[d2bets]

I read on a Bulls' blog and elsewhere about a month ago that Noah might be facing microfracture in the very near future, which has made his market value highly questionable at this point (last offseason's surgery appears to not have been sufficient afterall). Otherwise, he would've been a great movable asset this offseason at only $13M due in his final year.

His offensive game has always been poor, but he literally can't score anymore and even his FT shooting dipped. His blocks last season were career low, so even his rim protection value has been hurt. Only good thing he has left at this point is rebounding. If he truly needs microfracture, he might as well just do it now on the Bulls' dime. If he has another poor year where the knee is still an obvious issue, I don't see how he'll get anything more than a 1 year, veteran mid-level type of deal next offseason as a FA.

Good points. You almost have to wonder if the Bulls are expecting this, given the surprising pick of a big man. Portis almost seems like a poor man's Noah. Gibson also going under the knife, but is expected to be back. And then Gasol is 34. That's a lot of questionable health up front.

[existential]

Good points. You almost have to wonder if the Bulls are expecting this, given the surprising pick of a big man. Portis almost seems like a poor man's Noah. Gibson also going under the knife, but is expected to be back. And then Gasol is 34. That's a lot of questionable health up front.

Yes, Bulls definitely realize what's going on with their front court hence the pick. They'd ideally like to move Noah and Gibson right now, but no one's asking about them yet. It's a really bad break for the Bulls because they had two solid assets that have basically dropped off the map suddenly. That said, they should be able to at least move Gibson at some point for something decent, but we'll see. Portis was a solid pick and is a two-way player, so I wouldn't really compare his game to Noah's.