OT: The Chicago Bulls' Front Office Blows
- Thread starter Medill90
- Start date
Fred needs a team that is younger and more athletic to play pace and space. Now they're younger. Dunn better develop quickly. Not sure how Niko fits in unless the kid from Finland can play the 5, but that seems like a really bad defensive combo down low. They're gonna be bad for a few years, hopefully get some lottery luck, and target '21 - '25 window when Cavs and Warriors are spent.
What other path to success could you envision with Jimmy on roster? He was only asset to trade to get younger. Plus, he was going to get very expensive. So, more mediocre years while Cavs / Celtics and Warriors dominate the league? More bad draft picks? What's the point?
I'm a fan of the reset button. Now, reset the front office and head coach over the next couple seasons and get ready for that post James, Durant, Curry era.
What other path to success could you envision with Jimmy on roster? He was only asset to trade to get younger. Plus, he was going to get very expensive. So, more mediocre years while Cavs / Celtics and Warriors dominate the league? More bad draft picks? What's the point?
I'm a fan of the reset button. Now, reset the front office and head coach over the next couple seasons and get ready for that post James, Durant, Curry era.
I'd like the trade if LaVine hadn't torn his ACL last year, they kept their first round pick, and landed another first round pick. As it stands this is a pretty bad deal, and I'd be shocked if they didn't have a better offer from the Celtics.
This is essentially what the Bulls turned down from Minny last year. However, LaVine wasn't injured, Dunn hadn't proven he was less than anticipate and Butler hadn't improve.
Instead, the Bulls signed Wade to a two-year and will get nothing from/for him this year....cap space, along with Rondo who completely doesn't fit.
I agree with you Scru on the reset button, but why didn't the Bulls press it last year with top 15 player Butler still on the team. And, with all due respect, Holberg is way, way out his depth coaching an NBA team. Every aspect of it is beyond him.
Instead, the Bulls signed Wade to a two-year and will get nothing from/for him this year....cap space, along with Rondo who completely doesn't fit.
I agree with you Scru on the reset button, but why didn't the Bulls press it last year with top 15 player Butler still on the team. And, with all due respect, Holberg is way, way out his depth coaching an NBA team. Every aspect of it is beyond him.
I have as much faith in GarPax as I do in a rowboat constructed of crepe paper, but it sounds like their hands were tied in trying to deal Butler.
John Paxson and Gar Forman are terrible. I liked John as a player. He sucks as an executive. And you're right, Hoiberg is a joke as a coach.
Jordan seems like ancient history now. Woe is us.
The Bulls had no choice but to rebuild but the reason they are in this position is because Paxson and Gar have been awful. From their rapport with coaches to their decision making on personnel, these guy have turned a team that was a tweak or two from being an MBA Finals team into a team that will be lucky to win 30 games per year for the foreseeable future. They got rid of a top 5 coach in the league because of ego and ended up hiring a guy that has no business being an NBA head coach. When Fred got hired, in his first press conference he said the roster was set to compete for an NBA tital. After they started sucking because he has no idea what he is doing, all of a sudden we start hearing that the roster needs to be changed. Why the change? A good coach adapts his system to the players and not the other way around. Hoiberg, Paxson and Forman should all be unemployed but I have confidence that Reinsdorf has any intention of doing so.
Last edited:
Still feels like they could/should have waited to extract more value from a contender at the deadline.
I think they did relatively well. Trades in the NBA consumed in the offseason are easier to pull off because the rules allow more flexibility in terms of not taking comparable salary back. I would have preferred it if they had kept their first round pick, but considering the value they received and cap flexibility I am ok with it. Butler is not a first option on an NBA Championship team, he is a number two player. I also think that Butler's attitude has changed unfavorably as he has become a top player in the league. I think this suppressed his value somewhat.
Last edited:
1. There are very few no. 1 options on championship teams playing in the NBA who are not on the downside of their careers. The only proven current no. 1 options on teams that have won championships are 1. Lebron James, 2. Kevin Durant, 3.Steph Curry and 4. Kawhii Leonard. Dirk Nowitski and D'Wayne Wade also were the number 1 options on championships but they are both on the tail end of their careers. Butler average 24 ppg, 6 rpg and 5 apg. He has been on the NBA all defensive team. That means he is a great all around player. He is rated anywhere between no. 10-15 in the NBA. The problem with the Bulls is they never have been able to fill players around Butler such as a second or third option. This is because they failed in the draft. GarPax has made many mistakes. Tyrus Thomas for Lamarcus Aldridge, Marcus Teague over Draymond Green and Toni Snell over Rudy Goebert. Most recent trade bust - Taj Gibson and Doug McDermett to OKC for Cameron Payne, Joeffrey Payne (both can not play in the NBA). and Anthony Morrow who is limited minute three point shooter. So my opinion is to say the Tom Thibodeaux fleeced the Bulls best player for backup players (Dunn) and Levine and Markennan who could not get his more talented UofA team over Xavier in the Sweet 16.
We won 41 games last year with an incoherent roster and literally six point guards. A competent management team could build a 45-50 win team around Butler with spare parts and keep enough cap space open to compete for a free agent. Or if you're going to burn it down, burn it down. Take bad contracts and draft picks. Instead we moved up nine spots in the draft -- not even keeping our own pick!! -- and took back a guy coming off an ACL surgery and a point guard who was one of the big rookie disappointments last year. And if Lavine does recover and put together three good months, he's a restricted free agent in line for more money than Butler was making. Paxson has been dining out on 1993 for his third decade now. At what point do the Bulls just become a less interesting version of the Knicks?
This was as one sided a trade as I've seen the Bulls do along with the Cameron Payne debacle. Gar and Pax suck. Man, they make one long for Fat Jerry.
Yes, but they would have had to take similar salary back which they did not want to do. Levine is a top caliber NBA starter and I really like the Finnish kid's potential. Have not seen a lot of Dunn but the Bulls loved him last year and almost made the BUtler trade last year to get Dunn. We'll see what happens but if these three guys become solid NBA starters and the Bulls get a top Lottery pick and cap space to sign a top free agent next year, this may be only a 2-3 year rebuild rather than a 5+ year rebuild. That's the optimistic view on the move but like I said I have very little confidence in the coach and management to pull this off.