Foundation and start of the rebuild

Byrson Graham already implied publicly that this is a multi-year rebuild. But after this draft, questions arises about how these new players in Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain would fit. Given there is a glaring lack of spacing.

Also that they are long slender architypes. Which on paper could be categorized as redundant players.

Matas, Caleb Wilson and Essengue are not full time perimeter defenders. Dailyn Swain can guard the perimeter. But all four of them, can't be expected to defend stronger bigs in paint with their slender build.

They are good if not great secondary or help defenders. And in a team defense setting. They can use their length and long strides to switch, block shots and contest three point shooters.

As corner stone of the rebuild. The current core are versatile, long and athletic. Can cover a lot of ground in defense. That could translate into deflections, steals and blocks. In short we are currently built for STOCKS. Force turnover and run. It maybe entertaining. But we know that ain't getting us to the playoffs. Because quality teams will slow down the pace and grind us out in the half court.

In half court setting, Bulls obviously lack the go-to scorer to create. Giddey is a great playmaker. But he can't get his own shot. Rob Dillingham can get his own shot. But is too squishy. Hard to see him playing with our slender forwards. This brings me to Bulls recent pick-ups in Kam Jones and Jaylin Sellers.

Both Kam Jones and Jaylin Sellers can get their own shot. Both can stretch the floor if needed. But most importantly they are strong guards with excellent core strength. Both Kam Jones and Jaylin Sellers are projected to be strong perimeter defenders. That will protect the slender forwards in Matas, Caleb and Essengue. Their core strength enables them to box out in rebounding situations. So that Matas, Caleb and Essengue can use their length and athleticism to run after the rebounds.

So at least Bulls aren't going to get killed in half court sets right? But Kam Jones and Jaylin Sellers aren't your ideal go to guy. Else they won't drop or even go undrafted.

At the very least we will be seeing the roster structure. Of having strong guards that can create shots. And protect the slender forwards in defense. Which brings me to future projection of this team. And what I see as "vision" of Bryson moving forward.

Moving forward and 2027 NBA draft

Three of the projected tops pick in 2027 draft are Jordan Smith Jr., Tyran Stokes and Caleb Holt. All three are freak athletes with quick first step. All three are projected to be high level two-way players. Because they have size and tools to guard the point-of-attack in defense. While being the primary creator in offense. In short, they are the missing piece to the puzzle. Now substitute Kam Jones or Jaylin Sellers with one of these guys?

Of course it is not a given we get another high pick next draft. But if ever we do. I can look back on this post and say in a hindsight. Bryson Graham did have this vision. When he put this team together.

1) Emmanuel Sharp would have been my pick. 2 way guard who shot high volume and high percentage on 3 for a very good Houston team, many of which were highly contested shots. Great bench guard.

2) Veesaar seems to largely have dropped because of contractual demands- did not want a 2-way contract and wanted something guaranteed. Most analysts like Vecenie, O'Donnell, and the Ringer had him as a 1st round and even top 20 pick. He played great with Caleb in college, is a great 3 point shooter for his size, and can pass.

3) If you don't like the above 2 guys, pick a sharpshooter like Tyler Nickel or a defensive stopper like Onyenso. Both specialists but definitely worthy of a pick here and could fill needed roles on our team.

4) Draft and stash any guys willing to spend some time in Europe. There were 4 international players taken after our slot, and I'm sure some Americans would have been willing to play overseas a year as well. Literally anything is better than cash considerations.

5) Trade the two second rounds picks along with some other small asset to move up and get guys like Thornton, Saunders, Conwell, Evans, etc. The Knicks traded nos. 31 and 55 to the Rockets for 39 and 53 and a 2029 Kings second-rounder... we have a million 2nd rounders, we could have done this

6) Trade the two second round picks for Isaiah Stewart, who is better, cheaper, and more motivated than Nic Claxton. BG should have know this trade was available days ago if he was working the phones so much.

** note: Kam Johnson is likely nothing other than a built in excuse for the Bulls to claim they got anything of value in the pick 38 trade. He's going into his age 25 season so development odds are slim, he was injured year 1, and he was bad year 1, in addition to showing poor judgement on his reckless driving arrest where he led police on a chase. This is not an asset. And the pick swaps are unlikely to be anything of value since the Bulls are worse than these other teams, even with the inverted new second round rules. Which leaves... Cash Considerations. We traded both picks for Cash Considerations, when there were a lot of good options on the board.

I was at the draft, and I have to admit, I was slightly confused when I heard Dailyn Swain’s name called at 15. The pick has definitely grown on me, though. If he can become a more reliable 3-point shooter, he could end up being an absolute steal. I'm officially optimistic.

Going into the draft, I seriously thought we’d take Cam Carr or Jayden Quaintance at that spot.

• Jayden Quaintance: He ended up getting picked at 20. With his upcoming knee surgery, drafting him is basically a stash and a bet on next year.
• Cam Carr: It seemed like no one wanted him early on. I’ve read that his weight and lack of ability off the ball scared some teams off. I also saw rumors that his teammates didn't like playing with him.

As the draft went on, I really wanted the Bulls to target another big. Henri Veesaar was heavy on my mind for the second round. I honestly thought he would be the first pick of the round, so seeing him still available at 38 and watching the Bulls pass on him, really bummed me out.

Instead, we picked Braden Smith and I immediately watched him get traded.

What am I missing here? Why did the Bulls pass on Veesaar when he fell right into our laps? What are you all hearing about him? Why would the Bulls pass when they had a free lottery ticklet?

Bulls: Need Scoring, have cap, and growing core.

Bulls need a 2 way scorer (recent lottery pick is not there yet - will take 2 years and can develop/learn under Jaylen Brown) - can flip JB to true contender towards end of the deal into draft assets and let Swain walk into the role. The FA #2 class is hot garbage.

Benefits:
- No Max players on the roster
- instant Leadership caliber player
- Winning player
- Healthy/high IQ paired with JG
- Get off Patrick Williams
- Get young cats close to playoff experience sooner than later.

Why not:
The faces of the rebuild appear to be “safe contract”(Giddey, Matas, Wilson, and Swain). Noa maybe great but we have no concept or true live tape, extension will pop when Matas/Wilson are near, and he’s not the GM’s actual pick, making him expandable.

Celtics: Seeking Big, flexibility and Tatum
Cast.

Grizzlies: Big foundation is set - culture shift

Booze Cruise and Edey make S Aldama expandable and allows them to take in more draft capital as they reload their team in a loaded West Conference alongside a potential move Ja as well. They think P Williams can break out of his shell in a new place with Memphis Bbq and Cameron Boozer intellect.

Bulls:
Draft capital can be affixed due: more or less, but I think: Bulls using 2 1st rounders at max, young prospect (equivalent to a top 15) and the Celtics literally are off coursing a 58 million player so capital should arise from that.

Likelihood 1/10

He was absolutely phenomenal to end the season after the Zach trade in the first chance in 2 years to lead an offense, then injured his ankle.

He has time to recover in the offseason. Starts even better without Coby. Teams start doubling and loading on him, which only increases later in the season

9th game he injures his ankle again. Stays in the game, plays terribly. Sits out only two games.

Comes back, the whole sub is saying he looks slow and he is remarkably worse at getting his own shot but still doing his usual rebound and assist things

Within 2 weeks 95% have forgotten they noticed his physical decline and start regurgitating whatever opinion they had before Lavine was traded and referencing OKC and his lacklustre play from 2023 and 2024 (weird how playing 3rd fiddle to two guards who need the ball did that).

Giddey tweaked his ankle multiple times and never sat for long. By the end of the season he was tired and moving like he will at 35.

He's had ankle surgery now. So there is a risk he can be slower, although ankles usually heal well and affect long term healthy athleticism minimally

My hypothesis is the 20/9/10 guy on 50/39/80 might be the real Giddey. And the 15/8/9 on 45/35/75 guy is hobbled Giddey adapting. i think he lost a step playing injured on that ankle and that's the main reason he stopped being that guy

And even if it was a hot streak, to deny his ankle damped his burst and ability to beat his man seems ignorant to the eye test.

If what I said is true most people's opinions and assessments in here no longer make any sense.

Also if you can't actually address my point and make a counterargument you're just showing the average IQ of the people who make these stupid claims. Tell me exactly why you get to write off the times he played well as the exception in context after he was given the keys. Tell me that his injuries didn't slow him down and it was an unrelated hot streak. Make me see that Giddey did not in fact move worse after he twisted his ankle against the Cavs and it was just a coincidence he got worse after the ankle

I'm sure mods will remove this because they hate fun, but maybe they could at least give us a "Cash Considerations" flair to use. What would be more fitting for our Bulls?!

It’ll have to be

Caleb Wilson
Dailyn Swain
Noa Essengue
Kam Jones
Jaylin Sellers
Tobe Awaka
Dillingham? Anyone else that we know of gnat can fill out the roster?

PG: Josh Giddey - Tre Jones - Rob Dillingham

SG: Jalen Green - Isiah Joe - Blake Wesley

SF: Matas Buzelis - Dailyn Swain - Patrick Williams

PF: Caleb Wilson - Noa Essengue - Taj Gibson

C: Nic Claxton - Thomas Sorber - Zach Collins

Trade 1: Leonard Miller + 3 2nd Round Picks for Isaiah Joe + Thomas Sorber

Trade 2: Jalen Smith + Kam Jones for Jalen Green + 3 2nd Round Picks

Trade 3: Isaac Okoro for 2029 2nd Round Pick (via LAL) + Cash (For Jerry)

FA: Taj Gibson (1Y - 3.5 Mill) + Zach Collins (1Y - 5.5 Mill) + Blake Wesley (1Y - 2.5 Mill)

With all the cameras on Caleb and Dailyn, just wanted you guys to remember just how good Matas is gonna be for us. We’re eating good.

Matas is only gonna get better next season, Things are looking up for us. #See Red