ZoomSlowik

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Dec 20, 2012 -> 08:35 AM) The stars align two years from now when we get Mirotic and the Charlotte pick. I guess there is obviously an outside chance that we get their pick this year, but I think it's more likely that they get it in 2014. 2014 pick + Mirotic - Boozer + other mid-level guys + healthy D-Rose = Championship That kid is from Chicago! WHATRE YOU DOIN DRAGIC!? DID YOU NOT GET THE MEMO!??!! This kid can GO. UP. STAIRS. http://www.nba.com/bulls/stacey-king-soundboard.html Putting "Boozer" in there had to be a typo, right? If they have Taj and Mirotic, he better be nowhere near the roster.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 20, 2012 -> 08:43 AM) That's also, conveniently, the year Deng's contract has expired. Depending on where the cap actually is by then and what happens, they could have ~ $15 million in cap space prior to signing Mirotic, if they shot solely for cap space but still held Taj, Noah, and Rose. I don't see how. Rose/Noah/Taj is already $40 million and you'd have to offer Mirotic an MLE-type contract in order to make it profitable for him to come to the NBA. Add in the various draft picks and you're at $50 million, more if they really do get the Bobcats' pick, and you need 6 or 7 more guys signed. Are you expecting the cap to go up like $10 million in the next two years? Because that's basically the only way they'd get THAT much cap space. Edit- I missed the "before signing Mirotic" part, which does help their cause. Still probably not $15 million, more like the 8-10 range.

I'd feel a bit better about the Bulls if they had anyone that could actually shoot. They're 30th in 3's attempted, 30th in 3's made, and 24th in 3-point percentage. When your team is built around a penetrating PG and a strong frontcourt, that's extremely problematic. They just can't spread the floor effectively. When they absolutely need points in the playoffs, teams will pack the paint and laugh while our guards brick open 3's. It worked for the Heat before, it'll work again with Rose at less than 100%.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 04:33 PM) Noah is playing better (10/11 he was really not that great after the first month when he got hurt), Boozer was useless in those playoffs because of injury, and Hamilton might be a nice contributor if he was ever around. Bench has been downgraded clearly, but the rotation pieces could be better. When has Boozer ever been useful while wearing a Bulls' jersey? s***, they're nearly 17 points/100 possessions worse when he's on the floor this year...

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 11:23 AM) Which is what a lot of people are forgetting. UK won't be able to repeat what they did without a few kids staying each year. The lockout helped them tremendously. Still, a healthy Marshall in the tournament last year, I truely believe UNC wins. It would definitely help if they could keep at least one starter. You can still recruit excellent players that aren't one-and-done types, they haven't had many of those though (I suppose you could argue MKG wasn't necessarily one-and-done when they recruited him). That said, if the classes are good enough, you might not need much help. They made the Final Four in 2010/11, and that was with Enes Kanter sitting the whole year. They might have cut down the nets if he played. Next year could be an interesting test case, especially if they get one more stud recruit. As for the latter, I'd still lean Kentucky because I feel like they had more scoring options in the backcourt. UNC was pretty damn talented though.

QUOTE (Rex Hudler @ Dec 18, 2012 -> 03:22 AM) To think Kentucky was thought to be in that same breath when the season started last year is ridiculous. Kentucky was said to have potential and it turned out they gelled together well and became a great team. But Kentucky's main talent were freshman, and no matter how highly ranked kids are, you don't know how they will turn out until they actually play. Considering them a powerhouse before the season started is revisionistic. Calipari's formula for playing freshmen all the time isn't going to pan out consistently. Not all will become teams and buy in like last year's group. They were #2 pre-season last year because UNC was similarly loaded. That doesn't mean they weren't talking about how good they were. Once they beat UNC, the hype machine was on (notice my first two posts on this were clearly based on early-season results). They weren't all freshmen either, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb were both highly productive sophomores and Darius Miller was a senior. That's why they were considered to be far better than this year's team (and this team was generally rated 3-5 entering the season).

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 17, 2012 -> 09:57 AM) Not a chance. The same thing was said last year and the year before and so on. Nobody thinks anyone is a powerhouse until after the season. Kentucky lost at IU and was exposed, then the same happened to OSU. College bball is crazy like that. Nah, UK and UNC were both thought to be great teams entering last year, they both had multiple NBA lottery prospects on them (so did UConn, who was 3 or 4 in most places, but they underachieved). I wouldn't say Kentucky was "exposed" by Indiana, Davis was in foul trouble, Jones had a horrible game and IU still needed a buzzer-beater to beat them at home. UNC a bit moreso with the UNLV game, but s*** happens over the course of 30-35 games. If the bar for a "powerhouse" is going undefeated, yeah, there hasn't been one in a while. That's a bit too high though. Admittedly you don't REALLY know until March like you said because teams do choke (2010 Kansas and Kentucky come to mind). However, people certainly crown them long before that. Perhaps "clear favorite" would be a better term than "powerhouse". There is one of those most years, and I really don't see one this year.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 16, 2012 -> 11:03 AM) For the past 5 years everyone on this board has said there is no powerhouse team, I wouldnt worry about it. I would think most would consider Kentucky from last year a powerhouse. UNC (when Marshall was healthy) and Syracuse were pretty good too. Hell, I'd probably take that OSU team over the options this year, we'll see how some of these teams look during conference play.

Pretty crazy comeback by Arizona to knock off the Gators in the final minute. Definitely no powerhouse teams this year.

I thought the consensus was that he was a good pickup for the vet minimum but not the kind of guy that's going to be more than a bottom-third starter in the long run. He's definitely had a few good games of late. If they don't cut Boozer loose, they're going to have to go well into the luxury tax to keep Marco. If they do cut Boozer loose (which they almost have to), it'd be a lot easier to keep him.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 03:47 PM) Yeah this NU team wasn't going to be any good. Now they're going to be absolutely putrid. My gut reaction is to take the under on that line. I figured their typical quasi-competitive 6-12/7-11 type conference season at the beginning of the year. No Cobb hurt a bit though they still had options at guard, no Crawford is a killer. I'm hoping he burns Lumpkin's shirt now and gets plenty of PT for him and Abrahamson, gear up for another run in 14/15 before someone else gets hurt. Edit- Sounds like NU thinks he'll get a medical hardship waiver (the limit is 30% of games played and he's played 10 of 32 scheduled, 33 if their exhibition game counts). That would certainly change things if they have both Crawford and Cobb back next year.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 03:29 PM) So much for that Northwestern tourney bid Teddy Greenstein ‏@TeddyGreenstein Drew Crawford has a torn labrum and will undergo season-ending surgery. Wow. #northwestern Probably wasn't going to happen anyways, but now I'd set the over/under for conference win total at 2.5. Something always seems to happen with NU. Vukusic had shoulder issues that cost him most of one season and part of another, T.J. Parker left a year early for Europe (not that he was great, but they had no replacement guards and a decent team otherwise), THREE separate issues for Kevin Coble, Shurna playing through a bad ankle sprain, now probably their two most gifted players this season (Crawford and Cobb) aren't playing. Can they get ONE season where things actually go their way? /rant that virtually no one cares about.

There's no way they trade him with two full seasons left before he can opt out. MAYBE after next season, but even then it's a question mark.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 12:05 PM) Was Deron on an expiring contract? Or was it 1.5 years left? Not quite the same situation. Deron didn't demand a trade and wasn't publicly pouting about getting one. Here's an article about his reaction to the trade: Jazz made a pre-emptive strike Even if the T-Wolves decide the same thing, that's still the middle of next year (and that assumes you completely ignore his player option).

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 08:19 AM) The only way that happens is if it starts seriously impacting his performance on the court. He can make as big of an off the court problem as he wants...it will change nothing until he's close to a free agent. For once, I agree with Balta. Dwight and Melo were moved because their contract was about to expire. Love has no leverage for a few more years. It's not going to make things any easier for him if his play suffers and teams start questioning his attitude either (though I don't get the impression that he's the kinda douche where that would happen).

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 11:28 PM) We are a half hour away from escaping apocalypse, I think we will make it. Everything I have read indicates it is in Mirotics best interest to wait until at least 2015 in order to escape the rookie wage scale. The buyout doesn't matter I hope I am wrong, I would love to see him stateside Yeah, 2014/15 season at the earliest, and that assumes that the Bulls have the full MLE available to get him that year. Otherwise, it's far more profitable for him to stay in Spain. Pretty sure SS2k5 posted this on TalkBulls a while ago... Financial breakdown for Mirotic's potential arrival in Chicago.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 06:44 PM) Ah, I was under the impression it was 2/6M, but still 2 million shouldn't be the deal breaker I think they originally offered him 2/6, or the mini-MLE in other words. That would have allowed them to go over the apron to keep Asik, though obviously that means paying the luxury tax. Once they let Asik walk, they ended up giving him more than that and using part of the MLE (like $3.9 mil this year) to sign him. I don't think they could have gone any higher because they have to stay under the apron to be able to use that exception. Mayo is making like $4.02 mil this year, so it's slightly higher. That said, if they'd gone after Mayo right away, one has to think that the 100k difference wouldn't have been a major factor.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 06:34 PM) I think that is only the speculation from the article. Mayo ended up signing 2/8 mil, second year being player option. I think the Bulls could have paid that without a S&T Kirk signed for 2/8, so, yeah.

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 03:14 PM) Admittedly I don't watch Love nearly as much as I watch Boozer but I was under the impression that he has a similar lack of defensive instincts as Boozer. It helps that he's younger and maybe he can still learn A couple of years ago he was considered pretty horrible, but it didn't help that he was paired with the similarly limited Al Jefferson. He's not super long or athletic, but he's been basically neutral defensively for Minnesota (as in their defense is relatively consistent whether he's on the floor or not). Admittedly they don't have Taj on the bench to make him look bad, but he also isn't paired with Joakim as a starter. He'd be a lot easier to cover for than Boozer, and he's obviously a lot better on offense and not trending in the wrong direction.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 03:04 PM) Bulls In: Kevin Love, Hedo Turkoglu, Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams Bulls Out: Boozer, Deng, Hamilton, Taj, Bobcats Pick, Mirotic, 2013, 2015, 2017 First Round Picks + 2nd Round Pick T-Wolves In: Hamilton, Redick, Taj, Mirotic, Bobcats Pick, 2013/2017 Firsts + Bulls 2nd Round Pick T-Wolves Out: Love, Williams. Magic In: Deng, Boozer, Bulls 2015 First Magic Out: Redick, Afflalo, Turkoglu Bulls become... PG: Rose/Hinrich/Robinson/Teague SG: Afflalo/Hinrich SF: Butler/Turkoglu PF: Love/Williams C : Noah/Nazr http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=b6qxhr6 I think DBaho just shot himself.

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 02:44 PM) Dwight would fit a lot better in Thibs' system though. Love might get the Carlos Boozer treatment in the 4th because of his lack of defense. Love isn't anywhere close to as bad a defender as Boozer is. Carlos is one of the worst in the league, the Bulls are almost 11 points/100 possessions better defensively when he is not on the floor this year.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 9, 2012 -> 05:02 PM) Seattle defense has 38 fantasy Pts in my league thru the 1st half... And guess which dumbass left them on the bench by mistake.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 8, 2012 -> 11:01 PM) No one gets less out of top talent than Few does. I would say Rick Barnes and it's not close. Gonzaga generally does seem to be "decent" with good players, but they're not exactly pulling down top-50 recruits with regularity like Texas is.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 05:25 PM) Who? There were a few scattered people that wanted to out-right tank. I think the position of most rational people was that there is no point in getting win-now/stop-gap types when Rose would be out most of the year and would have preferred to get someone that might conceivably make a difference when Rose gets back (with Mayo being the most obvious option).

QUOTE (RZZZA @ Dec 6, 2012 -> 05:04 PM) So your point is that you're upset that the Bulls spent too much money on a guy that sucks. But I don't remember any PG's better than Kirk being available for the MLE, and even if there were, would you have wanted them? I seem to remember most people here wanting the Bulls to tank. If tanking is the goal surely Kirk is fulfilling your wishes with his craptastic offensive play? I suppose we could have just started Teague and saved the MLE if we wanted to tank efficiently. Bulls definitely get an F for proper tanking. But tanking appears never to have been their goal in the first place. btw, The difference between Lu and Noah's turnovers is that Noah's Ast:To ratio is good. Lu's isn't. It's not about their turnovers per game, its about their ratio. I was just saying that Lu needs to decrease his turnovers in relation to his apg You're changing the subject off your nitpicking of one of the few players on this team that is doing well. Deng has been good despite his turnovers and miniscule drop in 3-point efficiency, Noah has been good despite his drop in rebound rate, increase in turnovers and 46% field goal percentage. Those two aren't the problem. Please direct your ire towards the proper players. We're stuck with Kirk at $4 mil a year for two years when we could have paid someone a lot less to be similarly crappy. There's nothing we can do about that anymore besides gripe.