[r377Participant]

Bulls won 4 straight, Dunn has played well in Nov and Dec.

Glad he is coming around…

[SubZeroParticipant]

Glad I’m still a shareholder for Dunn Island. Seems like he’s always been a late bloomer, so I didn’t want to write him off after last year. Hopefully he keeps improving because he obviously has the talent to be a good piece for Chicago moving forward along with Lavine and Markkanen

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Hey, if the Bulls win out this week and have the longest winning streak going into my next MVP Power Poll, then the top Bulls’ candidates for my MVP power poll would be Lauri Legend or Well Dunn.

Speaking of done, how bout them Grizzlies!!! 

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

Kris Honestly just needed a fresh start he was never going to get to show his true skill set in Minnesota due to Towns and Wiggins dominating the ball so much+ Lavine to a lesser degree(Towns was a more willing passer of the 3 and had some chemistry with Dunn).

 

However give Thibs props for the following:

He made Dunn earn it which helped polish his overall skills..

He offered him help by getting him a shooting coach(I believe that is why his shot got a little better near the end of year).

He had good talent in place to show him how to work-Towns,Wiggins and Lavine.

He showed him that being a two way player will keep you on the court vs being a one way player.

The only thing that was unfair was the 2016 draft going to the T-wolves, you could tell anyone getting drafted was being used for a Jimmy Butler trade(as that is Thib’s guy) and the Bulls always wanted Dunn they even tried to engage with Boston for number 3 and something else to get him.. Personally looking back at it if the T-wolves had kept the player drafted Murray may have been a slightly better fit with Wiggins and Towns due to floor spacing/moving without the ball ability..

I will give the Bulls this though there is no pecking order right now: Outside of Lauri M being a top 3 option is up for grabs on that team. This will allow people to see Kris Dunn’s true John wall like Skill set in full effect(the player some of us have compared him to since day 1).

 

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

I’m glad that Dunn has found some reasonable form as having hardly played in his rookie year despite being 22/23, you wondered if he really had a legit NBA future. But what Andy1 said about Thibs actually investing resources into helping him improve his game even if he wasn’t playing meant that Dunn didn’t waste his year in Minny.

The Bulls will be interesting to watch next year as they could actually have a very nice young core with Lauri M, Dunn, Lavine and whoever they draft plus they have Portis and Mirotic back playing together. The Bulls almost have a free pass with their draft pick this year as it could well be a case of taking BPA the way the mock boards look now. Only possibly Colin Sexton could need to be considered carefully as they have Dunn in situ but even then they could possibly play 3 guard line up, move Lavine to SF or make Sexton 6th man.

[Scott42444Participant]

…I don’t think Mirotic will be on the team in 2 months, the Bulls are going to trade him and Lopez and try to get a couple of draft picks (presumably while taking on salary from a team clearing space for next year’s free agent class or ducking the luxury tax). 

If the Bulls don’t take 1 of the following players in the Top 4 of Porter/Bagley/Ayton/Doncic I would be shocked.  I could see them trying to climb back up for another Top 10 pick if they get a couple of later picks and maybe Sexton enters the discussion.  I just can’t believe anyone out of those Top 4 guys are worth an epic year of tanking.

 

  

[TRC1991Participant]

They have valuable big men, Lopez, Mirotic, Portis and Markkanen. Their guard play has been bad, but when Dunn is under control, he’s a good player. 

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Bulls do have a few nice pieces to trade – Lopez has a reasonable contract and is a serviceable NBA starter who is still under 30 and is not a FA until 2019.

Mirotic might be an interesting one, he has a $12.5 million team option so if another team wanted to save luxury tax or create cap space then the Bulls could get at least one first rounder for him. That is before you consider if someone trades to keep him as he is skilled player.

The Bulls have a load of cap space even after we assume they resign Lavine so could take on other salary dumps to get extra picks in future drafts if they decide to go long term. They may possibly look to max out on this year’s draft as minus Lavine and a likely high pick this year and development from Dunn and Lauri it is probably the easiest year to tank.

 

 

[r377Participant]

Bulls won 9 of their past 11 games

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

In December…

Nikola Mirotic- 17.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 50 FG%, 48% 3FG% (41 FG% in each of his first three seasons, 32, 39, 34 3FG% as well) The only possible sign that this can last is that he might be a guy who fits the prototype of a 3-point specialist, but it was actually the worst thing for him. When he is more involved in all aspects of the game, and being used on different spots on the floor offensively, he is a better and more efficient player. This was true in his rookie year when he showed promise, and in the past couple when he was just parked at the arc and largely awful. 

Bobby Portis- 20 MPG, 12.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 50 FG%, 38 3FG%. This year’s backup big man per minute wonder! He showed flashes in each of the past two years, but he is not disappearing. With Markkanen, Lopez, and Mirotic, his minutes go up and down, but there is energy and production every time out. Plus, his added bulk has allowed him to give more time as a 5, though he does not seem big enough to handle a full-time starting gig as a 5 . How this would play out if they move Lopez is tough to know, though they could pocket a pick and grab one from the lot of Greg Monroe, Alex Len, Jahlil Okafor, Enes Kanter, and Brook Lopez next summer.

Kris Dunn- 14.8 PPG, 7.8 APG, 2 SPG, 43 FG%, 21 3FG%. He can get into the lane with ease, and very good from 15 and in. He is benefitting greatly from the spacing created by Mirotic, Markkanen, Portis, and even Robin Lopez’s ability to step out to 15-17. The concern is that none of Mirotic, Markkanen, or Portis have done it for a season. If teams no longer have to be stretched out, then it is fair to wonder whether he end up looking more like a big minute version of the guy he was last year.

David Nwaba- It isn’t about the numbers, but is their best wing defender and is a great athlete. On a team where the big men can’t shoot, he probably would struggle to stay on the floor. As currently contructed, he can work his way into being a next generation Tony Allen. This month, when the Bulls needed to make 4th quarter runs against Milwaukee (twice) and Philadelphia, Nwaba took the tough assignments against two guys who are significantly bigger than him. He battled well. The concern with him is where does he go once Zach LaVine returns? With LaVine, Denzel Valentine, and Justin Holiday, will he go to being a regular DNP-CD guy? While those other three certainly have their merits (LaVine is a world class athlete with 20 PPG potential, Valentine is 40% from behind the arc, Holiday is a coach’s favorite and does a lot of stuff at a B-level), none of them handle are suited to guard the other team’s best offensive wing. If Valentine can continue being at 40% from the arc, he might be the best candidate to be moved.

[HitsterParticipant]

 The Bulls have been on a great run and with Lavine to come back in the near future they could continue to improve. Dunn has been really impressive recently and if he can improve his mid range and 3 point shooting could justify the faith the Bulls have in him.

 

 

[BeastMode716Participant]

 I Never gave up on Dunn. The kid is as Mentally tough as it gets 

Thibbs is Terrible Developing young talent. We Know this! He gave up a Lot – Kris Dunn, Laurie Markkenan & Zach Lavine

Jimmy Butler is a Great player & Minnesota is Clearly much better immediately w/ Butler & the other veterans they added like Jeff Teague, Taj Gibsom & Jamal Crawford for example. 

But this is a Timing Issue. Jimmy Butler is 28, Teague 29, Gibson 32 & Crawford 37. 

Wiggins & Towns are 22, 

Lebron looks like he’s got 3 years at the Top still & Golden State ain’t going NoWhere for 4 or 5 years at least 

My point is that even though it’s got to be heady stuff got Minnesota to go from Over a Decade STRAIGHT of Losing season to the #4 seed in the West – do they have ANY chance to advance beyond the Western Conference Finals at ANY point over the next 5 years??? 

I believe that it is a Legitimate question to ask one’s self if Minnesota would have been better off Keeping Dunn as the team’s starting 1/PG of the future & Lauri Markennan as the Stretch 4/PF, Zack Lavine as the #2/SG with Karl Anthony Towns at the Center position w/ Wiggins at the 3/SF

Kris Dunn is 23, Towns is 22, Wiggins is 22, Levin is 22 & Markkanen is 20! Your ENTIRE starting Core group is between 20 to 23 years of age……. It would have taken that core 2 or 3 years to get to where they are right now but would their Peak be Higher? That group would probably have missed the playoffs again this year but Added another pretty good player thru the Draft or signed a good young Free Agent to Grow their Core. 

The point is that it’s not Sexy growing your core but that IS what Golden State did – Very quietly, in fact. This Minnesota Core would just be hitting their prime in about 5 years as the Golden State Warriors & Lebron’s Team would be on the back side of their Great run

I can see Both sides but it is a Legit question. Would the Minnesota Timberwolves have been Better off or have had a Better chance to win a Ring had they Developed that great young Core instead of making the Chicago trade???

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Jimmy Butler is in year 7 of his career. He doesn’t have a ton of mileage realtive to what you think a 28-year old NBA player has stemming from him not being the stud prep star, not playing a ton as a sophomore at Marquette, and not being given huge minutes in his first two seasons. He has many prime years left, and has transformed a team in a way Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, and Kris Dunn never would. This is just reality. If you wanted to wait, then you would turn the likes of Towns and Wiggins into career losers who never grasped the difference between putting up numbers and playing winning basketball. They still have a massive project in trying to turn Wiggins into a decent defensive player, but now they will be doing so by having him experience May and maybe June basketball. You spent literally a decade trying to develop players and build a team who thought the calendar begins with Halloween and ends with Easter, and nothing came of it. Now, you bemoan that the team isn’t currently better than Golden State. It is just ridiculous. Staying on the path they were on would have done nothing but get everyone fired. Now, they are building with an identity. The draft and free agency is a whole lot easier when a team knows itself, and isn’t just throwing darts. 

[Author]

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