Honestly I shouldn't let myself get drawn into these conversations but I am constantly amazed that the LT issue is a daily topic.
Boston acquired KG and Ray Allen. Some butterfly scenarios of deals those were. They also paid the LT for 5 straight seasons (if not more). Championship and 2 finals appearances. Other teams can make it happen, but we can't.
The "strategy" for title contention post MJ has been to build Cap Space for a time several years in the future (just hang in there fans!). This struck out under Krause. It struck out under Paxson. I'll call Boozer an overpaid single for GarPax. The only reason the Bulls are even in the contention talk is because Rose fell into their laps. Yes, they picked him over Beasley, but it wasn't the end result of any strategic planning. All the arguing in the world doesn't really matter. Its been going on for years. Show me. Get the stud FA to pair with the one time MVP, DPOY and top notch coach and actually contend for a title. Its a results oriented business. Get results. Earn the check. Otherwise, get someone who can.
Tyrus Thomas has the upside to be the next Michael Jordan. Buy your seats now so you will have them reserved for when that happens!
As I'm sure you know, it's not about the LT and never has been. The LT happens to be the battle cry, the drum to beat, at least for the moment. Remember "Reinsdorf has never paid the LT!"? So, he (the Bulls) paid it...and nothing changed. For some, only a championship(s) will calm their troubled waters. For others, even that won't be enough, because for that hard core, it's almost a personal animosity. As for the LT, as I've said before, if the Bulls amnesty Boozer, the LT is mathematically off the table for this season and probably next. Once you get below the salary cap, about the only way to quickly get to LT territory is to sign your own rookie scale players to big contracts like the Bulls did with Rose, Noah and Gibson. The Bulls don't have any rookie scale players who figure to merit big contracts.
Yeah I know. The other rallying cry was "conservative" picks -- smart players solidly coached -- instead of jump out the gym athletes. Breaking that trend was the aforementioned Tyrus Thomas.
And the end result of that strategy was a team with a "Core 4" of Hinrich / Gordon / Nocioni and Deng. Laughable in hindsight that someone would consider that a contender. And of course it wasn't.
Also, the constant comparisons to the Knicks when Uncle Jerry's frugal ways are being discussed doesn't make a lot of sense. The problem with the Knicks isn't that they spend a lot of money on payroll, its that they spend a lot of money on payroll in many cases stupidly. If the organization can afford a high payroll and the "taxes" that come with it, and they do it smartly, then its a competitive advantage against the more miserly teams for the mostpart, assuming the goal is to win titles. The low payroll teams in the NBA don't win many titles in the luxury tax era. This assumes that the primary goal for these organizations is to win championships, which isn't the case for all of them.
The best Bulls team since the Jordan era was Vinnie's first season. They could field 4 guys who could put the ball in the basket: Salmons, Gordon, Rose, and Miller. They took the defending champs to 7 games in the first round of the playoffs, several OT and multiple games. Two of the three top scorers in that series for us aren't with the team anymore. They finished that season 15-8 their last 23 games. It was jump out of the gym athletes smartly coached, not lesser ones smartly coached.
No it wasn't but Bright Lights Big City Tyrus was laughed out of the league. Maybe he jumped over the Hancock Center on the way out.
Tyrus' PER was roughly the same as Taj's. He started 61 games for us. Do I wish we had someone better? Sure. We could have had Gasol. The asking price was Lu, and Lu was hurt and didn't play in the playoffs for us (played 49 games).
I freely admit the Knicks spend foolishly. The point is throwing money at a problem isn't a sure cure to anything except relieving pound of flesh bitterness over perceived underspending. Hey I am not opposed to the Bulls paying LT by any means. I want to see my beloved Bulls win more championships and if it is a must so be it. Its not my money. I just don't see a boogieman. And as always PER is completely useless as an overall, complete metric of a player's contribution, IMO. The fact that Deng IMO was a solid 3rd banana making 2nd or 1st banana money and Thomas spent most of the time looking flat out lost but apparently had equal PER is proof enough for me that Hollinger's life work is for naught.
That team averaged 102 points a game and gave up 102 points. Defense is needed and all of that, but in the playoffs, you have to be able to score. That team could.
