Chicago Bulls Added: Carlos Boozer (sign-and-trade), Kyle Korver (free agency), Ronnie Brewer (free agency), Kurt Thomas (free agency), C.J. Watson (trade) Lost: Kirk Hinrich (trade), Hakim Warrick (sign-and-trade), Brad Miller (free agency) Philosophy: "Why have excellent when you can have above-average?" Well, hey, they didn't get LeBron. Or Dwyane Wade. Or Chris Bosh. Or Amar'e Stoudemire. But they got Carlos Boozer! And sure, they didn't get Anthony Morrow. Or J.J. Redick (though they tried). But they got Kyle Korver! And that's pretty much the Bulls summer. The Bulls swung out on the big boys and got the next best thing they could rustle up. Boozer's numbers are good, and he certainly solves a lot of their needs. That's really what it comes down to. All of the Bulls' signings were exactly what they needed, they just weren't the best guys they could get. Carlos Boozer gives them a low-post power forward with offensive versatility. He's just not Amar'e Stoudemire or Chris Bosh. Kyle Korver adds three-point shooting, just not as well as Anthony Morrow would have. Ronnie Brewer may have been their best signing. They essentially took Kirk Hinrich, a defensive combo-guard that can't really shoot anymore (I'll never figure out where his shot went), and his considerable salary and moved him for Brewer, a defensive combo-wing that can't shoot. It's hard to knock the Bulls, since they did at least stay aggressive, and did make moves. And trying to grade them based on expectations in this competitive of a year is tough. But with one of the biggest markets, cap space, and a handful of advantages, you still have to look at their moves and ask "Really?" Grade: C+ http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22748484/23463561?tag=headlines;nba
Anybody who thinks Amare was a better signing than Boozer is a moron. And anybody who at this point doesn't openly acknowledge that the fix was in (see Colangelo's comments about Bosh mailing it in down the stretch today) as to where Wade/Bosh/LBJ were going is an even bigger moron.
I think Boozer is just as good as Bosh, trouble is he doesnt have the length Bosh does, but thats never held him back.
"got the next best thing they could rustle up." "they just weren't the best guys they could get." He states the obvious. We failed in every instance to get the best player available at any position we signed or traded for.
That's certainly what it looks like when you view everything the bulls have done through shit colored glasses.
I posted a Plan Z that the Bulls could have followed, regardless of the big 3 signing in Miami. They started out on the right foot, but bungled nearly every move beyond that. Amare's 27 and coming off a 22.6 PER season. You called him a top 10 player. Boozer's coming off a 21.6 PER season, which is not as good as 22.6 (you do get math, right?) Amare was 2nd team all-nba at center with 2 first team votes and 239 points. Boozer got 33 total points in the voting. I wouldn't gripe about management if they at least looked like they were trying - and that means Best Player Available at every opportunity. Instead, I've seen enough Cap Space on Ben Wallace (and no help for him), dumping of young players so they don't have to pay them a fair market wage, and .500 or less seasons using this strategy to get what Reinsdorf is all about. Mark Cuban actually tries to win, and he gives a shit about his team's fans. People get that. They don't hate him because he's not produced a champion. They forgive him for trying as hard as he can. This is not true of our owner. I really fucking wish he'd sell the team to someone who gives a shit about basketball instead of milking the franchise for every penny of profit.
I rate Boozer ahead of Amare, so unless we are back to the patented "Denny Crane/David Kahn sign-all-of-the-PF's-out-there" plan, the bulls got the best available guy. Not sure how you can say the bulls didn't get the best 3pt shooter out there. And there really wasn't much out there at SG, so once again Denny, if you take off the shit colored glasses through which you view everything the bulls do, they actually did very well.
Our starting SG should be 1st guard off the bench and backup SF. We could have had a starting SG with 2 years in the league and at least some potential to get better (who also led the league in 3pt%). The sad thing is, it is going to be about 20 games into the season when Korver is starting for us (at SG or SF), and he really is a 17 MPG specialist kind of player. I've seen how you rate some pretty questionable talent over guys who are all-nba, consistent all stars, team leaders in scoring, and so on. If you want to color me anything, color me unimpressed.
One third team all-nba is recognition for your value by guys whose job it is to watch at least 82 games a year and report on it.
I'll agree with you and the general tone Moore takes. It's not enough to say you did fine. That's a C+. You can say nothing was available season after season after season but at some point it no longer is an acceptable excuse. When was the last time the Bulls made a move that impressively surprised us, like the Lakers, Heat and San Antonio seem to do on a semi-annual basis. We deserve more.
