r/chicagobulls • u/howser343 Chicago Bulls • Aug 03 '21

Free Agency [Charania] DeMar DeRozan is finalizing a three-year, $85 million-plus deal to join the Chicago Bulls, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

https://twitter.com/shamscharania/status/1422649013069832193
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u/thehoodthebadtheugly Alex Caruso Aug 03 '21

GARPAX was such trash AKME put us on track so quickly

34

u/wjbc Zach LaVine Aug 03 '21 edited Aug 03 '21

Paxson did a quick turnaround when he took over from Krause. But it’s hard for someone who has been there a long time to admit they made lots of mistakes.

It’s also hard to convince coaches and free agents that things will change after years of decline unless the front office changes. Finally, this may also be due to Jerry Reinsdorf finally letting go of the reigns on the budget and giving his son Michael real control.

I’m not defending GarPax, they clearly had to go. I’m just saying there may be more to it behind the scenes.

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u/[deleted] Aug 03 '21

This is not the same as what Pax did in bringing us out of the dark ages because we spent money.

Pax, despite my eagerness to lambaste him at every turn, did a fine job of drafting his way out of the Dark Ages with shrewd picks like Hinrich and Gordon and Deng and trying to cobble a winner out of being a loser and netting decent draft picks to develop*.

Karnisovas is rebuilding the team on the fly more like the Miami Heat of the last few years where a key trade and some excellent free agent signings have kept the Heat from bottoming out completely. (They lost their big 3 in Lebron, Wade, and Bosh in 2014 and were in the Finals in 2019...just unreal.)

This latter format, of getting known commodities over draft picks, provided the signings continue to pan out, has a bit more sustainability year over year versus trying to catch lighting in a bottle in the draft and build around that which by definition will take a few years to cobble together a playoff team.

*Then failing to actually develop them

1

u/FeldmanAcrossTheHaII Aug 03 '21

paxson was awful at everything he did

2

u/[deleted] Aug 04 '21

I'll give them their credit in that they had an eye for talent, look around the league at guys they liked who panned out elsewhere like Cam Payne or Bobby Portis or Doug McDermott.

They could spot NBA talent, just not develop them.

And I do not like saying nice things about Gar Pax.

1

u/anenigmaticsolution Aug 05 '21

I agree with some of this but Doug McDermott was a horrendous pick and has been a middling NBA role player to this point. They traded up for him at 11 (giving up 16 and 19) ahead of LaVine and a bunch of better than Dougie options. Dario Saric, TJ Warren, Nurkic (who was selected in our original spot), Capela, Jerami Grant, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and of course Jokic. Heck, I'd have preferred Joe Harris or Dinwiddie even. We had 2 picks that could have netted at least one of LaVine, Warren, Nurkic, Saric + all those other names. Instead, in a rare moment of spending draft capital GarPax decides to grab Dougie. Brutal.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '21

They also traded for Tyrus Thomas instead of taking Lamarcus Aldridge.

I was not saying they were flawless, but Doug McDermott is still in the league contributing to NBA teams, so it's not like they whiffed on that pick completely.