SherrodbCSN A. Sherrod Blakely Former #Celtics F Rasheed Wallace is "real interested" in the #Bulls, source close to Wallace tells #CSNNE.com. Chi has some reservations.
Sheed would be a good addition here. We have the team structure necessary to absorb his personality, we need a fifth big, and I think you could play him with any one of our bigs, I think. I think he'd be especially effective w/ Boozer, since he's good on defense and has a three point shot.
begin rant When I see rumors like this I feel like we're imposing a conception of roster building that is a decade old (which is still three decades younger than the players we are discussing). Remember back in the Robert Parish Bulls days when general managers just filled out the last three or four roster spots with crippled vets who would provide a couple of bad minutes a game? 'Sheed is 37 years old and could barely move two seasons ago with the Celtics. He lost his jumper and was no longer a physical inside presence. Is that really how we want to spend a roster spot and a minimum contract? Gustavo Ayon had his first solid game tonight for the Hornets. He's a power forward-center who was leading the ACB in ranking, a poor man's PER, due to his stellar rebounding and high percentage shooting, on a marginal team in the Spanish League. His game reminds me of what Amare' looked like earlier in his career, minus the explosiveness. He can handle well and uses his dribbling skills to find easy buckets at the hoop. The thing is, that mix of skills (length, rebounding, handling, mobility) is enough to have a long productive career in the NBA. There are language issues for Ayon who only speak limited English, but he's already showed he can do things. The details of his contract have not been released, but he was undrafted, and I imagine he's locked in at a minimum or near minimum contract. It used to be that you relied on vets because rookies had such a huge learning curve to undergo, and they would make mistakes trying to prove themselves on the court. The good teams in Euroleague play and the strong domestic leagues now days usually contain one or two, and perhaps more, players who have both NBA skills and years of experience playing within pro-style offenses and defensive schemes. Ricky Rubio doesn't look like a college-to-pros rookie because he's not a college-to-pros rookie. You can say the same for Andres Nocioni, if we ant to go back through Bulls history. I feel like the Spurs, who along with the Bulls have historically been on the cutting edge for finding talent in unusual places, are now concentrating on Euopean veterans who are 24-27 or so years old. So many teams are obsessed with youth that players that develop later in their careers are getting missed, and these players have a hell of a platform in Europe in which to develop. It looks like next year the Spurs are going to bring over Barcelona forward Erazem Lorbek, a 6'10 stretch power forward with a nice all around game and a pure stroke. I think there are opportunities to find real players in Europe, players who are not just fighting to stay in the game, who will have a fast learning curve because of their experience. It's much easier to sign another Rasual Butler type vet than complete the scouting, acquire the draft rights (if they were drafted), and complete a buyout, if one is necessary. But that is an investment in time and money that will often pay off. Scalabrine is fine but the front office could be doing better. We don't need another veteran like Wallace who can only at best marginally contribute. end rant
Sham's updated his numbers this season for the hornets. (As an aside, I wish I had his contacts.) Ayon signed to a three year roughly 1.5 million per year contract ($1,567,500, $1,500,000, $1,500,000). Ayon had another good outing today: 8 points (4-5), 5 rebounds (1+4), 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 20 minutes. I didn't see the game, but that's solid statistical production form a rookie, and since it's reflective of what he did in the ACB, I would be somewhat surprised if this was smoke and mirrors. 1.5 million per season is a quite a bit more than a minimum contract when you consider the tax ramifications, but it's still a steal. Ayon on a two million per year contract would have given the Bulls a ton of flexibility going into this offseason (not to mention the trade deadline), if the Bulls are unable to re-up Asik or Gibson. A human victory cigar Ayon is not; he's also not a knee-less ex celtic; but I think the better personnel move is already apparent.
It's hard for me to bitch hard about Scalabrine. He's the 12th man. He's strictly a practice player. He's paid the vet minimum to carry a mop. His expectation coming to the arena is that he'll play zero minutes. If I was a young, talented Euro big who could pick his team/situation, I wouldn't want to look up at Boozer, Noah, Gibson, Asik and sometimes Deng. I'd rather go somewhere I might be able to like actually play. Net, it may have been that Ayon and other talented Euro big men weren't interested in the Bulls rather than the other way around.
I wanted to bump this thread to brag because I'm actually that shallow of a person. Gustavo Ayon has started killing it, and may be better than the solid backup post player I had anticipated. He dropped 9 points (4/7), 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block tonight. Over his last ten games, he's put up 7.7 points (54% shooting), 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.1 blocks in 27 minutes. He would have been a nice addition at 1.5 million per.
