1. Make a push for Kevin Love again 2. Go for Gasol 3. Bring Nikola Mirotic over 4. Worst-case scenario If the Bulls fail in Options 1-3, the frustration of the fan base will permeate throughout every aspect of the organization. Assuming they don't find any takers for a Boozer sign-and-trade, the Bulls could still amnesty the final year of his deal and move Dunleavy -- but what would they do with the $13 million left in cap space? Lance Stephenson appears to be a last-ditch possibility. I don't believe he would work well in coach Tom Thibodeau's locker room, but he has the type of talent that could continue to blossom in the right situation. The Bulls will keep tabs on Chandler Parsons, a good friend of Noah's, but it's hard to believe the Rockets will let him walk as a restricted free agent -- especially if they don't land Anthony or LeBron James. The Bulls' biggest problem is the same one it faced as free agency began: There are some solid names and possibilities on this list, but if it doesn't land Anthony or Love, the organization can't feel confident in the notion that it would start the upcoming season as a legitimate title contender. Read more http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/19707/whats-next-for-bulls-after-melo
Hope Doug McDermott is really good and hope that our new Ron Mercer or whatever the equivalent this go around is can get the job done?
I kinda' hate Friedell's article with all my heart and soul. First off, fuck the fans. Part of being the only big market team with a basketball monopoly is that you don't have to tilt at windmills. Secondly, there will be other off seasons. I don't like how Kevin Love would fit on this team and I don't like how Pau Gasol would fit. I mean, if Pau nets you Anthony then go all out. Otherwise, haven't we seen this script played out before many, many times with Mercer, I mean Wallace, I mean Boozer. Look, not signing Anthony is kinda' a kick in the balls. But life goes on. The Bulls could use the cap space to sign Mirotic. They could also re-up Augustin for a relatively large one-year deal. That way, by next off season they have his baby bird rights. Don't make any long-term commitments; retain decent flexibility and make another play of it next year. You add Mirotic, Mitt Romney (Dougie McBuckets), Derrick Rose and a full-season of Augustin and don't hate where this team is at. You've upgraded your shooting at point guard, small forward, back up small forward and power forward and you get to see what you have in Derrick Rose. There's a decent mix of young talent and prime veterans on that team and that's going to be the best bench in the league. Is that team a contender? Probably not. But you still have to see what you have in Rose anyway. Part of playing poker is knowing when to fold them.
I couldn't agree more. If we strike out on Anthony, which I expect, I don't want to see us burn cap space on Gasol just because we have the space.
Give him an extension? Then, bring Mirotic over. Lock up Butler for Max money. 1. Pay luxury tax 2. ?????? 3. Championship/Profit
I think he finishes his contract and the Bulls let him walk or facilitate a S&T for a trade exception.
I agree. No more bad contracts. Not only are you overpaying for a guy but given the self-imposed financial constraints the Bulls org puts on itself, you end up losing good players when its time for them to get paid.
We will be alright short term. Contenders? Still top 4 in the east. We were #4 last season, but we are not serious contenders to win it all unless Rose goes nuts! Unless McBuckets shoots lights out all year. Even then, I dont think we win it all. Thunder get Gasol, they will be hard to handle. He starts in place of Perkins who has done nothing for them other than clog up the middle. Gasol goes to NY they will not be any better than we are. We can still get Love. Remember that will be revisited soon. Minny will have to trade him now. If not and they wait until deadline, they will be offered less. No Love and we keep Boozer until deadline, the team could get some players and picks. Anyway you look at it we will still be a better team than last season once it is all decided. We won 48 games without Rose, McBuckets. 55 wins with the way the team stands right now is not out of the question.
I don't see not getting Anthony as any kind of kick in the balls, but other than that, I really like this post. While the Bulls FO has shown a sense of urgency this offseason, I don't want them to behave desperately. And by all means fuck the fans...and Friedell while you're at it.
And that player figures to be Jimmy Butler, right? I can't imagine a circumstance where Jimmy Butler comes into next season and he magically has developed the ability to shoot. But I've been following basketball long enough to know that I'm always wrong when trying to project player development. Who would have thought he would have regressed this past season? Who would have thought Noah and Gibson would have been the ones making strides? People around here seem to like Trevor Ariza. That guy was basically a bad shooter until last season, his tenth season in the league. That guys basically been a poor-efficiency, hi volume type scorer his entire career. And honestly, he wasn't even a high volume guy until relatively recently. So which is it? Did Ariza suddenly learn how to shoot in a contract year? Or was it a one-year anomaly? I might take my chances on internal development from Butler.
SST, I think I'm the only one who likes Ariza. The way I look at it, if I can believe that Taj Gibson is the Taj Gibson I saw last season moreso than the one I saw in seasons before, I can believe the same thing about Ariza. And if the Bulls sign Ariza, I still want them to keep Butler.
Ariza looked really good in the playoffs against the Bulls. It seemed kind of like an out of nowhere performance. Not really a guy that I'm thrilled to locking up for a long term deal. I am SO SICK of hearing about future flexibility. Its all pretty much bullshit. I hope I'm wrong and something good manages to happen this offseason.
I think Ariza at $6M or $8M is a fair deal. I expect he gets bigger offers since there's so much cap space to be spent league-wide. And I think he ends up signing with his current team, the Wizards.
I think the Gortat signing signals the Wizards are committed to keeping the current edition of the team intact. I don't see them being a contender, but it also wouldn't surprise if they'll be able to make the playoffs for the next 3-4 years without too much competition, and they've been terrible for quite sometime now, so I can see where they're coming from.
When it comes to Jimmy's potential I still think he has it in him to be a decent scorer on good efficiency with a respectable outside shot. That's basically what he was the last half of the 2012-2013 season. I think his regression this last year was the result of battling through injuries and having his number called a little more often than he was equipped to handle.....and maybe a lack of confidence in his shot. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him return to his 2013 production with Rose back. However, I have a hard time seeing him turn into a high usage player.....that just doesn't seem like it's in his game.
I think he played at SG and got different sorts of looks, guarded players he had to chase around more, and otherwise had other responsibilities and spots on the floor to be at. Frankly, he may turn into an SG over time, but he's proven to be a quality SF. At SG, he's a square peg in a round hole.
Butler's either both or neither, IMO. I vote for both. Dunleavy, on the other hand, is a SF who can defend only slower SGs. Thibodeau played Butler and Dunleavy together with Butler generally getting the quicker SGs. I think Thibodeau would say that, on offense, it doesn't make much difference who plays which wing.
They run these things called plays. So the SF in Thibs' schemes takes a lot of shots from the corners or drives from there. The SG in Thibs' schemes runs around a real lot, trying to get open via multiple picks and is expected to be good at catch & shoot. Jimmy seems fine at the corner shots and drives. Catch and shoot, not so much. So yeah, it does matter who plays where.
