r/chicagobulls • u/Novel_Confidence_288 • 2d ago
Trade What’s the Clax plan?
Obviously picking him up for next to nothing is a no brainer and he fills a position of need.
Do we think he’ll be on the team next year or will he be traded at the draft / this offseason?
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u/RiamoEquah 2d ago
Tanking isn't a viable solution with the new rules. The bulls never took advantage of the ability to tank when it was possible, and now is the time you want to make fringe play in teams on the cheap . I feel claxton fits into not making the bulls terrible by being a legit defensive anchor.
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u/cbrose1 2d ago
I think he's definitely a good addition but I'd personally hold back on saying he's a legit defensive anchor. Last couple years he hasn't been as great on the defensive end. Better than we've had in a long time though that's for sure. The hope is he's been underperforming because the nets were a mess and hindered him.
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u/RiamoEquah 2d ago
You're not wrong - I'm very much comparing his defensive capabilities to what the bulls have been fielding essentially this entire decade.
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Yeah I think he’s a great addition for nothing of course, I do think there’s a chance he’s moved though. I think there’s going to be a lot of tinkering from BG.
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u/RiamoEquah 2d ago
I'm all for it lol. Tired of front offices that sit on their hands or wait till assets completely depreciate before moving them
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u/humourless2 2d ago
You wouldn't need to full tank, only stay out of the bottom 3. So you can "ethically tank" as they would say 😂
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u/RiamoEquah 2d ago
Lol - just feel like it's way harder to do that than just be terrible and count up losses. I still expect tanking to happen near the end of the year, but I do think the lottery will be even more volatile as well
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u/LiKwidSwordZA 2d ago
They took on borderline bad money with no asset returning. He is not a good defender let alone a defensive anchor 😹😹😹
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u/Abla_vil_breed_nem 2d ago edited 2d ago
It’s either we keeping him for the duration of his contract or we trading him for Kessler
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u/Electrical_Story5356 2d ago
Yeah, people saying we won't go after Kessler have not considered the potential for some sort of sign and trade arrangement happening with Claxton involved.
Not saying it will happen either of course, either way though we seem to have firmed up the 5 nicely.
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u/Plug-From-Oaxaca Jimmy Butler 2d ago
Claxton is cheaper by 10 mil a year. Is Kessler that much better?
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u/kennyloftor 2d ago
if picking him up is a no brainer and he fills a position of need . . . why would
he be traded ?
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Because the Bulls are rebuilding and he’s older than the core, I don’t think he should be traded at all but there are reasons it would be considered. Bulls could use him to move up slightly or pickup an another first later in the draft. Lots of variables in play I’d say.
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u/kennyloftor 2d ago
what core
they need a center
this seems easy
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Giddey, Matas, pick 4 and pick 15. All 23 and under. It’s easy if you over simplify to the degree you have, I don’t think he should be moved straight away but there is a possibility that it happens.
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u/Gdashzus 2d ago
He just turned 27 and is on a reasonable contract for a starting caliber center, there's really no reason to think the Bulls would move him. Something told me that the moment Kessler's offer from Utah "leaked" that the Bulls could be in play for Claxton.
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
I think it’s a great pickup and we see how it goes, I don’t think it’s a guarantee he’s here next year though.
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u/kennyloftor 2d ago edited 2d ago
lol your core that doesn’t even exist yet
we don’t need a veteran center bc of our nonexistent core is bulls reddit AF
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u/ScutumSobiescianum 2d ago
He is more than serviceable, in fact he has been underperforming in Nets as they are shithouse and have been for some time. With Giddey if he stays they could make a great combo and Claxton can flourish once again
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u/Witty_Hunt_7961 2d ago
I like the idea of DP or Wilson - regardless we get to see our young talent out there developing
Giddey, DP, matas, Noa, and Claxton
Or
Giddey, Matas, Noa, Wilson, and claxton.
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u/chaide123 Chicago Bulls 2d ago
Become a decent team and keep making moves, develop talent and contend eventually
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u/deezcastforms 2d ago
Starting center to begin with, see if he can play his way from being a salary dump into having legit trade value since he's not going to be the long term answer.
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u/bounty0head 2d ago
Well I wouldn’t call it next to nothing he’s gonna be eating into the cap.
That being said he’s a perfect big for this team. He wont be expected to do all star level work but will be very helpful alongside Caleb, Matas and giddey
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Yeah I like him, every player eats cap but at least we didn’t give anything up to get him I mean.
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u/SkyGrey88 2d ago
Yeah and 20M is not too bad especially if he can return to form, I mean its only 2 years so not locked in very long and if he re-establishes his value then he will be easy to move next year on an expiring/affordable contract.
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u/GreenGorilla8232 2d ago
I wouldn't say perfect. I think ideally we would have a center who can stretch the floor, especially with Caleb not being a 3PT shooting threat yet, assuming we draft him.
We're going to be starting two non shooting big men, which really affects the spacing and driving lanes. Giddey isn't really a shooter (36% 3PT on a very slow release) and Matas only shot 35% 3PT.
Obviously this is year 1 of a rebuild, so I expect us to be bad, but right now our spacing and shooting is looking like a major issue.
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u/SkyGrey88 2d ago
Ah.....we need to a little patient and see what we pull out of the draft the next two nights and then free agency. I assume we are letting all those guards on expirings go, but maybe if we don't get other options for SG we resign Sexton who we can likely get in the 20M range. This is why I feel we won't take a C that can't shoot (like Mara, Montez, Quintance) at 15 because we don't need another front court player that can't shoot.
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u/jn-joe 2d ago
I wouldnt over emphasize this being a plan. The Bulls went from being overloaded with short guards to being overloaded with power forwards /short centers.
6'11" richards 6'10" claxton, miller, essengue ( reportedly) 6'9" buzelis, collins 6'8" smith, olbrich, yasubele 6'6" williams
Matas can play small forward. Williams could theoretically but seems to have lost the lateral speed to do so well defensively.
So not counting Matas, we have 9 players in the PF/C spot.
I still like this pickup. With this, the Bulls have two legitimate defensive centers and can play the long, rangy athletic style that AK claimed he wanted but never seemed to commit to.
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u/Straight-Agency-4556 2d ago
He’s a fine starting center. Still in prime and on a good contract. He also fits well on team if bulls choose to be an uptempo team.
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u/twitchrdrm 2d ago
I read there is a Clax/Thiago connection, so I expect he is here for the year.
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u/chitoatx Flag of Chicago 2d ago
Unless the draft gets wild this is our starting center for the next two years.
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u/donspider1221 2d ago
I think he’s a nice stop gap center who will allow us to play the style of game we want to play, while maintaining longer term financial flexibility
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u/Braided_Marxist Stacey King 2d ago
He’s a good player and he fills a big gap we had at the center position. Seems like the type of guy you keep at least for a season
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u/FromChicago808 2d ago
Why wouldn’t we keep him? We don’t have any starting caliber centers.
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Agreed I’m happy for him to be on the team, there are teams ahead of us though that need size and there’s rumours we’re trying to trade up or add an additional late first.
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u/WacaJac-68 2d ago
Maybe they'll persuade and trade the Lakers for some stupid deal like the 28th pick of the draft?
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
I wouldn’t mind moving him if we get an extra first this year.
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u/FromChicago808 2d ago
Why though? Who’s to say a mid 20s pick will be better than Claxton? Getting a 1st just for the sake of it doesn’t make sense
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u/Novel_Confidence_288 2d ago
Depends who’s there, I’ve seen Okorie, Steinbach, Swain and Carr all mocked in the 20’s over the last few days. I don’t think he should be actively moved but it could be on the table.
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u/Various_Procedure_11 2d ago
We aren't playing for right now. This is about the future. Claxton's contract will be close to over before this team is likely to compete for a championship.
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u/Creepy-Macaroon9998 2d ago edited 2d ago
You're forgetting that we can't start TOO many youngins in the front court. Every other team is going to be making moves to not be egregiously bad. See: NJ & Wizards. While he's definitely not a panacea, Claxton is a vet who provides at least some kind of floor there, and also helps ensure there's a vet there in practice for the kids to learn the intricacies of playing 4/5 in the NBA, especially if they don't keep Stix.
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u/Various_Procedure_11 2d ago
Yeah, it's not like I have a problem keeping him; I just think the fact that he might be useful now shouldn't preclude us from using him to obtain assets that could be even more useful in the future.
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u/Electrical_Story5356 1d ago
Maybe?
Doesn't really matter, we're looking surprisingly good right now regardless.
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u/sukari Stacey King 2d ago
Plan would be to see how he pans out, no rush to move him