http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/12/08/chicagos-new-dynamic-duo/ But there is a catch, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune explains: "The strategy appears to be to let the market come to them as they try to upgrade at shooting guard, armed only with salary cap exceptions. With other candidates like the Suns’ Vince Carter not officially waived yet, management sounds confident one player will sign for the right price for the chance to play for a title contender alongside Derrick Rose. According to league sources, the Bulls have not yet offered the $5 million mid-level exception to any player, including Butler, who is meeting with the Nets on Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, last season’s starter, Keith Bogans, continues to work out at Berto Center and looks to be in great shape." ... So, it’s not just about who the Bulls want as much it is who is willing to come and play alongside a young superstar like Rose for the right price. On a team built on a bedrock of defense first, Crawford probably seems like a strange choice. But from this vantage point, he’s the no-brainer choice from a purely basketball standpoint. While Butler appears to be the Bulls’ top choice, the same goes for the Spurs and at least a couple of other suitors, Crawford would be the wise choice. Because as Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has shown in both Boston and Chicago, you don’t need great defenders to craft a great defensive team. You only need willing subjects. But to solve the scoring problems that cost them throughout the postseason, the Bulls need a hired assassin, a player capable of huge scoring nights whenever you need to dial one up. That’s a luxury Crawford would give the Bulls that few others in this free agent market can provide.
Bulls management really pisses me off if this is true. "Hey, come play for real cheap because: 1) we don't want to pay, 2) you get to play next to Rose." Not particularly aggressive about going after the guy you want. Seems like Butler was it, and he's gone to a nearly equally young and upcoming team that was willing to pay. Oddly, the Clippers' Sterling has a reputation of being equally as cheap (and putting nearly as bad of teams on the court) as Reinsdorf over the long haul. Sadder yet, Crawford really is a good fit but he should have been a Bull all along. We refused to give him a contract starting at ~$5M and paid guys like Antonio Davis, Tim Thomas, Larry Hughes, Brad Miller, PJ Brown, and a few others much more than that $5M (like more than 2x that $5M) for SEVEN seasons. For seven seasons we saw those scrubs play meaningful minutes.
Geez, and the Raps just picked up Pietrus for a 2nd rounder. He's defensive-minded, but has a good offensive game as well. Certainly would have been an upgrade at PG for us.
Frustrating that it seems like many teams are really trying to improve their team and the Bulls seem to be on the sidelines. We need a 2 guard that can score for himself and shoot the 3 very badly. Standing pat isn't an option. Perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised instead of disappointed. I'd be disappointed at this point if we're starting out with Bogans/Brewer/Korver.
Antonio Davis, PJ Brown and Brad Miller were all fundamental to winning Bulls teams in the time they were here ( Brad on his 2nd time around of course )
They were stiffs. They were old. They all earned $12M or more for at least one season with us. Surely we could have signed old stiffs for the vet minimum or even the MLE and used the remaining money (FOR SEVEN YEARS) on quality players.
It's difficult to put into isolation of course ...however , Jamal has never been a winner ..more like he found himself on a winner 2 or 3 out of 10 seasons because the Hawks drafted Horford and Smith and paid JJ when the Suns chose to let him go. On a team like this ...I like Jamal and think he is the ultimate 6th man / 3 guard. And yeah I'd offer him full exception. I think he's a better fit and has more utility than Jason Richardson I would start with Rip and play him for 17 to 18 minutes a game. Rose is going to play 38 So we've got say 41 minutes left over at guard. Crawford plays at least 22 of them and if he's hot you ride the hot hand. If he's not and we need to put the clamps on in the back court we go with Brewer and Watson more with Jimmy Butler apprenticing Korver is our situational wing shooter Noah , Boozer, Asik , Gibson and Thomas as our 5 big rotation
They were stiffs. They were old. They all earned $12M or more for at least one season with us. Surely we could have signed old stiffs for the vet minimum or even the MLE and used the remaining money (FOR SEVEN YEARS) on quality players.
Antonio Davis allowed us to be rid of Jalen Rose , played quality minutes for us and gave us the interior defense we didn't have that allowed our ascendancy as a winning team to become a reality. PJ Brown was essentially a swap for Tyson Chandler , who at the time hadn't really come on as a Bull and Brown gave us the same interior defense in what was a very under rated contribution whole he was here. We had made a choice to develop Tyrus instead of Tyson ...and PJ was a down home leesiana man who was a cost to the investment of Tyrus Thomas. Brad Milller allowed us to be rid of Nocioni ( who was done ) These were the best guys we could get back with the crap we needed to dump and you can bang on as much as you like but they were all effective contributors while they were here and key parts of winning Bulls teams
FJ If we had kept Rose and let his contract expire, we could have paid a superstar $17M for 5 years. No ballast, no crap. And none of those guys helped us get out of the first round, or really make it to the first round.
Stopped by to see what was going on here and stepped right into a bunch of debates I had when I was a much younger man. Not sure I can add much, but if you guys go back much farther, I'd like it to be noted that I didn't want to trade Clifford Ray for Nate Thurmond.
By the way, I wish we had kept Jerry Sloan as our coach. Oh, and I would be pretty happy if we added Rip and Jamal. Hinrich would be ok, I think, but Jamal would be better -- and more expensive at this point, of course. I liked AD. He werent no stiff. Nor was Brad. And PJ was alright. I don't see the point in moaning over them. They knew who they were by then. Jamal didn't find out until about 6 seasons after we traded him. Good for him that he figured it out... ....finding myself slowly getting sucked back in. But not into those old debates, thank you very much. I like K4E much better now!
I have one question to add in the middle of the deabte. How are we going to add both Rip AND Jamal? You'd figure Jamal would take all of the MLE (if hes gonna take that paycut) but how much is Rip gonna go for?
Rose and AD's contracts expired at the same time from memory and AD's contract translated into The Polish Rifle , the incomparable Cezary Trybanski and our real target from 1999 full boat free agency ....Yes you guessed it .....Tim Thomas You might say that Eddy Curry , who went with AD , gave us the Knicks pick that became Tyrus Thomas After SS Full Boat was well and truly torpedoed ...the SS Right Way was launched down the slipway with a taut Jib . With Skipper Skiles , 1st Mate Kirk " Gilligan" Hinrich , and Gunner Nocioni ....this was where the ballast of benjamins was vested for this fine vessel to stay the course. The masterly structure and stewardship of SS Right Way was thought to be unsinkable and so it charged on .......it did receive its first hit when it was ka Pau'd by Michael Heisley..... Undeterred ...Right Way sailed on and in self righteous arrogance picked up Pirate Ben who had been marooned by the Pistons , and thought they had found their Master of the Watch to add further weight to an already laden ballast that would enable them to go deep into unchartered waters ( a mysterious land called the Conference Finals) It was this addition of Benjamins to the ballast , that was , the free agency treasure of Jalen Rose that had gone missing that was now found - having had to acquire a pirate find it. Or so we thought ..... Many years at sea can do strange things to a man ....you can put up with the buggery , the luggery , the rats , the weevils , the scurvy ...ah the scurvy ! You can even take the lash ....but all of this not without cash ( Able Seaman Gordon ) and not amidst constant mutterings of being forced to walk the plank so ye ballast may be lightened for perhaps a Pau or a rolled gold Kobe ( 1st mate Hinrich and Enson Deng ) Nor can a pirate take to being ordered to remove his headband!
And as sure as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West this tale of yore finishes in bloody mutiny and with the final resting place of SS Right Way in the dank bowels of the Berto
It took Jamal and Tyson both about 8-10 years to settle down in the league. They have their talents, but need the right situations for them to be useful, or else their weaknesses are gaping chest wounds. Presently, I wouldn't mind either on this team. AD I thought was a very underrated part of that 47 win bulls team. He was old and slow, but still built like a brick shithouse and able to handle the paint. And I got the impression he was good in the locker room. But anyways. It's 2011, not 2001
Crawford was awful in the playoffs against us. This would be a terrible signing. Glad it looks like Rip.
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/217470/Crawford_Receives_Two_Year_$10M_Offer_From_Pacers Pacers getting stronger and stronger with Crawford (if signed) and West. Could be a much stronger team this year. It would be frustrating to see Crawford take a contract the same for what we're supposedly offering Rip.
I think people, John Hollinger aside, are sleeping on the Pacers for this season. They had a nice core last season and were a well composed team. That's usually good enough for 48 wins in a regular season in the Eastern Conference. Crawford would still be a nice addition. The Bulls can offer him about 7 million per for two seasons in a sign and trade with Atlanta, where Atlanta receives no guaranteed salary back. It would put the Bulls into the luxury tax for the next two seasons but there will only be a dollar for dollar tax. I wouldn't be completely shocked if he still ends up on the Bulls. The Bulls have space to either pick up Bogans' option or resign him at the vet minimum without going into the luxury tax but it seems like they've made it clear to him that he's not in their plans. That seems to suggest that the Bulls have one more move left in them. That may try to acquire another big -- maybe they thought that Kurt Thomas was going to re-sign with them -- but it could also be a move for Crawford.
