2016-2017 NBA Thread

[Chisoxfn]

Not true. If the Bears get the right QB, they have a chance. That's the way it goes. s***, even when the Sox were floundering the past few years they had a shot. If they could have snuck in the playoffs during 1 of those seasons, Sale and Q could pitch their way to a World Series. Both teams have a much better chance at championships in the near future than the Bulls do. I can't believe it's even a question in that sport.

See this is the difference between me and you. I agree if the Bears had the right QB...but they have went 50 years without having a good QB. You look at me and say, the Bulls can't possibly sign a big free agent and thus can't possibly win the title...but I could flip this same argument on the Bears. That said, I know you and I agree that the Bears need to stop ignoring QB and need to really focus on it. My view is you take a QB and if you miss, you take another...just keep doing it until you get it right. I can't believe how few times the Bears have even drafted QB's, especially early on.

[Chisoxfn]

This is true. And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.

So basically you should just never try unless you get Lebron or Jordan or Kobe? And if you aren't one of those teams you should just consistently tank until said generational talent appears?

[Chisoxfn]

I'm not sure that guy doesn't exist in this year's draft. Just something media people are saying that haven't watched enough film yet. Lots of groupthink going on with this year's QB class.

I would be fine with Kizer / Trubinsky. A little concerned with Watson...from the perspective his accuracy just isn't that great and didn't improve year over year. That said, you can't argue what he did on the biggest stages.

[Y2Jimmy0]

I dont understand how you can say all of the above here, and then in the next post say if your aunt had balls she would be your uncle.

 

You guys differ on who is closer to a championship, but none of us know which team is closest nor do we know how they get there. All any of us know is that Chicago sports (that this site currently follows) suck. The end

 

 

There are definitive ways for the Bears and White Sox to get to a point in which they are competing for titles. Both franchises have started down this path. There is no definitive way for the Bulls to reach championship level (while keeping Jimmy Butler) in the near future. You guys may think the idea that the Sox and Bears being good is crazy but those sports allow you to become better in a hurry. The nature of the NBA is not like that. The Bulls only option is tear it down to the studs and they haven't been willing to do it.

[Chisoxfn]

I am not sure 3 wins is very much indicative of the roster the Bears had to start the year. Not to dive in on this and detract from the Bulls discussion, the Bears could have easily been 6-10. They lost 5-7 games by a single possession. They lost their #1, #2 and #3 QBs for the year. They lost their #2 receiver and 1st round pick for the year. They lost their #1 WR and one of their best defenders for four games each to steroids. They lost perhaps their best player in Kyle Long for the whole year. They lost their TE for the year. They lost their C for year before the season started. They lost perhaps their best defender in McPhee for multiple games. They lost Trevethen for the year. They had the worst secondary. Yeah, I am making excuses for them and good teams win close games but this was a "when it rains it pours" season for the Bears. It was just one thing after another after another.

 

If the Bears have reasonable health next year and address the secondary they should improve incredibly. If they could find a QB, obviously huge task, they could compete for a champion pretty soon. The NFC isn't that tough a league. Finding a franchise QB is much easier that a superstar in the NBA. The best QBs after the top tier are from all across the draft. Wilson a 3rd rounder, Carr a 2nd rounder, Prescott a 4th rounder and Cousins was a 4th rounder. It's not like you need to pick in the first few picks to get a franchise-changing player like in the NBA. Bears have a strong front and some redeeming pieces on the offensive side. Just need to continue to accumulate depth and put their eggs in the right QB basket. Of course that's easier said than done but it's not as much of as an inhibitor of finding a superstar in the NBA.

 

The Sox, while baseball is a total different beast with the playoffs being a crapshoot, are on the right path at least. They in a clear, committed direction. They suck for a couple years and they should have a budding young core with more prospects in tow with a boatload of money and a pending TV deal around 2019. Far better plan than that of the Bulls whether they opt to keep or move Butler.

If the Bulls moved Butler and loaded up with picks, I'd still probably say they are in a better position or at least akin to the Sox. That said, I think your post is pretty spot on in general.

[Y2Jimmy0]

So basically you should just never try unless you get Lebron or Jordan or Kobe? And if you aren't one of those teams you should just consistently tank until said generational talent appears?

 

 

That's a better plan than being the Memphis Grizzlies IMO.

[Kyyle23]

There are definitive ways for the Bears and White Sox to get to a point in which they are competing for titles. Both franchises have started down this path. There is no definitive way for the Bulls to reach championship level (while keeping Jimmy Butler) in the near future. You guys may think the idea that the Sox and Bears being good is crazy but those sports allow you to become better in a hurry. The nature of the NBA is not like that. The Bulls only option is tear it down to the studs and they haven't been willing to do it.

 

There is a ton of speculation here that you are passing off as fact. The Bears and Sox are not on definitive paths back to the playoffs. They are taking smarter approaches in order to try and get back to the playoffs but by no means are they definitive or guaranteed.

[Chisoxfn]

That's a better plan than being the Memphis Grizzlies IMO.

Dallas Mavericks used the "Grizzlies" strategy for a while and won a title (and should have won two). A lot of people thought the Spurs should blow up when Duncan was aging...then they hit on Kawahi and won another title (obviously they have consistently been a title contender, but there were various points where people thought the Spurs should blow it up and can't possibly continue to contend). Miami heat with just Dwade (after Shaq got old) were not going anywhere, but didn't just blow up Wade...they waited and landed mega free agents and won a couple titles. Lakers with Kobe could have blown it up (almost did when they nearly traded him to the Bulls), then after a couple years of floundering, they were able to get Pau and win another couple titles. Celtics stuck around Pierce and eventually traded for two old star players and had a little run.

 

Not saying the Bulls will do any of those things, but plenty of REAL examples of that success. If I look at most of the world series champions in baseball over recent years, the Cubs are really the only example of a team who blew things up and got good (under a current regime). Royals I will not count because they had a eternity between playoff runs. No other team really like the "Cubs" in that sense, imo. Giants had a bunch of championships and continuously try to rebuild on the go...Cards do basically the same and Red Sox / Yanks have gigantic pocket books.

[Dick Allen]

The path doesn't mean anything until the proper development occurs. If the goal is to suck to be better, the Pirates and Royals took 30 years. The Jags have been in the top 10 of the NFL draft for how long? What about the Browns? Jimmy Butler could retire in 10 years with the Bulls hovering around the .500 mark each of those seasons, and they still might be closer. One guy in the NBA can make all the difference. In the next 20 years, the Bulls may have a shot or two at one of them.

[southsider2k5]

I guess because I don't even know who the Bears QB is and the Sox went what 90 years without a title between years, so I'm not exactly ready to annoit them because they started a rebuilding plan this year and thanks to trading off all those parts finally have a top 5 farm system? I know a lot of those guys will bust and there is just as much likelihood that you turn into the Pirates / Royals (and end up sucking for 30 years). People tend to overrate / overhype unknown players. More so now that the Cubs became this, what would appear to be dynasty, but it wasn't just because they "tanked", they also spent a ton of money internationally and on free agents and lucked into Jake Arrietta (I'll call it luck although I'm sure they picked him for a reason, but no one can ever tell me they expected him to be the pitcher he was the past couple of years...just like I don't think RH / KW ever imagined Q would turn into the player he is).

 

Every top 50 prospect is going to be an all star...until they aren't. So I just have a more realistic view (in my opinion) as to what our prospects are worth and what they will amount to. If I viewed every one of our prospects that is top 100 being an all star, then yes, I could say the Sox have a great chance, but I think that is completely and utterly unrealistic. If a year from now Moncada is smashing 40 hr's and putting up a 1.000 OPS, Tim Anderson is hitting .330 and playing great defense, and Giolito / Lopez / Rodon are looking lights out, while Kopech / Collins are top prospects at their position (and we added more talent in the draft), then I can maybe make that statement...today I think it is utterly premature.

 

I think the current path for any of the three franchises to win a championship in the next few years is very unlikely, but if I were to bet on the most plausible scenario, I'd probably say the Bulls (and the odds would still be very low and would probably involve them landing a free agent now and then somehow getting an Anthony Davis or someone of that ilk via trade / free agency another couple years down the road...so not an immediate fix and probably pretty unlikely). They also would clearly need to start hitting on some draft picks as the Bulls would look much different if they hadn't whiffed on their recent 1st round picks.

 

The funny thing is that if Jesse Crain doesn't fail a physical, Jake Arietta is a White Sox.

[Chicago White Sox]

There are definitive ways for the Bears and White Sox to get to a point in which they are competing for titles. Both franchises have started down this path. There is no definitive way for the Bulls to reach championship level (while keeping Jimmy Butler) in the near future. You guys may think the idea that the Sox and Bears being good is crazy but those sports allow you to become better in a hurry. The nature of the NBA is not like that. The Bulls only option is tear it down to the studs and they haven't been willing to do it.

100% agree with this.

[Steve9347]

The only thing I can think has happened behind the scenes is some sort of guarantee of a FA coup to the front office by Wade and Jimmy. There is zero reason to stay the course otherwise

 

 

On a side note, McBuckets is wrecked. His confidence is completely gone, he is bricking free throws now. There was a second half scramble against the Kings where both teams turned the ball over it seemed 6 consecutive times and Doug was involved with every one of the Bulls turnovers. He threw a pass into the other half of the court like he thought it was ok

Dude, Wade is absolutely opting out after this year and heading back to Miami.

[Kyyle23]

Dude, Wade is absolutely opting out after this year and heading back to Miami.

 

Probably. Doesn't mean he didn't sell a bill of goods to Gar

[Chisoxfn]

Dude, Wade is absolutely opting out after this year and heading back to Miami.

I don't know. Jimmy sure is pushing for Wade to stick around and Jimmy / Wade seem to be very tight. I could see Wade going to the Clippers or Cavs or something to play with one of his buddies, but I don't see him going back to Miami.

[bmags]

Bulls attendance amazes me. Before MJ, they would routinely draw less than 10k a night. Even his first couple of years, most nights, unless they were playing LA, Boston or Philadelphia, you could easily buy tickets at the box office the night of the game. But even when they were awful afterwards, and mediocre now, and ticket prices are really a joke, they have no problem filling the place up.

 

70s were the leanest years of the NBA though. Jordan certainly established a solid fan base, but I don't think Bulls would have seen such poor attendance after STern's changes in the 80s.

[Dick Allen]

70s were the leanest years of the NBA though. Jordan certainly established a solid fan base, but I don't think Bulls would have seen such poor attendance after STern's changes in the 80s.

Even after Michael had left and they went through the worst 3 or 4 year stretch any team had in NBA history, they led the league in total attendance. They were drawing almost full houses to watch Cornell David play basketball.

[southsider2k5]

I don't know. Jimmy sure is pushing for Wade to stick around and Jimmy / Wade seem to be very tight. I could see Wade going to the Clippers or Cavs or something to play with one of his buddies, but I don't see him going back to Miami.

 

If even part of the stories of the Bulls are true (spying, and intentionally trying to screw Jimmy out of a contract) are true, it wouldn't surprise me if Jimmy eventually forces a trade.

[Dick Allen]

I don't think Wade will leave. No other team will match what the Bulls will pay him next season. He isn't giving up more money.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

Really wish the Bulls would've made a trade for Jahlil Okafor. I love his potential.

[southsider2k5]

I don't think Wade will leave. No other team will match what the Bulls will pay him next season. He isn't giving up more money.

 

At this stage of his career, I would bet winning and no BS would be higher on his list. He'll get paid, even if it isn't $23 million.

[Rowand44]

Even after Michael had left and they went through the worst 3 or 4 year stretch any team had in NBA history, they led the league in total attendance. They were drawing almost full houses to watch Cornell David play basketball.

Don't hate on Cornell David.

[Chisoxfn]

Probably. Doesn't mean he didn't sell a bill of goods to Gar

If he did, that still gives the Bulls $58M or so under the cap and Jimmy Butler to sell the goods. Jimmy helped sell Wade on the Bulls.

[Y2Jimmy0]

Really wish the Bulls would've made a trade for Jahlil Okafor. I love his potential.

 

 

They don't have the pieces to get Jahlil Okafor.

[Brian]

I'd take Okafor but not willing to give up much. 7 feet but can't play above the rim or rebound. Give me Noel instead.

[southsider2k5]

If he did, that still gives the Bulls $58M or so under the cap and Jimmy Butler to sell the goods. Jimmy helped sell Wade on the Bulls.

 

To be fair, if the Heat don't open with 1 year/$10 million, Wade never leaves Miami.