They finally made a good trade lol. With the addition of Duarte we’re already at 15 spots and less than $6 million away from the tax so I don’t imagine we’ll use it any time soon if at all.
Kinda surprised me Bulls didn’t sent out a contract in Jevon or Torrey Craig. But I assume those two would be available the moment a team asked for them.
Neither Sac or Spurs could take on more salary without sending more out. This only worked because Spurs had just enough room to absorb Barnes and even then they have to cut players to make it work fully.
I don't know why some people on this sub are raging at getting something back for a free agent who was otherwiae going to walk away for nothing. The picks give Bulls additional assets they can use later.
The trade exception could also help later on - Bulls could use it to extraxt additional pick/s for teams that need to dump salary down the road. It could also help facilitate a trade for LaVine by being able to absorb extra contracts if necessary to help get a better return.
Every little bit helps when you're trying to rebuild the roster. This team isn't going to be competitive and the team made some bad decisions in recent years - now at least they are doing things that can actually help in the process of reconstructing this roster.
This subreddit/fan base has taken a valid frustration (jerry being a cheap POS owner), but then used it to throw a tantrum over any routine move we’ve made over the past decade. They just see the words “cash considerations” and fly into a blind rage, completely ignorant to the fact that it’s an extremely common throw in for every team in the league
Yah I basically agree with all this. AK has certainly made his fair share of mistakes. The Vuc trade is one of the worst in the entire league over the last decade. However I think it’s kind of funny when you have all these Reddit experts that know exactly how the trade markets work.
I mean I doubt AK is just going to take a shit deal when there’s all these great offers on the table. Everyone in the league has know Caruso, Lavine, and Demar were available. I think it’s a bit delusional sometimes to think there were all these great deals out there we turned down.
The thing that hurts me the most wasn’t even the Vuc trade. Okay it was as mistake. But compounding it by resigning him last year instead of trading him before the deadline or letting him walk was crazy stupid and now we are stuck with him
his contract isn't that big and he's not gonna hurt a youth movement. fine to have your critiques of the trade but this idea that bringing him back is so damaging just doesn't really make sense
Agree….Vuch takes too much hate. Durable double double machine that is a skilled offensive weapon. If he could just get back to career 3pt ## norms his value would be much better. 2 for $40 mil is not an untreatable contract, especially when we get to the deadline and only a year and change is left on it.
What is common about going from potentially getting a fringe top 10 pick for Caruso to trading him away for a washed pedophile and no firsts?
This is the worst organization in sports bar none. Held their assets for way too long and now can't get rid of anybody. We have to run it back when we should be tanking because Lavine has the worst contract in the NBA and Vuc is the worst starting center in the NBA. This is a humiliating off season in every way and it is going to be even worse when we finish as a 10 seed yet again and get another useless #11 pick to use on some guy who will amount to nothing.
Almost like he doesn't play winning basketball and that's why his minutes got cut
You're probably one of the same idiots on this sub screeching about how Zach Lavine is an amazing player for putting up 28 ppg on a dogshit Bulls team with nobody.
If he played winning basketball as a starter on a #1 seed at 21 years old he would cost a lot more than Caruso. What were you expecting, Anthony Edwards?
I am saying that I'd rather take the risk on a #13 pick than take a guy that we already know does not play winning basketball. And I am sick and tired of having guys on my team that we know don't know how to win (Lavine, Derozan, Vucevic)
There is a better chance of that happening than Giddey playing it because he will 100% never be a winning basketball player in this league. He doesn't have a jumpshot and his defense is dogshit. His ceiling is a worse Ben Simmons.
It's crazy that people don't understand how players can get better over time. Giddey's weaknesses can be improved through hard work and practice. Defense and 3 point shooting are two areas that tons of young players improve on over time. It's *far* less likely for a guy to learn elite vision and passing skills, two things Giddey already has.
Wild that he doesn't play "winning basketball" and yet at such a young age he started all year on the #1 seed in the West and all of last year on a team that fought for the playoffs when their pre-season over/under was 23.5 wins.
Honestly, reminded of when we grabbed Jabari Parker to see if SOMETHING could be salvaged from him. The subreddit was malding but my opinion was “KD literally just joined the Warriors there is no point in fielding a competitive team we just need to see what young talent we can get for a run YEARS from now”
I might be remembering wrong but it felt like most of us were okay with it because if it worked it was a good deal and if he failed it was a good deal too.
I don’t mind seeing the high risk high reward moves like that
No some of us were not okay with it. We saw how selfish Jabaei Parker was, playing no defense and having nearly zero team basketball IQ on offense.
The classic guy who put up fake stats similar to high scores that used to play for the clippers back in the '80s and '90s lol. Nothing but high volume but not resulting in wins.
Trade exceptions are rarely used. Predicting the Bulls aren't going to use this one is a bit like predicting they won't win the title next year, and not so much like predicting the powerball number.
Don't get me wrong, I really like this trade. We didn't take back any long term salary and we picked up two second rounders in exchange for basically nothing since we weren't bringing DeMar back anyway. Plus I like DeMar and am a fan of him getting a little extra cash. But the trade exception is probably going to end up being worth less than the cash considerations.
My only issue is we’re very bad at making use of our exceptions before they expire (which is funny because one of the selling points of Marc Eversley when we brought on was as a cap expert), other than that it was great trade for us
Yeah - you're righr, and they may not end up using the exception. But the exception is an extra element and not the core asset in this deal so I feel it's fine if it ends up going away without some attempt to use it for more draft equity.
Having said that, the crazy restrictions of the 2nd apron might force some teams to shed certain contracts. So maybe we see exceptions used more this season for trades this season than in the past.
I’ve been furious at AK since Lonzo went down but this summer he’s really done an incredible job making something out of practically nothing.
The Giddey acquisition was a coup; he would’ve likely gone #1 in this draft—he’s a stud. Put the ball in his hands and he’ll orchestrate the offense whether it’s pushing the ball or in the half court. He can defend too. Literally the perfect PG as long as we grab more shooters along the way.
Matas was a knockout pick at 11 and I’m shocked he fell past 5-6. Teams are suddenly weary of Ignite players but he’s proven he can play at a high level against pros, has incredible physical tools and can play both sides of the ball.
The Pat deal was fair for both sides and I still have faith in him, especially now that DDR is gone (and likely Zach). He’s going to flourish playing with Giddey.
We got *something* for DDR, which is better than nothing. We have to finish bottom 10 to get our pick this year and the 2025 draft is stacked with high end talent at the top. We’re in a better position than most of us think right now and I’m excited about this team.
Because this whole experiment should have ended earlier.
The trade deadline last year is when we should have started moving pieces.
This team will never be a true contender until Reinsdorf sells the team.
Ok we’re rebuilding now. What’s the point of getting so worked up about the past in BASKETBALL?? Let’s be happy about where this team is going now. This should be an escape from the stress of life, not add to it. Just love that The Bulls are doing the right thing now
I agree but I also presume the swap was the price for San Antonio absorbing the money the Bulls didn't want to take on. I wonder whether that was offered to the Bulls though - did you happen to see anything on that?
I mean it’s incumbent on AKME to figure this shit out whether they’re directly being offered the deal or not haha. As is San Antonio just swoops in as the middle man and leeches value from both teams (mostly Sac tbf). They’re doing really impressive work this summer honestly
Yeah exactly that’s why we could have easily taken the swap over SA by absorbing Barnes in the deal. If you’re Sac you’d definitely rather give up a future swap to a team with no real current direction or elite young assets vs the one with Wemby on it lol
Yea in a vacuum but you’re not putting into context what the bulls situation currently is. We already have a very expensive contract that we don’t want on the team in Zach Lavine. Taking Barnes could have gotten us the swap but would also put us in a shit situation to move Lavine. Now we have free space to take back money for a next move.
Say what you want about AK, I think he lacks vision and awareness, But when he remade the team in 2021 we didn’t see the direction until the end of season when all the pieces fit together. We should do the same now, more trades are coming in the offseason or in next but they are.
Yea in a vacuum but you’re not putting into context what the bulls situation currently is. We already have a very expensive contract that we don’t want on the team in Zach Lavine. Taking Barnes could have gotten us the swap but would also put us in a shit situation to move Lavine. Now we have free space to take back money for a next move.
Say what you want about AK, I think he lacks vision and awareness, But when he remade the team in 2021 we didn’t see the direction until the end of season when all the pieces fit together. We should do the same now, more trades are coming in the offseason or in next but they are.
You’re missing the whole picture
That’s a bad cost lol that’s what I’m saying
”I didn’t want to make food tonight so I paid $100 for McDonalds” like if that’s the price make food my guy
Sac’s goal was getting rid of Barnes so they could get Demar, so they were willing to give SA what they needed to in order to make the trade happen.
The Bulls are just doing Demar a solid, we’re barely involved here.
Yeah instead of getting ”barely involved” we should have taken a first swap for Barnes lmao that’s literally what I’m saying. Don’t think I’m being opaque here
I think you’re not thinking big enough, don’t be fixated on this trade. We’re completely tearing this down and we need to get rid of bad contracts already not take more in
No because SA is taking up a contract we don’t want. We don’t want Barnes contract at all because of Lavine. Freeing up all that money makes it easier to move Lavine down the road
OK. If you're annoyed about the pick swap, which was probably the prize in exchange for taking Barnes' contract, that is fair.
Reinsdorf probably doesn't want to pay the luxury tax, which explains why it's two second-round picks and a roster filler.
could have waived and stretched Lonzo and still avoided the luxury tax. but then Jerry'd have to pay for someone not to play and I'm sure he would hate that
they're comparing it to trading him last off season, when the entire sub agreed it was time to move. Losing DeMar for this little is ultimately a failure for the franchise.
I don't think any reasonable person would disagree that DeMar should have been dealt last season. But what was done can't be changed - you get what you can now. This deal on the current circumstances was good business.
Now, you could argue Bulls could have tried to get the pick swap that went to San Antonio and pick up Barnes' contract for a better return. And I think that's a fair thing to raise. But 2nd rounders is better than zero picks and I don't think most NBA owners would want to pay luxury tax for what I think would be a 30-win team.
But the current circumstances are the results of bad business that's all were saying. I can't give them credit for taking scraps when it was their fault that's all they can get.
You are not wrong, but as we’ve learned that AKME was instructed to make a push for the playoffs last season, I think the criticism in this scenario should be laid squarely on ownership, while AKME gets some acknowledgement for salvaging anything of value for DeMar. And I’m a certified AKME hater saying this.
I’m a Pacers fan. Duarte actually had an awesome rookie year and has sucked ass ever since. Tbh you probably cut him but I’ve always yearned for a world where he turns it around. Was a big fan.
Lol $5 bulls tickets yeah right. There's a reason why Bulls owner refuses to sell because it's a cash cow no matter how bad the bulls are. Always top attendance. Reason why we'll never see a new ownership because folks will still attend and show up.
Was about to say this...lol. So yes, we definitely need to tank. Hate that this sub is turning into FB comments now. People don't even know basic facts that you can Google like the team's future picks.
Next off-season will be busier than this off-season.
Zach obviously is going to be traded. But it’s likelt after this season. Because most tax spenders were docking the luxury tax to reset the tax counter. Next season, they can once again go over the tax without repeat offender penalties.
Bulls will have Zach, Vooch, Jevon, 17.6M TPE and $2.8M caruso TPE to work with. Next season is a good time to retool, given Coby and Ayo still have cheap contracts.
I may be wrong, but this whole process feels like an initial swing and a miss due to Zo’s injury but AK putting together a better team, and then him being essentially frozen by ownership to not sell on players/assets when they could. Now that he has the ability to do so this year, he’s done a reasonable job at getting assets back, and signing our players to value contracts. We should have sold earlier; but AK seems decisive when given the opportunity for better or worse, so it feels like the previous few offseason that ownership didn’t allow him to deal
Idk if the universe is saying something but I just went to tankathon and did like 10 2025 lottery sims and bulls got the 1st pick like 3 teams and second pick like 3 times lol
Getting anything of value for someone who would've walked (and getting to do right by him by helping him get to a team that could pay more than the mid-level) is always going to be a good exchange
Not sure why everyone hates the Vuc trade. He was a 2 time all star. Shooting 40% from 3. He rebounds. He doesn’t get hurt. Can make open shots. He has not shot well. But Lonzo/ Zach don’t get hurt. We had a great team. #1 in the east for 1/2 a season. If Orlando drafts a bad player and not Franz. We wouldn’t talk about it
The picks we would get for AC would likely be top 10 protected. What I do know is, the Kings were offering the 13th pick. If the player we draft at 13 has a career as good as Giddey's thus far, we would be hyped
They traded two guys for underwhelming returns and have failed to get rid of two negative assets, one of which we thought was a real trade chip 2 months ago. The bar has been set so low for this fanbase.
They traded Caruso in a way that got universally clowned on. They drafted Matas after an inexplicable stroke of good luck that had him drop into their laps. Pat's contract can be good, but it can also be a terrible one if he keeps getting a season ending injury every other year. Jalen Smith is a whatever move. They still haven't unloaded Vuc or Zach, and may have to give up assets to do so, which would be a disaster...
It's 100% a mid offseason, it's just that it's also AKME's best offseason in years. That's mostly an indictment on how terrible this FO has been over the years, that them doing the bare minimum and two years too late is still seen as a massive win by this fanbase.
1) *"Caruso trade was universally clowned on"* so the FO should care about what Twitter thinks? I'd rather wait on the results before I judge the trade. Giddey is as good bet of a bet (if not, better) compared to the reported returns from an AC trade (protected picks and the Kings' 13th pick)
2) *They drafter Matas because of luck.* Luck can also be considered as opportunity. Were the Warriors geniuses for drafting Steph? or were they just lucky? How about Denver with Jokic? Did the Spurs earn the 1st pick to get Wemby, or did the pingpong balls aligned in their favor?
3) *Pat's contract can be good or it can be bad*. Yeah, it's neutral. How is that a negative?
4) *Bulls have yet to unload Zach and Vooch*. So what, those guys ain't winning us games anyway, let them work themselves into being tradeable
Then become a fan of something else. I hate this iteration of the Bulls too but Jesus lol. And Josh Giddey is going to make so many fans delete their comments that they made so they can always say they loved him and the trade.
Derozan wasn’t under contract, with the tax we couldn’t afford him without dumping lavine(which is impossible rn), and he didn’t like the direction of the team after the AC trade.
Derozan at the deadline was worth more, when the alternative is him leaving for literally nothing 2 2nds isn’t bad at all
The Bulls held a powerful hand in this deal, hence the third team. In order for Demar to get his money, a third team had to be involved. The Bulls could have parted ways with other contracts and taken on better players. The Bulls got FLEECED. story of my life.
Kings wouldn’t give up better players since they are actually competing. If Demar would have gotten like 30 mill and Huerter went to the kings then I’d be more mad but they weren’t going to ship off other deals
The kings weren’t going to take back contracts either for the same reason and it would cost draft capital to get the spurs to take someone like Carter or Vuc. At this point I’d rather keep them without giving up value since we aren’t competing anyway. No reason to give up value to get off of them
And bulls didn’t hold a powerful hand, and San Antonio held more of one tbh. Bulls were dependent on another team taking on all major money. Taking on contracts isn’t super cheap and because of that San Antonio was taking on the larger burden here than the bulls when their alternative was get nothing
I mean that’s clearly the plan. Otherwise they keep AC, draft someone like Devin Carter or a more ready prospect, and continue to pursue Demar once FA hit. Bulls know the core didn’t have a chance of doing any damage and finally decided to move off of it and are focused on keeping the puck in next years draft
I mean they started probably a year and a half too late. Everyone knows that and was screaming it for years. But clearly they finally decided to make the change this off-season which is better than them never making the change
They finally made a good trade lol. With the addition of Duarte we’re already at 15 spots and less than $6 million away from the tax so I don’t imagine we’ll use it any time soon if at all.
Kinda surprised me Bulls didn’t sent out a contract in Jevon or Torrey Craig. But I assume those two would be available the moment a team asked for them.
Craig is a candidate for "it's the trade deadline and the Suns need somebody useful" kind of trade
I’d put money on Craig being a Sun again after the deadline lol
Neither Sac or Spurs could take on more salary without sending more out. This only worked because Spurs had just enough room to absorb Barnes and even then they have to cut players to make it work fully.
I’m surprised the kings didn’t take Craig atleast
I don't know why some people on this sub are raging at getting something back for a free agent who was otherwiae going to walk away for nothing. The picks give Bulls additional assets they can use later. The trade exception could also help later on - Bulls could use it to extraxt additional pick/s for teams that need to dump salary down the road. It could also help facilitate a trade for LaVine by being able to absorb extra contracts if necessary to help get a better return. Every little bit helps when you're trying to rebuild the roster. This team isn't going to be competitive and the team made some bad decisions in recent years - now at least they are doing things that can actually help in the process of reconstructing this roster.
Thank you.
This subreddit/fan base has taken a valid frustration (jerry being a cheap POS owner), but then used it to throw a tantrum over any routine move we’ve made over the past decade. They just see the words “cash considerations” and fly into a blind rage, completely ignorant to the fact that it’s an extremely common throw in for every team in the league
Yah I basically agree with all this. AK has certainly made his fair share of mistakes. The Vuc trade is one of the worst in the entire league over the last decade. However I think it’s kind of funny when you have all these Reddit experts that know exactly how the trade markets work. I mean I doubt AK is just going to take a shit deal when there’s all these great offers on the table. Everyone in the league has know Caruso, Lavine, and Demar were available. I think it’s a bit delusional sometimes to think there were all these great deals out there we turned down.
The thing that hurts me the most wasn’t even the Vuc trade. Okay it was as mistake. But compounding it by resigning him last year instead of trading him before the deadline or letting him walk was crazy stupid and now we are stuck with him
his contract isn't that big and he's not gonna hurt a youth movement. fine to have your critiques of the trade but this idea that bringing him back is so damaging just doesn't really make sense
Agree….Vuch takes too much hate. Durable double double machine that is a skilled offensive weapon. If he could just get back to career 3pt ## norms his value would be much better. 2 for $40 mil is not an untreatable contract, especially when we get to the deadline and only a year and change is left on it.
What is common about going from potentially getting a fringe top 10 pick for Caruso to trading him away for a washed pedophile and no firsts? This is the worst organization in sports bar none. Held their assets for way too long and now can't get rid of anybody. We have to run it back when we should be tanking because Lavine has the worst contract in the NBA and Vuc is the worst starting center in the NBA. This is a humiliating off season in every way and it is going to be even worse when we finish as a 10 seed yet again and get another useless #11 pick to use on some guy who will amount to nothing.
17/8/6 at 20 years old before getting his minutes cut on the #1 seed.
Kings were offering the 13th pick. If the player we hypothetically draft at 13 has a career as good as Giddey's thus far, we would be hyped
Almost like he doesn't play winning basketball and that's why his minutes got cut You're probably one of the same idiots on this sub screeching about how Zach Lavine is an amazing player for putting up 28 ppg on a dogshit Bulls team with nobody.
If he played winning basketball as a starter on a #1 seed at 21 years old he would cost a lot more than Caruso. What were you expecting, Anthony Edwards?
I am saying that I'd rather take the risk on a #13 pick than take a guy that we already know does not play winning basketball. And I am sick and tired of having guys on my team that we know don't know how to win (Lavine, Derozan, Vucevic)
Lol no #13 pick is going to be playing winning basketball at 21, especially not in this draft.
There is a better chance of that happening than Giddey playing it because he will 100% never be a winning basketball player in this league. He doesn't have a jumpshot and his defense is dogshit. His ceiling is a worse Ben Simmons.
It's crazy that people don't understand how players can get better over time. Giddey's weaknesses can be improved through hard work and practice. Defense and 3 point shooting are two areas that tons of young players improve on over time. It's *far* less likely for a guy to learn elite vision and passing skills, two things Giddey already has. Wild that he doesn't play "winning basketball" and yet at such a young age he started all year on the #1 seed in the West and all of last year on a team that fought for the playoffs when their pre-season over/under was 23.5 wins.
Josh Giddey is not a pedophile. Grow. The. Fuck. Up.
If anything he's a victim but for whatever reason shit like this doesn't matter when it happens to a dude.
Honestly, reminded of when we grabbed Jabari Parker to see if SOMETHING could be salvaged from him. The subreddit was malding but my opinion was “KD literally just joined the Warriors there is no point in fielding a competitive team we just need to see what young talent we can get for a run YEARS from now”
I might be remembering wrong but it felt like most of us were okay with it because if it worked it was a good deal and if he failed it was a good deal too. I don’t mind seeing the high risk high reward moves like that
No some of us were not okay with it. We saw how selfish Jabaei Parker was, playing no defense and having nearly zero team basketball IQ on offense. The classic guy who put up fake stats similar to high scores that used to play for the clippers back in the '80s and '90s lol. Nothing but high volume but not resulting in wins.
Bulls are not going to use this trade exception.
OK. Now tell me what the winning powerball number is, we can use the money to buy the Bulls from Jerry.
Trade exceptions are rarely used. Predicting the Bulls aren't going to use this one is a bit like predicting they won't win the title next year, and not so much like predicting the powerball number. Don't get me wrong, I really like this trade. We didn't take back any long term salary and we picked up two second rounders in exchange for basically nothing since we weren't bringing DeMar back anyway. Plus I like DeMar and am a fan of him getting a little extra cash. But the trade exception is probably going to end up being worth less than the cash considerations.
Bulls have only paid the tax once despite being the 3rd largest market. They are about $10 million under the tax line.
A sane answer. thank you!
People are mad we actually got assets back for DeMar?
I haven’t seen one person mad lmao it’s always people arguing against no one. Anyone who is mad probably downvoted to oblivion
Seriously who are these people that everyone is saying is mad about getting assets back?
This! We’re rebuilding guys not trying to win now!
My only issue is we’re very bad at making use of our exceptions before they expire (which is funny because one of the selling points of Marc Eversley when we brought on was as a cap expert), other than that it was great trade for us
Yeah - you're righr, and they may not end up using the exception. But the exception is an extra element and not the core asset in this deal so I feel it's fine if it ends up going away without some attempt to use it for more draft equity. Having said that, the crazy restrictions of the 2nd apron might force some teams to shed certain contracts. So maybe we see exceptions used more this season for trades this season than in the past.
double-taking at a highly-upvoted bulls reddit comment that actually makes sense
I’ve been furious at AK since Lonzo went down but this summer he’s really done an incredible job making something out of practically nothing. The Giddey acquisition was a coup; he would’ve likely gone #1 in this draft—he’s a stud. Put the ball in his hands and he’ll orchestrate the offense whether it’s pushing the ball or in the half court. He can defend too. Literally the perfect PG as long as we grab more shooters along the way. Matas was a knockout pick at 11 and I’m shocked he fell past 5-6. Teams are suddenly weary of Ignite players but he’s proven he can play at a high level against pros, has incredible physical tools and can play both sides of the ball. The Pat deal was fair for both sides and I still have faith in him, especially now that DDR is gone (and likely Zach). He’s going to flourish playing with Giddey. We got *something* for DDR, which is better than nothing. We have to finish bottom 10 to get our pick this year and the 2025 draft is stacked with high end talent at the top. We’re in a better position than most of us think right now and I’m excited about this team.
Because this whole experiment should have ended earlier. The trade deadline last year is when we should have started moving pieces. This team will never be a true contender until Reinsdorf sells the team.
Owners are every thing. Look at Jim Dolan and the Knicks, they will never be succes- oh wait
All we need is Charles Oakley to come in, say some shit and get kicked out
Best time to plant a tree was yesterday. Next best time is today
Ok we’re rebuilding now. What’s the point of getting so worked up about the past in BASKETBALL?? Let’s be happy about where this team is going now. This should be an escape from the stress of life, not add to it. Just love that The Bulls are doing the right thing now
I mean it’s nice that they actually have a plan now but it is frustrating that AK didn’t have a plan from the day Ball got injured until now.
Deal is fine but if the pick swap is a first rounder that’s pretty bad that we didn’t just take it ourselves lol. Barnes isn’t *that* bad
I agree but I also presume the swap was the price for San Antonio absorbing the money the Bulls didn't want to take on. I wonder whether that was offered to the Bulls though - did you happen to see anything on that?
Why wouldn’t the bulls be offered the same? Sacramento would most likely prefer it, better to give us the swap than SA I’d assume
I have no idea honestly, would be sensible for the Kings to at least pose the offer if they were willing to part with it
I mean it’s incumbent on AKME to figure this shit out whether they’re directly being offered the deal or not haha. As is San Antonio just swoops in as the middle man and leeches value from both teams (mostly Sac tbf). They’re doing really impressive work this summer honestly
Thats what smart front offices do - and they lucked out with Wemby so they should be good again soon
Yeah exactly that’s why we could have easily taken the swap over SA by absorbing Barnes in the deal. If you’re Sac you’d definitely rather give up a future swap to a team with no real current direction or elite young assets vs the one with Wemby on it lol
Yea in a vacuum but you’re not putting into context what the bulls situation currently is. We already have a very expensive contract that we don’t want on the team in Zach Lavine. Taking Barnes could have gotten us the swap but would also put us in a shit situation to move Lavine. Now we have free space to take back money for a next move. Say what you want about AK, I think he lacks vision and awareness, But when he remade the team in 2021 we didn’t see the direction until the end of season when all the pieces fit together. We should do the same now, more trades are coming in the offseason or in next but they are.
Yea in a vacuum but you’re not putting into context what the bulls situation currently is. We already have a very expensive contract that we don’t want on the team in Zach Lavine. Taking Barnes could have gotten us the swap but would also put us in a shit situation to move Lavine. Now we have free space to take back money for a next move. Say what you want about AK, I think he lacks vision and awareness, But when he remade the team in 2021 we didn’t see the direction until the end of season when all the pieces fit together. We should do the same now, more trades are coming in the offseason or in next but they are. You’re missing the whole picture
Because we didn’t want to take on Barnes so that was the cost of doing so
That’s a bad cost lol that’s what I’m saying ”I didn’t want to make food tonight so I paid $100 for McDonalds” like if that’s the price make food my guy
Sac’s goal was getting rid of Barnes so they could get Demar, so they were willing to give SA what they needed to in order to make the trade happen. The Bulls are just doing Demar a solid, we’re barely involved here.
Yeah instead of getting ”barely involved” we should have taken a first swap for Barnes lmao that’s literally what I’m saying. Don’t think I’m being opaque here
I think you’re not thinking big enough, don’t be fixated on this trade. We’re completely tearing this down and we need to get rid of bad contracts already not take more in
No I just approach it from "is this a good decision" and not "how do I spin this to make the bulls look good" lol
No because SA is taking up a contract we don’t want. We don’t want Barnes contract at all because of Lavine. Freeing up all that money makes it easier to move Lavine down the road
because spurs got a top 10 pick and now another pick swap out of it. while jerry got his cash. 2nd means nothing.
OK. If you're annoyed about the pick swap, which was probably the prize in exchange for taking Barnes' contract, that is fair. Reinsdorf probably doesn't want to pay the luxury tax, which explains why it's two second-round picks and a roster filler.
could have waived and stretched Lonzo and still avoided the luxury tax. but then Jerry'd have to pay for someone not to play and I'm sure he would hate that
I don’t even think Jerry hates that lol he loves paying his boys
they're comparing it to trading him last off season, when the entire sub agreed it was time to move. Losing DeMar for this little is ultimately a failure for the franchise.
I don't think any reasonable person would disagree that DeMar should have been dealt last season. But what was done can't be changed - you get what you can now. This deal on the current circumstances was good business. Now, you could argue Bulls could have tried to get the pick swap that went to San Antonio and pick up Barnes' contract for a better return. And I think that's a fair thing to raise. But 2nd rounders is better than zero picks and I don't think most NBA owners would want to pay luxury tax for what I think would be a 30-win team.
But the current circumstances are the results of bad business that's all were saying. I can't give them credit for taking scraps when it was their fault that's all they can get.
this is fair
You are not wrong, but as we’ve learned that AKME was instructed to make a push for the playoffs last season, I think the criticism in this scenario should be laid squarely on ownership, while AKME gets some acknowledgement for salvaging anything of value for DeMar. And I’m a certified AKME hater saying this.
I’m a Pacers fan. Duarte actually had an awesome rookie year and has sucked ass ever since. Tbh you probably cut him but I’ve always yearned for a world where he turns it around. Was a big fan.
He’s a shitty guard who’s a terrible shooter. He’ll fit right in and probably start.
lol, hell yeah brother. I live in Chicago I’m so down for $5 bulls tickets
Lol $5 bulls tickets yeah right. There's a reason why Bulls owner refuses to sell because it's a cash cow no matter how bad the bulls are. Always top attendance. Reason why we'll never see a new ownership because folks will still attend and show up.
Won’t happen, we sell out even when we are mid
While true, this teams not mid. It's downright awful
We shall see - no reason to tank next year when we don’t even have our first round pick. Lot of young players to take the reigns
Our pick is Top 10 protected
Was about to say this...lol. So yes, we definitely need to tank. Hate that this sub is turning into FB comments now. People don't even know basic facts that you can Google like the team's future picks.
Welcome to 21st century America lol
It kinda has? GarPax got fired cause attendance finally dipped out of the top 10
We had the number one attendance last year in the league…
And? We fired GarPax after the 2019 season, I was able to get floor tickets for like twenty bucks.
Me too!!!! LFG!!!!
Because he was 24 lol
Next off-season will be busier than this off-season. Zach obviously is going to be traded. But it’s likelt after this season. Because most tax spenders were docking the luxury tax to reset the tax counter. Next season, they can once again go over the tax without repeat offender penalties. Bulls will have Zach, Vooch, Jevon, 17.6M TPE and $2.8M caruso TPE to work with. Next season is a good time to retool, given Coby and Ayo still have cheap contracts.
I may be wrong, but this whole process feels like an initial swing and a miss due to Zo’s injury but AK putting together a better team, and then him being essentially frozen by ownership to not sell on players/assets when they could. Now that he has the ability to do so this year, he’s done a reasonable job at getting assets back, and signing our players to value contracts. We should have sold earlier; but AK seems decisive when given the opportunity for better or worse, so it feels like the previous few offseason that ownership didn’t allow him to deal
Idk if the universe is saying something but I just went to tankathon and did like 10 2025 lottery sims and bulls got the 1st pick like 3 teams and second pick like 3 times lol
Remember, we went 22-60 in the Zion draft. We picked 7th. We're going to tank and probably end up 10th
Bold of you to assume we get anything but 7
Getting anything of value for someone who would've walked (and getting to do right by him by helping him get to a team that could pay more than the mid-level) is always going to be a good exchange
Not sure why everyone hates the Vuc trade. He was a 2 time all star. Shooting 40% from 3. He rebounds. He doesn’t get hurt. Can make open shots. He has not shot well. But Lonzo/ Zach don’t get hurt. We had a great team. #1 in the east for 1/2 a season. If Orlando drafts a bad player and not Franz. We wouldn’t talk about it
Awesome! That trade exception will be very helpful, just like the Disabled Player Exception last year.
wish we could’ve gotten picks out of the AC trade. this offseason wouldn’t have felt so mid if we did
The picks we would get for AC would likely be top 10 protected. What I do know is, the Kings were offering the 13th pick. If the player we draft at 13 has a career as good as Giddey's thus far, we would be hyped
IIRC Duarte was drafted at #13
So mid?? It has been a total restructuring of the team. AK has finally put in some work.
we’ve brought in role players and got a couple 2nd rd picks. it’s okay to call this offseason mid.
They traded two guys for underwhelming returns and have failed to get rid of two negative assets, one of which we thought was a real trade chip 2 months ago. The bar has been set so low for this fanbase.
now a playin lost will be progress. Jerry is lowkey a genius.
They traded Caruso in a way that got universally clowned on. They drafted Matas after an inexplicable stroke of good luck that had him drop into their laps. Pat's contract can be good, but it can also be a terrible one if he keeps getting a season ending injury every other year. Jalen Smith is a whatever move. They still haven't unloaded Vuc or Zach, and may have to give up assets to do so, which would be a disaster... It's 100% a mid offseason, it's just that it's also AKME's best offseason in years. That's mostly an indictment on how terrible this FO has been over the years, that them doing the bare minimum and two years too late is still seen as a massive win by this fanbase.
1) *"Caruso trade was universally clowned on"* so the FO should care about what Twitter thinks? I'd rather wait on the results before I judge the trade. Giddey is as good bet of a bet (if not, better) compared to the reported returns from an AC trade (protected picks and the Kings' 13th pick) 2) *They drafter Matas because of luck.* Luck can also be considered as opportunity. Were the Warriors geniuses for drafting Steph? or were they just lucky? How about Denver with Jokic? Did the Spurs earn the 1st pick to get Wemby, or did the pingpong balls aligned in their favor? 3) *Pat's contract can be good or it can be bad*. Yeah, it's neutral. How is that a negative? 4) *Bulls have yet to unload Zach and Vooch*. So what, those guys ain't winning us games anyway, let them work themselves into being tradeable
That does sound pretty mid tbf.
They also restructured their entire coaching staff. What would they have had to do to not be considered a mid offseason?
I'm okay with this trade as AK have shown to do work in the second round already.
lol how many times has a team actually used a trade exception
There is absolutely no chance that this trade exception ever gets used, and anyone who thinks otherwise is very much being gaslit.
It's okay to call trash trash
That's great. We can take back expiring with barnes and get a frp I think.
Trash organization, trash ownership, trash leadership, trash vision, overall trash.
They got 2 second round picks with Duarte. Not that bad
Which will undoubtedly be traded for cash considerations
Why even follow the team if all you do is hate? Go to bed
You're OK trading Caruso and Demar for Giddy and Duarte? Poverty franchises deserve poverty fans.
You need therapy dude
Then become a fan of something else. I hate this iteration of the Bulls too but Jesus lol. And Josh Giddey is going to make so many fans delete their comments that they made so they can always say they loved him and the trade.
Go to sleep, guy
Enjoy the 27 wins next year
I hope we get less so we can get a top 5 pick
You up?
I know the Bulls Organization isnt
Yooooooooo
Careful, criticizing Jerry gets you downvoted for some reason.
Jerry is a BUM owner. It's not an opinion, it's a FACT. White Sox = SCRUBS, Bulls = SCRUBS.... everyone who shows up and gives Jerry money = SCRUBS
Get some help
That should have been 5-6 firsts if they blew it up last year
For an expiring DeMar derozan?!
For all these guys
[удалено]
He was a free agent dingus
Derozan wasn’t under contract, with the tax we couldn’t afford him without dumping lavine(which is impossible rn), and he didn’t like the direction of the team after the AC trade. Derozan at the deadline was worth more, when the alternative is him leaving for literally nothing 2 2nds isn’t bad at all
The Bulls held a powerful hand in this deal, hence the third team. In order for Demar to get his money, a third team had to be involved. The Bulls could have parted ways with other contracts and taken on better players. The Bulls got FLEECED. story of my life.
Kings wouldn’t give up better players since they are actually competing. If Demar would have gotten like 30 mill and Huerter went to the kings then I’d be more mad but they weren’t going to ship off other deals The kings weren’t going to take back contracts either for the same reason and it would cost draft capital to get the spurs to take someone like Carter or Vuc. At this point I’d rather keep them without giving up value since we aren’t competing anyway. No reason to give up value to get off of them And bulls didn’t hold a powerful hand, and San Antonio held more of one tbh. Bulls were dependent on another team taking on all major money. Taking on contracts isn’t super cheap and because of that San Antonio was taking on the larger burden here than the bulls when their alternative was get nothing
Enjoy the 27 wins next year
I mean that’s clearly the plan. Otherwise they keep AC, draft someone like Devin Carter or a more ready prospect, and continue to pursue Demar once FA hit. Bulls know the core didn’t have a chance of doing any damage and finally decided to move off of it and are focused on keeping the puck in next years draft
If that was the plan, then they started half a season too late.
I mean they started probably a year and a half too late. Everyone knows that and was screaming it for years. But clearly they finally decided to make the change this off-season which is better than them never making the change
HB is a good player as well.