The Sweet Life of Zach and Coby: We got AK's, The Official 2021 Chicago Bulls Off Season Thread

[Left.A1]

Kinda doesn't matter at this point

We're in "win now mode" every game counts ...no more of that pointless tanking mentality...perhaps you haven't noticed the "culture shift" ... we're putting everyone in the league on notice that "it's a new day" in the Chi

 

[beenz]

With the way Lonzo has been playing as of late it wouldn't surprise me if N.O. just elects to match any deal presented and keep him to see how much he can continue to develop... He'll still have trade value for them even if they decide later to move on ... This is why you have to have foresight on players trajectories...if you wait until a guy starts apexing the price is going to get to the point where you may see some inflation... AK should have done whatever was need at the deadline to get him at the very least to control his bird rights ... Now we're left hoping/praying he chooses us and also that N.O. doesn't change their opinion on him and elect to match

I dunno if the pelicans will pay him while bledsoe and Adams are making like $43M combined. To pay lonzo, I think they would be going into the luxury tax.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

I dunno if the pelicans will pay him while bledsoe and Adams are making like $43M combined. To pay lonzo, I think they would be going into the luxury tax.

The Pelicans won't say it, but there's a certain cut off point where they'd rather just do a sign and trade instead of giving Lonzo hypothetically $22+ million a season.

Lonzo's nice, but I can't ever see him being lead guard material as long as he's a liability on offense besides being a C&S 3pt shooter. They're going to have to start thinking long term here soon as their flexibility will be reduced once that Zion supermax kicks in.

 

[Left.A1]

I dunno if the pelicans will pay him while bledsoe and Adams are making like $43M combined. To pay lonzo, I think they would be going into the luxury tax.

That's something to consider for sure but currently the pelicans only have 92 million on their books for next season and the luxury tax is going to be somewhere between 138-140 million next season (also like 90% of Bledsoes contract for the last year is voidable if they need more cap space) ..so while it's something to consider I don't think it will really prohibit them from at the very least playing hardball and getting teams to believe their threat of matching any offer is real ... That in itself will likely lead to teams feeling like they have to either overpay to turn the pelicans off or force them to offer something of substance in a S&T like the bucks did with Brogdon .... Personally I don't think David Griffin is a particularly good GM but he can't be so Incompetent to where he loses a 23 year old ascending PG for absolutely nothing ...that would be crazy


we might just have to start considering othet more practical options fellas ... How we feeling about Dinwiddie...

 

[Left.A1]

The Pelicans won't say it, but there's a certain cut off point where they'd rather just do a sign and trade instead of giving Lonzo hypothetically $22+ million a season.

Lonzo's nice, but I can't ever see him being lead guard material as long as he's a liability on offense besides being a C&S 3pt shooter. They're going to have to start thinking long term here soon as their flexibility will be reduced once that Zion supermax kicks in.

Yeah but you guys also are forgetting that the cap is about to experience another jump up once the new TV deal kicks in for the '24 season .. coincidentally that's the first year when Zions contract extension will be kicking in

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

Yeah but you guys also are forgetting that the cap is about to experience another jump up once the new TV deal kicks in for the '24 season .. coincidentally that's the first year when Zions contract extension will be kicking in

True, but it's going to cause other contracts to jump as well.

I just wouldn't a fan if my team locked in a core of Zo/Ingram/Zion when they aren't even good enough to make the play-in tournament.

 

[CarltonJunior]

Yeah but you guys also are forgetting that the cap is about to experience another jump up once the new TV deal kicks in for the '24 season .. coincidentally that's the first year when Zions contract extension will be kicking in

Lonzo is a sub 15 million dollar player cap jump or not

 

[Left.A1]

Lonzo is a sub 15 million dollar player cap jump or not

Perceived value doesn't matter as that can vary from person to person ..it's about what you can negotiate and since this upcoming FA is so thin especially on young talent at PG he's in the driver seat to negotiate a very lucrative deal for himself due to circumstances

 

[CarltonJunior]

True, but it's going to cause other contracts to jump as well.

I just wouldn't a fan if my team locked in a core of Zo/Ingram/Zion when they aren't even good enough to make the play-in tournament.

I think they gonna have the same problems the 76ers have. The two star players don't mix well, but are talented enough that you don't want to get rid of one of them.

Lonzo will likely be traded if he commands a 20+ million dollar salary and doesn't produce at a near all-star level like say CJ McCollum.

 

[Left.A1]

True, but it's going to cause other contracts to jump as well.

I just wouldn't a fan if my team locked in a core of Zo/Ingram/Zion when they aren't even good enough to make the play-in tournament.

1. No contact is "locked in" everything can always be moved ..smart GM's understand that it's a game of asset retention


2. I would not be using the current team record results from a collection of guys that aren't even 24 years old yet to solely dictate the team building path I choose moving forward if I was David Griffin ... If any lesson should be learned by the gradual ascension of Lonzo Balls career it's that young guys take time to develop...this is only their first year playing real minutes together with a new coach as well ... No need to make any declarations about guys that young in the process

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

I think they gonna have the same problems the 76ers have. The two star players don't mix well, but are talented enough that you don't want to get rid of one of them.

Lonzo will likely be traded if he commands a 20+ million dollar salary and doesn't produce at a near all-star level like say CJ McCollum.

The only difference is at least those star players in Philly can make the playoffs, where NO can't even make the play-in tournament.

He also won't produce at near all-star level as he's too inconsistent on offense to even push himself into that type of consideration. Especially considering there are a lot of players in the league are putting up those type of numbers and even better.

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

1. No contact is "locked in" everything can always be moved ..smart GM's understand that it's a game of asset retention


2. I would not be using the current team record results from a collection of guys that aren't even 24 years old yet to solely dictate the team building path I choose moving forward if I was David Griffin ... If any lesson should be learned by the gradual ascension of Lonzo Balls career it's that young guys take time to develop...this is only their first year playing real minutes together with a new coach as well ... No need to make any declarations about guys that young in the process

1. You're right.

2. Sacramento made that same logic based on the core that they had and look where they are now.

3. Remember the clock starts ticking the moment that Zion signs his max extension, so the timeline will be accelerated and they don't have time to wake any years or players that don't fit long term.

 

[tremonthustler1]

Lonzo is a sub 15 million dollar player cap jump or not

Prior to this season? Yes.

He's become a big time free agent if nothing else because it would cost that much more to cause NO to decline his deal.

The only thing working against Ball is that most teams either have an established PG or drafted someone they're high on, but even then, as long as Chicago and NY are suitors he'll cash out.

 

[Left.A1]

1. You're right.

2. Sacramento made that same logic based on the core that they had and look where they are now.

3. Remember the clock starts ticking the moment that Zion signs his max extension, so the timeline will be accelerated and they don't have time to wake any years or players that don't fit long term.

IDK what Sacramento has to do with New Orleans? Different players Different Coaches Different environments ... I don't really see one link between the two ... I could bring up a team like Golden State who didn't make the playoffs immediately once Klay and Steph were on the team or Denver who didn't immediately make the playoffs once Jamal and Jokic were paired Etc etc ... You can't be impatient trying to team build around young guys


Zion is in NO for at least another 6 years if he signs his rookie extension ...they have some time to figure it out and since I personally believe the likelihood of major FA's coming to the pelicans is rather slim I would say their best path to developing a contender will be internal growth ... You're not going to blow it up and try to tank with Zion on your team if your goal is for him to be impressed with your future prospects of winning especially if you think they're "on the clock" so I'm trying to figure out how you think they're going to get better without leveraging what they already have

 

[Thavoiceofthevoiceless]

IDK what Sacramento has to do with New Orleans? Different players Different Coaches Different environments ... I don't really see one link between the two ... I could bring up a team like Golden State who didn't make the playoffs immediately once Klay and Steph were on the team or Denver who didn't immediately make the playoffs once Jamal and Jokic were paired Etc etc ... You can't be impatient trying to team build around young guys


Zion is in NO for at least another 6 years if he signs his rookie extension ...they have some time to figure it out and since I personally believe the likelihood of major FA's coming to the pelicans is rather slim I would say their best path to developing a contender will be internal growth ... You're not going to blow it up and try to tank with Zion on your team if your goal is for him to be impressed with your future prospects of winning especially if you think they're "on the clock" so I'm trying to figure out how you think they're going to get better without leveraging what they already have

Internal growth or maybe trading pieces that don't fit for ones that do. Just because you can't major FA's doesn't mean that you overpay for the ones currently on your roster that don't amount to getting out of the basement or play-in tournament. Regardless of how you spin, that core just won't work long term and it will be the same issue again next season.

Lonzo inconsistency on offense is going to hold him back from being lead guard material unless you bring in a wing that helps mask his deficiencies. You cannot have your lead guard be inconsistent on offense regardless of how you try and spin it. It's the same complaint we make about other players and Lonzo isn't the exception. I understand people are bias about Lonzo, but let's be real about his flaws.