http://www.suntimes.com/sports/2443216,CST-SPT-bull29.article Bulls' big splash may not be LeBron James June 29, 2010 BY JOHN JACKSON jjackson@suntimes.com As the Thursday start of the NBA's free-agent period nears and the anticipation of the Bulls making a huge splash grows, we interrupt the coronation of LeBron James as the new king of Chicago with this sobering thought: What if James doesn't sign with the Bulls? What if the Bulls' grand plan doesn't materialize and they have to turn to Plan B, Plan C or even Plan D? Will anything the Bulls do other than signing James be considered a failure? The short answer is that it will be a disappointment but not necessarily a failure. From the moment the Bulls decided a couple of years ago to do what they could to become major players on the free-agent market this summer, the plan wasn't necessarily to sign James. It was to put themselves in position to make a big-time signing. They can do that by signing Toronto Raptors center/power forward Chris Bosh and, say, Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson. But now the ante has been upped because the Bulls are the perceived front-runners in the James sweepstakes -- even ahead of the Cavaliers at this point. I asked Bulls general manager Gar Forman if the current climate creates more pressure for him, executive vice president John Paxson and even chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. ''There's always some pressure,'' Forman said. ''We challenge ourselves each and every day to try to make improvements and try to get better -- not only myself but everyone in this organization. ''The flexibility gives us opportunities to get better. There are a lot of different angles we can take. It's not necessarily one thing. Our job is to explore all those options and be prepared for different options and try to take advantage.'' Despite all the chatter that James is definitely leaving Cleveland and coming to the Bulls (and that Bosh will join him), the only person who truly knows what James is thinking is James -- and he's not tipping his hand. James probably is leaning one way, but I seriously doubt he has reached a decision yet because he doesn't have to decide anything right now. I believe he'll sit down with each of the teams on his short list of suitors -- the Bulls, Nets, Knicks, Heat and possibly the Clippers and Mavericks -- and listen to their sales pitches. Once the meetings are over, James probably will make a quick decision. He may listen to counsel from others -- his agent Leon Rose, business manager Maverick Carter and confidant William Wesley will be present at the meetings -- but ultimately the decision will be his and his alone. That's the way James always has made major decisions: Listen to all the advice and then decide for himself. During an interview on CNN's ''Larry King Live'' earlier this month -- his only public comments since the end of the Cavaliers' season -- James indicated that would be his approach. ''You know, even with the discussion with the rest of the free agents, with my friends, with my supporting cast, ultimately it's going to be me,'' he said. ''I'm going to have to sit down and say, 'Where do you want to play? What's going to be your future?''' Everyone is waiting for the answer to those questions.
Contrary to any organizational reframing, I will view them as having failed if they do not land LJ. We have the most talent, a good city, and almost the most money. If LJ doesn't sign it's because of management's adversarial relationship with the players during the championship era.
Lol @ the Bulls if they don't get Bosh and James. I don't see them being able to stop a Miami team with Wade and Bosh if they only get Johnson.
Let's rationalize this a bit. What are LeBron's options? To Miami with Bosh and Wade. But I don't think they have enough cap space for all three at this point. They'd dominate. To NY with any one other FA. But are they the team we'd have to go through to make the Finals? I don't think so. To NJ? They don't have as much cap space as we do, so less likely to sign that 2nd FA. But maybe they could sign a Joe Johnson to go with him. Are they the team to beat? NJ just wasn't that good before signing such two FAs. To LAC. I think they have just enough to sign LeBron. He'd be joining Kaman, Griffin, Gordon, and Davis. That's a pretty sweet starting 5, if healthy. To Cleveland? That's a bust. I think it's got to be us. Along with a Joe Johnson, though I could see taking on David Lee and having some cap left over to round out the roster.
Someone from Chicago, other than Sam Smith had to write an article like that. It is not a sure thing, that is for sure. We were never mentioned in the same breathe as LeBron until a few weeks ago.
The bulls have 29.2 million in cap space now, to 29.1 million in miami after wade stays. That's according to nbatv. The kirk thing was a huge catalyst.
oh I still think we will get 'Bron. He didn't commit to Miami according to earlier articles. To be honest, Bosh is saying publicly it won't happen.
at $29M each, the choice would be between Wade/Beasley and Rose/Noah/Deng/Gibson - plus whatever the leftover cap will buy.
You guys already know Im very high on Dirk/Bron. What do you guys think of that duo along with our core?
Amazing, I'd settle for that if there's no Bosh. It seems like Dirk's staying though, unless the Mavs want to do some crazy trade and blow it up.
I dont see Dirk leaving Dallas, but he would fit in well with this team, but with some of the other FA's out there we can have the potential of a longer playoff run with some of them.
Damnit Denny hahaha I know you and youre whole fetish about age. But Dirk would be a reliable 3 pt threat while also being a possible low post scorer
His expiring contract would be at age 37. It's not next season that makes me worry about him, it's 2-3 seasons down the road. Short window of opportunity.
