Some thoughts on Flory Bidunga

i think I’d let him walk if I was in charge.

Shay said:

First of all, this should come as no surprise at all. Bill Self expected this, and everybody else did as well. My guess is, when all of a sudden done, that Kansas will offer a significant raise. He isn’t ready for the NBA and I think those discussions have been had. But there’s no harm in testing.

How long do you let him test the nba while trying to construct your own roster? I’d probably make a best and final offer soon and then move on.

I love Flory. Having said that, there needs to be an offer on the table and a clear line in the sand. would love to have him back but cant be held hostage here

flory has many offensive limitations , I'm indifferent if we keep him ... even if we do I want to add a legit big man that has basketball playing skills

wardhawk said:

i think I’d let him walk if I was in charge.

He’s not a back to the basket 5, and likely never will be. So I get the reason for being down on him when you compare him to a Boozer or Yaxel. He will never be that. But, he is a freakish, rim-running, defensive badass who I think you have to make every effort to keep because A. He will improve his defense even more and B. He will expand his offensive game so he can beat people off the dribble and C. he’s been in the program and continuity wins. I know you are giving up some offensive prowess, but the other stuff makes me think you pay him his money and lock up a very solid and unique five man.

kubirdie said:

flory has many offensive limitations , I'm indifferent if we keep him ... even if we do I want to add a legit big man that has basketball playing skills

KUTradition said:

He’s not a back to the basket 5, and likely never will be. So I get the reason for being down on him when you compare him to a Boozer or Yaxel. He will never be that. But, he is a freakish, rim-running, defensive badass who I think you have to make every effort to keep because A. He will improve his defense even more and B. He will expand his offensive game so he can beat people off the dribble and C. he’s been in the program and continuity wins. I know you are giving up some offensive prowess, but the other stuff makes me think you pay him his money and lock up a very solid and unique five man.

He has a LONG way to go when it comes to upping his offensive game, especially in the nba. He has every attribute you'd want (I think he needs 10-15 pounds of muscle) but he can't or won't shoot. Hell of a hook shot but that's about it. If there's one thing the NBA loves and is known for, it's the defensive game ;)

wardhawk said:

i think I’d let him walk if I was in charge.

Damn I hate to agree with you but everyone is trotting out legit 7 footers in the post and we have a 6-8 dude. He’s a long and athletic player but giving up so much size to almost every team that we played.

Him missing bunnies resulted in a lot of our losses.

The most dangerous people in this world are those with unrealistic expectations. If he's asking crazy NIL - let him go.

It's actually insane how many people in here seem to not want the Defensive Player of the Year on the team... When we had Hunter Dickinson everyone hated him and wanted an athletic rim protecting lob threat. Bidunga is that and everyone wants him to leave because they'd rather have a bigger guy with a face up game!

Can we get 75% of his output for 1/2 the price. Feels like you can at the center spot

Gotta have a guy that can get us easy baskets consistently posting up

BillSelfLuvr said:

It's actually insane how many people in here seem to not want the Defensive Player of the Year on the team... When we had Hunter Dickinson everyone hated him and wanted an athletic rim protecting lob threat. Bidunga is that and everyone wants him to leave because they'd rather have a bigger guy with a face up game!

I think a majority do want him on the team, but not if he’s going to enter the portal every single year for leverage. Would love to have him back, but as soon as he entered the portal again I’d show him the door.

Joehawk2008 said:

I think a majority do want him on the team, but not if he’s going to enter the portal every single year for leverage. Would love to have him back, but as soon as he entered the portal again I’d show him the door.

Yeah, this. Him and his camp keep trying to squeeze everything they can out of us and it limits our ability to fill out the rest of the roster. Is a great defensive but limited offensive player worth more than 2-3 decent players on both sides of the ball?

The timing messes things up. I would also let him walk. Different positions, but I would several times over rather have Tanner from Vanderbilt than Flory.

These are the decisions that can make or break next year. If you can get him for what’s best for the program great. If not move on to another guy.

BillSelfLuvr said:

It's actually insane how many people in here seem to not want the Defensive Player of the Year on the team... When we had Hunter Dickinson everyone hated him and wanted an athletic rim protecting lob threat. Bidunga is that and everyone wants him to leave because they'd rather have a bigger guy with a face up game!

I would love to have him, but at what price? Can't afford to pay him much more than what he got paid this year and still have money for the roster

As much as I love his motor and defense you can’t have 1-2 dimensional players getting top money. We seem to have several of these in our starting 5 every year and that’s why we are exiting in the 2nd round.

CJ_Hawk said:

Him missing bunnies resulted in a lot of our losses.

this ^^^ it true and often overlooked

Why I wouldn’t pay a premium for flory: he can guard undersized bigs. But is a little twink who gets bullied by real centers. So that means you need to pair him next to a legit 5 but offensively he has no game besides catching lobs. He can’t create anything on his own which is a terrible recipe as a 4 who needs to be paired next to the legit 5 I just mentioned he doesn’t fit on a team trying to win anything significant in march which of these final 4 teams does he help? Maybe UConn as a reserve?

While Flory is testing the waters you work really hard to get a more complete big man (or two). If you hit on somebody you like you don’t worry whether Flory comes back or not and you don’t spend extra $$. If you can’t find what you like, then you work hard to keep him. It’s a two-way street.

BillSelfLuvr said:

It's actually insane how many people in here seem to not want the Defensive Player of the Year on the team... When we had Hunter Dickinson everyone hated him and wanted an athletic rim protecting lob threat. Bidunga is that and everyone wants him to leave because they'd rather have a bigger guy with a face up game!

Maybe, because of what the 7'-2 Thiam and the 7'-1 Diop did against him?

fathawk said:

These are the decisions that can make or break next year. If you can get him for what’s best for the program great. If not move on to another guy.

I mean.....maybe it's just me, but I bet M. Diop (7'-1) or M. Thiam (7'-2) would fit better YET be Cheaper.

wardhawk said:

Why I wouldn’t pay a premium for flory: he can guard undersized bigs. But is a little twink who gets bullied by real centers. So that means you need to pair him next to a legit 5 but offensively he has no game besides catching lobs. He can’t create anything on his own which is a terrible recipe as a 4 who needs to be paired next to the legit 5 I just mentioned he doesn’t fit on a team trying to win anything significant in march which of these final 4 teams does he help? Maybe UConn as a reserve?

I get yall like to flame Ward, but he's 100% spot on here.