They don’t want to bottom out, because they don’t want the pressure that comes from being really bad. They don’t want to go all in, because they don’t want the pressure of expectations.
So they live in this gray area where they spin any result as part of their big picture plan.
I don't see the problem. Does that not make you want to spend $150 on good seats at the UC? Personally I love teams without expectations or goals, just vibing and seeing where the sport takes them next.
again, this should only be last resort and they don't have to do it until training camp, but extremely easy to gain two roster spots
Jevon Carter - I think they like having him in the locker room, but you don't need that from him AND Lonzo Ball. But if they want to do right by him (for taking their money?) just trade him back to the Bucks for a traded player exception. Bucks are under the apron and have a TPE big enough. He will get playing time there and on a better team.
Dalen Terry - just cut him. I couldn't think of a team where they'd use a roster spot on him. Most teams have 2-4 spots dedicated to projects like Terry, who aren't making >$5M and already a bust. If you really believe in him that much, sign him to a two-way deal
this removes some expiring contracts to use in trades midseason, but as we know the Bulls aren't keen on that anyway and they have a ton elsewhere (Ball, Vuc, Ayo, Collins, Huerter) if they change their mind, plus unlike Carter and Terry those players are actually potentially useful
AKME are not good with press conferences. They have no communication skills. Why would they say they are bringing everyone back. Hopefully that is not true.
Thank god that player evaluation and roster building are separate skills. I hope they are better behind the scenes than they are at the podium.
I don't have anything against Okoro... But how many guys can you have on the team that should be 15 minutes per game role players? The Bulls have like 10 guys like that!
WTF. It defies belief to me that they've played Cleveland x times over the past 5 years and decided "Oh yeah, we really want this guy!"
He's fine and all, and even kind of fills a need a bit, but it's just about the opposite of what they should be doing. As usual, the Bulls have to remind us that they're aggressively stupid.
In a vacuum, trading Lonzo for Okoro is fine due to Lonzo’s injury history. You’re probably not getting a lot more than solid perimeter defense from Okoro, but at least you know you’re getting that. At this point unfortunately, nothing is a guarantee with Lonzo.
The problem is that this trade is just months after the Bulls supposedly turned down a first-round pick for Ball. And from a consistency perspective, it makes no sense for this front office to ask for patience after the draft on Wednesday (typically something said by rebuilding teams) only for them to then trade one of their assets for a role player instead of a draft pick.
That's the thing that's bizarre to me. He just signed an extension even. And now they trade him for what seems like far less than what they could have gotten before?
We also gained $10 million of cap room (Smart $21.5m vs Okoro $11m salary) which we could use to take on another player, either with our $17m trade exception or our $14m MLE.
The thing I wonder about is why did we do this trade now? It is not a major deal, and if we are trying to get Kuminga, GS could have wanted Ball as part of the trade. Either we've given up on that deal or we are far enough along to know Ball was not going to be a part of it.
I'll have more on this hopefully soon, but it also was a bad asset play in getting Okoro. Cleveland was desperate to clear his salary! They would've traded him with a second (or more) to any team's exception. AK gives them a useful player and gets even less, incredible.
He's so bad at this, I don't know how anyone can judge these moves neutrally. There *should* be a negative bias because they're proven to be terrible!
This goes back to what I've been saying about AK for a while... He doesn't look to extract every bit of value possible from every trade. He looks to get what he considers fair value. And that is a recipe for consistently losing trades.
Yes and because he sucks his 'consideration' of value is wrong. As much as we can say this is a repeat of the Caruso-Giddey trade, to AK that isn't a negative. He thinks that was a great trade!
I actually think AK tried to "win" trades for years and was never successful because he dramatically overvalued his assets, so teams would walk away from the table.
Now he's desperate and thinks the only way to make trades is to make them fair, and in making them fair he actually ends up losing every trade.
They don't have a chance of winning with a front office that do not know much about basketball and make decisions solely based on how much money they can save. They think that they can compete with half a team full of teenagers because they do not want to pay for star players unless they have health issues and the bulls front office are clueless when it comes to team chemistry and researching veteran players. Giving players an extension that don't deserve it should not be one man's decision. Make sure that there are at least a have dozen people making the same goofy decision. Then you say it was a Bulls decision. They are about as transparent as stained glass.
The front office is very transparent.
They don’t want to bottom out, because they don’t want the pressure that comes from being really bad. They don’t want to go all in, because they don’t want the pressure of expectations.
So they live in this gray area where they spin any result as part of their big picture plan.
yeah I kept forgetting to put this in the post, but Eversley had this quote:
"when you set timelines, that raises expectations and can lead to mistakes"
I don't see the problem. Does that not make you want to spend $150 on good seats at the UC? Personally I love teams without expectations or goals, just vibing and seeing where the sport takes them next.
I'm going to include that line in my next annual performance review, and my boss will laugh at me because she's not an idiot failson.
again, this should only be last resort and they don't have to do it until training camp, but extremely easy to gain two roster spots
Jevon Carter - I think they like having him in the locker room, but you don't need that from him AND Lonzo Ball. But if they want to do right by him (for taking their money?) just trade him back to the Bucks for a traded player exception. Bucks are under the apron and have a TPE big enough. He will get playing time there and on a better team.
Dalen Terry - just cut him. I couldn't think of a team where they'd use a roster spot on him. Most teams have 2-4 spots dedicated to projects like Terry, who aren't making >$5M and already a bust. If you really believe in him that much, sign him to a two-way deal
this removes some expiring contracts to use in trades midseason, but as we know the Bulls aren't keen on that anyway and they have a ton elsewhere (Ball, Vuc, Ayo, Collins, Huerter) if they change their mind, plus unlike Carter and Terry those players are actually potentially useful
AKME are not good with press conferences. They have no communication skills. Why would they say they are bringing everyone back. Hopefully that is not true.
Thank god that player evaluation and roster building are separate skills. I hope they are better behind the scenes than they are at the podium.
Its an extra low bar, but ME sounds a lot smarter than AK
The Bulls made a trade! Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro! Just need to add James Wiseman and we can have all of the 2020 lottery busts!
I don't have anything against Okoro... But how many guys can you have on the team that should be 15 minutes per game role players? The Bulls have like 10 guys like that!
Play-in threat
And cant shoot. AK type of move....
Like AK said, one way to win in this league is with 9 to 10 mediocre players.
WTF. It defies belief to me that they've played Cleveland x times over the past 5 years and decided "Oh yeah, we really want this guy!"
He's fine and all, and even kind of fills a need a bit, but it's just about the opposite of what they should be doing. As usual, the Bulls have to remind us that they're aggressively stupid.
Yeah RIP to patiently stupid, which lasted all of a couple months
In a vacuum, trading Lonzo for Okoro is fine due to Lonzo’s injury history. You’re probably not getting a lot more than solid perimeter defense from Okoro, but at least you know you’re getting that. At this point unfortunately, nothing is a guarantee with Lonzo.
The problem is that this trade is just months after the Bulls supposedly turned down a first-round pick for Ball. And from a consistency perspective, it makes no sense for this front office to ask for patience after the draft on Wednesday (typically something said by rebuilding teams) only for them to then trade one of their assets for a role player instead of a draft pick.
That's the thing that's bizarre to me. He just signed an extension even. And now they trade him for what seems like far less than what they could have gotten before?
We also gained $10 million of cap room (Smart $21.5m vs Okoro $11m salary) which we could use to take on another player, either with our $17m trade exception or our $14m MLE.
The thing I wonder about is why did we do this trade now? It is not a major deal, and if we are trying to get Kuminga, GS could have wanted Ball as part of the trade. Either we've given up on that deal or we are far enough along to know Ball was not going to be a part of it.
I'll have more on this hopefully soon, but it also was a bad asset play in getting Okoro. Cleveland was desperate to clear his salary! They would've traded him with a second (or more) to any team's exception. AK gives them a useful player and gets even less, incredible.
He's so bad at this, I don't know how anyone can judge these moves neutrally. There *should* be a negative bias because they're proven to be terrible!
https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2025/06/the-second-apron-dilemma-are-the-cavs-too-attached-to-their-current-roster.html
This goes back to what I've been saying about AK for a while... He doesn't look to extract every bit of value possible from every trade. He looks to get what he considers fair value. And that is a recipe for consistently losing trades.
Yes and because he sucks his 'consideration' of value is wrong. As much as we can say this is a repeat of the Caruso-Giddey trade, to AK that isn't a negative. He thinks that was a great trade!
I actually think AK tried to "win" trades for years and was never successful because he dramatically overvalued his assets, so teams would walk away from the table.
Now he's desperate and thinks the only way to make trades is to make them fair, and in making them fair he actually ends up losing every trade.
AK is allergic to collecting picks. It's very strange. Instead of a pick, we trade Lonzo for a middling rotational player.
NEW POST on Lonzo-Okoro trade.
https://www.blogabull.com/p/lonzo-ball-trade-ends-brief-life
They don't have a chance of winning with a front office that do not know much about basketball and make decisions solely based on how much money they can save. They think that they can compete with half a team full of teenagers because they do not want to pay for star players unless they have health issues and the bulls front office are clueless when it comes to team chemistry and researching veteran players. Giving players an extension that don't deserve it should not be one man's decision. Make sure that there are at least a have dozen people making the same goofy decision. Then you say it was a Bulls decision. They are about as transparent as stained glass.