It appears The Flaw has lost his starting job to Torrey Craig

He is about to take off as a player. Book it!

Lavine was what was holding him back

God I hope you're right!

This the the longest stretch by far that we have seen PAW play to his potential.

14 and 5 over the last 10? I mean, it's better. Maybe even good. But his potential is is supposed to be all star. I'm glad he's only 22.

14 and 5 over the last 10? I mean, it's better. Maybe even good. But his potential is is supposed to be all star. I'm glad he's only 22.

I agree. In order to be All Star level the numbers have to improve. However he's hardly a "bust". Which is what MANY around here (including you) were proclaiming around thus time last year.

Coby White is averaging 17.6 ppg/4.1 reb/4.9 ast & 42.3% 3-pt for the entire season (not just a stretch of games). What were you proclaiming about him around this time last year?

14 and 5 over the last 10? I mean, it's better. Maybe even good. But his potential is is supposed to be all star. I'm glad he's only 22.

Coby White sucked as a player for 4-5 years. There was nothing "off" about that assessment.

Patrick Williams has never sucked as a player. Even last year he was the team's best 3 point shooter and 2nd best defender. That's hardly sucking.

Best 3 point shooter on the Bulls last year? That’s quite an achievement! And 2nd best defender too. If that’s the best argument you can make for him not sucking (or even worse, “never sucking”), then we have a different view of what it means for a starting NBA player to suck.

To be clear - as I have written in the past - I would love for PAW to be great. I thought he might be going into years 2 & 3, but I’ve pretty much given up. He doesn’t seem to have the mentality of a top level player. I hope I’m wrong and would be very happy to accept the mea culpa if that happens.

His biggest problem has been the coach that he plays for and the selfish players that he happens to play with. It's not a coincidence that his numbers improved when one of the chief ball stoppers went down. That's what I have been stating for a few years now.

Blaming the coach and other players sounds like the argument that the pro-Fields cult regularly makes. Both have had the time and opportunity to showcase their skills and have failed. If PAW were a budding star we would have seen that by now. Stars don't disappear for extended stretches like PAW has. Their talent shows up regardless of the other factors. Stop making excuses for him. He needs to play better.

Whose idea was it for him to compete for a starting job with a guy that's not even in the NBA anymore? Stand in the corner while Derozan and Lavine play iso ball all day long? If that's not Billy D then who is it? He has never been allowed to show anything. That's on the coach.

Excuses. Plain and simple. A stud would show it regardless, whether it's spurts in games, in practice (where every teammate would know and talk about it) or at least in training camp. It's also silly to think that the head coach wouldn't recognize his skills or would purposely hide them. PAW just doesn't have that dog in him.

Paw's got 2.5 quarters left to prove whether he's a big time player or not.

What basketball have you been watching? His teammates and team announcers have talked about his talent since he entered the league. And the coach does determine how he is going to be used. Or if he is going to be used at all. And if Donovan were doing such a bang-up job of coaching, then why did Vuc meet with him about he's used on 2 separate occasions before resigning? And why did it take Lavine being injured before the offense changed?

And whether the Paw becomes a,star or not is besides the point. He's hardly a bum. Which is what you and quite a few others here were Screaming over the past couple of seasons. He shot over 40% from 3 last season and also was one of the toughest guys in the league to score on. That's hardly spells "bust" does it?

Paw's got 2.5 quarters left to prove whether he's a big time player or not.

I never said the coach doesn’t determine how a player is used, nor did I say Billy-D is doing a bang-up job. The team has underperformed and that is on him and AK more than anyone. The point is if PAW were showing some great skill in practice I don’t believe for a second that Donavon wouldn’t recognize it or refuse to use it. Given where he was drafted, PAW has been a disappointment. Defense is nice but nobody would use a high pick on that skill alone (maybe if he were 7’+ tall).