to have in a playoff run anyway.
I bet Stacey King is workshopping some great puns on "goggles" though.
This makes sense, but the market really didn't bear that out as the Wizards couldn't trade Jones last deadline (and unlike the Bulls I don't assume they're uniquely bad at assessing value)
That's true. I just wonder if the Wizards don't play hardball — they get massive hauls of picks from their deals, somehow. Obviously the Jordan Peele trade, the Bradley Beal trade that preceded it but they even got a first and two seconds for Deni Avdija from the Blazers, who you assume wanted to keep those, and the rights on the 1st sound like they were negotiating in a police interrogation room for 12 hours (the "second-most favorable" of the Blazers, Bucks and Celtics 1st in 2029!)
“Bulls win 33-35 games and finish 10th in the East. They trade neither LaVine nor Vucevic because they’re ‘competing.’”
I just don’t see it. This team won 39 games last year and a lot of that was due to the effectiveness and clutchness of DeRozan and elite defense of Caruso. They’ve now lost both of those guys and replaced them with zero good NBA players.
This team is going to be terrible defensively and too inconsistent with three-point shooting to win with their offense. I think they’re going to have a terrible start to the year (something like 7-18 in their first 25). They’ll randomly have a good stretch or two because other teams won’t be trying in January and February. They’ll win 27 games and get the 7th pick, because nothing would be more Reinsdorfian than for the AK era to end up in the same place as the GarPax era.
Coby and Ayo are such good people. They're bought in. They are the silver lining in this upside down team. I think they're the two best players. Even if they should request a trade, I'm glad that they won't.
Could you imagine the hysteria if it leaked that Ayo and/or Coby asked out? Chicago sports fandom would melt down.
But honestly, I'd be okay with it. It would be sad to lose the two players on this team who are probably the easiest to root for and potentially the best players on the team. But the highest chance of creating a good team is by rebuilding, and the only way that happens is if the few good pieces this team has force their way out.
It's the same thing that happened with DeMar. I said multiple times last season that AK wouldn't change directions unless DeMar forced his way out (didn't re-sign), and it seems like that's exactly what happened. If the reports were true, AK offered DeMar a huge amount of money to stay but DeMar said no. That forced AK into pivoting into the half rebuild we're in now.
The only way to fully commit to a rebuild is for Coby and Ayo to tell AK they want to be traded by the deadline or next summer. But then again, if that actually happened I think AK would get fired. Even that would force Reinsdorf to make a change.
I would ask out if they continue to play Zach LaVine (or in Coby's case, give Zach LaVine his shots). Because by Bulls logic asking to be traded only guarantees you can't be benched (?)
Want to be depressed? Check out this ESPN story on how the current version of the Knicks was built with small, smart decisions accumulating over five years...
It's going to take time to unwind the Bulls' current mistakes. Making new mistakes (Giddy?) and being inefficient (Pat's contract) at the same time of the unwinding not only stalls progress but also causes more mistakes to unwind, etc, etc, etc...around and around and around....
Lavine and Torrey Craig for Michael Porter Jr, Zeke Nnaji, DaRon Holmes II.
This actually saves some money for the Nuggets. LaVine isn't the catch and shoot player that Porter is, but he's probably a better defender and might be a better fit if they really believe Christian Braun/Julian Strawther can hold down the 3. I dunno. I'm desperate.
Is the point to eventually trade MPJ? If so, I'd be fine with this since it adds some young bigs, which this team obviously needs. I'd be afraid AK would think MPJ could be the next cornerstone of this team and we'd be stuck with him though.
Ultimately, everyone gets traded or signs somewhere else. I mean, I get what you're saying about AK sucking, but do we really need to preface every message with a disclaimer about it?
The point to me is that he's a better fit, younger, cheaper, and somewhat less toxic. Isn't that enough, or does my motivation have to be pure too, even if he's better fitting, younger, cheaper, and less toxic?
You make a fair point. I guess I was more just curious what your thinking for the Bulls was. You said why you thought Denver could potentially be interested, so I was curious what your thoughts were for the Bulls.
But I'm guessing based on your response your thoughts for the Bulls were mostly just "get Zach the hell off of this team" which is totally valid. 😂
The Bulls aren't really at a point they *CAN* rebuild. Even if they kept this year's pick, it would just move the pain a year down the road and cause them to lose it then. All they can really do is start making good moves to build the base of assets that AKME has strip-mined to accomplish the little he's accomplished.
This is the truth, it's like they've even half-assed being terrible. I hope that extension for Vuc sticks to them and they're never able to trade him. Every day he's worth less, and becomes a kind of living trophy of this awful project they're running. Darko was the human victory cigar. Vucevic has become the human migraine.
Update: : Comcast spokesperson just responded & said they're still in discussions with CHSN. Also asked about Comcast's regional sports fee with NBC Sports Chicago shutting down and was told most customers will receive $4-$8 credits in next billing cycle retroactive to 10/1.
so wait, the choice for consumers is watch the Bulls or get paid not to? I wonder what most would choose
Powers says that Comcast is trying to gouge their customers, which seems like something that happens when a multi-billion dollar business waits until the last possible minute to open negotiations with the largest carrier in its market:
"A major hurdle in discussions has been the issue of channel placement, according to a source close to the negotiations. Cable providers have increasingly moved to place regional sports networks in premium tiers or packages that come at a higher cost to consumers. CHSN’s goal is to be available to as many fans as possible, the source said."
YouTube TV subscribers seem to be out of luck:
"CHSN is also currently negotiating with Fubo and Hulu, but it is not expecting carriage with YouTube TV, the source said."
Your app is not coming until they sort it out with Comcast:
"CHSN is also working on a direct-to-consumer app that will soon be available, the source added, but it is not expected to be introduced to the public until carriage agreements are finalized."
Also, if their goal is to reach as many fans as possible, why aren't they even in talks with YouTube TV? YouTube TV is the third biggest "cable" provider in the US behind Comcast and Charter. It also has almost twice as many subscribers as Hulu Live TV and more than four times as many subscribers as Fubo.
I mean, if Zach plays like Klay Thompson, then we're all good! Trade him, keep him, either way, it's a better situation. Would like to see him do it against a normal NBA rotation.
Great headline photo!
I do think it's funny reading random comments online about how mad people seem to be that Pat looked the same as usual last night. I'm not defending Pat for being bad, but what exactly were people expecting from a guy who spent all summer rehabbing his foot?
But yeah, the starters are clearly a terrible fit and this team is going to lose a ton of games thanks to their defense. The only thing that can make this season remotely entertaining is if we see genuine progress from the young guys.
Sorry, yfbb. As everyone knows, preseason is stupid and completely meaningless. You'll just have to wait. No possible trade yet.
correct i think this team needs to be 4-11 before any real basketball related decisions can be made
Whoa whoa whoa before we get to that point I'm going to need assurances that the front office is "seeing the same thing we are"
This is undefeated 2021-2022 pre-season erasure! You know AKME still has that banner hanging from the rafters in their minds.
And next you're going to tell me that being summer league champs is stupid and completely meaningless too and that shining moment of winning the 2016 summer league championship with MVP Jerian Grant had no bearing on the season either!
between the collapse of local journalism and complete erosion of interest in this team, i am fully expecting zach to get traded in november and for billy to casually let everyone know in like, mid january
the beat, today:
@byjuliapoe
Billy Donovan says that Lonzo Ball is unlikely to play in Saturday’s preseason game. Still working on a slow build up into game readiness.
@Will_Gottlieb
Billy says he does not think Lonzo will play on Saturday
@KCJHoop
Billy Donovan on whether Lonzo Ball will play Saturday: “I don’t think so.”
Ball practiced fully again today.
and then Friday Gottlieb relays Ball saying he's going to play in the next preseason games (or two of the three) citing...Ball's podcast
so you really don't have to ask Billy about this anymore
And Saturday KC with the shoot around update from Donovan saying Lonzo had knee soreness
I'd question the media even bothering to ask especially when Lonzo provides his own updates on Instagram. But KC isn't media he works for the channel broadcasting this reality show.
As a Bulls sicko and a YouTube TV subscriber, I went and got a cheap digital OTA antenna. Signal was horrible and I had to bail out pretty quickly. My only observation: is Ayo the best player on this team? (probably Coby but he looked a bit positionally confused out there)...I think Ayo just might be. ILL - - INI!
It maybe hard for local Bulls fans to even watch Bulls games on CHSN right now, unless you have an antenna to your TV or streaming device. According to CHSN you can only access through only 4 streaming services.
https://chsn.com/info/
And three of those are DirecTV products though I’m curious to see how many people still have UVerse as it hasn’t been advertised for years. I’m pretty sure that it’s not coming to YouTube TV or Hulu Live, but they will probably make a deal with Xfinity right before the season starts.
I do wonder if that 'deal' will be putting them on the higher tier so basic XFinity subscribers have to pay $10 extra this year to watch this team. I think they did that with Marquee Network but not until very recently when the Cubs season was already over
yeah, perhaps UVerse is still the brand in use in the sticks or something?
speaking of, they don't even have OTA channels for many outside-of-Chicago markets, yeesh.
and I'm surprised Milwaukee will get a channel? Isn't that a separate NBA market subject to blackout?
I'm surprised more people on here aren't talking about the fact that the NHL season has already started and the NBA regular season is fast approaching and there's still no CHSN app.
To me, the most exciting thing a non-Wemby prospect can do is a) play tenacious defense and b) Jack up a ton of shots.
Guys who just Jack shots but can’t play D often end up being inefficient scorers because they’re never really part of winning teams. Some can make it, but it’s not always.
On the other hand, guys who play good D, but take fewer shots seem to not develop their offense as quickly. Think Patrick Williams. Efficient offensive player, good defender, but because of injuries and being on a team “trying” to win, I just don’t think he’s ever had the number of possessions as a scorer playmaker to truly develop . Maybe he never would have anyway, but I also don’t think he’s been set up to thrive. (Also think of Cody White really thriving once the lead scorer duties were turned over to him.)
But the guys who play D are going to get a lot of playing time because the coach trusts them. If they’re also given the chance to make mistakes and score, I think they can really turn into 2-way players.
We’ll see if that is what happens.
It's only one pre-season game, but by the end of the first quarter I was begging AK to trade Vooch anywhere at any cost. Unbearable to watch, especially on defense (blow by after blow by).
Just finished the first episode of the new By The Horns podcast from CHSN. It's still titled Bulls Talk Podcast with the Bulls Talk Podcast photo that says NBC Sports on it (at least on PocketCasts), so that seems about right.
Completely new hosts, which surprised me. I thought KC would still be on it. They spent the first 10 minutes talking about how great the MJ Bulls were before finally talking about the current Bulls. They tried to talk down the bad parts (defense) and talk up the good parts (Matas and Ayo mostly), which is about what I'd expect for a podcast that's basically directly owned by Jerry.
thanks for the heads up!
The other hosts (Kevin Anderson and Tony Gill) did not move to CHSN from NBCS. Gilly went to CHGO and Anderson took a job outside of sports media.
KC is a tv personality now, maybe? I recognize Drew Stevens as he is one of the few independent media members covering the team (though he doesn't travel), and has good thoughts on Twitter IMO. Camron Smith is more of a TV host background and now works for CHSN, I don't know his Bulls reporter bonifides (if any)
KC didn't offer much, so I'm hopeful these new hosts will add something to *the discourse*. As you all know there are a lot of Bulls podcasts, and nearly all of them are dogshit and/or quickly fade away as interest in the team dwindles
One of them was definitely more willing to be realistic about things while the other often quickly tried to smooth things over and make the Bulls situation not sound as bad. I do wonder if Stevens was the one willing to be more frank about things while the CHSN guy tried to toe the company line more.
It was audio-only so I couldn't put faces to names.
that's a good future post idea: ranking all the shitty Bulls podcasts
because I'm off Twitter and can't pot-shot them there anymore
“They spent the first 10 minutes talking about how great the MJ Bulls were before finally talking about the current Bulls.”
That’s so sad. You know, I was thinking about this the other day due to Rose’s retirement…
We’re now 13 years removed from Rose winning the MVP. That’s the same amount of years that separated his MVP award from the last Bulls title.
So we’re almost 15 years removed from the last time the Bulls were actual title contenders and almost 30 years removed from the last time they won a title. In the time since the Bulls traded Butler, we’ve won a single playoff game, the Knicks and Timberwolves have become perennial contenders, and the Kings have built an above average team that recently took the Warriors to seven games. The Wizards, Pistons, and Hornets are the only teams in the league that can match our level of futility the past decade.
So yeah, I don’t want to hear any Bulls employees talking about the Jordan years. There are grown adults who have graduated college and started families who were born after that era ended. This is a bottom tier franchise and it’s time for everyone to accept that.
Absolutely. The Pistons, Wizards, and Hornets are considered by most as unserious franchises. The Bulls are absolutely in the same realm as those teams. They just happen to be in the third biggest market and got lucky that they drafted the greatest player of all time.
Yeah. Worth adding that everyone actually associated with the MJ era basically hates the Bulls now.
I think anyone old enough to remember the 90s hates the Bulls now. I certainly do. It's a travesty that Jerry gets to keep all the money Michael earned the organization.
they're gonna screw up the Rose day too
because they don't think players deserve as much credit as they get from fans. Whereas executives and other parts of the organization deserve more. Jerry Krause has his banner raised, Rose won't. They expressed ignorance as to why Krause('s ghost) got booed last year
I’m going to make two predictions that I think have a solid 20% chance of happening that I think actually will:
1) Bulls win 33-35 games and finish 10th in the East. They trade neither LaVine nor Vucevic because they’re “competing.” (I don’t believe they are tanking nor rebuilding; they just “happened” into trading Caruso and letting DeRozan walk.)
2) (if healthy enough) Victor Wembanyama will finish in the Top 3 in the MVP race with a stat line we may have never seen: 27 pts, 14 rebs, 5 assists, 5 blks, 1.5 stls. DPOY, 1st Team All-NBA. MIP.
I think Chris Paul has been a tremendous in running the pick-and-roll. Going from Jeremy Sochan and Tre Jones to Chris Paul and Tyus Jones as point guards will be huge for his offensive efficiency. Adding in Harrison Barnes and development from the other young players is going to be legitimately “relevant.”
Tyus Jones signed with Phoenix, they have that rookie with Paul & Tre that I think they're breaking in as a PG (though with Pop nobody ever knows).
Yep, my fault. I got the “they got him for a steal” take mixed together.
Tyus was such a perfect candidate to sign for the MLE and move to a contender the minute he was eligible to be traded. Dinwiddie's probably hosed in Dallas, for instance. The Knicks have Cam Payne off the bench. These are teams that think they're one player away. I might have done the same with Caleb Martin too.
If you can't pull something off, then you have a solid PG to work with your youth movement (lol) or a role player anyone would love to have in a playoff run anyway.
I bet Stacey King is workshopping some great puns on "goggles" though.
This makes sense, but the market really didn't bear that out as the Wizards couldn't trade Jones last deadline (and unlike the Bulls I don't assume they're uniquely bad at assessing value)
That's true. I just wonder if the Wizards don't play hardball — they get massive hauls of picks from their deals, somehow. Obviously the Jordan Peele trade, the Bradley Beal trade that preceded it but they even got a first and two seconds for Deni Avdija from the Blazers, who you assume wanted to keep those, and the rights on the 1st sound like they were negotiating in a police interrogation room for 12 hours (the "second-most favorable" of the Blazers, Bucks and Celtics 1st in 2029!)
“Bulls win 33-35 games and finish 10th in the East. They trade neither LaVine nor Vucevic because they’re ‘competing.’”
I just don’t see it. This team won 39 games last year and a lot of that was due to the effectiveness and clutchness of DeRozan and elite defense of Caruso. They’ve now lost both of those guys and replaced them with zero good NBA players.
This team is going to be terrible defensively and too inconsistent with three-point shooting to win with their offense. I think they’re going to have a terrible start to the year (something like 7-18 in their first 25). They’ll randomly have a good stretch or two because other teams won’t be trying in January and February. They’ll win 27 games and get the 7th pick, because nothing would be more Reinsdorfian than for the AK era to end up in the same place as the GarPax era.
I also think they're solidly in the 25-30 win zone.
If I were Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, I'd quietly but firmly ask for relocation to better teams.
Coby and Ayo are such good people. They're bought in. They are the silver lining in this upside down team. I think they're the two best players. Even if they should request a trade, I'm glad that they won't.
Could you imagine the hysteria if it leaked that Ayo and/or Coby asked out? Chicago sports fandom would melt down.
But honestly, I'd be okay with it. It would be sad to lose the two players on this team who are probably the easiest to root for and potentially the best players on the team. But the highest chance of creating a good team is by rebuilding, and the only way that happens is if the few good pieces this team has force their way out.
It's the same thing that happened with DeMar. I said multiple times last season that AK wouldn't change directions unless DeMar forced his way out (didn't re-sign), and it seems like that's exactly what happened. If the reports were true, AK offered DeMar a huge amount of money to stay but DeMar said no. That forced AK into pivoting into the half rebuild we're in now.
The only way to fully commit to a rebuild is for Coby and Ayo to tell AK they want to be traded by the deadline or next summer. But then again, if that actually happened I think AK would get fired. Even that would force Reinsdorf to make a change.
I would ask out if they continue to play Zach LaVine (or in Coby's case, give Zach LaVine his shots). Because by Bulls logic asking to be traded only guarantees you can't be benched (?)
It also guarantees you can't be traded...
Want to be depressed? Check out this ESPN story on how the current version of the Knicks was built with small, smart decisions accumulating over five years...
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41726118/all-little-moves-knicks-made-get-karl-anthony-towns-new-york
It's going to take time to unwind the Bulls' current mistakes. Making new mistakes (Giddy?) and being inefficient (Pat's contract) at the same time of the unwinding not only stalls progress but also causes more mistakes to unwind, etc, etc, etc...around and around and around....
Hopeless trade ideas
Lavine and Torrey Craig for Michael Porter Jr, Zeke Nnaji, DaRon Holmes II.
This actually saves some money for the Nuggets. LaVine isn't the catch and shoot player that Porter is, but he's probably a better defender and might be a better fit if they really believe Christian Braun/Julian Strawther can hold down the 3. I dunno. I'm desperate.
Is the point to eventually trade MPJ? If so, I'd be fine with this since it adds some young bigs, which this team obviously needs. I'd be afraid AK would think MPJ could be the next cornerstone of this team and we'd be stuck with him though.
If all you've got is a rock in your shoe, can you call it a cornerstone?
Ultimately, everyone gets traded or signs somewhere else. I mean, I get what you're saying about AK sucking, but do we really need to preface every message with a disclaimer about it?
The point to me is that he's a better fit, younger, cheaper, and somewhat less toxic. Isn't that enough, or does my motivation have to be pure too, even if he's better fitting, younger, cheaper, and less toxic?
You make a fair point. I guess I was more just curious what your thinking for the Bulls was. You said why you thought Denver could potentially be interested, so I was curious what your thoughts were for the Bulls.
But I'm guessing based on your response your thoughts for the Bulls were mostly just "get Zach the hell off of this team" which is totally valid. 😂
Yup, that's exactly my thinking.
The Bulls aren't really at a point they *CAN* rebuild. Even if they kept this year's pick, it would just move the pain a year down the road and cause them to lose it then. All they can really do is start making good moves to build the base of assets that AKME has strip-mined to accomplish the little he's accomplished.
This is the truth, it's like they've even half-assed being terrible. I hope that extension for Vuc sticks to them and they're never able to trade him. Every day he's worth less, and becomes a kind of living trophy of this awful project they're running. Darko was the human victory cigar. Vucevic has become the human migraine.
Every few weeks I look around the league at other teams and think of a plausible taker for Vuc and every time, I think, "nope".
Hopeless ideal two
Vuc and Zach to Pelicans (who need a center and have Zach's buddy Dejounte Murray) and probably want to trade Brandon Ingram
Ingram to the Hornets, who can pretend to be a real team for a year with
Ball / Miller / CJ
Ingram
Bridges, G. Williams
M. Williams
? Green/Martin/Micic/Ward back to Bulls and Pick(s?) to Pelicans?
Friday's practice update:
@KCJHoop
Coby White has groin tightness and didn’t practice. Availability TBD for tomorrow
CHSN update:
@ByScottPowers
Update: : Comcast spokesperson just responded & said they're still in discussions with CHSN. Also asked about Comcast's regional sports fee with NBC Sports Chicago shutting down and was told most customers will receive $4-$8 credits in next billing cycle retroactive to 10/1.
so wait, the choice for consumers is watch the Bulls or get paid not to? I wonder what most would choose
Powers says that Comcast is trying to gouge their customers, which seems like something that happens when a multi-billion dollar business waits until the last possible minute to open negotiations with the largest carrier in its market:
"A major hurdle in discussions has been the issue of channel placement, according to a source close to the negotiations. Cable providers have increasingly moved to place regional sports networks in premium tiers or packages that come at a higher cost to consumers. CHSN’s goal is to be available to as many fans as possible, the source said."
YouTube TV subscribers seem to be out of luck:
"CHSN is also currently negotiating with Fubo and Hulu, but it is not expecting carriage with YouTube TV, the source said."
Your app is not coming until they sort it out with Comcast:
"CHSN is also working on a direct-to-consumer app that will soon be available, the source added, but it is not expected to be introduced to the public until carriage agreements are finalized."
If CHSN's goal is to reach the fans, then they should pay Comcast to have them carry it. This is if AKME were also running the network
Also, if their goal is to reach as many fans as possible, why aren't they even in talks with YouTube TV? YouTube TV is the third biggest "cable" provider in the US behind Comcast and Charter. It also has almost twice as many subscribers as Hulu Live TV and more than four times as many subscribers as Fubo.
Too funny that 'a CHSN source' has to hide behind anonymity for that quote. It's a business transaction, your goal is to make money.
Hilariously, Fair or not every fan has chosen the side of Google, Comcast, and other mega corporations over Jerry Reinsdorf
Saturday pregame update:
Coby out, Ayo starting. Jalen Smith out too.
Ayo hurt shoulder in first half😬
I mean, if Zach plays like Klay Thompson, then we're all good! Trade him, keep him, either way, it's a better situation. Would like to see him do it against a normal NBA rotation.
Or within a normal NBA rotation
This is an actually good, and from what I understand correct, status report on CHSN
https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagobulls/s/rW9EpyKBxz