If Belinelli would get more playtime and playing good...perhaps a Hamilton deal is possible at the trade deadline?
A Hamilton deal is definitely possible -- but what would we want? I'd want Omer back! But we won't get him for Rip. A draft pick or two?
Belinelli is definitely looking more comfortable (you need to be pretty comfortable to take 22 shots and only make 6 of 'em). Once Hamilton returns, Thibodeau can use PT to get the best out of both SGs and go with the hot hand down the stretch of games. I don't want to trade Hamilton for a pick or picks. He can still give the team some good minutes and unless the team tells me Rose ain't coming back this season, I want the best roster possible.
If you trade Rip, it's when Rose is back. Move Kirk over to SG, behind Beli, perhaps, and work with a three guard rotation, squeezing in Nate and Marquis from time to time. But I'm ignorant of what would be the value we could get back.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...ahead-of-bulls-trade-20120714,0,7550317.story And... http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-b...ll-the-bulls-finish-the-season-under-the-tax/ Speaking of Mayo, he's played 22 games now and his 3pt shooting pct. is still .525. Fluke?
See, when I read the news (well, rumor) report, what I see is that getting Mayo was contingent on trading RIP. The second piece suggests that we want to get of RIP no matter what to get under the tax. But the trade of RIP was linked to another move, not to standing pat. Whatever. If the "value" of trading RIP is getting under the tax, so be it. I'll wait and see. I've been wrong before. But I'd prefer to wait and see.
I think the value of trading Rip is that Thibs is forced to play Belinelli and probably Butler more. I see value in playing them as we go forward, not playing a guy who won't be here for very much longer. Don't get me wrong, I actually like Rip. And I read the first article to mean, "the Bulls intend to sign Hinrich, but the chance to sign Mayo came up so it's on hold." It could also mean that they intended to sign Hinrich, period, and were trying to convince Mayo to sign for the minimum possible salary possible.
If this happens under any circumstances other than Rose being declared unable to play at all this season, I just might take a permanent vacation from all Bulls message board activity.
This is an oddity. Transplant, I actually think it'd be perfectly fine to let him go for nothing. Hope he connects with a contender. Whatever PT he gets this year is only taking PT away from Belinelli, who I hope is here for the longer term. We could do a LOT worse. The Chairman getting to save the LT is a side effect. Meh.
When Rose gets back I'd like to trade Rip for a backup C. To my eye there's no discernible difference between Bellinelli and Rip as a starting two guard. Not sure either one is well served coming off the bench, and when Rose gets back we'll have Nate, Kirk, Belli, Rip and a lil' bit of Jimmy to occupy the backcourt minutes that Rose isn't taking up. That's a lot of mediocre redundancy on a roster that's lacking depth. Given that our backup C is Nazr Mohammed, even a severely flawed player would be a dramatic upgrade. Thibs might still choose to play Noah 45 minutes a game, but at least it'd be by choice and not out of necessity.
Not sure how much of an oddity it is since we disagree. To help me understand where you're coming from this time, please answer the following: I'm OK with letting Hamilton go for nothing because - a) I don't believe the Bulls have any kind of chance to seriously contend this season with or without Hamilton. b) I believe that the Bulls may seriously contend this season, but Hamilton's presence on the Bulls roster doesn't affect the team's chances positively. c) The Bulls pursuit or non-pursuit of a championship this season should take a backseat to the development of Belinelli even though the Bulls don't even have early-Bird rights over him for next season. d) None of the above (please explain) Many thanks.
a. likely, and a good answer. b is an outside shot, but we'd only really need Rip if Belinelli gets hurt and Butler somehow fails to be able to fill in. c. the bulls indicated they have no intention to pursue a championship this season when they made no real effort to keep Korver, Brewer, Watson, and Asik. The plan seems to be to reload two seasons from now (summer 2014). Do we need a starting SG? Is Rip going to be it in 2014? Belinelli looks like a better candiate for the job then. Though a lot can change. But why not try to make the guy feel at home and try to keep the guy?
Since Belinelli has been inserted in the lineup, the Bulls have gone 5-2. In those games, he's scored 6, 23, 16, 22, 18, 16, and 19 points. Looks to me like he's consistently good for us in his new role as starter. Rip Hamilton is a 3-time all-star. One of the good guys throughout his career. He's entitled to start, or at least play a significant role on a contender. Let him go.
