Octopus Overlords

The Bulls addressed their mistake of squeaking into the playoffs by dumping Jimmy Butler for two chunks of haggis.

Chicago Tribune wrote:And don't forget that in moving from retooling to rebuilding on the one-year anniversary of the Derrick Rose trade, they almost surely will be in the mix for a 2018 lottery pick.

Jeff V wrote:The Bulls addressed their mistake of squeaking into the playoffs by dumping Jimmy Butler for two chunks of haggis.

Chicago Tribune wrote:And don't forget that in moving from retooling to rebuilding on the one-year anniversary of the Derrick Rose trade, they almost surely will be in the mix for a 2018 lottery pick.

You should be happy now, they are in full on rebuild mode.

I'm still pissed they wasted a whole season. I don't expect any of the current leadership to survive the upcoming dark age. Just as well my TV doesn't get NBA so I won't have to bear witness.

Jeff V wrote:I'm still pissed they wasted a whole season. I don't expect any of the current leadership to survive the upcoming dark age. Just as well my TV doesn't get NBA so I won't have to bear witness.

Don't worry, I have made it my mission to keep you abreast of the situation.

Jeff V wrote:I'm still pissed they wasted a whole season. I don't expect any of the current leadership to survive the upcoming dark age. Just as well my TV doesn't get NBA so I won't have to bear witness.

Rebuilding is definitely overrated, let me know how it feels in about 4 years.

Jaymann wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I'm still pissed they wasted a whole season. I don't expect any of the current leadership to survive the upcoming dark age. Just as well my TV doesn't get NBA so I won't have to bear witness.

Rebuilding is definitely overrated, let me know how it feels in about 4 years.

4 years after MJ was the absolute depths of despair. It was after 5 years when Derrick Rose was drafted, and a couple of years later still before there was a glimmer of hope. Then he became as fragile as a glass Xmas ornament and about as useful as a broken one, then everything went to shit.

I expect them to trot out a series of draftees that are just guys -- neither good nor bad -- until they hit a jackpot in the draft that gives cause for good players to come to the team.

So listening to sports radio a bit more today. My concern w/ Lavar is actually easing. They've done a good point in the press conference to paint a more humanistic side of Lavar; instead of the loud mouth, headline grabbing one. Looking forward to summer league and get a taste of Lonzo's skills.

Jeff V wrote:

Jaymann wrote:

Jeff V wrote:I'm still pissed they wasted a whole season. I don't expect any of the current leadership to survive the upcoming dark age. Just as well my TV doesn't get NBA so I won't have to bear witness.

Rebuilding is definitely overrated, let me know how it feels in about 4 years.

4 years after MJ was the absolute depths of despair. It was after 5 years when Derrick Rose was drafted, and a couple of years later still before there was a glimmer of hope. Then he became as fragile as a glass Xmas ornament and about as useful as a broken one, then everything went to shit.

I expect them to trot out a series of draftees that are just guys -- neither good nor bad -- until they hit a jackpot in the draft that gives cause for good players to come to the team.

They should have traded for Jay Cutler.

Just for you Jeff.

Did the Chicago Bulls trigger a rebuild last week, or reshuffle their deck of mediocrity?

When a team trades a player like Jimmy Butler – a perennial All-Star and a borderline top-10 player in the NBA, who finished third in the league last season in win shares – they are expected to land both young, controllable assets and high picks. It’s why a lot of talks surrounding Butler involved the Celtics, who have a surplus of both. A package that involved the Celtics’ 2017 pick (third overall) with players such as Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart would have made sense for a proven superstar like Butler.

For Butler and the 16th pick, the Bulls got back Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 overall pick from the Timberwolves. Dunn was underwhelming as a rookie last season, shooting less than 40 percent from the field and less than 30 percent on 3-pointers. LaVine is coming off an ACL injury, is a defensive liability and has a bottom-50 defensive rating (110.1). There is potential with both, but it’s nowhere close to the amount of value Butler provided.

Simply put, the No. 7 pick was the cornerstone of the trade. And that is where the Bulls may have been most negligent.

http://nypost.com/2017/06/26/where-bull ... -a-fiasco/

Rip wrote:Just for you Jeff.

Did the Chicago Bulls trigger a rebuild last week, or reshuffle their deck of mediocrity?

When a team trades a player like Jimmy Butler – a perennial All-Star and a borderline top-10 player in the NBA, who finished third in the league last season in win shares – they are expected to land both young, controllable assets and high picks. It’s why a lot of talks surrounding Butler involved the Celtics, who have a surplus of both. A package that involved the Celtics’ 2017 pick (third overall) with players such as Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart would have made sense for a proven superstar like Butler.

For Butler and the 16th pick, the Bulls got back Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and the No. 7 overall pick from the Timberwolves. Dunn was underwhelming as a rookie last season, shooting less than 40 percent from the field and less than 30 percent on 3-pointers. LaVine is coming off an ACL injury, is a defensive liability and has a bottom-50 defensive rating (110.1). There is potential with both, but it’s nowhere close to the amount of value Butler provided.

Simply put, the No. 7 pick was the cornerstone of the trade. And that is where the Bulls may have been most negligent.

http://nypost.com/2017/06/26/where-bull ... -a-fiasco/

Yeah, LaVine has been a disappointment. There were a lot of UCLA "fans" who were ripping on Coach Alford for playing his son Bryce and not playing LaVine as much.

From my perspective, he was a horrible, selfish teammate. Only interested in himself and his numbers, and not willing to work on defense or with more experienced players (he was there when we had an upperclassmen/senior-dominated lineup - and he was behind NBA'ers/better college ballers at the PG/SG position (Kyle Anderson - Spurs, Norman Powell - Raptors, Jordan Adams - 1st All Pac-12 that year). Additionally, while LaVine made the All-Pac12 Freshman team, so did Bryce Alford. Bryce went on to stay 4 years, and finished as the 5th leading scorer of all time at UCLA, as well holding the single-season and all time 3-pt records at the school.

The thing about LaVine, is that as it became clear that he wasn't going to get a starting spot, he started just jacking up crazy shots whenever he went in. He has a ton of talent, but the work ethic and teamwork weren't there, and after a couple of years in the NBA, it seems to be the same, though he has started a number of games, the attention to improving the bad parts of his game doesn't seem to be there. If Thib's couldn't get him to play defense...

He's an entertaining player to watch offensively, but IMHO he'll probably never be the star player on a good team that you'd think his talent could get him, but rather a flashy player on a series of bad teams.

Newcastle wrote:So listening to sports radio a bit more today. My concern w/ Lavar is actually easing. They've done a good point in the press conference to paint a more humanistic side of Lavar; instead of the loud mouth, headline grabbing one. Looking forward to summer league and get a taste of Lonzo's skills.

Thoughts so far on the summer league?

Wow - Kyrie asked Dan Gilbert to trade him last week. Wants to be the focus of a team.

That's crazy.

stessier wrote:Wow - Kyrie asked Dan Gilbert to trade him last week. Wants to be the focus of a team.

That's crazy.

More reason for LeeBron to bail to the Lakers?

Or more acknowledgment that it was going to happen regardless, so might as well get out now.

Not sure where they could trade Kyrie though - still has 3 years and 60 mil left on his deal.

stessier wrote:Or more acknowledgment that it was going to happen regardless, so might as well get out now.

Not sure where they could trade Kyrie though - still has 3 years and 60 mil left on his deal.

I think Indiana could give you a payroll swap and maybe a second round pick........

Pyperkub wrote:

Newcastle wrote:So listening to sports radio a bit more today. My concern w/ Lavar is actually easing. They've done a good point in the press conference to paint a more humanistic side of Lavar; instead of the loud mouth, headline grabbing one. Looking forward to summer league and get a taste of Lonzo's skills.

Thoughts so far on the summer league?

Sorry took so long to get back to you, didn't see this till today.

Thought's...pretty good actually. I've come around to Magic & Pelinka being a pretty decent duo. I like how they've structured the scouting department. Secondly it dawned on me that Magic had a lot of exposure to running a good Gm operation while w/ the Dodgers. So that plus his business acumen & his history makes me think he's gonna do pretty good at his job. Pelinka also strikes me as a real bright guy. So I am slowly coming around to Magic & Pelinka. You got to understand, I thought Kupchack was a great GM and thought he got done dirty. I think he got hit w/ the Jim Buss Albatross; and well...what can ya do. Having said that we could have done way worse than Magic & Pelinka.

As far as Lonzo, I actually didnt get to watch those big games of his ( i figure I can watch reruns of it over august/september on the laker channel). I saw the first W/ Ingram (who looked crazy good, plus with some beefed up shoulders which was great to see). That game Lonzo wasn't that great. I thought that Lonzo got lost on some pick and rolls; but he'll learn. Defense still seems a weakness but at points it seemed as if he had active hands. And he did pick up a few steals (from box scores i saw). So we'll see. Actually didn't see any OMG passes from him, which i'd hoped. But i did see some very crisp passing from him. I'm optimistic on him.

RE: Lavar, i think what turned me from disgust, to tolerable, is the fact that he trains a bunch of kids in his neighborhood. That really upped my opinion of him. Now if he kept his mouth shut and let Lonzo do his thing on the court, that would be awesome.

Looking forward to the season starting.

Kyrie is one of the best young PGs in the league; I think they'll be plenty of teams interested.

Newcastle wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:

Newcastle wrote:So listening to sports radio a bit more today. My concern w/ Lavar is actually easing. They've done a good point in the press conference to paint a more humanistic side of Lavar; instead of the loud mouth, headline grabbing one. Looking forward to summer league and get a taste of Lonzo's skills.

Thoughts so far on the summer league?

Sorry took so long to get back to you, didn't see this till today.

Thought's...pretty good actually. I've come around to Magic & Pelinka being a pretty decent duo. I like how they've structured the scouting department. Secondly it dawned on me that Magic had a lot of exposure to running a good Gm operation while w/ the Dodgers. So that plus his business acumen & his history makes me think he's gonna do pretty good at his job. Pelinka also strikes me as a real bright guy. So I am slowly coming around to Magic & Pelinka. You got to understand, I thought Kupchack was a great GM and thought he got done dirty. I think he got hit w/ the Jim Buss Albatross; and well...what can ya do. Having said that we could have done way worse than Magic & Pelinka.

As far as Lonzo, I actually didnt get to watch those big games of his ( i figure I can watch reruns of it over august/september on the laker channel). I saw the first W/ Ingram (who looked crazy good, plus with some beefed up shoulders which was great to see). That game Lonzo wasn't that great. I thought that Lonzo got lost on some pick and rolls; but he'll learn. Defense still seems a weakness but at points it seemed as if he had active hands. And he did pick up a few steals (from box scores i saw). So we'll see. Actually didn't see any OMG passes from him, which i'd hoped. But i did see some very crisp passing from him. I'm optimistic on him.

RE: Lavar, i think what turned me from disgust, to tolerable, is the fact that he trains a bunch of kids in his neighborhood. That really upped my opinion of him. Now if he kept his mouth shut and let Lonzo do his thing on the court, that would be awesome.

Looking forward to the season starting.

One of the things Lonzo is great at is creating an atmosphere where everyone wants to pass the ball - like KD coming to the Warriors, he had to fit into that style where no-one dominates the ball, but it is shared. You could see it in the summer league games too.

stessier wrote:Wow - Kyrie asked Dan Gilbert to trade him last week.

At Harrison Barnes' wedding! And they can make fun of it all they want, but LeBron is jacked. Clearly whatever he does is working.

Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Pyperkub wrote:Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Methinks they doth give up too much.

Jaymann wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Methinks they doth give up too much.

I don't. Irving's under contract through 2020. I expect the draft pick to be top 5 too. Don't forget that Heyward was going to take a ton of minutes from Crowder.

Jaymann wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Methinks they doth give up too much.

Meagrees.

I think the Celtics are now the favorite in the East

I think Cle and Bos play each other on opening night as well.

That should be a hoot.

I'm seeing it as the Cavs robbed Boston. They can use that 2018 pick to flip it in another deal.

Why wouldn't Boston just wait it out until Cleveland gets desperate and you don't have to give up as much.

I was hoping the Nuggets had a shot at Kyrie, but not for that asking price. I would have been ok with giving up Jamal Murray and a couple other role players. But no way would I sell the farm for a rental.

I don't understand why either of these two teams would flip All Stars to their competition.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Xmann wrote:I'm seeing it as the Cavs robbed Boston. They can use that 2018 pick to flip it in another deal.

Why wouldn't Boston just wait it out until Cleveland gets desperate and you don't have to give up as much.

I was hoping the Nuggets had a shot at Kyrie, but not for that asking price. I would have been ok with giving up Jamal Murray and a couple other role players. But no way would I sell the farm for a rental.

I don't understand why either of these two teams would flip All Stars to their competition.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

IT is a FA next year. Boston was basically renting him anyway - they weren't going to give him a max deal. Plus he has a bad hip. They gave up a Brooklyn pick, but that has a good chance of being right around #10. Crowder's defense wasn't the best last year and his offense left a lot to be desired. No idea about the rookie. I think it was a lot, but far from a robbery.

Jaymann wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Methinks they doth give up too much.

Don't the Celtics have a couple other 1st round picks. Also, the Celts want to win now.

So does this mean LeBron will be out of Cleveland in 2018?

I know a Cavs fan who probably died a little last night.

Scuzz wrote:Don't the Celtics have a couple other 1st round picks. Also, the Celts want to win now.

They have some variety.

2018

Los Angeles Lakers (If pick falls between spots 2-5)

Boston Celtics’ own pick

2019

Philadelphia 76ers or Sacramento Kings (If the Lakers’ 2018 pick falls outside 2-5, Boston will instead have a choice between Philadelphia’s top-1 protected pick or Sacramento’s top-1 protected pick in 2019)

Memphis Grizzlies (If pick falls outside top-8)

Los Angeles Clippers (If pick falls outside top-14)

Boston Celtics’ own pick

2020

Memphis Grizzlies (If pick has not yet been conveyed and falls outside top-6)

Los Angeles Clippers (If pick has not yet been conveyed and falls outside top-14)

Boston Celtics’ own pick

2021

Memphis Grizzlies (If pick has not yet been conveyed. Pick would be unprotected)

Boston Celtics’ own pick

Scuzz wrote:

Jaymann wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Holy smokes - Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah!

The Boston Celtics have acquired All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving from the Cleveland Cavaliers for point guard Isaiah Thomas, forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 unprotected first-round pick, sources told ESPN.

Methinks they doth give up too much.

Don't the Celtics have a couple other 1st round picks. Also, the Celts want to win now.

So does this mean LeBron will be out of Cleveland in 2018?

I know a Cavs fan who probably died a little last night.

There's been a ton of smoke indicating that LeBron plans on leaving regardless - seems to be widely believed that he's probably going to sign with the Lakers. So this deal makes a lot of sense because they can contend next year (with James, Thomas, Love, etc.), and then with the draft pick they can either deal that for a current high-impact player (if it seems like that will help persuade James to stay), or they can just keep the pick and draft someone (if James appears to be leaving regardless).

Oh crap. Magic Johnson/Lakers accused of tampering with Paul George.

Jaymann wrote:Oh crap. Magic Johnson/Lakers accused of tampering with Paul George.

Update: Lakers fined $500k for tampering. Magic Johnson offers to pick up the tab.

Welcome to the Hall George.

George McGinnis' Hall of Fame Enshrinement Speech

Carmelo to the Thunder

Pyperkub wrote:Carmelo to the Thunder

Should be an interesting one year test.

So Dwayne Wade bought himself out of his contract with the Bulls. Last week, the Bulls were projected to lead the league in losses and now this. I suppose they have a chance for a perfect season!

Rip wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Carmelo to the Thunder

Should be an interesting one year test.

I think George will leave for the Lakers (especially if they play the way I expect them to this year - sharing the ball and challenging for a playoff spot), unless the Lakers somehow get LeBron.

I think Westbrook and 'Melo will stay (Westbrook signs max deal and 'Melo has a couple of years left on his contract, I think).

Pyperkub wrote:

Rip wrote:

Pyperkub wrote:Carmelo to the Thunder

Should be an interesting one year test.

I think George will leave for the Lakers (especially if they play the way I expect them to this year - sharing the ball and challenging for a playoff spot), unless the Lakers somehow get LeBron.

I think Westbrook and 'Melo will stay (Westbrook signs max deal and 'Melo has a couple of years left on his contract, I think).

Two words come to mind. One of them is dumpster.