so we enter the season with back-up level point guards? I guess Dunn is the man.
2 time Big East DMVP. Reminds me of a Reggie Jackson with length upgrade. I hate trying to play defense without PG's that can stop the ball, which is why I don't think MCW ever got a fair shake with this team as he was constantly overlooked for PG's that didn't do a damn thing on defense or were too old to try everyday (Rondo).
Dunn is MCW with better offensive skills. If I could recommend a player for the Bulls to get, it would be Shaun Livingston. I would then let Payne/Grant fight it out for third PG and the other sent to D-league, but Livingston would be the ideal cerebral leader and guy to help Dunn along, seriously upgrade the bench. He can create offense on his own, and has unusual length for the position to rebound and bother shots. it would upgrade the film room intelligence as well.
Livingston and Blake Griffin would indicate to me the Bulls are serious about winning, however, I think with Blake he has big man leg problems and it would sink the franchise to pay him. After going through Rose we just can't do it.
Looking at the roster, a marquee SF would give us a fighting chance in most games and a very versatile line-up. Portis-Markenen can play together when we rest Lopez and give us a spread offense for Hoiball, as well as some seriously long arms on the defensive end in the lane.
Overall, GarPax are inching toward a more functional line-up of team players. Butler/Rose became offense killers, stop ball ballhogs that have sunk this team into a deep dark rut.
I am almost more angry, in fact I am much more angry, we would sell a second round pick in one of the best basketball markets in the NBA that has benefited in jersey sales by #23 promotion alone beyond every Magic or nets or Portalnd jersey ever sold in last 50 years. To sell a pic is a slap in the face and its not the first time. Reinsdorf has profited a billion dollars on this team, and when he sells for over a billion his lineage will be set for generations. To take 4.5, I hate to say it, I hate to bring up his ancestry but thats what it is. I won't say it but you know what I mean. Mother fucker counting pennies while diminishing our ability and chances of competition.
Lavine/Dunn/Markenen is actually a huge hall given I feel that last surefire premiere player went off the board at #15. Not maybe the basketball "value" or picks we could have gotten if we waited or elsewhere, but specifically the players we got and how they fit a team. It was a good move in terms of solving Hoibergs rotation problems.
Now...we need to sign Lavine to make it a good hall. If we lose Lavine, or try to turn him for picks Dunn/Markenen can still make this trade worth it by becoming plus starters which I think they both can be. Can Dunn be Billups or Markenen be Nowitski? There is a chance. Markenen was the best stretch 4/5 in the draft. I fear he will be bothered tremendously by NBA size but its just a fear at this point. He is no Unicorn, as 5 inches and a foot of wing span is a big deal. He is much more fluid than any freak of Porzingis size can be though. He also has a build you hope doesn't have the foot/leg problems you so often see in giants, thats why ones that can stay on the floor are hard to find.
Finding a PG and a stretch 4/5 that can stay on the floor are probably the two hardest things to do in NBA, while Lavine is as freak as they get. He really knows how to use his 7'+ wingspan, and while the best defenders can bully and stifle him, he is awkward as fuck to guard because you don't realize he has you beat until its too late. He is like a Durant in his driving ability, his length is past you long before his feet are and you don't even know it yet. Of course he can't shoot like Durant, but he is the Wing player type coveted around the league right now.
We are very very thin as a team outside of Wade/Felicio/Lopez. This isn't a bully team, but a finesse team. Does Hoiberg even have a system though? It seems to me the players don't know what the fuck their roles even are, they complain about not knowing even what there playtime and rotation will be. There is a serious communication issue between coach and players on this team, it seems like Thibs was the only fucking dude with a clue in the whole organization and even he didn't have a damn idea about running an NBA level schematic offense.
I just don't understand how you can be this incompetent, but I maintain Paxson is not the worst player evaluator in the land at all. Not at all. Its why we have been competive besides every other things except Thibs defensive scheme/tough mentality being a complete shit show for years and years. We don't develop well, we don't have an offense, we don't have roles or rotations, we aren't tough anymore, we don't play defense anymore, and until we pay for some real fucking coaches we will not be a serious NBA team.
Tyron Lue could coach circles around this staff, much less guys Lue is getting flustered by like Brad Stevens and Steve Kerr, or even Luke Walton. Those are first tier coaches who have a system and a plan. Second rate coaches like Rivers and Thibs can at least instill the mentality necessary to survive the rigours of an NBA season and create a personal relationship of growth and learning in their players and staff. They are mentors/leaders. Hoiberg has been a dud leader, with actual confusion and dissent surrounding his club. Meanwhile, no genius offensive system that would justify how bad he sucks at everything else is evident.
I'm willing to give him this one year to show he has a clue or learned one by this time in the NBA. But all heads should role around here if its more of the same. Still, I believe Paxon leaves us in good shape talent wise with the signing of Lavine. This team is not void of useful NBA talent. Dunn/lavine/Markenen/Portis is a young and talented core you can plug 2 more max contracts around and have the length/shooting to bother even good teams.
Livingston, a max center, and a max SF would actually make us dangerous in my opinion. But max centers never hit the market.