They have a really soft schedule for the next 10 (Hawks x 2, Grizzlies, Pistons, Hornets, Spurs) and the Bulls have anything but (Cavs, Bucks, Kings, Warriors, Clippers x 2, Mavericks, Pacers). Unfortunately both these teams also count as part of other teams' "soft schedule" too.
I'm thinking if the Hawks take care of Brooklyn this weekend then I'll have to shift back to the Raptors. They have a seemingly-deep team that should win games and maybe just needed a few weeks to realign after trades? AK's right that in-season moves really shake up the locker room!
> This does not mean anything for this season and the very thin playing rotation, as two-way players could’ve been contributing to the active squad all along.
In two years we're going to try to explain this to people and they just won't believe us. They'll say "Well you scouted a guy, why wouldn't you want him on the roster?" Except under his 2way contract, the Bulls could play him for a maximum of 50 games... and they only have 26 left to play! There were no hard restrictions lifted by doing this. It is another of the money-grubbing tactics by The Org that confound even die-hard fans who operating from an assumption that a team is at least trying to create a competitive advantage.
This team is so bleak. Not trading Drummond and Caruso are just inexcusable given the return we know was out there. Imagine these Bulls with 3 2nd, an extra first and Moody.
I can't help but think one reason they didn't trade Caruso is they knew Pat was hurt and the rotation would be incredibly thin without those 2.
I think AKs job is actually more precarious than we think. This is just woeful and dangerously close to going off a cliff.
No way their job is precarious. That assumes ownership cares about any of this. They clearly do not. None of the pointlessness of the entire Bulls org is registering as a 'problem' in the diminished mind of an 88 year old Jerry Reindsdorf. He's fully focused on gifting his kids and partners with another baseball stadium paid for by the city/state/whomever they can grift.
Does anyone know anything about the nature of the Turkish guy's deal? Is the second year not guaranteed? I'm struggling to find a reason for this signing and cannot come up with one.
So what was the point of this? He's locked in to a cheap deal if he catches fire and the Bulls want to keep him? But wouldn't he still be under team control for next season had he stayed on the 2 way?
yes, he'd be under team control but there is some additional 'optionality' in being a full-time roster spot. his contract becomes tradeable, for one thing
and if they guarantee the contract, it's at a number below the 2-year vet minimum
and I suppose they now have the open two-way slot
so altogether not much of a point, no. Certainly not helping the team on the floor.
AND now Trae Young is out at least 4 weeks after hand surgery. Maybe it'll have a LaVine-esque effect and the Hawks will rise in the standings (they're also without Okongwu)
It feels like he tried to play through this for a long time. The Bulls training staff has a history of misdiagnosing things and making things worse. This fits that pattern completely.
I can't find the quote, but I swear Billy last week was saying something to the effect of that Williams didn't do well letting the team know he was injured
I remember when he said that, and then PWill was in and out of the lineup about 5 times. They tried to baby an injury that wasn't going to heal and had no idea what it was anyways.
Yep, this exactly. Does Pat need to be better about admitting when he's hurt? Probably. But the team still knew he was hurt and continued to play him. He's a basketball player. Obviously he's going to try and play through the pain. It's up to the medical staff to properly evaluate him and determine if he's fit to play.
Poku would be a nice pickup. Only 22 years old. Can we drop TT and get him rostered? Dump Drell and give him a 2-way? C’mon, Acne, throw the not-your-fans a bone and quit the short coach philosophy of <6’6”. He’s a euro and would also meets the Bulls’ walking injury requirement!
Vuc with another 0FT night, while DD goes 10-12 at the line. So our offense-only center is shooting 27% from 3 and almost never gets to the FT line? Well least he’s signed on an uber cheap deal
I'll admit I'm probably one of the more optimistic people on here, but I actually enjoyed last night's game. Well, I enjoyed it within a vacuum of just watching a basketball game, not thinking about all the other shit this team is up to. They played hard and beat a team that is genuinely better than them.
Even Vooch was decent last night. He usually gets destroyed by physical bigs, so I expected the same against Jonas Valanciunas but he still had a pretty good game. Plus, he shot a scorching 40% from three!!
I watched most of the last quarter and it was pretty entertaining, like the wolves game. Just because it's fun to see them win a game they really had no business winning but watching Demar nail that 3 with like 30 seconds left was great.
Vuc didn't really do much in the 4th even though he was in, so didn't have him dragging too much shit down haha.
It was also kinda funny hearing the Pels announcers complain how they blew it lololol.
Yep, I think the Bulls have found out that letting Vooch do his thing for the first two or three quarters and then not touch the ball in the fourth tends to be the best course of action. It keeps him happy and doesn't let him fuck things up too much when it actually matters.
nobody cares about the Bulls in the context of the broader NBA. But they can contribute to #FraudWatch , so congrats New Orleans you have joined the Timberwolves
I’m always interested in the national media says about the Bulls. The Ringer gave grades for every team so far and the Bulls got a D. What’s even more telling is that they got the shortest write up of any team so not only are they bad, but also boring which tracks.
Per KC on the Bulls Talk Podcast, Pat's surgery is being performed by a doctor in New York that he and his camp chose. So I guess there's probably less of a chance that he'll die on the operating table now. So that's a positive, I suppose.
But not choosing the team doctors means he's questioned the wisdom of the Bulls organisation, so anticipate some subtle shade to be cast by certain Bulls reporters over the next few months.
By the sound of it, even though Pat is expected to fully recover, it's not the most straight forward surgery to recover from. So it is quite possible he's not ready to go by the start of next season. We'll see if he's even a Bull by the start of next season.
This was great. Because Adam basically was like "the bulls should not lose this game, no offense pistons" and then they proceeded to do exactly that LMAO
In the beat reporters' defense (just kidding), it's hard to know what fans want to know as there is seemingly no interest in this organization and there is certainly nothing to wonder about. Just a bunch of well paid idiots selling a product they don't even seem to care about or understand.
Cannot fathom anyone pretending to think Lonzo is going to play again. I don't believe Lonzo even thinks that.
It's now been nearly a year since his last surgery (not his first or even second) and the news is "he's gaining leg strength in hopes of eventually running."
I find it strange that Phillips had a really solid game against Boston, but then barely played against New Orleans and got a DNP-CD last night against Detroit, yet Terry has played decent minutes in both games.
I often struggle to find the reasoning behind Billy's lineups sometimes.
I mean the thing is Terry's done ok, he's starting to look more under control now. But he hit that three and suddenly he's "forcing" his way into a lineup where half the team is injured lol. k.
Billy's lineups have always confused me. To his credit, he's pretty much only had weirdly constructed teams since he's been in Chicago, so it's not like he's had the most straight forward job in terms of what lineups he plays.
But they still don't make sense. Detroit is terrible and pretty tall on the wings. Why not play Phillips over Carter who has been terrible? The argument for him barely playing against New Orleans was that Zion is huge and they needed Terry Taylor to play because he's bigger and stronger than Phillips. Sure, that's fine. But Phillips probably isn't a PF anyway. Why not play him some at wing that game and this Detroit game too?
Phillips having a really solid game against the best team in the league and then basically being benched for two games sure isn't going to do anything for his confidence. I just don't get what Billy's thinking is with these young guys. It's like he chooses Terry for a few games and then benches him in favor of Phillips for a few games and it just keeps rotating back and forth.
Right I mean that's exactly it. Guys will play well and suddenly benched. It's very odd.
But yeah I mean the roster construction has been terrible so Billy does get somewhat of a pass for that. But I mean instead of giving some young guys minutes against a crappy team 4 of the starters played almost 40 minutes. WTF.
AK wants to be as competitive as possible, based on past quotes, Billy does too (and he's a coach so it makes sense in his case)
AK also has said he doesn't even believe in in-season development from players, it all comes in the offseason
BUT, he's also a pathological liar, so he will spin the development for these guys even though they were because of injuries...but also the injuries really hurt the team
it's not even about development, though. it's about realizing the dudes were gassed and they have another game tonight. seemed stupid to blow these minutes on the pistons lol.
also it's fucking hilarious that 2 of the pistons 9 wins are against the bulls. 😂
Falling down to 10th has been my hope already but Atlanta sure isn't making it easy.
My hope that the Nets catch a little sugar high with a new coach isn't holding up well either.
The teams "bunched up" from #19 to #25 in overall record are actually "quite bad"!
Ben Simmons is hurt, as is Cam Thomas. So maybe things are going to point up soon
They have a really soft schedule for the next 10 (Hawks x 2, Grizzlies, Pistons, Hornets, Spurs) and the Bulls have anything but (Cavs, Bucks, Kings, Warriors, Clippers x 2, Mavericks, Pacers). Unfortunately both these teams also count as part of other teams' "soft schedule" too.
I'm thinking if the Hawks take care of Brooklyn this weekend then I'll have to shift back to the Raptors. They have a seemingly-deep team that should win games and maybe just needed a few weeks to realign after trades? AK's right that in-season moves really shake up the locker room!
Argh Hawks lost both in Brooklyn, shameful
> This does not mean anything for this season and the very thin playing rotation, as two-way players could’ve been contributing to the active squad all along.
In two years we're going to try to explain this to people and they just won't believe us. They'll say "Well you scouted a guy, why wouldn't you want him on the roster?" Except under his 2way contract, the Bulls could play him for a maximum of 50 games... and they only have 26 left to play! There were no hard restrictions lifted by doing this. It is another of the money-grubbing tactics by The Org that confound even die-hard fans who operating from an assumption that a team is at least trying to create a competitive advantage.
This team is so bleak. Not trading Drummond and Caruso are just inexcusable given the return we know was out there. Imagine these Bulls with 3 2nd, an extra first and Moody.
I can't help but think one reason they didn't trade Caruso is they knew Pat was hurt and the rotation would be incredibly thin without those 2.
I think AKs job is actually more precarious than we think. This is just woeful and dangerously close to going off a cliff.
No way their job is precarious. That assumes ownership cares about any of this. They clearly do not. None of the pointlessness of the entire Bulls org is registering as a 'problem' in the diminished mind of an 88 year old Jerry Reindsdorf. He's fully focused on gifting his kids and partners with another baseball stadium paid for by the city/state/whomever they can grift.
Does anyone know anything about the nature of the Turkish guy's deal? Is the second year not guaranteed? I'm struggling to find a reason for this signing and cannot come up with one.
Nothing reported yet but that's likely. It's not like he had leverage
here are the details. 3 years, partial guarantees.
https://twitter.com/Will_Gottlieb/status/1762273457759207705
Carlik Jones had something similar, and was waived before this season started
So what was the point of this? He's locked in to a cheap deal if he catches fire and the Bulls want to keep him? But wouldn't he still be under team control for next season had he stayed on the 2 way?
yes, he'd be under team control but there is some additional 'optionality' in being a full-time roster spot. his contract becomes tradeable, for one thing
and if they guarantee the contract, it's at a number below the 2-year vet minimum
and I suppose they now have the open two-way slot
so altogether not much of a point, no. Certainly not helping the team on the floor.
AND now Trae Young is out at least 4 weeks after hand surgery. Maybe it'll have a LaVine-esque effect and the Hawks will rise in the standings (they're also without Okongwu)
Another star guard contracts the KLUTCH virus. When will we find a cure?!
To be fair, is Trae using the injury to avoid playing because he doesn't want to be in Atlanta? I thought they were actually trying.
Contagion is mysterious!
1-0 , big win over (Banchero-less) Magic
2-0 Be Klutch.
Well they just signed some other guy to a 2 way, that's probably why they did it.
Interesting read regarding Pat's injury. Looks like it could be a long, tricky rehab.
https://instreetclothes.com/2024/02/24/understanding-patrick-williams-navicular-injury/
It feels like he tried to play through this for a long time. The Bulls training staff has a history of misdiagnosing things and making things worse. This fits that pattern completely.
I can't find the quote, but I swear Billy last week was saying something to the effect of that Williams didn't do well letting the team know he was injured
I remember when he said that, and then PWill was in and out of the lineup about 5 times. They tried to baby an injury that wasn't going to heal and had no idea what it was anyways.
Yep, this exactly. Does Pat need to be better about admitting when he's hurt? Probably. But the team still knew he was hurt and continued to play him. He's a basketball player. Obviously he's going to try and play through the pain. It's up to the medical staff to properly evaluate him and determine if he's fit to play.
they're going to have the excuses on-hand at the end of the year when Coby, DeMar, Caruso can't finish the season
I'm honestly surprised Caruso and DeMar have lasted this long. They're playing with house money at this point.
And if he had gone for a 2nd opinion somewhere they would have thrown him under the bus like Luol. This fucking team is trash.
They even used the same crazy “active rest “ term they used with Lu. 😬
Poku would be a nice pickup. Only 22 years old. Can we drop TT and get him rostered? Dump Drell and give him a 2-way? C’mon, Acne, throw the not-your-fans a bone and quit the short coach philosophy of <6’6”. He’s a euro and would also meets the Bulls’ walking injury requirement!
Poku just signed by the Hornets
Charlotte had a great deadline, building assets yet remaining competitive. Yet they're firing their GM lol (because there's new owners, hmmm)
I'd rather have Kupchak than AK!!! And totally agree, Charlotte made great moves this year.
AK passed on Bol and Poku, so assuming skinny 7ft 3-pt/shot blockers are not his type. CHA doubling down with Bertans there already.
He likes the thick dudes with meat on their bones, and Vuc and Drummond are definitely that!
Vuc with another 0FT night, while DD goes 10-12 at the line. So our offense-only center is shooting 27% from 3 and almost never gets to the FT line? Well least he’s signed on an uber cheap deal
I saw on the old app that people found last night's game "an enjoyable watch" and "a good win" for the Bulls.
I see Vuc played 33 minutes and had 19 field goal attempts so I'm skeptical
I'll admit I'm probably one of the more optimistic people on here, but I actually enjoyed last night's game. Well, I enjoyed it within a vacuum of just watching a basketball game, not thinking about all the other shit this team is up to. They played hard and beat a team that is genuinely better than them.
Even Vooch was decent last night. He usually gets destroyed by physical bigs, so I expected the same against Jonas Valanciunas but he still had a pretty good game. Plus, he shot a scorching 40% from three!!
yeah I don't begrudge anyone enjoying the action, I was more curious of that being true
I do begrudge anyone thinking these games and results are meaningful
Completely agree
I watched most of the last quarter and it was pretty entertaining, like the wolves game. Just because it's fun to see them win a game they really had no business winning but watching Demar nail that 3 with like 30 seconds left was great.
Vuc didn't really do much in the 4th even though he was in, so didn't have him dragging too much shit down haha.
It was also kinda funny hearing the Pels announcers complain how they blew it lololol.
Yep, I think the Bulls have found out that letting Vooch do his thing for the first two or three quarters and then not touch the ball in the fourth tends to be the best course of action. It keeps him happy and doesn't let him fuck things up too much when it actually matters.
Casual fans + dumb corporate schmooze money = AckDorf's "fans"
Or
Don't really care + pay the fare = AckDorf's "fans"
Or
Bored + Afford = AckDorf's "fans"
nobody cares about the Bulls in the context of the broader NBA. But they can contribute to #FraudWatch , so congrats New Orleans you have joined the Timberwolves
The Bulls' ceiling this year is the same as last year - providing a scare to a real playoff team that propels them to fulfill their potential.
I’m always interested in the national media says about the Bulls. The Ringer gave grades for every team so far and the Bulls got a D. What’s even more telling is that they got the shortest write up of any team so not only are they bad, but also boring which tracks.
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/26/24080028/nba-season-grades-lakers-celtics-knicks-warriors
C's get degrees
D's get disease
Ans F's go o the army to kill brown people
Per KC on the Bulls Talk Podcast, Pat's surgery is being performed by a doctor in New York that he and his camp chose. So I guess there's probably less of a chance that he'll die on the operating table now. So that's a positive, I suppose.
Kudos to him for belatedly figuring out that the Bulls doctors aren’t great
But not choosing the team doctors means he's questioned the wisdom of the Bulls organisation, so anticipate some subtle shade to be cast by certain Bulls reporters over the next few months.
I'm calling it now-- there is no chance Pat is ready to go at the beginning of next season.
By the sound of it, even though Pat is expected to fully recover, it's not the most straight forward surgery to recover from. So it is quite possible he's not ready to go by the start of next season. We'll see if he's even a Bull by the start of next season.
no new post (because...why?) for the Pistons game
here's the updated roster snapshot for them. Very interesting as they actually 'made trades'
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GHXA5yhawAA_MMe.png
Did those trades improve their record?
Checkmate, non-fan!
i think they're more competitive though, get close enough to bitch about the officials
I recognize the Pistons are on a back-to-back, but should this Bulls team ever be double digit favorites?
I usually can't bring myself to actually root for a Bulls loss, but I feel like this will be a well deserved organizational embarrassment
You got it!
This was great. Because Adam basically was like "the bulls should not lose this game, no offense pistons" and then they proceeded to do exactly that LMAO
why are the beat reporters relaying Billy Donovan's updates about Lonzo Ball? Who is asking for this?
In the beat reporters' defense (just kidding), it's hard to know what fans want to know as there is seemingly no interest in this organization and there is certainly nothing to wonder about. Just a bunch of well paid idiots selling a product they don't even seem to care about or understand.
Cannot fathom anyone pretending to think Lonzo is going to play again. I don't believe Lonzo even thinks that.
The PAYING interest is excellent, you non-fan!!!
It's now been nearly a year since his last surgery (not his first or even second) and the news is "he's gaining leg strength in hopes of eventually running."
Sheep reporters
Stacey talking about Terry "forcing" his way into the lineup like we have other competent NBA players available lol
I find it strange that Phillips had a really solid game against Boston, but then barely played against New Orleans and got a DNP-CD last night against Detroit, yet Terry has played decent minutes in both games.
But Dalen Terry made half of the Bulls' three pointers last night WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT
If someone bet on Vooch and Dalen Terry being the only two players to hit threes last night, they'd be very rich right now.
I often struggle to find the reasoning behind Billy's lineups sometimes.
I mean the thing is Terry's done ok, he's starting to look more under control now. But he hit that three and suddenly he's "forcing" his way into a lineup where half the team is injured lol. k.
Billy's lineups have always confused me. To his credit, he's pretty much only had weirdly constructed teams since he's been in Chicago, so it's not like he's had the most straight forward job in terms of what lineups he plays.
But they still don't make sense. Detroit is terrible and pretty tall on the wings. Why not play Phillips over Carter who has been terrible? The argument for him barely playing against New Orleans was that Zion is huge and they needed Terry Taylor to play because he's bigger and stronger than Phillips. Sure, that's fine. But Phillips probably isn't a PF anyway. Why not play him some at wing that game and this Detroit game too?
Phillips having a really solid game against the best team in the league and then basically being benched for two games sure isn't going to do anything for his confidence. I just don't get what Billy's thinking is with these young guys. It's like he chooses Terry for a few games and then benches him in favor of Phillips for a few games and it just keeps rotating back and forth.
Right I mean that's exactly it. Guys will play well and suddenly benched. It's very odd.
But yeah I mean the roster construction has been terrible so Billy does get somewhat of a pass for that. But I mean instead of giving some young guys minutes against a crappy team 4 of the starters played almost 40 minutes. WTF.
there is no development edict here
AK wants to be as competitive as possible, based on past quotes, Billy does too (and he's a coach so it makes sense in his case)
AK also has said he doesn't even believe in in-season development from players, it all comes in the offseason
BUT, he's also a pathological liar, so he will spin the development for these guys even though they were because of injuries...but also the injuries really hurt the team
it's not even about development, though. it's about realizing the dudes were gassed and they have another game tonight. seemed stupid to blow these minutes on the pistons lol.
also it's fucking hilarious that 2 of the pistons 9 wins are against the bulls. 😂
We needed our good 3-pt shooters in the game bwahahahahaha!!!!