Illini in the Pros (Basketball)

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#227      
Illini fans everywhere:

wolves GIF
 
#239      
he'll fit so will with this team in the time he always plays. and having Ant as a running mate should free up some driving lanes for him
Maybe Ayo will take TSJ under his wing and help him grow as a player.
 
#240      
Well.. looks like I’ll be watching Minny play a lot now with AYO and TSJ
Kinda sucks cuz TSJ has to compete minutes with Ayo but perhaps he can benefit from picking Ayo's brain.
 
#242      
Officially boycotting the Chicago Bulls. Not only did they trade Coby who is a great guy/professional and still developing but then they trade the Chicagoan who is still on an upward trajectory. AKME have absolutely no clue what they are doing and they cannot even get 1st round picks back for two younger developing guys who still haven't hit their ceiling. Rob Dillingham? Is this a joke? Ayo has shown his worth and he deserves more loyalty from the Chicago Bulls franchise than what he is getting here. They just don't want to pay Coby and Ayo...period...Cheap AF. AKME is not serious about contending. Otherwise, they wouldn't trade their two best guard pieces. Those two are guys you build around along with Matas, Giddey, and go find a superstar big man and that type of team would've probably been a 4-5 seed in the East. The problem is they don't have a superstar to go along with Giddey, hence, why they are stuck in mediocrity and now they completely screwed this up badly
 
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#243      
i hear you but this team as constructed is not going to seriously contend ever. they are in the worst possible position you could be in.. good enough to barely make the playoffs. need to tear it down and try again unfortunately
 
#244      
Officially boycotting the Chicago Bulls. Not only did they trade Coby who is a great guy/professional and still developing but then they trade the Chicagoan who is still on an upward trajectory. AKME have absolutely no clue what they are doing and they cannot even get 1st round picks back for two younger developing guys who still haven't hit their ceiling. Rob Dillingham? Is this a joke? Ayo has shown his worth and he deserves more loyalty from the Chicago Bulls franchise than what he is getting here. They just don't want to pay Coby and Ayo...period...Cheap AF. AKME is not serious about contending. Otherwise, they wouldn't trade their two best guard pieces. Those two are guys you build around along with Matas, Giddey, and go find a superstar big man and that type of team would've probably been a 4-5 seed in the East. The problem is they don't have a superstar to go along with Giddey, hence, why they are stuck in mediocrity and now they completely screwed this up badly
I would tamper this a ton. Both Coby and Ayo are unrestricted free agents at end of season. Neither were going to net a 1st rd pick, given those circumstances. Both now have a chance to win this season. Ayo can always rejoin the Bulls in the offseason, if there is mutual interest (he will be nowhere close to the super max).

It is fair to criticize the Bulls Front Office, but a rehaul was necessary. They are shaping up for a run at the superstar, but I am skeptical one would join the Bulls. Sad to see Ayo get traded, but I am happy for him to have a chance to actually play in the postseason and not the play in games.
 
#245      
I would tamper this a ton. Both Coby and Ayo are unrestricted free agents at end of season. Neither were going to net a 1st rd pick, given those circumstances. Both now have a chance to win this season. Ayo can always rejoin the Bulls in the offseason, if there is mutual interest (he will be nowhere close to the super max).

It is fair to criticize the Bulls Front Office, but a rehaul was necessary. They are shaping up for a run at the superstar, but I am skeptical one would join the Bulls. Sad to see Ayo get traded, but I am happy for him to have a chance to actually play in the postseason and not the play in games.
They will not attract a superstar with this front office...I absolutely guarantee that. The only way they attract a superstar is to draft one and the problem is they can't draft well. They could've had Queen and they decided to go with the Frenchman. Look how that's working out. Queen is looking like a future All Star player in the next 3-5 yrs. They would need luck like the Mavs got to get Cam Boozer.

You do not trade Ayo nor Coby if you cannot get a 1st rounder back. They are both playing 1st round caliber level and both are young enough to where they are still on an upward trajectory. I understand if Vuc doesn't net you a 1st rounder given his age but don't tell me they couldn't get a 1st for Coby or Ayo. This is just making excuses for an inept front office. They could've courted a superstar big man with a core of Giddey+Coby+Matas+Ayo. They did not need to do what they are doing right now. Complete buffoonery
 
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#246      
Fun Scenario:
Portland gets out of the lottery and the Bulls get the first round pick. Bulls use 2 first round picks to move up and get KEATON WAGLER! Ayo resigns in the offseason.

Go Illini!
 
#248      
i hear you but this team as constructed is not going to seriously contend ever. they are in the worst possible position you could be in.. good enough to barely make the playoffs. need to tear it down and try again unfortunately

Tear it down and build it back up exactly how it was before.
 
#250      
I don’t see why they can’t and won’t be on the floor at the same time.
You don't?

Ayo's gotta get minutes from somewhere. On the season he's averaging 26 a game withe the Bulls, which is actually less than the 30 or so minutes a game he was getting the past couple seasons. While TSJ has been injured, Conley was getting around 18 minutes so, let's say Ayo takes all of those. You still gotta find him somewhere around 10 minutes a game at someone else's expense. It's not going to be Ant. I don't think you're going to see DiVincenzo take a big step down in minutes, maybe just a couple minutes at the most. So maybe Bones Hyland and Jaylen Clark lose big chunks of their minutes.

OK, now TSJ comes back from injury. Before the injury he wasn't playing much. Single digit minutes in 3 of his last 4 games before the injury. 0 points in each of his last two games. For TSJ to have a real role on the team means more minutes than what he was getting before. And with Hyland and Clark already bleeding minutes to Ayo, basically you gotta take at least one of them out of the rotation to put him into that role (can't imagine they reduce Ant's, Divincenzo, or Ayo's minutes to give TSJ a role). But both those guys were already playing more than TSJ was before the injury. So is that likely to happen?

Yes, it's possible when TSJ gets his spot minutes Ayo will be on the floor and that would be nice. But sadly, I think TSJ's best chance of playing meaningful minutes this season was to end up on a different team, which did not happen.
 
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