http://blogs.suntimes.com/bulls/2008/09/dwade_says_gordon_should_pass.html This is interesting for a few reasons. One, Gordon has been hanging out with Wade a bit this summer. Two, Wade sounds like a guy who may have lobbied his management to go get Gordon (which would be consistent with the reports that Miami has been trying to get Gordon). You just don't hear players speak this glowingly of another player very often.
Note to self, never, ever let D-Wade become an NBA GM. He is a horrible judge of personnel. He is Jason Kidd backseat GMing bad.
"I just think he needs to be patient." Should we translate that as: Ben Gordon just needs to be patient, take the qualifying offer, and wait for the Heat to sign him next season without having to worry about the Bulls matching?
I always figured Gordon had a strong chance of landing in Miami. Him and Wade would be a great backcourt pairing. Gordon could be the point guard, while not being the primary ballhandler, which would be good for him. In addition, Riley got to see Gordon destroy his team first hand in the playoffs (25 pts 6 ast in that series). Gordon makes perfect sense for the Heat, he will be absolutely deadly playing off both Wade and Beasley. Which begs the question, why not go with my plan? Take Beasley, put yellow tape around him, Gordon, and Deng calling them off limits, and build capspace for 2010. We had more ways to go with our capspace in 2010. We could have gone either for a guard or a big. So we could have potentially made capspace for Wade and signed him in 2010. I think Paxson botched the Rose pick, not because Rose won't be a good player, but because we had the ability to quickly build a championship team around Michael Beasley more so than with Rose.
For one thing, Beasley is probably going to need more than yellow tape around him to reach his potential. Signs continue to point to him being a major assclown. A talented assclown, but still an assclown. But with Riley, Wade and a solid organization around him, there's a better chance his assclown tendencies don't matter too much. In Chicago, you'd still have him fined $50k for his cover up and weed flushing at the rookie camp, and the august presence of a rookie head telling him what's what.
Indeed. I guess we'll see if there's any difference between a rookie coach who's picked and backed by Pat Riley and a rookie coach who's picked and backed by John Paxson
People don't just come out with long drawn out statements like Wade's unless they're rehearsed or coached, especially about another player. Think about it, all he had to say is "Ben's a great player, a great scorer, I don't see him going to Europe". Instead he went into Ben's abilities and said that it takes patience, even talked about past criticism of his game. Wade either knows something or is lobbying for something.
i thought chicago would take beasley for sure, people have been saying for years that they need a big man who can score, and there he was. gordon will be lucky to get 10 million next year too. was he offered 8 this year? so 5 years/40 million or 5 years/50 million, he is loosing money by having to play for his qo this year anyways.
Yeah. I've long been harping on the Bulls should be getting Gordon locked up this summer, because the Heat are just waiting. I guess it really does come down to what the Bulls are actually offering, and what Ben is actually demanding. Like I don't think taking the Bulls reported offer is a good idea for Gordon. Like it's not bad money, but it is on the very low end of fair. Anything else below that, and that is lowballing. I think 66 million is a very fair offer, the same amount Ellis, who I think is inferior to Gordon, got. Maybe the Bulls are offering him that. Maybe Ben really does want $80 million, and isn't planning on settling for less. Then you just put up your hands, and say what can you do. But I really think Gordon on the QO might be a good thing for the Bulls, as long as Jerry opens up the checkbook next summer, because if Gordon explodes, and averages 25+ PPG, he is going to be near the actual max in the league. I think having a Ben Gordon, who not only will want to play like a superstar to keep his pride intact after last year...but also playing for a big contract, is a good thing for the Bulls. Also, the Thundercats are a major sleeper team that might pounce on Gordon. Look at it this way: Bulls have the #1 pick Derrick Rose coming in. They would have Ben Gordon and Drew Gooden, working their ass off to get that max pay raise. Kirk Hinrich trying to preserve his spot as a starter in this league. Deng, who seems like a genuine hardworker, just like Gordon. Tyrus, who has been working his ass off all summer so he can play for his big extension. Like start the season with Hinrich/Gordon/Deng/Gooden/Thomas as your starting 5. Let those players stick out the early going. This serves two purposes. First, we will be more competitive during the difficult circus trip. But also, we will be raising Kirk's and Gooden's value. Now where am I going with this? The team to watch is the Phoenix Suns. Bulls fans should hope this team fails. If the Suns end up becoming a crappy team, it will be clear to them they are going to lose Amare Stoudemire in 2010 (I'd presume Miami and Cleveland would be towards the top of his list for 2010). Kerr is a thinker, and he will probably see this, and cut some sweetheart deal with his old team. Bulls give them Kirk (value, Nash replacement), Gooden (maybe a good player, expiring), and Noah/Sefolosha (the two prospects they loved) for Amare Stoudemire. Then you step into a starting lineup of: PG-Derrick Rose SG-Ben Gordon SF-Luol Deng PF-Tyrus Thomas C- Amare Stoudemire Then you have Nocioni off the bench as the 6th man. You lose a lot of depth, but what eventually happens, is if the core proves good (which it should), you will get those good vets on the vet minimum and/or MLE, that really bolster you up as a championship team...and will also be looking at Asik coming over in 2010. Just my 2 cents.
