Pat Spencer: “If you’re a guy who can connect the dots, do some other things, knock the 3 down, there’s always going to be a place for you in the NBA. There’s a lot of orgs that are stuck in the bottom that continue to value length & athleticism over IQ. They tend to stay in the lottery every year.”
9 comments
or the play in
AK constantly drafting “super raw but with all the physical tools” type players wouldn’t be that bad if he at least bothered to hire the right staff to properly develop those players. But he’d rather let PWill, Terry and Philips flounder. Maybe he’ll learn his lesson before he wastes Essengue’s potential.
Giddey and Tre Jones aren’t low IQ though. Vuc has a decent offensive BBIQ too. Matas and Okoro have good defensive IQ, though Matas had some rookie mistakes.
Noa is definitely a project but taking swings on guys who have high upside is exactly what they should’ve done.
I get why you are implying but the pursuit of Giddey pretty much counters your thesis here.
And this my issue with Marc Evans wanting to transition to a run n gun style. That run we had after all star break showed we can be a killer fastbreak team but the dropoff in that miami heat play in game was insane. Everyone looked low iq! Thats only one game now imagine a series where coaches really get to dissect us. OKC’s 12th man gets in the game and still knows his role and more importantly knows to lock up on defense. We got a lot of work to do i just hope Giddey Matas and Noa can get some chemistry going.
The Bulls aren’t overly athletic or long either.
This is definitely about us. When was the last time we actually drafted someone who could shoot 3s? Off the top of my head, it’s probably Coby in 2019 who was drafted by GarPax
The new regime’s draft picks
Patrick Williams, Marko Simonovic, Ayo, Dalen, Julian, Matas, Noa and the Aussie Center
Bum after bum except Matas. And the dudes we sign in FA who can shoot forget how to or end up injured (Lonzo, Caruso, Jalen Carter)
The Bulls most recent picks (Matas, Noa, and even their second rounders JP/Lachlan) were all complimented for their feel for the game. Just because 3/4 also happen to be super lengthy and athletic isn’t a bad thing, and “raw” isn’t the same as low BBIQ.
I get people thinking Pat and DT were reaches based on their physical tools, but you’d have to ignore the rest of the roster moves to conclude “length and athleticism over IQ” is the overarching strategy here.
We had a team led by Demar and Vooch, smart players notoriously **not** known for their athleticism, regularly playing in small 3+ guard lineups precisely because we DIDN’T focus on length. And they just traded elite athlete/questionable IQ Zach Lavine for guys who are all feel over tools.
But you do need to bet on *some* physical tools for upside eventually. And like…I’m glad we drafted long and athletic Matas instead of going for someone like Dalton Knecht just because his shot was more “league ready” or whatever lol
Most contending teams are not made up of guys that team drafted