With the new guys I think for the first time in a while the starters have real competition for not just minutes but also for their spots. VDN has lots of options for the first time. No injuries. Depth at each spot. If guys don't play hard or maybe they start to act up they can sit. That wasn't an option before. I think that Luol and Tyrus will be effected most by this. They are fragile emotionally speaking. I bet their production is going to go down quickly. Luol is already having issues and I don't see it getting better for him.
Yea but I wouldnt say that we've got depth at the 4 and 5, i guess those guys are interchangeable between the 2 positions
I agree there is more competition, but disagree that it affects Luol and Tyrus the most. Noch and Gooden were were more formitable IMHO than Salmons and Tim T/Miller @ both SF and PF. Tyrus came out the best. I think the biggest squeeze is on Gordon and Hinrich.
Tyrus is a PF, Miller is a C so Tyrus isn't getting squeezed at all, except by himself. Salmons could replace either Hinrich or BG on next year's roster. I think it is less likely that Salmons replaces Deng.
I think that if Tim Thomas plays well he will get more and more minutes. Tim played, what, 25/26 minutes tonight. I see his numbers going up and Tyrus's going down. I'm calling it now. lol. Besides in 2 3/4 yrs has he ever played good for longer then these past 3 before. I don't think he has, so it's just a matter of time before he becomes the same old player he always was. I have no faith in him what-so-ever.
Ya know, if you'd asked me a few days ago I'd have agreed, but it doesn't seem to be working out that way so far. Tyrus is took a seat last night, and also in the game before. Deng's been losing minutes to Salmons just like he lost minutes to Noc. Ben and Kirk are pretty much where they were before the trade. They haven't last night, but the Bulls played some Miller/Noah vs. the Pacers. They're playing Tim Thomas at all. --------------------------------- All in all, I'm not sure I like the "competition". What I see as the immediate result of the trades is: * Guys who in practice needed meaningful on-court development are losing it. * They'd "earned" this time by gaining consistency and simply outlasting guys who sucked (Gray, Noc, Hughes) and guys who got hurt. * They've been rewarded for this not with security and PT, but by having those guys traded out and a fresh crop of veterans brought in. Timmy, Miller, Salmons, who are getting PT simply because of their veteran-ness. * Feeding into this is the fact that Vinnie Del Coacho is likely playing for his job and for future jobs around the league. Which puts him in the time-tested coaching position of saying "screw the future, I'm here to win today". Which is, you know, the exact opposite of what actually needs to be done with a team full of Derrick Rose, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah.
Also, I think Rose is sort of getting the bench the kids treatment through the back door, because without the trades and the introduction of more vets up front, I'm guessing there'd be less pressure to sit Rose at key stretches since there's the illusion that, with a bunch of vets out there, you might actually be getting somewhere. Rest assured that's just an illusion. I don't think we're really going to get anywhere with Miller, Salmons and Timmy that we weren't already capable of getting to. Perhaps we're a little bit more likely to sneak in the playoffs this year, but even if there's additional "development" value to getting into the playoffs, it doesn't seem that it's going to be all that great if it comes at the cost of "development" in getting to the playoffs.
The Bulls' message has been consistent for the past ~6 seasons: no entitlement time, you have to play the right way and earn your PT. It's a quandry with a guy like Rose (or Gordon, or Hinrich even), where the guys would really flourish in a system that plays to their strengths instead of to some ideal about the way to play and where the parts are interchangeable.
Yo, Mike, you raise a good point about Deng and Tyrus losing time. On the other hand, it's 2 games and neither was stellar in either game. I will say that while I am all for developing young guys, 24 mins a game is plenty of time to develop. If you need more time, you better earn it. If a player has earned it and isn't getting it, that's a different story.
