You can always count on AK to learn the wrong lessons from any given scenario, and this month is providing him with a buffet of poor takeaways.
A Pacers vs. Knicks ECF should tell him that the East is wide open, so it’s time to stop aiming for mediocrity and actually build a contending team.
Instead, he’s going to ignore that Haliburton and Brunson are great, and say “Indy and New York don’t have stars and weren’t top seeds, yet they made the conference finals! That could be us!”
The Mavericks winning the lottery should be a gut punch for him since he could have had better odds than them if he would have accepted his fate at the trade deadline and pivoted towards focusing on the offseason.
Instead, he’ll say “See? A play-in team won the lottery! There’s no reason to not be happy about the play-in!”
Who needs elite rosters or top picks? We’ve got a 39-43 three-peat to win!
This is the way. Fandom dies hard but watching good basketball is better than watching bad basketball. You can make the latter entertaining, in an MST3k kind of way, but CHUGGO teaches us that eventually you devolve into either insanity or inanity.
Bulls do own all of their picks though, and that's something. At least theoretically you could put together a really nice trade package for a genuine star player.
If they aren't going to do that then they should tank.
The picks are less valuable in trades than some because they're likely late lottery (confirming this year obviously). But I do think another team would be making a smart bet figuring the Bulls will remain bad for a while no matter who you trade them.
This is obviously less important, but they don't technically have all of their picks. They don't have their own second round picks for the next three years (this year included). They do have Sacramento's second round pick this year though.
That's a pretty low bar, most of the teams that don't have most of their own picks are in the 50 win territory unless they're coming down from a failed championship run.
I thought I saw a glimmer of a strategy in the Bulls stacking like $70 million in expiring contracts (meaning expiring after next season). But if you look around the league there are a bunch of teams that have done this. It's not a strategy, most of them are just idling out regrettable contracts, and they punted on this year's rather unimpressive FA class.
As an example, Portland will have between $85 and $96 million in expiring contracts, and some of them are players you could imagine being acquired for something other than the contract (Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, both between 25 and 26 years old).
Looking at Portland's picks, other than the one they owe Chicago which might never be delivered, they have two Milwaukee swaps and Milwaukee/Celtics 1sts in 2029.
A new GM taking over in Chicago would probably feel okay about the draft assets he was handed but it's not any great shakes.
You can always count on AK to learn the wrong lessons from any given scenario, and this month is providing him with a buffet of poor takeaways.
A Pacers vs. Knicks ECF should tell him that the East is wide open, so it’s time to stop aiming for mediocrity and actually build a contending team.
Instead, he’s going to ignore that Haliburton and Brunson are great, and say “Indy and New York don’t have stars and weren’t top seeds, yet they made the conference finals! That could be us!”
The Mavericks winning the lottery should be a gut punch for him since he could have had better odds than them if he would have accepted his fate at the trade deadline and pivoted towards focusing on the offseason.
Instead, he’ll say “See? A play-in team won the lottery! There’s no reason to not be happy about the play-in!”
Who needs elite rosters or top picks? We’ve got a 39-43 three-peat to win!
that's right. the man is outright dumb, and likely will try and say because 1.8% and last year 3% odds won the lottery, that's actually the sweet spot
On the bright side, I will be saving money by not buying League Pass this year. I'll just watch the good teams that get nationally televised games.
This is the way. Fandom dies hard but watching good basketball is better than watching bad basketball. You can make the latter entertaining, in an MST3k kind of way, but CHUGGO teaches us that eventually you devolve into either insanity or inanity.
There will be a ton of games on Peacock and Amazon this year.
I can't imagine there's a mob at the local Xfinity office for them to carry CHSN
Bulls do own all of their picks though, and that's something. At least theoretically you could put together a really nice trade package for a genuine star player.
If they aren't going to do that then they should tank.
The picks are less valuable in trades than some because they're likely late lottery (confirming this year obviously). But I do think another team would be making a smart bet figuring the Bulls will remain bad for a while no matter who you trade them.
This is obviously less important, but they don't technically have all of their picks. They don't have their own second round picks for the next three years (this year included). They do have Sacramento's second round pick this year though.
That's a pretty low bar, most of the teams that don't have most of their own picks are in the 50 win territory unless they're coming down from a failed championship run.
I thought I saw a glimmer of a strategy in the Bulls stacking like $70 million in expiring contracts (meaning expiring after next season). But if you look around the league there are a bunch of teams that have done this. It's not a strategy, most of them are just idling out regrettable contracts, and they punted on this year's rather unimpressive FA class.
As an example, Portland will have between $85 and $96 million in expiring contracts, and some of them are players you could imagine being acquired for something other than the contract (Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, both between 25 and 26 years old).
Looking at Portland's picks, other than the one they owe Chicago which might never be delivered, they have two Milwaukee swaps and Milwaukee/Celtics 1sts in 2029.
A new GM taking over in Chicago would probably feel okay about the draft assets he was handed but it's not any great shakes.
Should add that Karnisovas inherited a much better situation than he'd hand off to his successor, if we should be so blessed:
1. All their own picks, with an immediately #4 incoming
2. Lauri Markkanen, Coby White and Wendell Carter Jr on rookie scale contracts, no extensions
3. Daniel Gafford entering the 2nd year of a 4 year $1.7 million annual contract
4. Zach LaVine entering the 3rd year of a 4 year, $19.5 million annual contract
5. Big expiring in Otto Porter
6. No bad long-term contracts, and the only other one in double digits was Thad.
Hell, they even had Max Strus on a 2way.
This was only 5 years ago.
God, that is depressing.
#HireGarPax