He's playing better as of late. Putting some D on some people. Actually making some shots. Not turning the ball over too much. He's not awful. Still does some dumb things, and the last thing we need is a guard not named Rose or Gordon wanting entitlement minutes, but he's actually playing pretty well instead of pouting. If Paxson can find some way to consolidate some subset including Hinrich, Thabo, Hughes maybe we'll be getting somewhere. Once Hinrich gets back though I don't know what the hell VDN is gonna do.
He's still selfish and he takes a shot the first time he gets the ball. If it goes in he looks good. He's got talent, but he isn't a leader. He's the kind of guy that falls in line if there is somebody better with a stronger will around to call him out. Put him on the Celtics and he'd be getting mentioned as a sleeper all-star. On the bulls, he whines about not getting 40 minutes every night. He's an asset in that his contract expires at the right time. Teams that are either looking for a boost to get one of the last playoff spots, or that don't worry about the luxury tax will be interested in him at the trade deadline.
I was posting at another site and a Knick fan (not me, lol) says that Ben Gordon and Larry Hughes for Stephon Marbury is not ridiculous for you guys. What do you think?
I'd consider two larry hughes for a marbury, but only if it's in mint condition. BG's still a good guy I think. He's in a tough spot with his contract and future and it's affected him and his approach to the game, but I wouldn't dump him for salary like that. I'd do BG and Hughes for Marbury and David Lee, though. I'd even through in Noah, another NY guy.
Are the Bulls looking to dump salary this year? Do they still think they have a decent shot at the playoffs?
I think we all hate Hughes. But he has skills and can put the ball in the hoop. Hughes is the ultimate no, no, no, no, yes player. You never like to see him shoot but the ball goes in more than you expect. Regardless, Hughes is the type of player the Bulls need to get production out of if the want to win. If VDN is somehow able to get steady production from him then he's well on his way to doing well in his first season as a head coach.
Sure they are, but so is everybody other than the top five in the east right now. Philly and Toronto aren't playing anywhere near where they should be, and their projected improvement/dominance was based on the mediocrity of the rest of the conference as much as anything. Miami and NJ are mirages, and management doesn't want them to win anyway. Milwaukee is the team with the most talent and potential out of the teams near the bulls right now. If they'd share the ball a little more, they'd be unstoppable.
I think that may be overly optimistic given our talent level. I agree that we're not in salary dump mode, but the Bulls' front line is brutal with few signs of internal improvement. I would put the over/under at an eight seed, only reaching fifth or sixth if there is a great deal of mediocrity once the season progresses, or if the Bulls absolutely start banging on all cylinders.
Interestingly Sam Smith has a point about this today, and I think he's way out in left field This is a problem with Sam, and the NBA in general, exemplified by his discussion of Larry Hughes. A guy has a good spurt of games and suddenly he as value. Conveniently we neglect to mention. 1. Even if the big man we get isn't very good, we need a big guy in the worst way. 2. Smith does talk about Thabo, but we also have to know that Hinrich is going to be back soon as well. We barely have minutes to satify Hughes with Hinrich and Thabo gone. Don't con yourself into thinking it's a tenable situation. It's not. People in the NBA (and fans) have really active imaginations. They think, "gee, this guy is suddenly good, maybe it will continue", instead of realize that everyone has good spurts and if you don't take advantage of it, it'll eventually blow up in your face. So my opinion of Larry Hughes is that we need to take our opportunity to move him. Fucking now. Now, as a Knicks fan (or Wizards or Raptors fan), I'd see Hughes differently. You guys need a guard in the worst freaking way. We need a big man in the worst freaking way. So lets not make this more complicated than it is.
I don't want to move Hughes right now. The guy is playing tremendous ball (#2 on the team in scoring efficiency behind only Gordon), and has accepted the 6th man role, and has played well in that. It's nice having Hughes on the court, because he can also play small forward when we're getting nothing out of Deng/Nocioni, and he can handle the ball well, taking some of the pressure off Gordon when they're in the backcourt together. We have the best backcourt in the league. We are getting tremendous production at both guard spots. That is how pathetic our front court is. We have to move Kirk Hinrich first and foremost for a big men. Hopefully with an eye towards 2010, but a good defender like Joel Pryzbilla would be worth it to. Nocioni can still have a role on this team going forward, Hinrich? No way. Rose and Gordon are the indisputable starters from this point forward, and Larry Hughes is a much better basketball player.
I've truly got nothing against Hinrich, but take Gordon and Hughes off the team and play Hinrich and Thabo in their place and the suckage meter is off the charts. Gordon's gone at the end of the year via UFA, and we're talking about trading Hughes here. People want to rip on Hughes as if he were Tim Thomas or something. He's not! He's been a pretty good all-around ballplayer all along, but in situations where he's not been well utilized. He was a key piece for Cleveland's finals team two seasons ago, and he doesn't look like he's declined any. Here's our best strategy as I see it. Package Hinrich and Nocioni for just about any big who can put up 10 points and 6-7 rebounds per 36 minutes. It gives us the chance to be in play for Gordon. It leaves us with a guy in Hughes who can play either G spot and play SF behind Deng (as he's been doing). That versatility is why I'd keep him over Hinrich. A guy like Hakim Warrick would suit me fine, but I don't see they have salaries to match up with us. After such a trade: G: Rose/Gordon/Hughes/Thabo SF: Deng/Hughes/Thabo PF: Warrick/Noah/Thomas C: Brother Abe, White Duncan/Noah We have two years, basically, to find a 3rd G and backup SF.
My opinion on Larry Hughes: The best move Danny Ferry has made in the past year is trading Larry Hughes. For the basketball team, he is a cancer. Any player who cannot see that it is best for him and the team to be part of a supporting cast around LeBron is simply an idiot. Granted, he had some wonderful performances, but these were far outnumbered by his woeful performances. The media say a big impact on the Cavs' start is the addition of Mo Williams, but I think an equally important factor is the loss of Larry Hughes.
This Knicks fan was serious XD? ---------------------------------------- As for Larry Hughes...He's sort of like Ben Gordon: He's hot and then cold but never warm. He has selfish tendencies and thinks he's WAY better than what he actually is at the moment. He feels entitled but the reality is that he isn't productive often enough. He's been playing alot better lately and he needs to keep it up in order for me to take his sense of entitlement seriously. He's got talent and needs to show it more consistently.
I don't know that we'd be worse of with Hinrich than with Hughes. They appeared to be playing pretty comparably (in terms of overall output, not style of play). Kirk's a better shooter and gives us a better PG backup. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, I want both of em gone and want to keep Gordon. So you won't hear any plan from me that relies on doing something different.
Between Gordon and Hughes, the backup PG play is fine. The key difference between Hughes and Hinrich is that Hughes can play 3 positions (PG, SG, SF), and Hinrich only 2. Well, you could put him at SF some, or in a 3 guard lineup, but Hughes is a bit taller and still a pretty good defender.
