Chicago Bulls Season Thread 2021-2022

So Zach is going to be a all star and where 9th seed at this moment but it just feels like the season is a wash
 
Just hate that once again can't properly evaluate Lauri because he can't stay on the court. Zach is a rising star in the league and getting the respect of his peers. That bids well for us landing another big guy soon imo but yeah. This a developmental year just sucks the guys that need to develop can't stay on the court
 
Zach proving me wrong.....cleverly he put in serious work this offseason his game has gone up a level....can it go up more?
 
Gonna watch closely tonight! Ball would be a good fit with lavine in backcourt...coby off bench.....his trade value has gone up over last few weeks but might be able to do 3 way trade get young to playoff team or just sign him offseason
 
i dont think the bulls will spend anything on Ball during the season. But will take a hard look at him during free agency
 
Vooch...
Blah not crazy about this trade.....I rather Have traded lauri for ball and kept WC....I feel WC was stuck in corner deferring to everyone rather than them make him focal point sometimes.....

I get what they are doing, they want to get a older guy who can score on those nights lavine gets shutdown...and be solid #2 guy....his contract is decent for now but he’s gonna command big money soon him and lavine....yoooo these are our top 2 guys for the next 5-7 years.....hopefully PW can develop into a stud

Hopefully these picks dont end up top 10...

Let’s get that 4 seed...
 
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Vucevic is 30 years old and has a descending contract that pays him $26m this year then $24m and $22m. Thats not a bad contract at all and is not up until summer 2023. So he's not going to command a new deal anytime soon. Seems the Pelicans were asking for a lot in a Lonzo trade and thats why the bulls looked at other upcoming Restricted Free Agents to trade for but i guess they didnt find any takers.

I really like Carter but you cant argue Vucevic is not an upgrade. Is it a risk with those 2 first rounders? yes but one worth taking. Especially with those picks having top 4 protection.
 
One of the big men had to go. I don’t what think about the trade but I do know the team needed a shake up is all
 
I was surprised that giannis resigned with bucks.......thought no finals in 20 and if it happened again in 21 he would bounce for sure......I know he is not the type to join a super team but did think he would leave to Join a up and coming team....hoped that it would be the bulls if lauri and lavine took a leap up a level....which lavine did.....
Now that we got vooch and lavine has taken leap I think for sure he would have strongly considered us this offseason had he done the smart thing and NOT resign with bucks....this would be the roster for him....he’s the alpha but yet has 2 guys that can take those clutch shots last 4 mins.....oh well......just gotta wait for PW to leap to best player on team....
 
Best case, Bulls somehow find themselves with a Top 4 pick.

Worst case, they get pick No. 5 and it goes to Orlando.
 
Bulls miss no 4th pick, just our luck…..no chance to get dame now
Hopefully PW kid turns into something special
Ball for lauri.

ESPN
Offseason moves for the Chicago Bulls: Contract decisions on Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen
By Bobby Marks


The Chicago Bulls learned the hard way that winning the trade deadline on paper or in the media does not guarantee a spot in the playoffs, or even the play-in tournament.

At the time of the blockbuster trade that landed All-Star Nikola Vucevic, Chicago was 19-24 and in contention for a playoff spot. Then the Bulls lost Zach LaVine because of the league's health and safety protocols, saw their defense rank 29th over the final two months and finished the season on a 12-17 skid to miss the play-in. Then they watched helplessly as they failed to move up in the lottery, guaranteeing they'd send this year's No. 8 overall pick to Orlando.

Now the question heading into the offseason is: How can Chicago, stripped of draft picks from the Vucevic trade and likely over the salary cap, improve its roster?





The roster
Don't expect Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to be content with the roster, despite having two All-Stars in LaVine and Vucevic.

"We will not settle for mediocrity here," Karnisovas said in his first end-of-season media conference.



Mediocrity is a 31-41 record and missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

"We place expectations on our team about winning games," Karnisovas said. "We are certainly not satisfied. But we will learn from it, adjust and make sure what did not go well does not happen again. We will continue being aggressive in our efforts to make this team better, whether that's through trades, free agency or the draft."

Doing that, however, will take creativity. The Bulls don't have a first-round pick this year, and the next pick they're allowed to trade comes in 2026. There is a hole at the point guard position, especially after the injury to Coby White, and generating the cap space necessary to fill that hole would likely come at the expense of restricted free agent Lauri Markkanen and possibly veterans Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky.

If the Bulls stay over the cap, they will have their $9.5 million midlevel exception available. However, that exception likely gets them into the conversation for only backup point guards such as T.J. McConnell, Cameron Payne and Ish Smith. The Bulls could explore sign-and-trade scenarios, but once again that would see them lose a combination of Markkanen, Young and Satoransky. For example, does it make sense to call Brooklyn to explore a Spencer Dinwiddie-for-Young trade?

"We're going to add talent to our roster and from there get better and come back improved and better so we don't have to sit out another postseason," Karnisovas said. "I don't like to watch postseason games now just because I'm not happy that we're not in it. I'm a competitive guy. Talking to all the players, they're disappointed. We're disappointed. And we're going into the next season to make sure it doesn't happen again."





The Zach LaVine contract options


The Bulls will offer LaVine a four-year, $105 million extension on the first day of free agency, and the All-Star will politely decline, not because he doesn't want to stay in Chicago, but because the extension doesn't make business sense. LaVine also has leverage, because the Bulls would not have traded two first-round picks for Vucevic if they didn't consider him part of the team's future.



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As a result of the four-year, $78 million offer sheet LaVine signed with the Sacramento Kings (which the Bulls matched), Chicago is limited to offering him a 120% raise off his $19.5 million salary in 2021-22. That means the maximum starting point in any extension is $23.4 million, $11.4 million less than the projected max when he becomes a free agent in 2022. LaVine is coming off a year in which he posted career highs in points (27.5), field goal percentage (50.6%), 3-point percentage (41.6%), rebounds (5.1), assists (5.1), effective field goal percentage (59.4%) and true shooting percentage (63.3%). He made his first All-Star appearance, earned a spot on Team USA and is in the prime of his career, turning 26 this past March. LaVine has missed only six games due to injury since the 2019-20 season. While the contract would guarantee him $105 million, it is far below what his projected value will be as a free agent in 2022.

However, because he has reached the third-year anniversary of his contract, LaVine is also eligible to have his contract renegotiated. A renegotiation would see his current $19.5 million cap hit increased by the amount of cap space Chicago has. That number would then get extended out an additional four seasons. For example, if the Bulls were under the cap by $14 million, they could bump LaVine's contract up to a max salary for this season ($33.6 million) and extend his contract out an additional four seasons. The total amount would come to $194.8 million, a $90 million increase on what an extension would be.

While it sounds like an easy decision, a renegotiation comes with obstacles for the Bulls. For starters, Chicago is over the salary cap when you factor in the $20.2 million Markkanen cap hold along with the partially guaranteed contracts of Young, Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono (team option). For the Bulls to create $12.4 million in room, all their free agents (including Markkanen) would get renounced and the team option of Arcidiacono declined.

Instead of having the $9.5 million midlevel and $3.7 million biannual exception, the Bulls would be left with the $4.9 million room and veteran minimum exception. There have been only eight players to have their contract renegotiated, none since Robert Covington with the Philadelphia 76ersin 2017.





The restricted free agency of Lauri Markkanen


The only thing guaranteed about the future of Lauri Markkanen is that the Bulls will tender him a one-year, $9 million qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent. Not offering the qualifying offer would allow Markkanen to walk away from Chicago without any compensation in return. By making Markkanen a restricted free agent, the Bulls retain more control over trade options, even if they don't intend to re-sign him or match an offer sheet.

Markkanen, 23, is a rare 7-foot-tall stretch-4 who is coming off a career year on offense: highs in field goal percentage (47.9%), three-point percentage (39.4%), true shooting percentage (61.4%) and effective field goal percentage (58.8%).

"I think Lauri is an essential part of our team, and we hope he is part of what we're building here," Karnisovas said.



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For all the positives on the offensive end, there are plenty of flaws. There are the durability issues that have seen him miss 69 games over the past four seasons, including 15 this year with a sprained shoulder. He is averaging a career low in free throw attempts (1.9); his defensive rebounding percentage declined from 23.4 in his second year to 16.9 this year; and his midrange game is non-existent (3-for-18 this year from 10-19 feet).

And of course, the big question is how he fits long term alongside Vucevic, and whether Chicago wants to commit starter money to a player who is a sixth man. Markkanen started the first 23 games this season, including the first game with Vucevic in the lineup, but was moved to the bench the following game.

In the 16 games off the bench, Markkanen shot 47.7% from the field and 41.7% from 3, but saw his minutes decline from 30.0 to 22.4 per game.

A starting contract for Markkanen projects to be $13 million, according to ProFitX, and Chicago could certainly go in that direction, looking to flip him down the road once his trade restriction on Jan. 15 expires or maybe even keep him. However, Markkanen would be better suited signing the qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent if the team-friendly contract is the only offer on the table.

A sign-and-trade is certainly an option, but Markkanen would be subject to the complicated rules of Base Year Compensation, meaning his outgoing salary in a trade would count as 50% and not the full amount.

For example, if Markkanen signs a deal in a sign-and-trade with a first-year salary of $15 million, only $7.5 million of that would count in outgoing salary for the Bulls, while the acquiring team would have to be able to fit the full $15 million.

There is always the option of letting Markkanen explore his options in free agency and get an offer sheet from a team like Oklahoma City or San Antonio. The Bulls would then have a decision to make: either match the offer sheet or let him walk away for nothing, similar to what happened to the Kings last offseason with Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Not signing Markkanen still has the Bulls over the salary cap, but gives them more flexibility to re-sign Daniel Theis and opens up the possibility of having a max salary slot in 2022.





Offseason cap breakdown


Bulls' projected cap sheet
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TH]Player[/TH][TH]2021-22 Salary[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1. Nikola Vucevic[/TD][TD]$24,000,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2. Zach LaVine[/TD][TD]$19,500,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3. Al-Farouq Aminu[/TD][TD]$10,183,800[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4. Patrick Williams[/TD][TD]$7,422,000[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5. Coby White[/TD][TD]$5,837,760[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6. Troy Brown Jr.[/TD][TD]$5,170,564[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7. Thaddeus Young[/TD][TD]$14,190,000 (partial guarantee)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8. Tomas Satoransky[/TD][TD]$10,000,000 (partial guarantee)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9. Ryan Arcidiacono[/TD][TD]$3,000,000 (team option)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10. Cristiano Felicio1[/TD][TD]$14,305,138 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11. Denzel Valentine1[/TD][TD]$8,821,320 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12. Daniel Theis1[/TD][TD]$9,865,385 (free agent hold0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13. Garrett Temple2[/TD][TD]$5,720,400 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14. Lauri Markkanen3[/TD][TD]$20,194,524 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15. Javonte Green4[/TD][TD]$2,056,061 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16. Adam Mokoka4[/TD][TD]$1,669,178 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17. Devon Dotson5[/TD][TD]$1,489,065 (free agent hold)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Guaranteed contracts[/TD][TD]$83.1M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Partial/non-guaranteed[/TD][TD]$16.9M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Free agent/draft holds[/TD][TD]$64.1M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Total[/TD][TD]$163.4M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SALARY CAP[/TD][TD]$112.8M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]LUXURY TAX[/TD][TD]$136.6M[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1. Bird[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2. Non-Bird[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3. Restricted Bird[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4. Restricted Early Bird[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5. Restricted Non-Bird[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]




Bulls' projected depth chart
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TH]PG[/TH][TH]SG[/TH][TH]SF[/TH][TH]PF[/TH][TH]C[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]T. Satoransky1[/TD][TD]Z. LaVine[/TD][TD]P. Williams[/TD][TD]T. Young1[/TD][TD]N. Vucevic[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]R. ArcidiaconoT[/TD][TD]T. Brown[/TD][TD][/TD]
[TD]A. AminuP[/TD][TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]C. WhiteI[/TD][TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]T= Team option[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1= Partial/non-guaranteed[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]I= Injured[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


Team needs

  • Bench depth at shooting guard, small forward and center
Resources to build the roster

  • The draft: second-round pick
  • Potential cap space but at the cost of Young, Satoransky and Markkanen
  • The sign-and-trade option with Markkanen
  • $9.5 million midlevel and $3.7 million biannual exception
  • Cash: $5.8 million to send or receive in a trade


Dates to watch
• The Bulls have until Aug. 1 to extend a one-year qualifying offer to Markkanen and Javonte Green. Markkanen averaged a minimum of 34.25 starts over the past two seasons and has reached starter criteria, earning him a $9.0 million offer. Green was acquired at the trade deadline and appeared in only six games, averaging 5.5 minutes. His one-year contract is for $1.9 million. The qualifying offer will tag each player with the restricted free-agent status, allowing the Bulls to match an offer sheet.

• Young and Satoransky will both have their full contracts guaranteed on Aug. 2. Young will see his guaranteed portion increase from $6 million to $14.19 million and Satoransky from $5 million to $10 million.

• Arcidiacono is entering the last year of a three-year, $9 million contract that he signed back in 2019. The undrafted guard out of Villanova has seen his minutes decrease over the past three seasons: 24.2, 16.0 and now 10.8. The Bulls have until Aug. 1 to decline the team-friendly $3 million contract.



Restrictions
• The earliest first-round pick the Bulls can trade is in the 2026 draft.



Extension eligible
• The Bulls can add an additional three years and up to $85.6 million of new money in an extension for Vucevic. The All-Star is extension eligible because he has reached the second anniversary of the four-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Magic back in 2019. Because he has two years left on his original contract, the deadline to extend is the last day prior to the start of the regular season.

• The Bulls also have Al-Farouq Aminu, Young (if his contract is guaranteed), Satoransky (if his contract is guaranteed) and Arcidiacono (if his team option is exercised) eligible for extensions. It is unlikely all four players will receive a new contract.



The draft
As a result of the trade to acquire Vucevic, the Bulls will send Orlando their first-round pick in July. Chicago also owes the Magic a first in 2023 (top-four protected). The first is top-three protected in 2024 if not conveyed in the prior season. If it doesn't convey in 2023 or 2024, the Bulls will send the Magic second-round picks in 2026 and 2027.

Here's how ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have Chicago selecting in July:

No. 38 (via NOP): Roko Prkacin, PF, Cibona Zagreb

Karnisovas did not make a trade in his first draft as head of basketball operations.
 
Team is in limbo, they don't really know which way they trying to go.
Sucks too, cause we basically going into camp same as the last 3 years. Trying to figure out who's really who and who's staying or going.
The thing about it now is that we have guys about to get paid and we may not even know if we have the right fits.

Vooch trade didn't pan out as the FO hoped and the team traded away 2 first rounders and Wendell (basically three 1st rounders) for it, and still missed out on the playoffs :smh::smh::smh:

Just a few thoughts.....
As much as i like PWill watching Haliburton up in Sac Town hurt.
Is Lauri about to get a bag when old man Thad beats him out of his starting spot again or even worse..........will someone throw him a poison pill contract and we lose another asset for nothing.
Still salty about giving away Gafford.
Can Coby become that perennial 6th Man of the year?
Is there a way that the FO could put together a package for SGA from OKC now that they have Kemba? Could they offer Lonzo & the Pels a poison pill contract? Hell! Can this new FO attract any free agents?

Trying to be more optimistic about this upcoming season, gotta give Arturas and Marc more time.
Hoping for Lavine and Vucevic to have good chemistry together. Hoping that PWill has a big breakout year. Hoping for good health overall.

Glad I wont have to see Felicio, Otto, or Valentine wearing Bulls uniforms!
 
Yea that front office really thought the vooch trade would put them in play in at least…..and might have if lavine didnt get some odd 2 week time off thing…...sucks because we are losing 1 top 10 pick(21) WC and who knows about 22 pick how high that can be for a 30 year old center to build around……oh def means we need to let go of our other 7 pick lauri for very likely nothing…….and yes Gafford had some great games for wiz
I ‘m still pissed about having to include WC in this trade…..can’t convince me that a team out there wouldn’t have traded late round pick for Lauri…., BK, LAs, Jazz, Nuggs, ATL, Philly, Suns…..one of those teams would have been interested 100%!!! Then we could have used that pick for vooch instead of WC……no way this front office could have really thought that keeping him beyond this season was going to work….cant play lauri and vooch together

Is this the right coach for us is the real question. This team should be a playoff team next year
 
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Ayo
D Rose
Lonzo
+ big man to replace thies who I’m sure we’re losing
=
perfect off-season

from the nypost

With the Suns likely to make Chris Paul a three-year, $90-plus million offer that will keep him in Phoenix, the Knicks may be in line to snare his backup – young lefty free agent Cam Payne.

The Knicks have considered a no-frills point-guard scenario with Payne and Derrick Rose splitting minutes in 2021-22.
It’s not Plan A, B or perhaps even C, but it’s not bad, either, especially if the Knicks can’t land a star like Paul, Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball.

Miami is emerging as a favorite to land Lowry in a sign-and-trade while Ball is ready to sign with the Bulls with free agency beginning Monday evening, according to a source.

:nerd:
 
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Ball was so ready to sign he did it 5 mins after 6! Love the MOVE. This kid is going to get ton of open shots thanks to vooch and lavine commanding double teams….he is going to create also…..maybe in new system can go up in that department….his Defense imo is better than lavines also….

If we can get Allen from cavs somehow we are legit legit(yes thats double legit for those counting!!!)
 
Air273 said:
Ball was so ready to sign he did it 5 mins after 6! Love the MOVE. This kid is going to get ton of open shots thanks to vooch and lavine commanding double teams….he is going to create also…..maybe in new system can go up in that department….his Defense imo is better than lavines also….

If we can get Allen from cavs somehow we are legit legit(yes thats double legit for those counting!!!)
Click to expand...

Allen JUST got 5/100 so that’s not happening champ lol

The Chicago Bulls are trading Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple and a second-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Lonzo Ball, per @ShamsCharania.


But we get lonzo without giving up Lauri… seems like Murray for Lauri is still possible
 
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