22. Chicago Bulls Key additions: James Johnson, Taj Gibson Key subtractions: Ben Gordon In limbo: Aaron Gray (R) The Bulls made a big, bold move at the trade deadline in February and gave the Celtics all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs. But since then, things haven't gone well. They lost their best scorer, Gordon, to the Pistons. The word is they're shopping their starting power forward, Tyrus Thomas. And I'm still scratching my head a little concerning their draft. The Bulls still have lots of talent, but losing Gordon means they've taken a step back.
I think you also have to add to the list that they've retained a coach who has all but proven that he's not up to the job. Does anyone seriously expect this upcoming season to go well?
Yeah right, the Bulls don't make trades. They'll be rumored to make a trade for weeks but Reinsdorf will put his foot down and yell "Kirk's not going anywhere!" and the rumors will be put to rest. I need to start liking another team, this is frustrating.
If we pull off that Boozer deal and Deng misses games, we're going to see a back court of Pargo and Rose for 40 minutes.
This isn't insightful because it's blatant truth: " The Bulls still have lots of talent, but losing Gordon means they've taken a step back."
Since you're a Pistons fan now, I do empathize. There's always hockey. At worst, for a non contender which the bulls were and are, it was a lateral move. Why would you overpay to lock up a guy who would be at best the fourth best player on any of the current contenders. BG would be behind Howard, Lewis, Carter and all-star Jameer Nelson in Orlando, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, Odom and Bynum in LA, Melo, Billups, Nene, and maybe Smith in Denver, and Lebron, Shaq, and either West or Williams in Cleveland. The only place where he'd even have a shot to start would be in Cleveland and I'm not sure they'd do it based on their defensive approach. Only in LA does the fourth guy make anywhere near what BG wanted. So please, tell me why the bulls should overpay BG and lock him up long term if they are really interested in building a championship caliber team. BG isn't even better than Deng when he's actually healthy. And how did they get worse? BG doesn't even begin to make the bulls a contender and his contract would make it harder to get guys who would make them a contender.
You still need 4th best players who are good, by your reasoning. And certainly Gordon was our best player, even when Deng was healthy. The size of Gordon's contract is a convenient excuse to not pay guys for performance, which is the Bulls' MO. They pay guys like PJ Brown, Antonio Davis, Brad Miller, Tim Thomas, Ben Wallace, and Larry Hughes (Brad Miller currently) bigger contracts than anyone else. Maybe they feel burned by the four guys they did give out big contracts to. They traded away Wallace and Chandler and kept Deng & Hinrich who simply don't play much nor have they contended for an all-star position. Or if you've actually followed the team, the recurring pattern is to put a mediocre team on the floor while giving fans some hope of a future payout. The 3Cs were the cornerstones of the franchise, just wait until they figure out how to play basketball! We need financial flexibility so we can eventually sign that FA (Ben Wallace, it turned out the 1st time) who'll put us over the top. Just you wait until Tyrus Thomas develops, he's going to be another Michael Jordan. Meanwhile, we keep shedding guys like Elton Brand, Artest, young Brad Miller, Chandler, and Gordon while many of those guys you listed above (Lewis, Carter, Artest, Gasol, Shaq, and Billups) and a few you didn't (KG, Allen) moved in front of your face, but not to here. If becoming a contender through the draft is a winning formula, it's yet to be proven. Of all those lotto picks we've had, Gordon turned out to be the best so far (Rose will be better) and Hinrich and Deng (both with PER of about 13) are the only ones who've stuck with us past rookie contracts. You have to be wearing rose colored glasses and drink a lot of kool-aid to think this is a situation that's attractive to a UFA in 2010. We're liable to sign a couple, but they'll be the leftover pickings when all the other teams who've been saving up cap space for 2010 have signed the elite guys and we're all that's left. Or we'll get (again) guys who are over 30 and resolved that they are happy to be paid without any real chance of contending.
Deng is a better player than BG when healthy. The question is only whether he will be healthy long enough for that to mean something. "If becoming a contender through the draft is a winning formula, it's yet to be proven." Huh? Name me one current contender who didn't get their best player through the draft. LA, Cleveland, Orlando, Denver, SA. Boston is the clear exception. You draft your best player and you fill in the complimentary players around that player. BG is a complimentary player. He can be replaced, and pretty easily.
Replaced by Pargo? I don't think so. There never was an adequate replacement on the horizon, no matter the level of denial you choose. If it were easy to replace Gordon, I wouldn't care if he was on the team or not. And Gordon was better than Deng when Deng was healthy. It's quite clear he was our best player the past 4 seasons straight. You don't get better unless you replace a player with one who's better, especially true of the starting lineup.
Deng has always been the better player. That's why he's always the holdup in trade talks. That's why he's always been a starter. The question has always been his health. But when he's been healthy, he's been more productive and a bettter defender than BG.
The guy was never even a top 15 SF in the league, but he was young and had that upside kool-aid we've been sold over and over again.
Except when the game was on the line or a shot needed at the end of a quarter, the ball wasn't in Deng's hands. Hell, I don't even think they ran plays for him.
Yeah, hopefully Deng is working on his step back, fadeaway this summer, because the bulls will be so mediocre if they don't have anybody on the roster to take that shot...
Deng's mid range j was money though, hopefully he's developed a 3, along with the step back and fadeaways
