Assuming no Lebron, how can the Bulls contend with the Heat? Assuming Lebron actually goes to the Heat, how do you compete with that? I think the only possible way is to get a guy who could be a superstar, and most any cost, and hope it turns out. Because right now, the best you can imagine for the Bulls is they'll have a big 2 that can hold their own against the Heat's big 3. If the Bulls, or any other team out there want to have a fighting chance, they're going to have to find that third guy. And obviously, that's super difficult. Anthony Morrow, JJ Reddick, or even Josh Childress are not and never gonna be superstars. Neither is David Lee. So let me suggest the only guys I can think of who might be remotely up to the challenge 1. Chris Paul. There's been speculation he could be traded, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The Hornets moved MoPete and got themselves under the luxury tax. So I think that's pretty much OBE. 2. Gilbert Arenas. Probably gettable for nothing. In fact, the Wiz would probably offer up something we'd like if they had anything. Unfortunately, he's had major knee problems, and just got out of jail. Maybe participation in the "Scared Straight" program has changed his outlook and gotten him serious, but I don't think I could bring myself to pull that trigger without several months of psychological evaluation. And even then, while I could see Rose and Paul coexisting, I have a harder time seeing Rose and Arenas working out, although in theory they could be uber-dynamic, both attacking the basket and firing passes to Boozer. 3. Evan Turner. A rookie who hasn't played a real NBA game, but coming out I think he's one of the top SG prospects in several years, and probably will be every bit the equal of Brandan Roy, although maybe not as good as Wade or, say, Kevin Durant. If he's that good, why could we get him? Because the Sixers have handed out huge money to Elton Brand, and they would at least conceivably think about letting Turner go if someone cleared the decks for them. To the Bulls, of course, Brand doesn't make a lot of sense, but he's still a very similar player to Boozer, and a guy that could be helpful. And the money won't be quite an issue to the Bulls, because they'd have their core team locked in and be competing for a title over the next several years. Hopefully. So this idea, I think, seems at least a bit plausible to me. You get ahold of a guy who could be the third member of a Big 3 to compete with Wade/Bosh/Bron, and you give it the old college try. Sixers send Elton Brand, Evan Turner Bulls send Taj Gibson 1- Rose 2- Turner 3- Deng 4- Boozer, Brand 5- Noah If the Sixers wanted, I'd also willingly swap Deng for the slightly more expensive but more athletic Andre Iguodala Would the Sixers do this? Would you as a Bulls fan?
I like Turner and Brand for Gibson. We likely never will have real cap space again. Brand would be a heckva backup 4 and 5. Turner fits our needs very, very well.
lol Sixers aren't going to trade away their franchise player just for money. That's ridiculous. If Lebron/Wade/Bosh happens there's no way Chicago can compete with them, at least on paper. It still remains to be seen how they will function as a team though. On paper, the Lakers, Magic, and maybe the Celtics are the only teams so far with a legit shot against them in a 7 game series.
They were talking about it before the draft, but nobody wanted him at the price of taking Brand. It's true that after the draft, they have to hype Turner, so maybe it's too late. On the other hand, Philly's papers didn't get the memo that they were supposed to be generating franchise buzz Philly Daily News says Gotta love the Philly mention of panic after two Summer League games. Now that's absurd!
By the way, what about Iggy straight up if Turner is off the table? I heard Danny Granger mentioned a few weeks back, but Bird was only interested in a ridiculous offer (Granger for Favors+Devin Harris). He's lost his mind
The Sixers were never that desparate to get rid of Brand. Any rumors that they were willing to ship him off with Turner for some extra cash is false, especially not if their return package includes a potential role player. The Sixers payroll is at 63 million. They are 7 million away from having to pay luxury tax, so I don't see the urgency in giving away young talent for absolutely nothing.
Well, Paul is demanding a trade. Wouldn't this be an outstanding time to make a pitch for him? Oh wait, we're going hard for Shannon Brown!
I still don't think the way to beat the Heat is to try and outscore them, and I don't see the Paul-Rose backcourt being especially effective. The bulls can at least match up with the Heat defensively now, and they Heat still don't have anybody who can guard Rose. So I don't think it is as big a difference sa a a lot of people do. Bosh isn't better than Boozer, just hurt less often. And Boozer can guard Ilgauskaus and put Noah on Bosh, who has shown he can guard Bosh. And Deng has shown that he can guard LBJ as well. I think it comes down to execution and whether or not the star power psychs the bulls out or not.
Would you guys trade Rose for Paul? I think I would. Rose may become as good as Paul, maybe he'll become better. But he's not right now and maybe never will be.
I wouldn't. Paul has been hurt and Rose has at least 3 years until he is in his prime. Paul isn't that much better than Rose right now.
That's silly. Paul is only 24, he's had three straight 10+ APG seasons, was all nba defense 2nd team and then 1st team last season. He also shot 41% from 3pt. He's been a 22.8 PPG scorer (two seasons ago). As I said, Rose might become as good, but the logic that it's better to bank on the potential of a guy becoming as good vs. having the guy who's actually as good is the same as trading the sure thing 20/10 Elton Brand for the rights to draft Tyson Chandler.
You amaze me. What could possibly give you the idea that Rose isn't going to improve or that he has peaked already?
Who said he isn't going to improve, or that he's peaked? The amazing thing is you think Rose is almost as good as Paul, which clearly isn't the case. Paul is on pace to be a HoF player. For Rose to be as good, he's got to develop a 3pt shot, become a 1st team all-nba player, and start dishing out 10+ APG the rest of his career. On the assists front, Rose had fewer per game than as a rookie.
Rose isn't even on (healthy) Paul's level atm. He may very well be better down the road, but right now it's not even close. And no, I wouldn't trade Rose for Paul. He's a better scorer, bigger, stronger, younger, cheaper, and injured far less. The list goes on.
OK, lots of silliness here. It'd be pointless to trade Rose for Paul, but it'd be awesome to have them together. If you want to find the closest comparison to Rose, it's probably Wade, not Paul. I know this is a strange concept for a Bulls fan to grasp, but NBA Divas can be sold on a vision, if the guy doing the selling actually has a vision Suppose you had, say, Pat Riley running the Bulls right now. And we hadn’t just used $15M in cap space on Brewer, Korver, and Asik An NBA executive with vision who ran the Chicago Bulls would say, “Look, I know you and DRose are both PGs, but this can work! Mostly, both of you are just amazing. But you’re amazing in different ways. Derrick is untouchable when he gets the ball, and he’s got great vision, but he doesn’t have your uncanny ability to see the floor, and he’s not the shooter you are. He can play the DWade role just fine. And he will. What he wants to do is win. What you want to do is win”. And none of those places you’ve talked about can offer you the chance to play with two spectacular players like Derrick and Carlos Boozer. Who, by the way, will generate a million assists per game for you." He’d say, “Look at the Knicks. They’re Amare and that’s it. Here you’ve got two guys who can score to play with, plus you’ve got Noah and Deng who are very good too. The Magic have Howard and that’s it, and while Howard is better, there’s a couple problems there. The rest of the team is getting older. We’re not. What’s going to be left when they give stuff up to get you? Do you really think JJ Redick is gonna keep up with Lebron? And yeah, the Lakers. They’ll give up Bynum to get you, if the Hornets even go for that (and they shouldn’t, since it makes no sense for them- Likewise the Magic). Which means you get a year or two of playing with Kobe, and then you’re back to square one. Kobe is 32, and an old 32. Come here, and you can be part of something big for the rest of your career”. Of course, that would require some vision and daring on the part of our management, and we’ve pretty much closed the door on that. So never mind. Oh wait, you think the Hornets would trade Paul for Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and CJ Watson? Damn.
So you think the Hornets are giving up Paul for cap space? Or cap space and Noah? I don't know if the Bulls made an offer but other teams have made that offer and got nowhere. Unless we are giving up Rose, there are several teams that can make much better offers than us in part because the have huge payrolls and can take back Okafor too.
