I can't stand Pat but the problem is AKME standing Pat.
He's so far from the worst top 5 pick in history, or even his draft. James Wiseman was taken 3 slots earlier. But nobody gave Wiseman a huge extension and he's no longer on the team that drafted him.
I'd long been on "Pat will figure it out at some point (probably elsewhere) and at least be a serviceable rotation guy and have a long career" island for a long time... but woof.
I always remember and laugh at any pro-Pat "Bulls Twitter" guy who'd admonish other fans for 'selling low'. It's worse than that, he's not stagnating he has gotten worse! The dude cannot move anymore, they should have shut him down last year to at least give some injury excuse for his total disappearance of athleticism.
I mean, as much as I can't stand what he represents for this team, I think Pat offers enough to be ON an NBA roster. Career 3PT percentage of 39.3% is 28th in the league among all active players. He's a decent defender against PFs (and smaller centers, and SFs who aren't super quick/athletic). But he's a net negative at everything else. And making $18M for that this year and over the next few years. We've seen his ceiling and he's regressed from those not-too-lofty heights. And he's just a constant reminder of everything wrong with this team, its management, its player development, its direction, and its futility. He's Cristiano Felicio at 225% of Felicio's salary. I think finding a way to dump him would be the happiest thing I could imagine as a Bulls fan in the January 2026 era.
If he was a free agent this summer, he'd get offers in the league minimum range or from foreign teams. I doubt he stays in the league once his current contract is up.
Yeah, we’re not talking enough about how irresponsible it was to play Jalen Smith last night.
Who the hell thinks it’s a good idea to play a guy who just got injured on the second night of a back-to back?
What was the thought process there? They so desperately wanted to get back to .500 that they risked a player’s health? Or (more unlikely) they so desperately wanted to prove to other teams he’s healthy in case they want to trade for him that they risked his health?
I know this was tongue in cheek, but looking back at post-Zach trade in 2025, then the first few months of this year, we had some moments of "fun, good vibes" Bulls and it's hard to think of any of those games/moments that didn't involve Tre Jones in some way. And the really ugly, hard-to-watch games (last year's play-in, the last couple games) have mostly been Jones-less.
Am I crazy for thinking if AK simply just traded away Vuc, Coby, and Smith, the Bulls would probably only win 6 or 7 games the rest of the year?
Idk, maybe that would be enough to jump them to 7th in the lottery odds, which would result in a nearly 32% chance at a top 4 pick as opposed to the 5.7% chance they currently have.
I know, I know. Why take a 1/3 shot at a top 4 pick when AK could have a nearly 100% chance at the glorious ten seed?
I guess it depends who they're getting back in those trades. Just taking those three guys off of the team would result in a serious nosedive in the standings, but obviously any trades will result in new players coming in.
If they traded Vuc and Coby for a serviceable Center and a serviceable PF I think they'd possibly be BETTER than they are now (see my comment below in regard to the true strength of this team). But if they traded Vuc and Smith for an injury-plagued guard (Klay Thompson?) they could roll out a starting frontcourt of Olbrich, Pat, and Buzelis and the tank would be ON.
I'm gradually refining my position that "5th starter through middle bench" is the true (and only) strength of this team.
The guys that actually matter (in no particular order): Smith, Okoro, Ayo, Tre Jones. Even when healthy we're weak in the starting lineup. And as noted above, we're so weak at the end of the bench (Terry, Phillips, Pat, Carter, and God-help-us-we're-about-to-see-Lachlan-Olbrich getting more meaningful minutes).
I've seen us without Coby, Giddey, Vuc, Huerter, and Collins (almost constantly in his case), and we seem to be able to overcome any or multiple of those guys being out. Matas, I feel okay about but I rarely want to scream at Billy "Get Matas back in there!!" when he's on the bench, and he does a lot of disappearing acts on both offense and defense.
But those four guys I mentioned, while not a "core" of any sort, seem to be the most meaningful to the Bulls playing energetic, team-oriented, hard-nosed team offense and defense. When they're all playing significant minutes, we seem to do well. That's based on both the eye test and W/L record.
I was going to write "maybe more by accident than backwards" but actually thinking about it more, building from the middle-out is strategic and AK's only "strength" (if only a minor and confounding strength).
What are the best moves he's made?
-Draft Ayo in 2nd round
-Sign Caruso
-Markkanen for DJJ and protected 1st
-Getting Tre Jones and decent role players in Zach trade
-Resigning Jones to reasonable deal
-Resigning Lonzo to tradeable contract, trading for Okoro
-Jalen Smith signing
Bonus: Scouting and drafting Jokic in Denver, who he probably saw as a solid bench contributor and lucked out.
I don't have room to list all of the bad moves (not to mention all of the unconscionable non-moves or too-late moves).
Maybe in a different world AK could have inherited a true superstar with the Bulls and been Jerry Krause, who had a golden touch in the 90s because everyone who played with MJ looked so much better than they did elsewhere.
One other note -- wonder if there's any chance the Pistons would part with Ron Holland for Coby and some other mix of assets going back/forth? I've loved what I've seen of Holland against the Bulls and I don't think Detroit has room for him to develop. He seems like both a guy I would like (high motor, athletic, high ceiling) and fits the AKME profile as well. Certainly more appealing to me than any other picks or players Detroit can offer.
Assuming A) anything matters, and B) we want better assets that incrementally improve the current team, then yes I would take Holland over Ivey. Ivey is somewhat undersized for an off-ball guard, doesn't have a big on-ball role with Giddey on the Bulls, hasn't truly lived up to his billing as a defender, and has 2 less years of team control than Holland at this point. Plus, I think we can now safely say there are injury concerns.
Holland has objectively more weaknesses in his game right now (and less of a "resume" as a pro), but he's still developing, and brings something the Bulls lack in the frontcourt (the things we need from Dalen, Phillips, and Pat, and don't get).
Vuc 'doubtful' for 'rest'. Giddey, Smith, Coby all 'questionable'.
I'd say it's good news that Smith hasn't been immediately ruled out with that calf strain, but we know with the Bulls they will just as likely drop a 'out 2-4 weeks' update out of nowhere
Bulls inadvertently missing the play-in and getting some lottery luck feels like the last good chance to get off the mid-treadmill before being locked-in to at least another 3 seasons of NBA hell. Pairing that with Portland sneaking into the playoffs so their pick conveys, and maybe you're looking at an interesting group of young developmental players. The cherry on top of this desperate dream sundae would be AK getting the boot.
AK having the self-awareness to be a seller at the deadline this year would be a truly shocking turn of events, to the extent that I'm not even considering it a possibility.
If Vuc truly doesn’t play tonight due to “rest”, then I may believe that AK is FINALLY going to be a legitimate seller at the deadline.
I could end up being wrong, but I really am starting to think Vuc and Coby might be traded. And unless any player they get back in a trade is capable of regularly scoring around 20 points in a game, those trades might be enough to tank the rest of this season.
Of course, he shouldn’t just stop at Vuc and Coby. He should be trying to trade a majority of these expiring contracts.
Also, it’s maddening that he didn’t just trade Coby and Vuc last year. There’s a world where the Bulls could have had a top 10 pick last year and a top 5 pick this year with additional draft capital if AK would have just traded those two guys a year ago.
but Vuc has no trade value. When under contract he makes too much, now that he's expiring he's not signed for long enough. He is a backup making starter money. It's like some twisted pride thing that AK won't accept 2nd round picks for the dude.
and he won't get any better offers this deadline, so Vuc is not being traded. They are resting him tonight for the big play-in push.
If you are right, then the decision makers on this team are getting more bizarre with each passing day. They just played Smith on the second night of a back-to-back when he was hurt, but they’re now resting Vuc on the first night of a back-to-back when he’s healthy? Where’s the logic?
Given the Bulls strength of schedule (Tankathon), and how well the Top 11 teams have been playing, and the Bulls desire to make a deal at the trade deadline, IMO they're likely to fall out of the play-ins and are therefore more likely to be sellers. They could wind up with a Top 10 pick.
If they don't lower their asking price for those players not in their timeline, they could stand pat, gain cap space thru their expiring contracts, and attempt to outbid other franchises for UFAs and RFAs.
If they're buyers, it would be insane to be short-term buyers.
The Hornets are a perfect example of why I’m a proponent of hopeless teams going for high draft picks.
Kon Knueppel is a stud. He’s instantly given a pathetic team a new sense of life.
It’s why I keep disagreeing with fans who are saying Giddey is a legit core piece. You can kind of tell when a player actually has star potential, you know?
Knueppel has been more impressive in half a season than Giddey has been in 4.5 seasons.
I'm pretty impressed with this trade. AK getting involved in another team's trade to take on an expiring contract in exchange for a couple future second round picks is very much not something I'd expect from him.
Sure, this is the type of trade that just about any other organization would do, but it's not something the Bulls have done. I'll take it!
Hopefully this is the first of several trades this week in which AK is thinking long-term rather than just what gives his team the best shot at a play-in victory.
Patrick Williams may be the worst top 5 pick in NBA history and yet the resigned this useless pos. How Reinsdorkian!
The Patrick Williams situation alone should be enough to fire AK, but alas.
I can't stand Pat but the problem is AKME standing Pat.
He's so far from the worst top 5 pick in history, or even his draft. James Wiseman was taken 3 slots earlier. But nobody gave Wiseman a huge extension and he's no longer on the team that drafted him.
I'd long been on "Pat will figure it out at some point (probably elsewhere) and at least be a serviceable rotation guy and have a long career" island for a long time... but woof.
I always remember and laugh at any pro-Pat "Bulls Twitter" guy who'd admonish other fans for 'selling low'. It's worse than that, he's not stagnating he has gotten worse! The dude cannot move anymore, they should have shut him down last year to at least give some injury excuse for his total disappearance of athleticism.
I mean, as much as I can't stand what he represents for this team, I think Pat offers enough to be ON an NBA roster. Career 3PT percentage of 39.3% is 28th in the league among all active players. He's a decent defender against PFs (and smaller centers, and SFs who aren't super quick/athletic). But he's a net negative at everything else. And making $18M for that this year and over the next few years. We've seen his ceiling and he's regressed from those not-too-lofty heights. And he's just a constant reminder of everything wrong with this team, its management, its player development, its direction, and its futility. He's Cristiano Felicio at 225% of Felicio's salary. I think finding a way to dump him would be the happiest thing I could imagine as a Bulls fan in the January 2026 era.
If he was a free agent this summer, he'd get offers in the league minimum range or from foreign teams. I doubt he stays in the league once his current contract is up.
i think a handful of teams would kick the tires on a league minimum deal just based on his spot up 3 point shooting and "possible defense"
Yeah, we’re not talking enough about how irresponsible it was to play Jalen Smith last night.
Who the hell thinks it’s a good idea to play a guy who just got injured on the second night of a back-to back?
What was the thought process there? They so desperately wanted to get back to .500 that they risked a player’s health? Or (more unlikely) they so desperately wanted to prove to other teams he’s healthy in case they want to trade for him that they risked his health?
More egregiously paying with fire with Coby White. No way AK trades Jalen Smith, he's under contract and valuable!
These last two games have been brutal bed shitting efforts.
Tre Jones you the real MVP
I know this was tongue in cheek, but looking back at post-Zach trade in 2025, then the first few months of this year, we had some moments of "fun, good vibes" Bulls and it's hard to think of any of those games/moments that didn't involve Tre Jones in some way. And the really ugly, hard-to-watch games (last year's play-in, the last couple games) have mostly been Jones-less.
yet he missed the final 12 games out of the 15-5 stretch to end the season
Am I crazy for thinking if AK simply just traded away Vuc, Coby, and Smith, the Bulls would probably only win 6 or 7 games the rest of the year?
Idk, maybe that would be enough to jump them to 7th in the lottery odds, which would result in a nearly 32% chance at a top 4 pick as opposed to the 5.7% chance they currently have.
I know, I know. Why take a 1/3 shot at a top 4 pick when AK could have a nearly 100% chance at the glorious ten seed?
I guess it depends who they're getting back in those trades. Just taking those three guys off of the team would result in a serious nosedive in the standings, but obviously any trades will result in new players coming in.
If they traded Vuc and Coby for a serviceable Center and a serviceable PF I think they'd possibly be BETTER than they are now (see my comment below in regard to the true strength of this team). But if they traded Vuc and Smith for an injury-plagued guard (Klay Thompson?) they could roll out a starting frontcourt of Olbrich, Pat, and Buzelis and the tank would be ON.
The Bulls putting in all their chips for the play-in game and then not making it would be awesome and exactly what AK and the Reinsdorfs deserve.
I'm gradually refining my position that "5th starter through middle bench" is the true (and only) strength of this team.
The guys that actually matter (in no particular order): Smith, Okoro, Ayo, Tre Jones. Even when healthy we're weak in the starting lineup. And as noted above, we're so weak at the end of the bench (Terry, Phillips, Pat, Carter, and God-help-us-we're-about-to-see-Lachlan-Olbrich getting more meaningful minutes).
I've seen us without Coby, Giddey, Vuc, Huerter, and Collins (almost constantly in his case), and we seem to be able to overcome any or multiple of those guys being out. Matas, I feel okay about but I rarely want to scream at Billy "Get Matas back in there!!" when he's on the bench, and he does a lot of disappearing acts on both offense and defense.
But those four guys I mentioned, while not a "core" of any sort, seem to be the most meaningful to the Bulls playing energetic, team-oriented, hard-nosed team offense and defense. When they're all playing significant minutes, we seem to do well. That's based on both the eye test and W/L record.
I think this is correct and a truly backwards way to build a basketball team.
I was going to write "maybe more by accident than backwards" but actually thinking about it more, building from the middle-out is strategic and AK's only "strength" (if only a minor and confounding strength).
What are the best moves he's made?
-Draft Ayo in 2nd round
-Sign Caruso
-Markkanen for DJJ and protected 1st
-Getting Tre Jones and decent role players in Zach trade
-Resigning Jones to reasonable deal
-Resigning Lonzo to tradeable contract, trading for Okoro
-Jalen Smith signing
Bonus: Scouting and drafting Jokic in Denver, who he probably saw as a solid bench contributor and lucked out.
I don't have room to list all of the bad moves (not to mention all of the unconscionable non-moves or too-late moves).
Maybe in a different world AK could have inherited a true superstar with the Bulls and been Jerry Krause, who had a golden touch in the 90s because everyone who played with MJ looked so much better than they did elsewhere.
just drafting Ayo, signing Caruso
One other note -- wonder if there's any chance the Pistons would part with Ron Holland for Coby and some other mix of assets going back/forth? I've loved what I've seen of Holland against the Bulls and I don't think Detroit has room for him to develop. He seems like both a guy I would like (high motor, athletic, high ceiling) and fits the AKME profile as well. Certainly more appealing to me than any other picks or players Detroit can offer.
more than Jaden Ivey? (genuinely asking, I know neither really plays much)
Assuming A) anything matters, and B) we want better assets that incrementally improve the current team, then yes I would take Holland over Ivey. Ivey is somewhat undersized for an off-ball guard, doesn't have a big on-ball role with Giddey on the Bulls, hasn't truly lived up to his billing as a defender, and has 2 less years of team control than Holland at this point. Plus, I think we can now safely say there are injury concerns.
Holland has objectively more weaknesses in his game right now (and less of a "resume" as a pro), but he's still developing, and brings something the Bulls lack in the frontcourt (the things we need from Dalen, Phillips, and Pat, and don't get).
He's maybe a little redundant with Buzelis but I think ahead of Matas defensively (watch him abuse Matas in this clip: https://www.reddit.com/r/DetroitPistons/comments/1odv9t1/highlights_ron_holland_versus_the_chicago_bulls/ )
I'd take Ivey straight up for Coby, without complaint. But I'd honestly trade Coby and the Portland pick for Holland and feel totally fine about that.
this could be bad...
Vuc 'doubtful' for 'rest'. Giddey, Smith, Coby all 'questionable'.
I'd say it's good news that Smith hasn't been immediately ruled out with that calf strain, but we know with the Bulls they will just as likely drop a 'out 2-4 weeks' update out of nowhere
No Smith or Giddey, confirmed out. Vuc and Coby doubtful
Heat are also being 'cautious', all of Herro, Powell and Mitchell are out
if you want an update on the Heat's roster for Saturday: https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:y5mgsa6px6eez6yc2yzfxxgu/bafkreiewozuzt7lpwfeobo6nlqgcixbqki7xfzdhzjlnekopvdsm45djk4@jpeg
They're all out. Lachlan Olbrich (and Patrick Williams) time
Bulls inadvertently missing the play-in and getting some lottery luck feels like the last good chance to get off the mid-treadmill before being locked-in to at least another 3 seasons of NBA hell. Pairing that with Portland sneaking into the playoffs so their pick conveys, and maybe you're looking at an interesting group of young developmental players. The cherry on top of this desperate dream sundae would be AK getting the boot.
AK having the self-awareness to be a seller at the deadline this year would be a truly shocking turn of events, to the extent that I'm not even considering it a possibility.
If Vuc truly doesn’t play tonight due to “rest”, then I may believe that AK is FINALLY going to be a legitimate seller at the deadline.
I could end up being wrong, but I really am starting to think Vuc and Coby might be traded. And unless any player they get back in a trade is capable of regularly scoring around 20 points in a game, those trades might be enough to tank the rest of this season.
Of course, he shouldn’t just stop at Vuc and Coby. He should be trying to trade a majority of these expiring contracts.
Also, it’s maddening that he didn’t just trade Coby and Vuc last year. There’s a world where the Bulls could have had a top 10 pick last year and a top 5 pick this year with additional draft capital if AK would have just traded those two guys a year ago.
maybe their own pick would be better, sure
but Vuc has no trade value. When under contract he makes too much, now that he's expiring he's not signed for long enough. He is a backup making starter money. It's like some twisted pride thing that AK won't accept 2nd round picks for the dude.
and he won't get any better offers this deadline, so Vuc is not being traded. They are resting him tonight for the big play-in push.
You very well could end up being right.
If you are right, then the decision makers on this team are getting more bizarre with each passing day. They just played Smith on the second night of a back-to-back when he was hurt, but they’re now resting Vuc on the first night of a back-to-back when he’s healthy? Where’s the logic?
Given the Bulls strength of schedule (Tankathon), and how well the Top 11 teams have been playing, and the Bulls desire to make a deal at the trade deadline, IMO they're likely to fall out of the play-ins and are therefore more likely to be sellers. They could wind up with a Top 10 pick.
If they don't lower their asking price for those players not in their timeline, they could stand pat, gain cap space thru their expiring contracts, and attempt to outbid other franchises for UFAs and RFAs.
If they're buyers, it would be insane to be short-term buyers.
6th straight W for Hornets, beating the Spurs. host the Pelicans Monday
I can't believe we're reduced to rooting for the Hornets, of all people, to embarrass us out of the play-in. Poor Milwaukee!
The Hornets are a perfect example of why I’m a proponent of hopeless teams going for high draft picks.
Kon Knueppel is a stud. He’s instantly given a pathetic team a new sense of life.
It’s why I keep disagreeing with fans who are saying Giddey is a legit core piece. You can kind of tell when a player actually has star potential, you know?
Knueppel has been more impressive in half a season than Giddey has been in 4.5 seasons.
Giddy is a legit core piece but not a star. Knueppel can be a star.
Oof, Bulls held out like 8 guys and the Heat held out 5 but Bulls win because they hit half their threes while Heat hit 20%. Grim scenes.
The Bulls won maybe their dumbest game of the year out of many dumb wins but also made a good trade?! Insert Mourning GIF here
I was coming for analysis... we got some second round picks... somewhere Garpax is angry.. you send those out not get them
I'm pretty impressed with this trade. AK getting involved in another team's trade to take on an expiring contract in exchange for a couple future second round picks is very much not something I'd expect from him.
Sure, this is the type of trade that just about any other organization would do, but it's not something the Bulls have done. I'll take it!
Hopefully this is the first of several trades this week in which AK is thinking long-term rather than just what gives his team the best shot at a play-in victory.
NEW POST on the trade https://www.blogabull.com/p/legit-shocker-bulls-make-minor-no