More than likely this will be the case. Then what? http://www.csnchicago.com/bulls/what-if-bulls-dont-get-carmelo-anthony-or-kevin-love Knowing Thibodeau, even if the Bulls draft talented rookies ready to contribute and Mirotic, widely regarded as one of the top players in Europe, decides to come over, the coach will still value proven NBA veterans over newcomers to the league. A starting-caliber wing with playoff experience would make a lot of sense and though Paul Pierce’s name has been cited because of his Celtics connection to Thibodeau—if the future Hall of Famer leaves Brooklyn, a league source believes he would prefer to return to his hometown of Los Angeles, playing for Rivers, his head coach in Boston—Chicago-area native Shawn Marion, could be an option, as he’s said to be intrigued with playing in front of friends and family in the twilight of his career if the versatile, high-level defender doesn’t remain in Dallas. A backup for Rose is another priority and while bringing back Augustin would be ideal, he will test the open market and seek out the best fit, in terms of his role, salary and long-term security, though his success in Chicago certainly gives the Bulls a built-in advantage. Similarly, but to an even higher degree, Kirk Hinrich reprising his duties, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the veteran closely examine exactly how he’d be utilized before making a decision. The same goes for Noah’s understudy, as Nazr Mohammed would undoubtedly like to finish off his career in his hometown, but he also believes he has something left in the tank and wants an opportunity to demonstrate that. Greg Smith, acquired at the tail end of the regular season—the big man played well for Houston a year ago, backing up Asik—could be given a chance to show that he can do the job, as pickings are slim in a thin market for quality free-agent post players. Perimeter shooting will obviously be another area to address and even if rookie Tony Snell continues to improve and a draft pick can also make a dent in Thibodeau’s rotation (recognizable college stars like Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, Kentucky’s James Young and Michigan State’s Gary Harris could be off the board by the time the Bulls pick at No. 16, but Duke’s Rodney Hood and D-League product P.J. Hairston are sharpshooters who could still be available), veteran free agents like Jodie Meeks, Anthony Morrow, C.J. Miles and Francisco Garcia are all reasonable targets to take some of the spot-up burden off the shoulders of Dunleavy. Read more http://www.csnchicago.com/bulls/what-if-bulls-dont-get-carmelo-anthony-or-kevin-love
More than likely. Marion would have been great to have in his prime. I don't like setting our sights that low at this point. Getting Pierce would give us a glimpse of what Melo would be like on his 2nd contract with us.
Meanwhile, in other news: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ady-bulls-chairman-jerry-reinsdorf-grant-hill
We've heard about the 2014 plan. Well, it's 2014. And Shawn Marion is the plan? We should send benny the bull to recruit Love and Melo, too. Worked like a charm with TMac, and everyone else since.
Have you ever heard anything from Bulls management about a "2014 Plan?" I haven't. I've heard fans refer to it and I've read a couple articles where writers speculate about what it might be, but never from the Bulls. I'll speculate that in 2010, the Bulls were hoping that 2014-15 would be a season in which Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, supported by players like Noah, Deng, Gibson, Asik and James Johnson would vie for yet another NBA title. Obviously, adjustments have had to been made. Here's hoping it's a positive summer.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9102725/nba-projecting-bulls-with-lebron-james-dwyane-wade Around Chicago, it's known as "The 2014 Plan." No one associated with the Bulls has publicly referred to such a thing, nor will they. Coach Tom Thibodeau most certainly is not proceeding as if he were mired in the first of two lame-duck seasons. However, if you connect the dots, everything is pointed toward summer 2014 for the Bulls' big push to put together the franchise's first championship roster since the days of Michael Jordan.
Given that the last two go-arounds of Cap Space palooza resulted in bad Ben Wallace and Carlos Boozer contracts, it might not be bad to strike out and end up with a cheap Marion deal. I have little faith that Melo or Love are coming here. I hope to be surprised.
How do we know for fact that the Bulls got the cobwebs off the phone and actually really did make an offer for Love?
No evidence. Its going to take some fancy footwork and initiative to even get a deal like that done. I've seen 0 evidence that the Bulls front office will do this and secure a big name player. The fanciest footwork I've seen out of GarPax is in avoiding the luxury tax this year. That was some fancy footwork indeed.
I'm guessing the 2014 plan is to go after Love or Melo (maybe both), and if not that try and stock the roster 10 deep on reasonable contracts so we can replicate Rose's MVP season as close as we can. I don't think we'll go after Lance because he's too volatile. I don't think (or hope) that we go after Hayward because he's RFA and not a difference maker. I think Gasol might be an option on a two-year deal with a team option for the third.
I don't think there was a "2014 Plan" any more than there was a "2013 Plan." 2014 was, however, the first potentially realistic season in which the Bulls might want to replace Boozer with Mirotic on the roster. It was also when Deng would be a free agent. Now we know that Deng's gone and that, to be as kind as possible, Boozer is no longer a good fit. We also know that M. Teague is irretrievably bad and that Butler is a legit defensive specialist, but we don't know for certain whether he's got the offensive game to warrant big minutes. Noah and Gibson have developed at least as well as was hoped. Of course, all of the knowns and unknowns pale in comparison to the DRose question. That one's the fulcrum.
