Thanks for sharing, TB. Used to like Telander. He was very good on Sportwriters on TV. Kind of a weak article IMO. I mean, nobody but nobody would argue that things have gone well for the Bulls since Rose blew out his knee. All Telander did was recap the painful journey.
The Bulls were never going to pay for a winner. Once we figured that out, the moves make sense. I'm still a huge fan of the team (players and coach). I have always wished The Chairman would sell the team to a guy who gave a damn about winning.
Transplant, that was ages ago! Who was the guy who smoked the cigars? Jerome Holtzman, or Bill somebody? SST mentioned over at realgm that he missed Lacy Banks . He has a point. Who is there who has a real point of view that can make us see the other side of things? Telander, Morrisey, and Rosenbloom are just moaners. Lacy actually had something to say from time to time, that was different. I was interested in that article by Sherron Shabbaz from his interview with Hinrich. Curious to see that Derrick and Jo both encouraged him to come. His return is really a weird story. I hope it works out for him and for us. Go Bulls!
The more I think about it, its sad to see this likable, good team broken up, but its not like they broke up a champion. In this era of the superteam, a team with one superstar and an assortment of good / deep role players isn't going to get it done. Its sad to see the team get worse, but we only really lost average to below average NBA players. (perhaps exception being omer, who is terrible in some ways but very good in some very important ways for this bulls team). Marco looks like a decent replacement for Korver. Nazr has been somewhat effective over the last few seasons. (we'll see how omer develops, that was a risky signing) The rookie might be a good PG. I would not be surprised to see Butler play well in place of Brewer. More minutes for the very effective Taj Gibson. The real guy that I think is a step down, if he plays like he has the last few seasons, is losing CJ for Hinrich. Hinrich has been brutal the last two seasons. Lets hope he pick it up. A bench mob isn't going to win NBA titles. Our bench mob got weaker, but that squad wasn't going to win the title over a superteam anyway. It was good in the NBA regular season, especially last year, when there were so many tired and banged up teams playing so many games in a short period of time. Those Bulls were a very good regular season team but IMO didn't have what it took to beat a healthy superteam. Close, but not enough. So, its sad to see some guys I liked go away, and the team will be worse (mostly b/c of rose being gone), but IMO they didn't lose guys that were essential to winning a NBA title. The issue is, I have 0 faith in this management to make the bold / aggressive moves needed to build a superteam around the MVP talent that fell into their laps in Derrick Rose. I think they will stay the course and consider signing Hinrich a "win." Its a step in the wrong direction, but not a huge step. The more troubling thing is that all these moves are a clear signal that tax avoidance is very, very important to this NBA team.
K4E The one thing I would quibble over in what you say is that they'll say getting Hinrich is a "win" and just stick with that. I mean, they traded him for nothing for the chance to add LeBron and Bosh, or Wade and Bosh. They know who Hinrich is. Of course, they also know a little better who LeBron and Wade are. That's why I think this return of Hinrich is so interesting. I think Derrick for one really felt uncomfortable trading Hinrich away and kowtowing like that to LeBron. Jo, perhaps, as well. The fact that they were the ones specifically who welcomed Kirk back is meaningful, I think. But as a basketball decision, yeah, it's not for sure this will help even as much as they hope. But I think it makes Derrick happier than we might imagine.
Yah, but the Hinrich we're getting isn't the Hinrich they let go. And that Hinrich wasn't the good Hinrich from two season before that (the pre-married Hinrich) He was brutal the last two seasons. Yes, its good karma to bring him back. I'm sure management and the team like him. Problem is, if he plays like he did the last two seasons, he's pretty bad now. Not that it really matters either way if the goal is to win an NBA title. Losing CJ/Brewer/Korver for Hinrich/Teague/Marco/Jimmy isn't what is going to take this team to the next level or to take them back a level.
Bill Jauss was on there. Ben Bentley was one of the cigar smokers. Bill Gleason too I think. Some guy called Moosh. Lester Munson too. He didn't smoke cigars though I think. Great show. Don't make em like that anymore.
If the Bulls had signed LeBron and Bosh, we'd be talking about which one would be amnestied (Bosh, likely) next season. Getting rid of Hinrich and pretending to go after more was a nice way to get expenses down to the actual Salary Cap instead of close to the LT. If Rip isn't healthy for most games and can't play 30+, our guard play is going to be downright brutal.
Right, that's why I say this whole thing has a weird feeling to it. Who is Kirk now, and who really wanted him back? I'm by no means convinced that he's going to be anything as good even as he was when he left. But MikeDC made the point a while back that Kirk was hurt by the transition to 2G. He added weight, but lost his best asset of speed. Maybe being the back up point in a system oriented offense will help him return to his roots, older and wiser. That's the best case I can imagine. We shall see. And then the next time Dwyane Wade talks about loyalty, Derrick might just pipe up.
Now the top statement is not entirely rational, so I'll just let that one go by.... Yeah, if Rip is hurt, and Kirk is permanently slowed down, we will be in trouble.
LOL, I never thought I'd hear K4E so eloquently defend the miserly ways of management! I definitely understand your points though. Not sure what to expect from Kirk. The fact that he seems relieved to come here and that Jo and Derrick wanted him back is encouraging. His tank really seemed to come out of nowhere. Marriage is a very underestimated influence in player performance, methinks.
