Gar/Pax’s Master Plan

Paul Steeno
Jul 27, 2017 · 2 min read

ESPN’s Tim McMahon and Bobby Marks reminded us in a recent article that those NBA teams that avoided the free agent spending sprees that coincided with massive NBA salary cap spikes over the last few years will be in great position to become major players for top free agents next summer.

The Bulls certainly fall in that category as they’ve recently avoided committing to long-term contracts in an effort to put themselves in position to become major players in 2018 NBA free agency.

The Chicago Bulls ($50 million projected space), Philadelphia 76ers ($40 million) and Atlanta Hawks ($40 million) are other franchises set up to be aggressive shoppers next summer. -Per McMahon and Marks article

But for those quickly warming up to the idea that the dynamic duo of Gar Forman and John Paxson might actually be competent, hold your beer.

  1. The Bulls have consistently lost out on signing top free agents during the Gar/Pax regime. The team is currently in a rebuilding situation and barring miracle development from one of their young players, top free agents will have little incentive to come to Chicago. Top free agents generally sign with a team that they can envision themselves winning a championship with. The Bulls simply aren’t there yet.

2. @BullsScripted pointed this out on Twitter after I got irrationally excited after reading the article initially.

Oh, right. The Bulls have to pay Zach LaVine this summer. After trading Jimmy Butler to acquire LaVine, letting another team poach him in restricted free agency would be beyond stupid.

3. Finally, spending big in 2018 would mean the Bulls only spent one year rebuilding. This probably isn’t a good idea as The Athletic writer Will Gottlieb pointed out in a recent tweet.

If spending big on free agents in 2018 was Gar/Pax’s master plan, Bulls fans may be in for a disappointing next couple of years.

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