Lonzo Ball TRADED to Cavs! Chicago Bulls Land Isaac Okoro in Bold Move | CHGO Bulls Podcast

Lonzo Ball TRADED to Cavs! Chicago Bulls Land Isaac Okoro in Bold Move | CHGO Bulls Podcast

the Chicago Bulls have finally made a trade Do we like it Do we love it Thanks for making it early too Chicago Bulls We’re about to talk about it next CHGO Bulls podcast Welcome in Welcome in all you beautiful people Stuff has happened and we’re about to talk about it here at CAGO Bulls podcast I am Big Dave That handsome gentleman over there is Will the GOAT Gotautle Our guy Matt Peek will be joining us momentarily Emergency podcast time Why Because the Chicago Bulls have finally made a trade Sending out Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaac Auroro It’s a player for player swap No picks no anything added to it It is just simply that trade And there he is looking clean shaven and awesome The one and only Matt Peek who has just joined us Thank you for being here Thank y’all for being here Make sure you’re in that chat and in those comments dropping what you want to talk about in this trade But I’m going to give the floor to you Goat You’re the one You tell us how do you feel about this trade Are you excited about it and what the Bulls got in return Are you cool with that as well
Yeah contrary to what some may think um I don’t enjoy disagreeing with the Bulls for an office I don’t enjoy like criticizing them for the moves that they make It’s not fun Um and it would be much better for us as a podcast and for me as a writer to be able to cover a team that uh made sense that did the right things that built the right way To me this is a very bad trade I I do not like this at all Um I guess I’ll start by just talking about Auroro a little bit because I think he could be a solid player Like he’s a very good defensive player He’s only 24 years old He’s a wing Like those are valuable guys and he’s done a lot of work to improve his jump shot He did he came into the league as basically a non-shooter Um and last year he was up over 37% from three Um and he has improved every single season His career 35% um and was 39% in 2023 24 So I think he’s improving there The volume is pretty low It’s been like 3.1 per game uh during the 23-4 season when he shot 39% um and down to 2.7 attempts per game last year Um this is a 65 wing who can really defend like he’s probably the best defender on the team right now Um and that’s a valuable thing So um and then just thinking about it from the perspective of like the trade itself and the exchange like he’s going to give you more certainty and availability than Lonzo and that means that he’s probably going to give you more production than Lonzo And so in a vacuum I think like they won the the battle of production Um and I think they added something there Uh but for me this is just another example of the Bulls having really poor process about the way that they go about things Uh the other night we listened to Mark Everly on the podium talk about not skipping steps This is a skip step This is exactly the same as trading uh Alex Russo for Josh Giddy It’s very possible that like Giddy Auroro becomes a valuable player that he produces on the court but this is a skip step They’re not like building organically They’re drafting or they’re trading for guys that are in their you know early 20s Uh in Aoro’s case this is going to be his age 25 season who has very little upside He is not somebody that is going to like be a star player And I’m not expecting the Bulls to get a star player back for Lonzo Ball a guy who’s played 70 games in the last five years um and obviously missed two and a half But for me this is just another example of the Bulls not valuing draft picks And if you’re going to build organically and you’re going to you know develop players internally which is what Mark Eversley said and you want to have financial flexibility in 2026 which is what Mark Eversley said like this goes in the face of all that This conflicts with all that directly Um and I think it’s a really it’s just an example of like the same old bulls And we talked about it the other night like in the time that we’ve covered this team as CHGO which is now going on to our fourth season there’s never been a move that was like yeah I really like this for the Bulls It’s always like maybe if I squint I can see the positives Um but yeah I just I think this is really poor process Um same mistakes made over and over again Um and yeah it probably shouldn’t surprise me at this point It really doesn’t But to me this is a move that’s going to help raise the floor during the regular season take away minutes from Buzzelis and from SN uh and and raise the floor while lowering the ceiling And there’s just not a lot of upside in this move And then on top of it it really conflicts with your stated goals So I really do not like it
Yeah You know what Let me get mine out the way since our fearless leader is back in effect Um it’s it’s I talked about last time guys how when we were with Will Purdue how the Bulls just have so many projects in their garage that they’re building and they just never finish This feels like another one of those things This feels like taking on another project And hilariously on a Saturday morning when you go outside in the garage to go ahead and take care of some of those projects this is when you do it And it feels like they just took on another one Um and again nothing against Isaac Auroro Um the guy really worked himself into being a shooter Uh was never really was not known as a great shooter when he walked in the league but I believe his last three seasons he’s shot over 35% uh from the three-point line on at least three attempts at least two and a half or three attempts a game So he’s definitely moved himself kind of into that mode But man like it just feels like they’re not good at the process and it feels like they well it shouldn’t feel like they’re showing you that they don’t value other assets that aren’t players They value strictly the pick They don’t value the picks like I think they should They like straight up for straight up things They want something tangible They want something they can see and something they can go with right now Making this one and trading him to Cleveland I I think Cleveland it works great for them I mean not having not being sure about Darius Garland uh and what he’s going to do and what he’s going to be it’s great to have a backup like Lonzo Ball who is a team first kind of guy who will fit in anywhere I don’t care what team it is he’ll fit in anywhere on that team and be a leader for that kind of squad But bringing in Isaac Auroro here I think go hit it on the head Like it takes away from the guys at that position It takes away time from that Um so it lets you know the Bulls are still trying to move forward and win and stay in that playin range but it kind of takes away from the guys I kind of want to see and watch them grow and see what they can do Um I’m happy Lonzo got traded I wanted Lonzo to be traded So I’m happy with that but I am not I’m not over the moon about the return they got Well is it my turn Uh hey guys What’s what’s going on Um
no I I think go hit it on the head in the you keep telling us we don’t want to skip steps when asking Bulls fans for patience and then doing crap like this because this is skipping steps You you refuse this idea of rebuilding because well we don’t want to bottom out We don’t want to bottom out We want to stay competitive They have now over the past year and change traded Alice Caruso Zack Lavine Demar D Rosen and Lonzo Ball And in exchange for those four players old old players out new players in one draft pick trading those four players away and it was getting their own pick back from San Antonio That’s inexcusable That much talent between those four players You get one draft pick when you’re trying to restart your franchise What the hell I’m sorry Is it Do do we not already have a 2020 draft pick whose offense is underwhelming and who hangs his hat on defense We’ve got Patrick Williams What do we need Isaac Aoro for This is insane This is truly insane My god I am done I am done with this front office Not that I wasn’t already but what the hell are they doing They could have had a player and a first for Lonzo Ball if they had traded him at the trade deadline Yeah Is that And it’s it’s like very possible that so like Okay Yeah Let’s let’s think about the trade deadline and what was available to them then Obviously this is a rumor that has gone around I think most people believe it We don’t know for a fact that it was true and there’s no way to know for a fact that it’s true but like we’ve gotten good reporting on it Um that Lonzo Ball for Marcus Smart and a first round pick Lonzo Ball in a second for Marcus Smart and a first round pick was potentially on the table Um obviously the Bulls do not value second round picks right They just sold theirs for cash They could have attached that to Lonzo gotten Marcus Smart who admittedly is like bad money at this point Like he’s on the books for uh last year and this upcoming season at 21 and a half million That’s money that you take into the season Um maybe you’re able to like turn that guy into draft picks but again this this front office doesn’t value draft picks so so maybe not Um but then to me like that would have been a good move because obviously you get a first round pick and at the time that was the 25th pick obviously turned into the 18th pick Much better value there Um but the thing is like Marcus Smart would have expired after this season which is when Zack Collins is off the books which is when Vu is off the books which is when Kevin Herder is off the books Kobe and IO’s contracts are up Like you you have a lot of flexibility And so that would have been in line with the timeline that they were talking about Mark Everly said it the other night We’re talking about time uh financial flexibility in 2026 this trade Lonzo $10 million outgoing this season to next season but had a team option on next season So they could have just waved him Um but that’s a really team friendly contract that I thought they could have gotten good value for uh and Aoro $11 million this year So they’re taking in an additional amount of money and $1.8 million next year uh which does not have a team option does not have a player option And so you are cutting into that cap space that you were talking about using And I’m not sitting here thinking that the Bulls are going to like sign Luga Donuch agency next year I always thought that that cap space was uh just not really going to be used that way but it is it is theoretically going to be used to bring in some players or like sign some you know depth pieces um or take on bad contracts for draft picks Again this front office a team that is rebuilding that is retooling that is trying to build for the future organically and do it the right way and not skip steps does not value draft picks That is insane That is uh just asset mismanagement It’s malpractice It’s against how team building works And they’re basically trying to prove that they can build a team without free agency or draft picks um only drafting 12th every year uh if if they do have their own pick and you know not having any star players It’s just not how it works It’s just not how it works in the NBA today And so um I I I think the idea that this is skipping steps cannot be stressed enough because to me getting guys who are in their mid20s who are more fully formed players known commodities that are not star upside guys like that is skipping a step That is adding to your floor without adding to your ceiling um in a year where they’re talking about building organically They’re talking about obviously we’re not going to see SN play 30 minutes a night but like this is going to take away minutes from that And who knows maybe other moves take place but this like depth of 25 year olds with experience who are like distressed assets who had a good year two years ago but then had a bad year Like that is not how you build a sustainable playoff team That’s how you build a 39 win team every year And again that’s just that’s what they’re going for I think that like when people ask me like what is the bull’s plan It’s like this is the plan They are bu they are building the thing that they want to build It’s just that the thing they want to build is not what anybody else in the NBA wants to build and that’s that’s how they’ve carved out their niche and it’s just crazy to me
No it’s it’s crazy It’s it’s insane and and it doesn’t make sense And I think honestly Matt Matt’s point just really hammered it home for me of the Bulls and all the talent that they traded away They’ve only got one pick back and it’s their pick Like that makes absolutely no sense That’s malpractice That’s incompetence right there When you’re trading all that talent these all stars these allNBA player and you walk away with just your pick and that’s it that makes no sense at all That’s all you get back And I was I was talking to a friend of mine and I asked him what he thought about the trade and he said “Well you know they got a player back They did at least they realize they’re bad at their jobs and and are not taking picks.” So I’m like if that’s how we looking at it that’s even worse Like that that makes it even worse for me Like okay I’m not going to give you a what you want a cookie Like I’m not giving you a cookie for that You know what I mean Like I’m not giving you applause like “Oh we realize we’re we’re terrible at this so we’re just gonna stay where we should be.” Well then if you’re bad at it then you bring in somebody that’s good at it Now of course that has to do with the even bigger problem which is you know going on upstairs at the top of bringing in people who know what they’re doing That’s an even bigger problem right there But man like it’s just disappointing It really is disappointing especially after the draft that you had And I’m out here like “Okay you you did a solid job you drafted a player that’s okay That’s pretty solid that everybody doesn’t really isn’t really mad at And you get a project which is saying “Oh man we’re setting stuff up for the future and we’re doing it that way.” But then you turn around and you’re like “Okay we’re going to trade for this guy right here.” And that’s a that’s a player you get when you’re trying to do stuff right now and you’re not in that position to do stuff right now What you’re in position to do is to stay exactly where you’ve been the past few years right in that middle That’s exactly what that is man And that’s upsetting as hell Uh we got a lot of people hanging out with us in the chat Thanks everybody for being here on emergency pod on Saturday Uh SS10 baby said “You guys are dooming so hard for no reason LMFAO why get draft picks for Lonzo if you’re getting Marcus Smart’s stupid ass contract You’re better off rehabbing Aoro’s value and flipping him again.” Well first of all as Go had pointed out earlier that smart contract expiring lines up with the plan for 2026 Um rehabbing Aoro’s value and flipping him again One how much faith do you have in the fact that Aoro’s value can be rehabbed He’s been in the league like Patrick Williams for 5 years now and he is who he is I’m not seeing a giant like shift of a player becoming a much better player He’s 24 He shoots a low volume of threes He can play some decent defense but he’s never even been at 10 points per game score What version of Isaac Aoro are you expecting the Bulls to get out of him that that the Cavs couldn’t And then two flipping him in order to flip him for something better he needs to turn into a better player while playing for the Bulls How much faith do you have in that happening me living space
And the other the other piece that I wanted to bring up is like um okay you don’t value draft picks that’s fine but like other teams do So in order to do business in order to trade for more players that can help you like having some draft picks would be nice And so this middle ground of never being willing to trade your own draft picks uh but never also accumulating other draft picks that you can trade to help build the team the way you want to Like I just don’t understand how they plan to do anything beyond like drafting 12th every year and like bringing in one distressed asset who’s a young player who they’re going to hope and pray turns into a reliable role player Um you know I do see these comments about dooming and like thinking that like I agree that Lonzo was not going to get a star player He was not going to turn this you know turn into a top 10 pick or anything like that like there is there is little upside for Alonzo and I think he makes a lot of sense for the Cavs We can talk about them if we want Um it’s going to be really cool to see him defensively with that unit where they have Evan Mobley and Jared Allen and like really good defensive infrastructure that he can be a part of Um but to me it’s like again it’s not really about the result of the trade or the one for one itself It’s the process behind it uh that continues to give me no faith that the Bulls Front Office uh will be able to build something that goes beyond where they are And yeah maybe that’s just the point but uh to me I definitely understand what people are saying and like the value of Lonzo right now is not high enough to where it it’s not what Caruso was It’s not like they had multiple first round picks on the table I think the Grizzlies thing was like an example of uh taking on a pick for bad money and that was an option for sure Uh I don’t know if that would have maintained in ter into the off seasonason but um for me it’s just more about like how do you build a team You accumulate assets you hit on the draft um and then once you’ve got your foundation then you can start to accelerate things and be more aggressive And maybe they feel like they have their foundation in place Maybe they feel like they’re at a point where they are still in that building process before they can really accelerate But man would it be nice to have some picks that you could package together for a star player to accelerate Um and Lonzo Ball and BC were probably the only realistic ways they were going to do that because obviously you could get picks for Kobe if you wanted them but I just don’t think they’re going to trade Kobe I think he’s going to be a part of the core Maybe this does open up the door for other trades Casey tweeted uh about potential for bringing back Trey Jones Another example of a player who’s like had a good season in 2023 struggled last year came in and performed better but like is in his mid20s already There’s not a ton of upside there And I just don’t see how that sort of pushes the agenda forward in terms of building a team that can be sustainably good which is again what Mark Eversley said at the press conference last night Uh let’s take a quick pause there to knock out a couple of ads for our emergency pod sponsors Then we will come back on the other side and continue this conversation Shout out to everybody hanging out with us on a Saturday uh midday for this breaking news The Bulls trading Lonzo Ball to the Cavs for Isaac Hit the like button Make sure you subscribe to that CO Sports YouTube channel And here’s some ads Shout out to our guy Ray at Ray Chevrolet and Fox Slate They’re kicking off the summer with big savings all month long Come come in today to shop the summer sales event and drive home with $10,000 off MSRP on new Chevy models Check out their selection of over $125 vehicles priced under $20,000 With one of Chicagoland’s largest inventories that are Chevys you can make sure that you’ll find the perfect vehicle for yourself Plus 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the offseason And we are now postdraft and prefree agency for another 48 hours or so Do you think that this is a sign that when maybe there were reports that they were thinking about trades on draft night but then other than trading down from the Lakers you know they there was no Lonzo or Kobe or V trade on draft night But now here we have a Lonzo ball trade Does that mean that a Kobe andor Vuch trade could be not too far away from happening as well What do you think Co Yeah I think they’re open to making trades Like the reporting has been that they’re more aggressive than ever um in terms of looking for ways to rearrange this roster To me it’s like it’s coming together that and again I should have known better all along Um the trade that they do make for Vu eventually is going to be for a 25-year-old making roughly the same amount of money who is not as good as Vu used to be Um but might be able to be around longer Like this is not a front office that’s going to accumulate picks Like just period point they’re not going to be doing that Um and so I think they they’ve been willing to trade VU They just haven’t found the right return I don’t know what team out there but like now if you think about it um it’s not going to be a salary dumping move right Like they’re willing to take back salary that extends past their uh timeline that they talked about So maybe they’re able to get a younger player in here who’s making roughly the same Maybe it’s a little bit more they’re doing a team a favor to take on money But I I definitely do not anticipate uh draft picks incoming Like they traded for their own pickback because they didn’t want to have that hanging over their head in that same deal they sent out a second round pick We just saw them sell a second round pick We just saw them pass up on opportunities to trade guys for picks They’re not interested in draft picks Um and so I think uh yeah there could be some more trades Uh IO I think could be somebody that they look to move Kobe certainly could especially if he uh gives the team the indication We just saw with Austin Reeves not accepting that extension which was the same as Kobe’s Um but he really wants to be in LA long term they’re going to max him out or give him at least 30 million next summer Uh if the Bulls aren’t really ready to do that then I think they’re going to have to trade Kobe So I certainly think that there could be more trades I don’t think this is a situation where um like the 2022 to 2024 where they just didn’t do anything Um that to me was more about being kind of stuck financially and not really being able to get like when they’re making these trades right They’re not interested in draft picks So they want to get players back And so if you’re trading a guy that is productive to you that is helpful to you that is valuable to you um and you don’t want picks back you’re looking for another player who’s productive and valuable And so those trades are just really hard to find Um and so I think they could be out there especially if the Bulls are willing to take on longer term money Um I don’t know that that’s the right call or the way that they should be doing it but to me um the door is certainly open for trades I think with pretty much anybody on the roster except for probably Modis and SNK at this point um where they’re going to be open to making deals It’s just going to be how do we get back guys that can help us that are young that can grow with us um and that you know don’t break the bank I think really what they want to do is just stay relatively cheap in terms of the assets that they have give themselves as much flexibility as possible while continuing to bring in you know 25 or younger players that they can say will be sort of the core moving forward
But go let me ask does getting Isaac Aoro mean flexibility Because isn’t he I think he’s making like a million bucks more than Lonzo and then the next year is it still a guaranteed year whereas Lonzo’s was a team option So how does that how does that correlate How how does that work
Yeah exact exactly as you said Um this is now look they weren’t going to necessarily wave Lonzo uh after this season and completely clear out that $10 million for the 2627 season but his contract is really valuable to a team especially for a guy that has struggled with staying healthy To have a full team option where you can just clear off that money it’s a very like good riskreward proposition for a team right Like Lonzo is really good when he’s healthy He’s a great defender He’s a great ball mover Um assuming his wrists get better he can be a better three-point shooter But let’s say something happens to his knee That would be super unfortunate But from the team’s perspective they could just cut him and not be on the hook for any money long term the way the Bulls were for three years with him making 20 plus million dollars guaranteed And I’m not saying they shouldn’t have given him that contract in the first place That’s how NBA contracts work But I’m just saying that this contract that he’s on now gives the team that out It’s similar to the Zion contract that we talked about where you can just wave them cut bait and call it a day and open up that flexibility So um to your point yes this does add money to the books Um obviously for this year it’s just $1 million more That’s not a big deal Um we’ll see what they end up doing with their cap space anyway I can uh figure out in a in a minute here after I’m done talking how much they’ll have going into free agency but it does cut into cap space in 2026 And that’s a time when they wanted to have space Again I don’t think they’re going to be like big players and ultimately Archer said they wanted to build with depth I think they are doing that and $11 million is not like debilitating in this new contract world It’s like less than 10% of the cap Um but it cuts into it And so I wonder now what this means for their process of having flexibility Are they going to use it to just bring back their guys Like if they’re resigning Collins at 1012 million a year a discount based on what he’s making now but just to bring him back and her $15 million a year discount from what he’s making now but just bringing him back like you’re just looking at them using their flexibility to run it back And to me that’s like not flexibility So the idea of flexibility creating these uh contracts to line up after a certain point so that you can create space like that’s useful in so far as you can do what the Wizards are doing which is taking on you know uh Chris Middleton and Marcus Smart and C.J McCullum these bad contracts these bloated contracts that all expire They’re going to flip those guys at the deadline get a pick for them take on more bad money and do it again next year And the Bulls are basically saying we are going to use the space that we have to resign our guys and maybe bring in one other one other guy Um and so yeah that’s just building the same team that they have right now which we’ve seen is a playin team I see a lot of uh you know people trying to spin the positive here Our guy Chris just mentioned it as well as Jerry uh in the chat saying like “Hey Lonzo’s an injury-prone player Getting a player who is not in return is is solid value.” Um Colin calling saying “Did anyone mention that Isaac Aoro plays an average of 67 games a season?” Um and that that is accurate Aoro thus far in his NBA career has played 67 67 76 69 just 55 this past season but for the most part been available and healthy And when comparing him to Lonzo Ball in a straightup player for player swap kind of trade there’s some easy silver lining to look at And I know plenty of skeptics are thinking well Lonzo didn’t finish the season and it wasn’t anything to do with the knee It was a different injury that kept re reoccurring and who who knows if he’s healthy and who knows if he’ll come into training camp healthy I hear that but it’s like when that when that’s the deposit spin you’re trying to make like oh Isaac Aoro hasn’t had any career debilitating injuries yet so great Okay You know another positive spin I saw repeatedly in the chat for various people is well he’s better than Pew Will Okay who isn’t My My great aunt Gertrude is better than Patrick Williams
What wins are we trying to take here Yeah And like I said at the top like I do think they won this trade in the sense of they’re getting more production right like they will get probably more points this season out of Aoro than they would have out of Lonzo because he’s going to play more games He’s going to be more reliable Um and that counts for something Like maybe they do end up packaging him Maybe he continues to improve Uh you know he is a younger player Like I don’t think that what I’m saying with all this is not that Aoro stinks and that they shouldn’t have traded for him right It’s just the the process behind it the moves that they’re trying to make the fact that they haven’t learned from any of their mistakes Again being way too precious and coveting their own players uh instead of trading them when they’re at the peak of their value missing out on that and then having to take you know a a watered down offer That that’s exactly what this is again And how many times have we talked about that So I don’t think Aoro is a terrible player Like I don’t I think he’s like a guy who has been played off the floor a little bit in the playoffs is I just wrote sort of my thoughts about this and published it before we started So if people are curious about that they can go find it on our website lchgo.com Um but this is a guy who does not get guarded at the three-point line Like has improved as a shooter but it’s low volume Um and yeah during the regular season last year 51 for 135 on wide openen threes Wide open means a defender was not within six feet That’s great The problem is he took 16 threes with a defender within six feet Uh zero of them were contested meaning a defender within two feet and one of them was considered tightly contested which is 2 to four feet Um only 15 were considered open which is four to six feet So this is just a guy that teams are going to leave wide open So you think about the way that he fits into this team You bring in Sing who struggles as a shooter You bring in now Aoro who struggles as as a shooter How does that factor into the offense that they’re saying that they want to play fast uptempo uptempo shoot threes Like he can make some open ones and I I think he probably will benefit from you know standing in the corner but this is not a stand in the corner offense Like they’re trying to move They’re trying to get up the floor like grab and go on rebounds push the tempo get downhill and spray it out Um and I just don’t see his skill set really factoring into that Again I think he’s probably the best defender on the team right now especially now that Lonzo and Caruser are gone Um so I think he can be really useful there And like if he’s gonna stand in the corner make open threes and defend at a high level you want that kind of player especially at 11 million Like that’s not debilitating by any means So again I’m not saying this is like a bad value play I’m saying from where they were last year they could have gotten more value From where they are now they could have gotten a deal that better sets them up for the future Um and again they just elect not to They don’t value draft picks and I think that’s really problematic and cannot be understated
Well go I I see it more I I see that fit though offensively because if he’s spraying out I again I feel like this is like a Josh Giddy whatever kind of fits with him uh selection which is you know I’m not I’m not knocking you I’m just saying what it is Um but when I’m thinking the fast break and I’m thinking that they’re running which is what they want to be like him just running to that corner and setting up over there while guy like Modis and whoever else is on the other side on the wing you know what I’m saying attacks the basket I think that fits pretty well Like especially if it’s a guy that teams aren’t going to be worried about and I think he shoots 37% like you said from the corner Um so if he’s going to be out there on the corner especially on those fast breaks he’s going to get a lot of opportunities from a guy like Josh Giddy especially if the Bulls plan on being a running team Um and of course like you said defensively he’s the best on their team and they have no defense So whatever defense they can add with a guy with some type of uh uh veteran leadership on that end would will be good for them So yeah a guy who can stay healthy who can spray out and hit a corner three and who can play some defense I see the reason why you know what I’m saying You would get it I just don’t like it overall for all the reasons that have been stated by both of you
Yeah And look I mean I agree with that I think he can be productive in that role Um especially in the fast break Like again I don’t I don’t view him as a player with like a ton of ball skills where he’s the one leading the break and making the right plays But yeah run to the corner space the floor hit some open threes The problem is last year on average um if I recall correctly 15% of possessions per team came in transition That means 85% of possessions are in the half court And when you’re talking about Modis Gonzalez who is at best a neutral shooter Noah Assen who is a negative shooter right now Josh Giddy who is a negative shooter right now which is not long for this team um and adding Aoro into the mix like you’re talking about a lineup with zero plus shooters in it That is not how you build a team in 2025 and beyond So I think the the offense the transition stuff is really good That’s what they should be trying to do But you look at what the Pacers are doing and again if you want to replicate that Hallebertton is one of the elite three-point shooters in the league both off the dribble and off the catch Giddy I think can has really improved and I don’t think we’ve really given him enough credit for the ability to make the open ones but he is not shooting off the dribble threes That’s why I can I keep talking about that being a huge uh pivot point for him as a player and for the Bulls as an offense to be able to make pullup threes really changes how teams have to guard you He’s not there yet Um but they have Nepart who’s a very good shooter You have Nith who’s a very good shooter You’ve got Seakum who is a neutral if not positive shooter And you’ve got Turner who’s a plus shooter from the five position Bulls like don’t have anybody who’s a plus shooter on the on their starting lineup right now And I’m not saying that’s going to be their starting lineup Herder Kobe like they have shooters there but the guys that they’re building with now that the decisions that they made this off season um and really last it was like it was Giddy it was Aoro it was Bzelis who was a negative shooter coming out of the draft That was why he sli slid And Aoro now who is a negative shooter That’s just not gonna work that’s not going to be the recipe to replicating the Pacers Um Rich in the comments saying “Please tell us those confirmed trades that were on the table for Lonzo.” And then following that up with “Oh that’s right You guys don’t know [ __ ] just like the rest of us.” I mean there were multiple different outlets local and national after the Marcus Smart trade that did happen happened talking about the bulls in those conversations like it’s it’s not like those those talks just were fabricated out of nothing There were multiple people talking on offers the Bulls had for Lonzo at the trade deadline that they turned down And if you did the math of other trades that happened it’s pretty easy to connect some certain dots that if the Bulls were the team to take on Marcus Smart in that trade that went a different direction they were getting a first round pick along with that Like it is the latest example of the Bulls holding on to an asset for too long and then trading them for lesser value Depending on how you value draft picks versus a young player like Isaac Aoro that part’s fair But trading or holding on to an asset for too long and watching his value depreciate because at the trade deadline Lonzo appeared to be you know a healthier player than the version who wasn’t healthy enough to finish the season
Yeah Missed the final 23 games And this is from Shams’s write up on the trade from this morning Um he writes that Cavaliers president of basketball operations Kobe Alman and his staff have targeted Ball for months inquiring about him at the February trade deadline and then ultimately finalizing the deal on Saturday We don’t know what deals were uh offered Um obviously like leaks come out and and uh Hollinger was the one that originally reported about the Memphis thing He used to be like the second in charge in Memphis So I tend to feel pretty good about that one And then you see what the actual trade was like that package was there I’ve seen other examples of that with Caruso where like the package that was reported or that I sourced out that was available for Caruso got traded for another player who’s very similar to Caruso You figure that was there Same thing with Joe Dumar talking about during his press conference we targeted Derek Queen We called every team from nine and offered them this deal That deal was probably there for the Bulls He basically said it So we’re never going to know exactly what those phone calls were like we’re never going to know exactly what the details were Um and again I I’m not like trying to really criticize Aoro or even the idea of like trading for distressed assets I think that’s generally a good approach but to me it’s like why I just don’t understand why they are not prioritizing younger players with upside and or draft picks And yesterday we saw a report from Kelly Eco from The Athletic who covers the Rockets that Cam Whitmore is on the block That’s a player who like has a ton of upside hasn’t played a lot in the NBA still very much um somebody who could theoretically really improve and and like I had in my top 10 on the big board in that draft Like that’s a better swing to me than Aoro because you know what Aoro is He’s a player who is a really good defender who can play a role but gets played off the floor in the playoffs And I just don’t understand why they continue to target those players knowing what their limitations are I would rather take a swing on a guy like Cam Whitmore who could really turn into something but also might burn out But like that risk is I’m there for that risk especially with a guy like Lonzo who you know is not a part of your future and who you know isn’t is a risk in and of himself So to me it’s just it’s the process more than it is about the actual return that they got because I agree it’s like it’s hard to say oh just don’t do that just don’t do that But I do think we have some examples of things that they’ve passed up um that repeatedly show us their approach and this is more about me disagreeing with that approach
So do you think this is the Bull as far as you know Coral being here This is the Bulls new starting three and they’re playing modest at the four Is that what they’re kind of bringing him in for here
Yeah I kind of wonder Um you know they had Kevin Herurder in there towards the end of the season um with Kobe and Giddy That is just like a defensive nightmare You’re just not stopping anyone with that unit Uh so maybe he slides in there but yeah you just bring in Noah Essen who I think is kind of maybe going to be able to play some three but really a four Um Modus I think can kind of switch between those two You still have Patrick you still have Dalon you still have Julian I I think this roster is still going to be in flux I just don’t know how you can like there’s a difference between like nine and 10 very good players and like 14 or 15 guys that you have to figure out where to play Um and so I do think that there will be some more moves and maybe it’s Aoro at the two Giddy at the one Um and Kobe and I are traded and you have Balis and SNK and that’s a really good defensive unit with obviously some struggles shooting I just don’t know at this point but um I look I said it before I think this front office is going to continue to make trades I just don’t know that we’re going to like what what the results are Bran Rainey in the comments said “Jesus Christ Bulls fans are never satisfied.” I’m sorry Am I supposed to have a rosy smile on my face reacting to this breaking news today Don’t love the trade but satisfied with what Sat satisfied Bulls fans have got to stop lowering the bar allowing them to get away with these crap results year after year What Why should I be satisfied They haven’t won a playoff series in 10 years Satisfied You’ll you’ll eat this and like it No I will not sir God Bulls fans the standard the bar is already so freaking low all the time We just got done talking about contract extensions that they tried to keep hush- hush per usual for executives that have done nothing to show that they deserve them and to keep doing these jobs They’ve lost in the playin tournament for the past three years They had one winning season aka 46 wins and a first round exit in five What What What Where Where is this like extra layer of kindness that some Bulls fans just f magically find out of nowhere to give to people who are failing us Fans who want wins Just look on the bright side today I will not sir You can You can Don’t tell me how to feel as a Bulls fan Today I’m pretty ticked off and I’m pretty sick of watching and reacting to the same kind of crap day in and day out And that’s exactly what it is to me It’s the same stuff right like we talked about it with the trade down or the selling of the 45th pick instead of using cash to move up and get Adut who is basically a very similar player to Isaac Aakoro who’s going to be making $1 million a year instead of 11 who’s much younger and actually has some upside like that would have been a better uh risk proposition and then you could trade Bonso for something that saves you money Um so yeah maybe we think about this from the perspective of like we don’t know what other deals were out there Let’s not think about like the opportunity cost or the missed opportunities Let’s just think about this trade in a vacuum Um and what Aurora can bring And I said it like I I think he is the best defender on the team I think he’s going to contribute but it just doesn’t mesh with what we do know which is like Everly saying we want to not skip steps We want to build organically We want to focus on player development Um yeah this is a guy who was older coming out of the draft who we knew what his limitations are and those limitations have played out year after year during the Cavs playoffs runs Um I don’t think that like maybe they couldn’t have gotten a better younger player than Aoro right Like there’s a chance that and maybe this is true like they just they targeted a young player They didn’t really know who they wanted but they wanted to send Lonzo to a team that was going to be good to do right by him And you know the Cavs were looking to shed some uh shed Aoro because he doesn’t really factor into their plans but they wanted to keep that roster spot open Ty Derome is a free agent They needed a point guard Like from that sense it does make sense And again I think the Bulls will get more production out of Aoro than they would have out of Lonzo certainly than they have out of Lonzo So I’m not saying like the value in and of itself on paper is good It’s it’s all the other stuff to me And maybe we just stop focusing on that if it’s bothering people But um I do think that in terms of the production the Bulls did well in this streak
Yeah And and that’s what I’m want to look at I’m just looking at the player now because everything else I’m just going to I’m just get like Matt Peek you know what I’m saying It hurt my back yelling about this front office But this player you know and and Isaac Aoro like I’ve always liked I liked him coming out He just obviously needed you know what I’m saying some work and things like that But you know guys who have that mentality of toughness you you already know that I like those kind of players Um and a guy who can play that defense on the other side is something that they desperately desperately desperately needed uh on this team And it can come down and hit you a three-pointer You know what I’m saying If he’s open and things like that in the half court I agree 100% with you goat Like like if this gets to the playoffs and team get in the half court I don’t see how he’s on the floor unless he’s just out there to defend Um and and that’s kind of what I think the Bulls have to do with that Now does it also signal like this is the end of the road for guys like Patrick Williams Like is this the end of the road for guys like Nicole Vuvich But especially like Patrick Williams though like I’m trying to figure out where he plays now You know what I mean Like where he gets in and gets minutes you know on this team because this feels like you know spot minutes Because right now if we’re talking about the lineup that they have and how they’re going like it’s it’s Isaac Aoro and it’s Kevin Herurder and it’s maybe I Dumu you know at that position before I even think about going to Patrick Williams and even at the four like Mosellis for me is getting all of the minutes and I’d rather see what Esay can do you know what I’m saying off the bench at the four you know before I’m like let me throw Patrick in there and go with that So I wonder if this is what that signals and if they have something in the in the works and kind of lined up where they’re just trading it like that because they have shown that they are truly just a player for player kind of organization that is not about assets So I’m curious whatever player that they are willing to take on for a guy like Patrick Williams cuz teams probably won’t give up an asset but I’m sure they’ll you know hand you you know somebody we’ve never heard of if you want him like on a bad contract Sure go ahead and take him We’ll take a flyer on a guy like Patrick Williams for for you know Joe Saplowski or somebody we don’t know who it is But yeah man Like that’s the question I have though going forward is Patrick Williams and his future with the team and it just doesn’t seem like it’s longing for it It seems like there’s a place on the bench and maybe there’s a place on another team when they decide to actually make a trade
Yeah I think it’s possible you like you said Dave take on a worse contract Um maybe it’s Pat’s still under contract for four years So in terms of years you’re probably not going to there are not going to be many options out there But maybe it’s like Patrick and I or something where now you’re taking back more money and you can take back like $30 million a year instead of 25 which would be their outgoing salary Help a team that way Um but maybe you get fewer years out of it And so I think that’s probably the only solution here Maybe not the best use of assets in terms of using assets to get off of a player Um but to me that’s kind of the way it would go And again I think this this front office is going to be willing to move just about anybody Um especially if they get the sense that Kobe is not going to resign Um which I’m not saying that will or will not happen but like at a certain point I think the the real fatal flaw of this front office is that they’re just not they’re never thinking long term They’re kind of looking ahead for one year And they are now in the position where Kobe’s decision is a year away And so if they get the sense we’re going to offer you this max extension Kobe This is the best we can do at this point Like that’s just what the the league rules allow We’re giving you the most we possibly can It’s just about $20 million a year Are you willing to take that If he says no then you have to start You have to consider that You would be negligent not to Um but we’re at the point now where that is in the like hand in front of the face portion of the timeline and like they do have to actually consider that Same thing for IO Um and frankly like they should be thinking about that for everybody on the roster Uh presumably like Noah Modis and Aoro and Giddy are like the ones that they’ve just brought in that will be a part of it Um but like Kevin Herder he’s going to leave Are you going to let him just walk for nothing or you going to try to turn him into an asset Zack Collins same deal And again that that flexibility that they’re talking about is nice until they actually have to use it And now it’s committing longer term to contracts and are you willing to commit longterm to those guys or are you going to let that space or let let those contracts expire and turn into cap space And if so what are you going to do with it Like what what are the options here And so I am curious I do think that there will be more moves on the horizon Um especially in the back court if Trey Jones is coming back like it just doesn’t make sense to have Io Kobe Giddy Trey Jones there Like that’s just too many guys And I know they play multiple guards together but um on the wing still now you’re talking about Aoro Modis uh Essen Patrick Dalen Julian uh Kevin Herder That’s like seven guys that have to get minutes Um and again depth is a good thing I understand why they want that That has proven to be valuable in team building We saw it really work in the playoffs that there’s a difference between nine and 10 players and 14 or 15 guys that you have to figure out how to play Like Billy plays 10 at the most That’s just he’s not going to play 15 guys Uh we can wrap up here in a second Um just wanted to highlight one more comment D’Angelo who said “I’m just tired of Bulls fans crying and complaining about what the Bulls front office does We’re still crying over spilled milk from bad trades years ago Let’s see what else
Let’s see what else they do in free agency.” Yeah it’s it’s not super fun Like goat said at the top of the show it’s like maybe contrary to you know popular belief We we we don’t get off on yelling at the Bulls front office for doing their jobs poorly We would much rather be excitedly hosting a Bulls podcast about a team that’s good and fun and interesting and executives who are crushing it That would be way better But the reason that some of us still cry over spilled milk as you D’Angelo and maybe some of your acme defenders might say is because all of those collective bad moves whether they be free agent signings or trades or or draft picks is where they have gotten is how they have gotten to where we are which is a team stuck in the middle of nothing going nowhere That’s why we rehash and re-evaluate the moves that they have made especially on the heels of hearing that they got fresh contracts to keep doing these jobs and making these mistakes And let’s see what else they do in free agency Are you really that brainwashed to be buying that Because over the last few years after the summer of 21 Bonanza that was a whole bunch of awesome stuff happening all in one summer When AK has gone to the podium at the season ending press conference and said “Hey hey hey stop breathing down my neck Just see what we do in free agency.” What has his answer been after saying “Hold on we got free agency I I’m going to fix this It’s going to be great.” Cuz those answers were a combination of Goran Dragich age 65 Andre Drummond backup center Jaylen Smith backup center Tory Craig and Javon Carter So if you really want to believe the just wait until AK cooks in free agency are you that brainwashed Then I shall say a prayer for you as a non-religious man I will say a prayer for you because that is lunacy to be that blindfolded into believing that AK can fix this with free agency What are we doing What are we talking about Just how I wanted to spend my Saturday gentlemen Just to end on a positive note here because I agree this has been uh fairly critical show Um Alur is a really good defensive player I think he’s going to help this team He fits in with the timeline that they’re looking at Um I think he’s the best defender on the team today Uh and he has really improved And I never want to say like a player is going to stop improving or stop working on their game This could be an example of like the Oklahoma City Thunder with Josh Giddy like the opportunities just weren’t there for him His role was shrinking They bring in DeAndre Hunter They bring in Max Struce Sam Merrill’s a really good shooter So he was starting to get minutes over him And the opportunity just wasn’t there And when the opportunity is not there every shot that you take when you get in has more pressure behind it Every time you touch the floor you are required to produce more consistently because you have less opportunity to prove that you’re doing it right So maybe with kind of the way that the Bulls uh offense works he will have an opportunity to thrive getting up and down He’s an athlete He’s a big physical guy that can like defend multiple positions I do see the value in that And I also think that like Lonzo is probably going to be a 35 to 50 game player for the rest of his career Unfortunately um he just has to prove that he will be able to be more consistent than that before I believe it It was awesome to see him make a comeback He was one of the best stories in the year last year But to turn him into anything that can be productive I do think is a win So I’m not saying that like all is lost here This is a terrible deal I I disagree with the process and I wanted to voice that like the idea of getting a guy who can contribute who’s young who could be a part of your core long term He he he’s not going to be the star player but they were never going to get the star player with Lonzo Ball who has all the health stuff And so three and Dwing who can make spot up threes and defend at a high level That’s a valuable archetype to build around I have questions about it but I’m excited to see what he can do in the bull system that is really conducive to letting players run and gun get more comfortable touch the ball um and feel more involved in the offense which is I think really valuable to any player you talk to They want to be a part of it They want to feel the ball Uh the ball has energy and all of that And I think that could really benefit him if he continues to work on his game and improve the way that he has so far in his career Completely agree with that D’Angelo Matt nothing will change until the rhinors rise are gone So why cry What’s that saying about all it takes for evil to win Good men to sit by and do nothing You’re you’re not wrong I have said repeatedly that all of these problems that Bulls fans face every day Lack of winning will continue to be here as long as these people own and operate the team I believe that I believe that more than anybody That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t voice my displeasure as a fan We again we would much rather voice our pleasure interacting with our fellow Bulls fans That would be way more fun
So haven’t won a playoff series in a decade y’all A decade So yeah I’m going to voice my displeasure when they do things that make me displeased Um with that I know tried to put a positive spin on the other
do that rant again
Oh no It’s great guys It’s great free agency starts on Monday AK’s totally going to cook Let’s Let’s all watch it happen It’s going to be great Um thank you for joining our emergency pod today Hit the like button if you haven’t done it yet Make sure you subscribe to that CSO Sports YouTube channel Uh shout out also to our CSO Blackhawks crew and our behind thescenes crew and production team Crushed night one of the NHL draft last night Um make sure you’re tuning in all cso.com for that Blackhawks and NHL coverage as well as reading the latest from our will to go all CHGO.com on this Lonzo trade on the upcoming Josh Giddy contract negotiations Wrote about that yesterday as well Become a diehard so you can read all of that great stuff Uh follow go_ly big Davis at Bow BL Sports I’m Bulls_pack We are CSO Bulls Shout out to the queen of the controls rocking things as always Katie Duffy Um shout out to Emma also who was helping out with some emergency updates on social for this breaking news Uh enjoy the rest of your weekends We’ll hop back on if they come to terms with Josh Giddy or do anything else crazy Um but if not we’ll talk to you’all on Monday as free agency opens officially Sierra be good

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BREAKING NEWS! The Chicago Bulls have sent Lonzo Ball to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaac Okoro. The CHGO Bulls crew reacts live to this seismic trade, dissecting what it means for Lonzo’s future, the Bulls’ roster construction, and whether adding Okoro is the right move for Chicago. Is this a shrewd gamble or a massive mistake? Tune in for instant analysis from Matt Peck, Big Dave Watson, and Will Gottlieb.

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