daltontr

2022-2023 SEASON 
Current team salary is $126,608,717 and we are $5,264,417 over the cap. There are eight teams with less payroll than us, but only four of them are at or under the cap. There are seventeen teams paying a luxury tax. The Atlanta Hawks have the highest payroll of $206,278,826 and are paying a whopping $58,238,780 in luxury tax. 
FREE AGENCY
My goal during the free agency period was to simply fill out the depth chart. I was looking for solid players that I could trust, so I resigned Baldwin and Connaughton to two year deals. Then I signed two former Bulls, Isaac Humphries and Davis Bertans. 
Chicago Bulls re-sign Wade Baldwin IV to a 2-year contract worth $4,307,835
Chicago Bulls re-sign Pat Connaughton to a 2-year contract worth $4,949,805
Chicago Bulls sign Isaac Humphries to a 2-year contract worth $3,762,163
Chicago Bulls sign Davis Bertans to a 1-year contract worth $2,234,164
Note: The Memphis Grizzlies signed Tacko Fall to a 2-year contract worth $20,461,034...WOW! Really!?! He has been on my Summer League team a couple of times, but that kind of money is insane. It is no wonder why so many teams are bleeding cash. Who pays $10+ million a year for a player who can't crack the top ten on their depth chart?!? The Memphis Grizzlies, that's who!
TRADES
Traded SF Otto Porter Jr. and our 2023 1st round pick to the Phoenix Suns for SF Cedi Osman and SF Charles Wallace. This was strictly a cost cutting measure. Porter may be a slightly better player, but he's simply too expensive and Osman can fill his role for far less money. Wallace will help fill the depth chart, but I'll probably assign him to the D-League. The Suns definitely got the better deal, but I wanted to make some cap space and I was willing to give up a 1st round pick to do it. Fans think I'm crazy, but all I have to say about this is..."Back-to-Back!" That usually quiets the naysayers. 
ROSTER PG | 4.0 | Kyrie Irving SG | 3.5 | Zach Lavine  SF | 3.5 | Rui Hachimura PF | 3.5 | Jimmy Dixon  C | 3.0 | Derrick Favors BENCH PG | 3.0 | Coby White  C | 2.5 | DeAndre Jordan SF | 3.0 | Cedi Osman  C | 2.0 | Isaac Humphries  PF | 2.5 | Daniel Gafford PF | 2.0 | Davis Bertans SG | 2.0 | Pat Connaughton PG | 2.0 | Wade Baldwin IV SF | 2.0 | Charles Wallace (Assigned to D-League) CONTRACTS Player             | Pos|  Ht | Wt  |Age | Contract       | Notes Kyrie Irving       | PG | 6-2 | 195 | 30 | $36,503,300/1y | (PO) Planning to test the free agent waters Zach LaVine        | SG | 6-6 | 181 | 27 | $20,828,934/3y | Star player just reaching his peak Derrick Favors     | C  | 6-9 | 246 | 31 | $17,818,113/2y | (TO) A little pricey, but a great defender DeAndre Jordan     | C  | 6-11| 265 | 34 | $8,821,842/1y  | Excellent backup in the twilight of his career Jimmy Dixon        | PF | 6-8 | 229 | 22 | $8,443,800/3y  | NBA Rookie of the Year(2021) Coby White         | PG | 6-4 | 185 | 22 | $7,572,714/1y  | Heir to the Irving throne, well worth $20+ mil Cedi Osman         | SF | 6-7 | 215 | 27 | $7,350,000/2y  | Solid backup at a reasonable price Rui Hachimura      | SF | 6-8 | 230 | 24 | $6,397,184/1y  | Superstar! Will want Kyrie money $30 mil, but worth it Pat Connaughton    | SG | 6-5 | 209 | 30 | $2,394,656/2y  | Good backup, re-signed to a two year deal for  Davis Bertans      | PF | 6-10| 225 | 30 | $2,234,164/1y  | Former Chicago Bull returning in a backup role Wade Baldwin       | PG | 6-4 | 200 | 26 | $2,073,671/2y  | Good bench player, re-signed to a two year deal Daniel Gafford     | PF | 6-10| 234 | 22 | $1,930,681/1y  | Very good backup, but will demand a lot more money Isaac Humphries    | C  | 7-0 | 255 | 24 | $1,848,983 2y  | Former Chicago Bull returning in a backup role Charles Wallace    | SF | 6-8 | 198 | 23 | $1,390,675/1y  | Bench player with potential for improvement FUTURE FREE AGENTS
Kyrie Irving, De'Andre Jordan, Coby White, Rui Hachimura, Davis Bertans, Daniel Gafford and Charles Wallace.
What to do about Uncle Drew?" 
I would love to keep him, but he has already indicated his desire to test the free agent waters at the end of the season. He is only 30 years old, but he is also making over $36M and he is certainly going to want a big pay increase. Then again he has 3 bird years, which allow me to offer him a maximum salary, despite being over the cap. However, if I were to fail to re-sign him, I would absolutely have to re-sign Coby White, but I'm not fully convinced that White can carry the load in Irving's absence and White is going to want 20+ million next year. There is also Rui Hachimura, who I would also like to keep, but he too is going to want around $30 million a year.
Also, trading Irving is almost certain to result in a huge backlash from the fans. They would most definitely want my head on a pike after I traded away the teams marque player, coming off back-to-back NBA Titles! Trading Irving for someone like a Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Ben Simmons, Trae Young or even De'Aaron Fox, might ease the fans pain, but that is a risky proposition. If we don't win a third straight title, I will be forever known as the guy who traded away a potential dynasty. 
...if...and this is a big if...If I trade Irving, it will have to be for a player that is similarly skilled, preferably younger, less expensive and with at least two to three years remaining on his contract. Ja Morant isn't an option, because he is also a free agent at the end of the season. Luka Doncic is a possibility, but he is kind of expensive, as is Ben Simmons. De'Aaron Fox is nice player, but hardly a player the fans will accept as a replacement for Irving. That leaves Trae Young. Young is very similarly skilled, maybe better. He is only 24 and he has five years left on his contract. 
Having said that, I find it hard to believe that the Hawks would part with him. They just re-signed him for $174.4 million, but...they are also drowning in $206 million dollars of salary, so you never know. To pull off a deal like that, I'd certainly have to give a #1 pick, but if that were the case, I wouldn't hesitate. 
I don't know what I'm going to do, but I do need to make a decision before the season starts. 
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PLAYOFFS 2022
Kyrie Irving scored 41 points and Derrek Favors had a double-double, 12 points and 13 rebounds, to lead the Bulls to a game one victory over the Miam Heat. The Bulls dominated from the opening tip and all five of Chicago's starters scored in double figures. The Heat were led by Jimmy Butler's 23 points, but shot a woeful 39%(36-92) from the field and 23%(11-47) from three. In comparison, the Bulls shot 50%(43-86) from the field and 42% (14-33)from three. 
In other Eastern Conference action, the Atlanta Falcons outscored the Toronto Raptors 66-46 in the second half to capture a relatively easy 126-109 victory. In the Western Conference, Steph Curry scored 31 points, as the Golden State Warriors dismantled the Utah Jazz 109-77 and Portland surprised the Mavricks, taking game one 118-104 on the back of Damien Lillard's 41 points. 
CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS / GAME 1 (American Airlines Arena)
      Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   OT    F CHI | 37 | 30 | 23 | 23 | -- | 113 MIA | 27 | 22 | 25 | 18 | -- |  92   PLAYOFF RESULTS
        EASTERN | WESTERN (1) ATL 126 (1) | (1) GSW 109 (1) (5) TOR 109 (0) | (4) UTA  77 (0) (2) MIA  92 (0) | (3) DAL 104 (0)  (3) CHI 113 (1) | (7) POR 118 (1) ---------------------

2019-2020 SEASON
Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf purchased the team in 1985 and the franchised flourished in the 90s, winning six NBA Championships between (1991-1993 and 1996-1998). Unfortunately, it's been more than two decades since Michael Jordan and the Bulls reigned supreme and at the ripe old age of eighty-three, Jerry isn't getting any younger. If Jerry wants to live long enough to see the Bulls return to their former glory, it's time for some tough choices and some serious house cleaning, starting with the front office. Consequently, the first order of business was ridding the franchise of former mafia underboss, Gar Forman. Yes, I said Mob Boss. Seriously, look at him in that pinstripe suit and tell me he hasn't broken a few legs in his time. Wiki would also have you believe he has served the Bulls as a scout, director of player personnel and special assistant to executive vice-president of basketball operations (Whatever the hell that is). Please...if Forman doesn't have mob connections, then Joe Pesci is a catholic priest.
Enter new bulls GM Troy Dalton...yours truly.
As the new Bulls GM I waste no time in handing Jim Boylen and Roy Rogers their walking papers. Seriously, hit the skids boys and make room for new head coach Randy Wittman. Why Randy? I could afford him, that's why. Ole Jerry might be a billionaire, but he's a cheap bastard and if I was going to have any chance of turning this franchise around, I needed somebody, anybody, better than Boylen. No, Randy wasn't my first choice, but as I said, he's pretty much all I could afford and since he was unemployed he had some time on his hands. As his assistant, well...drum roll please...welcome back to the team Fred Hoiberg! Yep, former Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg returns as Wittman's right hand man. Hoiberg was a no brainer. He is a good judge of talent and an offensive specialist. I know what your going to say, "Why would he come back to a team that fired him one year ago?!?" That easy, money, money and being the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Seriously, who really wants to coach basketball in Nebraska? Guys named Elmer, Ewald, Ernest, Moe, Doc and five others who were so ashamed of their life choices that they were only known by their initials. Seriously, T.P., R.G., T.J., E.J, and L.F. were all coaches at Nebraska. I would have included their last names, but I chose to respect their need for anonymity.
So, with Wittman and Hoiberg in the fold, it's time for some roster changes. A weeding of the herd, so to speak. Let's begin with the overpriced talent. PF Thaddeus Young, SF Otto Porter, SG Tomas Satoransky and C Cristiano Felicio are stealing money. Okay, Porter is a decent player, but there are better options in the $27 mil price range. Young isn't playing up to his salary level either, plus his name is Thaddeus and that is reason enough to ship him off. Obviously, moving all this high priced dead weight is a problem. The rest of the GMs in the association aren't likely going to want to absorb any this over paid talent with the trade restrictions in place. I'm going to have to get creative, but I'm a clever guy and I'm motivated. I'm not interested in going back to my day job, with all those OSHA locust hovering around...but I digress. My other problem, my owner insists on getting a four star talent and that isn't going to be easy.
Before I get started wheeling and dealing, I immediately assign PF Daniel Gafford to the G-League. Why? Because he belongs there and he'll likely tole away there until his contract expires. He isn't NBA talent. He knows it, I know it, his parents know it and it's simply not going to work out; but some people just have to chase their dreams; so...off to purgatory disguised as a development league. Now it's time to get down to business and after burning the midnight oil and blowing up the phones, I pull off a deal that should be written on my epitaph. SF Otto Porter, PG Kris Dunn, SG Tomas Satoransky and our 2020 1st round pick to the Nets for C Jarrett Allen and PG Uncle Drew...err...Kyrie Irving! Seriously, no commish mode here, this was legit and I even managed to shave money to get us under the cap. Wow...Kyrie Irving on the Bulls! Man, Jerry is going to wet himself.
Okay, I could stop there and rest on my laurels, but I'm really feeling it. Kind of like Kevin Costner in Draft Day. You know, that feeling he gets when he confuses incredible blind luck with misplaced talent, after he miraculously extricates himself from a monumental blunder that would have hamstrung the Browns for decades, if not for a favorable script...again I digress. My next move is to move "Thaddeus" and that boat anchor Cristiano Felicio. Some how, I manage to catch Wizards GM Tommy Shepard during happy hour and I take advantage of his drunken stupor, unloading both Young and Felicio for SF Rui Hachimura, PG Chris Chiozza, PG Isaiah Thomas and PF Davis Bertans...and...our 2022 1st round pick. See, I told you I was the channeling the ghost Sonny Weaver Jr.!
Phew...that was very nearly better than sex. I don't smoke, but if having a cigarette post coitus is satisfying, releasing PG Shaquille Harrison was a good substitute. So, what to do next, well pour an adult beverage seems like the only reasonable thing to do. So, until next time.

PLAYOFFS (Completing the 1st Round)

The 76ers win game seven and both the Lakers and Clippers come back from 3-1 deficits to advance to the next round. Now I don't necessarily follow the other games as closely as my own, but I was very interested to see how the Lakers avoided getting bounced in the first round. I'm not a LeBron hater per se, but I must admit that I was routing for a Pelicans upset. When I glanced at the box score I noticed that LeBron put up 37 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds. Just one rebound away from a triple-double.

Impressive...then I looked a little closer and noticed he made less that half of his 25 shots from the field and he was only 1-9 from three point range. How did he manage to score 37 points? I'm glad you asked. LeBron went to the free throw line no less than 19 times! NINETEEN! He was 12 of 19 from the charity stripe. The next closest player in the game was Zion Williamson who was 2-6 for New Orleans. For perspective, the entire Pelicans team only shot 16 free throws! That's three less that LeBron alone. Who said the NBA doesn't play favorites. [Insert eye roll here]

The crazy thing, he isn't even the most fouled player on the team. LeBron is only averaging 9.0 FTA per game, while Anthony Davis is a whopping 10.4 FTA per game, which is highest in the league. As a matter of fact, way back on November 21st we played the Lakers, losing 132-123. Davis went to the line 24 times! He was 20-24 from the free throw line...yea...he scored twenty points from the line and that's not all. Rondo went 10-14, James 8-14, Howard 3-4 and McGee 1-2. The Lakers shot 58 free throws to our 29...Did somebody let Tim Donaghy back in the league!?! 😉

PLAYOFF TREE
EASTERN CONFERENCE
(1) BOS --- (4) (8) DET --- (0) (4) CHI --- (2) (5) CLE --- (4) (3) MIL --- (2) (6) NYK --- (4) (7) PHI 110 (4) (8) IND 101 (3) WESTERN CONFERENCE
(1) LAL 131 (2) (8) NOP 104 (3) (4) LAC 127 (2) (5) POR 112 (3) (3) DEN 111 (3) (6) MEM  92 (2) (2) UTA --- (4) (7) SAS --- (0)