I'm a Guy who didn’t start playing basketball till I was about 15. As I grew up I was spoiled by "His Airness" (MJ). I watched basketball but I was a football kid. I played football and baseball growing up. But as I watched, I didn’t know how privileged I was to witness who we now call the G.O.A.T. As the years passed and the Bulls Got better and Better I never guessed that One-day it would all end. The bulls won their first 3. Then we witnessed Mikes sorrow when he lost his father. Then he announced his retirement. His reason was " The Game has got too easy...I need a challenge." Was that a truth?.......... Maybe in his mind at that moment he believed his words to be honest. Or maybe he thought the Game killed his father. All of the riches and wealth he had assumed during his basketball days attracted two would-be robbers to murder his dad. And their excuse..." We didn’t know it was Mikes Dad!!!" But when he left the game he must have watched, as his former robin became nightwing. Leading the bulls to the playoffs without him only to be crushed by a Familiar Foe. The prince dueled as he was trained to do but the pressure began to crack his armor abandoning his team when they needed him the most. Only for Tony Kucoc to take charge of the game. They missed their King. For many months he must have pondered the return. When he reunited himself with his former learner he knew that there would be 1 greater run. But it wouldn’t come as soon as he would’ve liked. They met the new Boss of the East... The Orlando Magic. They would be crushed by the mistakes that the King himself made. And to make matters worse a former partner in war taunted him. The Gods Smiled down on the King for his heart was pure and fought with courage. So the bestowed upon him a Beast and a Marksman. They told the King "These are not servants. These are companions that will help you rebuild your kingdom greater then the old one. Trust in these two and they shall lift you to the highest heights. That’s what he did and he reigned for may years to come. But there would be turmoil in the kingdom and the Gods forced the king out of the kingdom because his greatness had reached its peak. For many Moons the Gods turned their back on this once great city and failed to bestow upon it a savior. But the people fought against the Gods and the gods gave in. Giving its people not a great Warrior King but a great wise man. And this wise man delivered the Kingdom out of darkness. He assembled an army that fought without fear and led them to the edges of the promise land but was thrown by the waste side then again trounced by any army led by a giant and a warrior who fought like the former king. But the wise man hasn’t given up. He has made his warriors stronger. Giving his Army a new beast to over throw the Giant. Now with the Bulls new roster looking like this, Pax says that he’s still looking to improve. GUARDS Hinrich Gordon Thabo. Duhon Smith FORWARDS Nochioni Deng Thomas Songailia Allen Brown CENTERS Wallace Sweetney Schenscher What have we done? With the trade of chandler and the Acquisition of Ben Wallace, P.J. Brown, and J.R. Smith, Pax has done some things that we all have been whining about. There have been some haters but the majority of JBB agrees that these moves where great for Chicago. With the trade of chandler we have cleared away 10’s of millions of dollars for the future. Whether that means Another All-star signing or contracts extensions I don’t know. We have acquired Vet forward P.J. Brown. In my opinion P.J. fits in this year where we missed A.D. last season. That vet whose there to mentor the youngsters and show them how to play the game on a Manly level. Brown adds Length and versatility to the bulls. Being 6’11” he can play both center and forward positions. He has a solid post game that won’t dominate the ball from the guards. But also has a trusty jump shot. The down side to this acquisition is that we don’t know how many minutes the guy can play productively. As we all know, 37 is the new 27. But that doesn’t reflect to an 82 game season. This is how I see things panning out for Brown. The first 10 games he will get a great amount of minutes. After that his time will drop to about 14-15 a game. I see 9 of those minutes being in the 4th qtr. We will use him to help close out games when we need that stable inside scorer. We have also acquired J.R. smith. Due to conflict with his coach the youngster’s development was stifled last years. If nothing else he is a great athlete. To be honest I think of him as one of our draft picks because the sky is the limit for this guy. The question is “ Is he ready to put in some hard work? Or is he in the league for a check?” I hope that a change in scenery was all that this guy needed because if not he will end up like another former bull (whom I will name later). He must become a good defender over this summer. And all that means is: 1.) Communicate with his teammates on defense 2.) Don’t be afraid to take a charge 3.) Don’t stand around at the arc just waiting to run for a break away dunk Honestly we need a guy like J.R. to step up because he has the athleticism to become a great defender. If he doesn’t do that he’ll be another Eddie Robinson. Lets not forget Ben Wallace but the world knows what he will bring to the team. Our draft Well I’ll start with Thabo. Looking ahead I think Thabo will be my most favorite player to watch this Year. I think that he will shock the NBA with his aggressiveness. Will he get a lot of tick? I don’t think so because I see him getting into foul trouble most of the game. But when we see those glimpses it’s going to be something special. I predict during the second half of the season you will see Thabo paired up with nochioni alot. When Thabo is in you see him cutting a lot and getting open lanes to the basket (the way Gordon, Hinrich, and Duhon does) but instead of a floater it will be the sound of thunder. Now to our most coveted pick: Tyrus Thomas. I don’t know what to say about Thomas. He could either be a Stromile Smith. Or a Kenyon Martin. If he’s like Martin I’m sure Paxson will Look like the Cheshire cat. Listen, some questions will be answered to day as Chicago’s summer league begins. One thing that I won’t question about Tyrus is his heart. The guy has a big one. His energy will be that of Tyson Chandler But hopeful with more productive numbers. I see Thomas slowly getting Browns minutes as time goes on and by the last quarter of the season him getting at least 20+ minutes a game. FUTURE MOVES A lot of people say that there is One more big move left for Chicago. There may be, but I don’t think it will be soon. Is there a possibility we could get KG? Yes. But the way that I look at it, the wolves want to see how their current team works out during this upcoming season. 90% know that they wont do well. That’s when the bulls will have their opportunity. The problem is everyone will have the opportunity. KG may opt for L.A. Sacramento ect... over Chicago. Another factor is how well the bulls are playing at this point. If the bulls are ripping it up it would be hard to bring in a player who may ruin the chemistry of the Team. Who knows maybe Pax is not after KG. He may go for another great player and blindside us all. To wrap things up this year looks to be the best year since 1998. I know we all as bull’s fans are excited about this year and know the bulls are going to “get in that ass” Go Bulls!!! P.S. sorry for the novel
First great post hope you continue to bring these kinds of posts to the forum. A couple things though I see Tyrus Thomas as worst-case scenario Stromile Swift best-case scenario Shawn Marion. I do not really see much of Kenyon Martin in him. Especially the present day Kenyon Martin who has become an enigma of what he use to be. I like the wrap up of the Jordan era you did, and the comparisons you used even though you did not name the people you knew exactly who you where talking about. JR Smith is going to be the wild card for us this season. Not much is being expected of him right now, because of where he is coming from and the issues he had with Byron Scott. I will admit it right now I am one of his biggest doubters. I do not think that Smith is currently a Scott Skiles type player. As we learned through recent comments from Tyson Chandler, post trade Skiles is an intimidating figure despite his stature who will criticize you more so than pat you on the back. Criticism that Smith has not show the capability to handle does far in his career. However, with that said I agree that Smith has all the potential in the world. Let us not forget before he chose to go to the NBA instead of college he had committed to arguably the best program in America for basketball, the University of North Carolina. JR Smith is 6’6” with incredible leaping ability he has all the tools to be successful in the NBA he just needs to get his head on straight. He also keeps his body in great shape he has a very low percentage of body fat. Although, I do not believe him that it is 1%. PJ Brown like you said will fill the Antonio Davis role we so sourly lacked last season. In my opinion, the absence of Davis hurt us more than the absence of Eddy Curry. Davis gave us leadership and toughness in the paint. A role no one was able to fill last season. Many people note our lack of post scoring as our immediate need, but I think it is not nearly as big a concern as people make it out to be. Although, I acknowledge it is an area that could be improved. I feel that between Sweetney, Brown, and Tyrus we will be able to squeeze at least 35 points out of our frontcourt on nightly bases. That is without including the six to eight points Wallace will throw in, or the production of our point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. We will be able to score on nightly bases despite what many people seem to think. I really believe that Tyrus Thomas is going to come into this season a lot more NBA ready than people expect. Although, I believe he will play a reserve role to PJ Brown. I still think he will see more minutes that PJ simple due to Brown’s age. I expect Thomas to have a Luol Deng type rookie year. As far as Thabo goes, I think he will be an immediate factor for us off the bench. He was the best perimeter defender in this years draft class. Which was the main reason Paxson drafted him. With all the additions, we had this off-season I still expect Gordon, Hinrich, and Deng’s play to be one of the biggest keys to our success. I expect Gordon to bust out this season and averaged 20-22 points a game, and Hinrich to continue to live up to the Steve Nash comparisons. Deng comes in with more to prove than any of the three. After taking aback seat in the playoffs to Gordon, Hinrich, and Nocioni he needs to come into this season ready to play, and to earn a starting spot, because if he doesn’t I can see him really struggling this season. Another guy I’m expecting a lot of this upcoming season is Michael Sweetney. Sweetney played really well in the series against Miami, and hopefully he committed him self this off-season to getting into good playing shape, losing some of those extra pounds, and comes back next season as the type of player everyone thought he would be when the Knicks made him a lottery pick a few years ago. All in all things are looking up. I expect us to at the very least be in the ECF.
GUARDS Hinrich Gordon Thabo. Duhon Smith FORWARDS Nochioni Deng Brown Thomas Songailia Allen CENTERS Wallace Sweetney Schenscher you forgot brown on the roster =O i think brown should start at PF, and sweetney should come off the bench at PF. until... Thomas can take the role. I sure pax going to slowly put thomas in the playing roster.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting drcmanx:</div><div class="quote_post"> you forgot brown on the roster =O i think brown should start at PF, and sweetney should come off the bench at PF. until... Thomas can take the role. I sure pax going to slowly put thomas in the playing roster.</div> sorry how the heck did i miss that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Best Kept Secret:</div><div class="quote_post"> I really believe that Tyrus Thomas is going to come into this season a lot more NBA ready than people expect. Although, I believe he will play a reserve role to PJ Brown. I still think he will see more minutes that PJ simple due to Brown?s age. I expect Thomas to have a Luol Deng type rookie year. As far as Thabo goes, I think he will be an immediate factor for us off the bench. He was the best perimeter defender in this years draft class. Which was the main reason Paxson drafted him. Another guy I?m expecting a lot of this upcoming season is Michael Sweetney. Sweetney played really well in the series against Miami, and hopefully he committed him self this off-season to getting into good playing shape, losing some of those extra pounds, and comes back next season as the type of player everyone thought he would be when the Knicks made him a lottery pick a few years ago. All in all things are looking up. I expect us to at the very least be in the ECF.</div> I saw my first glimps of thomas and to be honest, im kind of disapointed so far. Im hoping it was just first game jitters. I by no means have give up hope on any of uor players and I understand that its only the summer leaugue. In my opinion he didnt look comfortable on the floor. he didnt know if he wanted to showcase his unseen small forward talnt or be a force in the middle. Thabo played as i expected. I see he likes to play the passing lanes alot and has good energy. Hes the guy im most excited about this year. The Shocker for me was Miles. He was going thru defenders like he was iverson (i know its against summer leaugue bums). BUt his games seems very effective. the bulls let the game slip away and lost the lead. BUt they put miles in with a little under 2 minutes and he won the game for us I think he scored 3 points and had 1 assist during that time. I dont know who we play today but im hoping that Tyrus just plays his game. Shine by doing what your good at and not playing outside of your game.Im just glad we get to swap picks if we have to. Thanks Isaiah!! Go Bulls!!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting michiganave17:</div><div class="quote_post">I saw my first glimps of thomas and to be honest, im kind of disapointed so far. Im hoping it was just first game jitters. I by no means have give up hope on any of uor players and I understand that its only the summer leaugue. In my opinion he didnt look comfortable on the floor. he didnt know if he wanted to showcase his unseen small forward talnt or be a force in the middle. Thabo played as i expected. I see he likes to play the passing lanes alot and has good energy. Hes the guy im most excited about this year. The Shocker for me was Miles. He was going thru defenders like he was iverson (i know its against summer leaugue bums). BUt his games seems very effective. the bulls let the game slip away and lost the lead. BUt they put miles in with a little under 2 minutes and he won the game for us I think he scored 3 points and had 1 assist during that time. I dont know who we play today but im hoping that Tyrus just plays his game. Shine by doing what your good at and not playing outside of your game.Im just glad we get to swap picks if we have to. Thanks Isaiah!! Go Bulls!!!</div> I know what you mean two possessions early in the game he started posting up his man down low then for some reason ended up posting up on the end of the free throw line, and instead of backing his man down did a turn around jump shot. However, it is summer league if you remember when Ben Gordon played many people were concerned about him coming into the season because he shot 33 percent in summer league. Tyrus is also only 19 so I am not so worried about him. I was impressed by Aaron Miles it was clear from the start of the game he was the best player on the court. I hope that we sign him to back up Hinrich. However, with the amount of guards on our roster I don?t see it happening. Eddie Basden continued to be a disappointment even in summer league only scoring six points.
I watched most of the game and I thought that Thomas just didn't look very comfortable on the offensive end, he looked a little confused. I think he was just a little nervous and tried too much, I'm not too worried either. Thabo to me looked very impressive, he handles the ball better than I expected and he finishes well at the basket, he also had 4 steals. I think that Thabo can make a bigger impact this year than Tyrus, maybe around 8-10 points a game, but Thomas has a greater potential for the future.
Basden had that three pointer that give helped give us the win then it was the T by the Pacers. But, it was kind of lucky because it got a bounce and went in. He hasn't really been effective.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SP23:</div><div class="quote_post">Basden had that three pointer that give helped give us the win then it was the T by the Pacers. But, it was kind of lucky because it got a bounce and went in. He hasn't really been effective.</div> Yeah I saw that shot as well it was more of a good setup by the guy that was penetrating and dished it out to him then a good play by Basden. Basden also got lucky with a bounce off the rim that made the shot go in. The thing that disappointed me the most about Basden is that this is his second year in summer league, and he is playing to remain on the roster yet he comes out with a mediocre performance like this.
I'm a little iffy on the J.R. Smith pickup. He's a gunner with little D... Ben Gordon-esque without the knack for hitting clutch shots. His whining about PTs not gonna help him much either seeing that Skiles benches with reckless abandon. I really hope Skiles can knock some sense into him. Otherwise he's just trade bait or a big Jannero Pargo.
I'm ok with the JR Smith pick up at this moment. I've really like the kid since he came into the league, but he's got lots of things to sort out. The kid has a world of potential and is an absolutely amazing athlete. He just needs to get his head on straight and learn how to respond to criticism, cause with Skiles, he's going to get a lot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting nooga:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm a little iffy on the J.R. Smith pickup. He's a gunner with little D... Ben Gordon-esque without the knack for hitting clutch shots. </div> Um .............. J.R. and Ben gordan have nothing in common. Ben puts forth the effort, J.R. doesnt. Ben doesnt have the size to be a lock down defender so hes gonna pick up fouls. Does J.R even pick up fouls? He doesnt even have a concept of Team defence. Ben has dramatically improved defencivly during his first 2 seasons. I look at J.R. as some guy you create on NBA Live "STATS UNKNOWN!"
I didn't mean to draw comparison between the two... I just meant that all J.R. does is jack up shots, which Ben is prone to occasionally. Thats all. I agree with you on the other stuff, although J.R. isn't quite as bad as "Stats Unknown."
Although, Gordon does occasionally start jacking up ill advised shots he has improved his shot selection immensely since he first came into the league. We saw him progress in front of our eyes this season. He started shooting under 40% and although he did not end with that high a field goal percentage his percentage was respectable considering where he started.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Best Kept Secret:</div><div class="quote_post">Although, Gordon does occasionally start jacking up ill advised shots he has improved his shot selection immensely since he first came into the league. We saw him progress in front of our eyes this season. He started shooting under 40% and although he did not end with that high a field goal percentage his percentage was respectable considering where he started.</div> The great thing about Ben is hes at his best when we are under great preassure. He may not be there when we want him but when we need him hes the guy who steps his game up to an alstar caliber. Hes won as many games for us as other big stars have won for their teams. ben is still under rated too me. Hes all ready broken sooooo many hearts with his game ending bombs. Especially in NY. he just shows his ass.
