Well, considering that this Bulls season has been nothing short of miserable, I think it would be fair to look at the off-season. These are the current players who are under contract for next season: Antonio Davis, Eddie Robinson, Jerome Williams, Scottie Pippen, Tyson Chandler, Chris Jefferies, Corie Blount, Jay Williams, Kirk Hinrich, and Eddy Curry. The Bulls did do good already, by extending Tyson and Eddy?s contract. As you can tell, that leaves; Marcus Fizer, Jamal Crawford, Linton Johnson, Rick Brunson, and Kendall Gill. Now, they do have qualifying offers to both Jamal Crawford and Marcus Fizer. Which means they can basically match any offer a team makes. To see if they go after either will be interesting. I think that we first and foremost, go after Crawford. Get this guy a contract. Lets face it, I would rather have Crawford than to go into free agency praying to get someone else. Jamal has emerged as one of the best players on the Bulls, although struggling of late. Marcus Fizer? I think it all depends. It depends on how much Fizer wants. He obviously wasn?t what we expected him to be, but is still a good guy off the bench. The next guys are guys that we have no options or qualifying offers for. This would be Rick Brunson, Linton Johnson, and Kendall Gill. Personally, I can care less if Rick Brunson resigns. I think we could get a better backup in free agency. Maybe a Charlie Ward or something. Linton Johnson I think we should keep, but only to a minimum contract or a little over. He has shown some good defense, and solid hustle. Kendall Gill, I think, we should resign. He has been one of the few consistant ball players on the Bulls. He plays good defense. Again, it depends on how much money he is asking for, but I speculate it won?t be that much. Here are some guys I might consider going after, that we realistically have a shot at. Eric Williams is one. He?s come in nicely with Cavaliers, so that is why I believe they will resign him. But Eric brings big defense to the board. He also is not a selfish player and hustles a lot. Another guy I would look at is Adonal Foyle. With the emergence of Eric Dampier, the Warriors don?t really have a need to him. I think he would be perfect for the Bulls, that in he hustles so much, plays great defense, and is an amazing rebounder. Also, doesn?t have any off the court problems or fights. His injury might be a problem, but that?s why we have doctors. Mike Miller. Mike would bring something the Bulls desperately need, and that?s shooting. Mike is one of the best 3 point shooters in the game. He also has a solid defense. I would take him any day. Toni Kucoc. Well, I know that the Scottie Pippen thing didn?t work out very good thus far, but this might not be the same. Kucoc is also a good shooter, and can shoot from the outside. I wouldn?t sign him for any big money, but if he wanted to come home for cheaper. Another, would be Steve Smith. No, he?s not the greatest player, but he does play good and is a veteran. Steve can still light it up from downtown, and would be a nice little signing. Charlie Ward. Charlie would be a nice serviceable backup to Hinrich. He plays defense and he is a good passer. He is also controlled. There are probably some that I missed. But I did try. The final thing? would be the Draft. Assuming the Bulls stay the way they are, they would have around the 5th pick. Personally, I don?t want another developmental guy on this team. Well, it seems as though this draft?s top 10 picks are Europeans, HS. Players, or one-year college guys. One guy I would take a look at who is an under-grad is Luol Deng, from Duke. From what I have seen, he is a great player, with so much potential. And, he might be available with the 5th pick. He is a Sf, not undersized, and great leaping. I would take him in a heartbeat. He can also drive to the basket, or shoot a jumper. Another possibility would be Hakim Warrik from Syracuse. Hakim is 6?8? around 200 pounds. Hakim is certainly one of those freak athletes, which seem to be popular in the Nba. He can jam with the best of them. He has been working on a jumper, which has come along decently. He is a junior, and could be ready to play right of the bat. I wouldn?t mind him being picked. The last one that I would consider( there are probably more) is Emeka Okafor. I don?t really see him dropping to the 5th pick, but it?s possible. Emeka is a pf/c with great shot blocking abilities. He has also improved his scoring greatly. He is 6?9? 250 pounds. If he were there, I would for sure take him, he is such a great talent. Well, these are some of the interesting scenarios I have come up with. Reply with what you think we should do about everything.
To keep in offseason: Crawford, Gill, Johnson, JYD, Fizer(?) Draft- Unless Warrick builds up muscle i dont want him on my team. At 205 pounds much muscle is needed to be successful SF/PF in the league. Now Deng i like, he can do everything. EVERYTHING. Okafor? Nope. PF/C at 6'9. We have to up-and-coming stars in Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry and exactly where would he play? And remember, we need offense, we have D in AD and JYD, so no i wouldnt draft him. Tiago Splitter? Maybe. He's a SF, Nice shooting stroke, and has size to go along with it (sounds like the average Euro, huh?). Well, once this crappy season is over we can see who we draft/sign
For next year, I'd make sure I sign Jamal, so that he, Kirk, Tyson and Eddy are all back. As Bulls management, I would coax Scottie Pippen into retirement, give him all the fanfare that would brighten everyone's spirits at the beginning of the year, like retiring his jersey, etc., and then give him any front office or coaching position that he wants(except for GM, obviously). I'd also offer Corie Blount a front office job, maybe an assistant coaching position. The only guys under contract besides any mentioned above that I really want are Davis, Williams and Williams. I could care less about Robinson and Jefferies. Same goes for unsigned Rick Brunson and Linton Johnson, though they both play hard. I would sign Fizer for a mid level salary, nothing big, and then begin shopping him. I'd re-sign Kendall Gill as well. I would try to work out a deal then which packages Fizer(a skilled player at a decent salary) with Eddie Robinson(an overpriced but promising player) for a veteran backup point and a backup 2/3, and perhaps a draft pick. I'd trade Jefferies for a 2nd round draft pick down the road. As for the draft pick, I doubt the Bulls will have a high enough pick for Okafor, Deng, Dwight Howard, or the other big name guys. We may have the 7th or 8th pick. I think that there's a good chance that Kris Humphries of Minnesota will come out because of his super freshman year. If that happens we should go for him(avg. 23 pts, 11 rebounds) since he has good size and has decent range. If not, then I'd say go with Warrick or another small forward who has good offensive abilities. That would leave us with a starting lineup of pg - Hinrich sg - Crawford sf - Humphries/Warrick/rookie sf pf - Chandler c - Curry bench - veteran pg, veteran sf, Kendall Gill, JYD, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams(when he gets back), and a few fa's who sign at or near the minimum, plus our 2nd rd pick
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ObieCent:</div><div class="quote_post">To keep in offseason: Crawford, Gill, Johnson, JYD, Fizer(?) Draft- Unless Warrick builds up muscle i dont want him on my team. At 205 pounds much muscle is needed to be successful SF/PF in the league. Now Deng i like, he can do everything. EVERYTHING. Okafor? Nope. PF/C at 6'9. We have to up-and-coming stars in Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry and exactly where would he play? And remember, we need offense, we have D in AD and JYD, so no i wouldnt draft him. Tiago Splitter? Maybe. He's a SF, Nice shooting stroke, and has size to go along with it (sounds like the average Euro, huh?). Well, once this crappy season is over we can see who we draft/sign</div> Yeah, I pretty much agree with you. I personally like Deng the most out of everyone. He can do everything. Warrick does need muscle, but, if Deng weren't there, I would consider him. Splitter is good. But, you never know how long it will take for Euro players to develope. They might not even get their 1st point untill like 30 games into the season.(Darko). So we will see.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">For next year, I'd make sure I sign Jamal, so that he, Kirk, Tyson and Eddy are all back. As Bulls management, I would coax Scottie Pippen into retirement, give him all the fanfare that would brighten everyone's spirits at the beginning of the year, like retiring his jersey, etc., and then give him any front office or coaching position that he wants(except for GM, obviously). I'd also offer Corie Blount a front office job, maybe an assistant coaching position. The only guys under contract besides any mentioned above that I really want are Davis, Williams and Williams. I could care less about Robinson and Jefferies. Same goes for unsigned Rick Brunson and Linton Johnson, though they both play hard. I would sign Fizer for a mid level salary, nothing big, and then begin shopping him. I'd re-sign Kendall Gill as well. I would try to work out a deal then which packages Fizer(a skilled player at a decent salary) with Eddie Robinson(an overpriced but promising player) for a veteran backup point and a backup 2/3, and perhaps a draft pick. I'd trade Jefferies for a 2nd round draft pick down the road. As for the draft pick, I doubt the Bulls will have a high enough pick for Okafor, Deng, Dwight Howard, or the other big name guys. We may have the 7th or 8th pick. I think that there's a good chance that Kris Humphries of Minnesota will come out because of his super freshman year. If that happens we should go for him(avg. 23 pts, 11 rebounds) since he has good size and has decent range. If not, then I'd say go with Warrick or another small forward who has good offensive abilities. That would leave us with a starting lineup of pg - Hinrich sg - Crawford sf - Humphries/Warrick/rookie sf pf - Chandler c - Curry bench - veteran pg, veteran sf, Kendall Gill, JYD, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams(when he gets back), and a few fa's who sign at or near the minimum, plus our 2nd rd pick</div> Well, I think that the Bulls will have a pretty high pick. They are looking pretty bad so far. Humphries wouldn't be a bad choice, but he is more of an inside player or powerforward. And we need a shooter somehow. I agree with the signings. If we could get Fizer for that low, and definatley sign Crawford.
As far as to who we should bring back, etc. Fizer will not be retained. Why? We already have Williams and Davis under contract. Curry and Chandler will also be expecting extensions in the near future. This pushes Fizer out. Chicago wont be able to retain him, as it wouldn't be wise to pay 5 frontcourt players at salaries starting at or near $5 million a year. Second- Crawford. He has been shooting 30% for the month of December. Hardly worth celebrating over. Crawford will command money in the Gilbert Arenas/Andre Miller range. Is he worth it? So far, Id say no. He hasn't justified that much of a raise. Chicago has to be weary of extending him. He has yet to prove that he can live up to his potential. He hasn't found a true position yet either, which is a cause for concern. Depending on what he is asking for, will dictate whether or not he is brought back. Linton Johnson will most likely not be brought back. Players like him are a penny a dozen. He hasn't shown anything more than Mason Jr, nor Hassell did for us. Look for Chicago to instead bring back Mario Austin to replace the minutes to be lossed by Fizer. A cheap replacement. As far as addressing our needs in the offseason, I will be shocked if we don't pick a 2/3. We already have plenty of 4/5's in Curry, Chandler, Austin, Williams, and Davis. What we need is a shooter/defender at the 2/3. If Deng declares, even though he is a 3, I'd expect us to take him. Other options could be Antoine Wright, Christain Drejer, or trading the pick to Memphis for Shane Battier(my personal favorite). Look for us to head into the offseason looking for another 2/3 that can come cheaply, via the MLE.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">As far as to who we should bring back, etc. Fizer will not be retained. Why? We already have Williams and Davis under contract. Curry and Chandler will also be expecting extensions in the near future. This pushes Fizer out. Chicago wont be able to retain him, as it wouldn't be wise to pay 5 frontcourt players at salaries starting at or near $5 million a year. Second- Crawford. He has been shooting 30% for the month of December. Hardly worth celebrating over. Crawford will command money in the Gilbert Arenas/Andre Miller range. Is he worth it? So far, Id say no. He hasn't justified that much of a raise. Chicago has to be weary of extending him. He has yet to prove that he can live up to his potential. He hasn't found a true position yet either, which is a cause for concern. Depending on what he is asking for, will dictate whether or not he is brought back. Linton Johnson will most likely not be brought back. Players like him are a penny a dozen. He hasn't shown anything more than Mason Jr, nor Hassell did for us. Look for Chicago to instead bring back Mario Austin to replace the minutes to be lossed by Fizer. A cheap replacement. As far as addressing our needs in the offseason, I will be shocked if we don't pick a 2/3. We already have plenty of 4/5's in Curry, Chandler, Austin, Williams, and Davis. What we need is a shooter/defender at the 2/3. If Deng declares, even though he is a 3, I'd expect us to take him. Other options could be Antoine Wright, Christain Drejer, or trading the pick to Memphis for Shane Battier(my personal favorite). Look for us to head into the offseason looking for another 2/3 that can come cheaply, via the MLE.</div> Yeah, I would say Sf is our best bet in the draft. Deng would be perfect. I'd say if Crawford keeps playing the way he is.. don't resign him. But I do have a feeling he will pick it up. Hopefully. Fizer will prolly not get resigned, you are right.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting starman85:</div><div class="quote_post">For next year, I'd make sure I sign Jamal, so that he, Kirk, Tyson and Eddy are all back. </div> I am wary of signing Crawford. He will be asking for money in the Andre Miller to Gilbert Arenas range. So far, he hasn't justified that. And yes, you can say its about 'potential,' but since he has came into the league, he hasn't shown that he will ever live up to his so called 'potential.' He hasn't even found a true position in the league, something Larry Hughes was struggling to find. If we can bring him back for Larry Hughes type money($4.5 million range), Id take that gamble. But not for more. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> As Bulls management, I would coax Scottie Pippen into retirement, give him all the fanfare that would brighten everyone's spirits at the beginning of the year, like retiring his jersey, etc., and then give him any front office or coaching position that he wants(except for GM, obviously). </div> I don't think Pippen could be coaxed into retirement. If he wants to go, he'll go. My guess is he will anyway. But this will be a delicate situation if he doesn't want to retire. And I think the Bulls would be better off not trying to interfere. The last thing the Bulls need is bad pub for once again trying to run Pippen out of town. And yes, he will almost certainly get his number retired, etc. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The only guys under contract besides any mentioned above that I really want are Davis, Williams and Williams. I could care less about Robinson and Jefferies. Same goes for unsigned Rick Brunson and Linton Johnson, though they both play hard. </div> Jeffries played well last night. He is someone I want to stick around. Let's see if he can become the player ERob was supposed to be. Jeffries defense was well noted at Fresno State. I think in time he can be a very good perimeter defender, which we could desperately need. I'd keep him until his contract is up to see if its worth extending. We will pay for it if we cut him, so we may as well see what we are getting. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> I would sign Fizer for a mid level salary, nothing big, and then begin shopping him. I'd re-sign Kendall Gill as well. </div> Fizer is gone. If we cant trade him then we are stuck with him. And we wont be keeping another post player in that salary range when we can replace him with a minimum contract, such as Mario Austin, from last year's draft. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> I would try to work out a deal then which packages Fizer(a skilled player at a decent salary) with Eddie Robinson(an overpriced but promising player) for a veteran backup point and a backup 2/3, and perhaps a draft pick. </div> ERob is a promising player? Must have missed that. There is no way we'd be able to package ERob with Fizer for a veteran backup PG, and a backup 2/3....much less a draft pick. We'd have to throw in a pick. Our first to be precise. No team in there right mind wants to take ERob. Our only chance of that happening is if we leave him unprotected in the expansion draft, and Charlotte claims him because of his good season with Charlotte, and because he is an exciting open court player which could help with ticket sales. That's our only chance, and even that one is unlikely to happen. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> I'd trade Jefferies for a 2nd round draft pick down the road. </div> I wouldn't. I doubt we will get a player worth keeping in the 2nd round(Baxter is gone, Austin is overseas, Hassell was cut, Mason was traded).... Id personally like to see if Jeffries can develop into a good perimeter defender, which we have been lacking since trading Artest. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> As for the draft pick, I doubt the Bulls will have a high enough pick for Okafor, Deng, Dwight Howard, or the other big name guys. We may have the 7th or 8th pick. I think that there's a good chance that Kris Humphries of Minnesota will come out because of his super freshman year. If that happens we should go for him(avg. 23 pts, 11 rebounds) since he has good size and has decent range. If not, then I'd say go with Warrick or another small forward who has good offensive abilities. </div> If the draft was today, we'd be picking 3rd. We'd be high enough. Okafor could be the pick. If that was to happen, Id expect a big trade would soon follow, one packaging Chandler and Crawford for a SF. Okafor would then replace the defense, rebounding, and shotblocking of Chandler. I know that might sound bad to you, but look at it. Okafor would replace Chandler and I doubt we'd miss a beat. And if it netted us a player, for example, Rashard Lewis....we'd really improve our team. Curry/Okafor/Lewis/Draft pick or FA/Hinrich. I am not saying Seattle would do that, just using it as an example. But we'd have plenty of options should that happen. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> That would leave us with a starting lineup of pg - Hinrich sg - Crawford sf - Humphries/Warrick/rookie sf pf - Chandler c - Curry bench - veteran pg, veteran sf, Kendall Gill, JYD, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams(when he gets back), and a few fa's who sign at or near the minimum, plus our 2nd rd pick</div> I'd puke if that was our lineup heading into next season. All that is different is replacing Kendall Gill with Kris Humphries. If that is our major change, then we shall be back in the lottery again. Humphries over Gill wont be much of an improvement(Gill is experienced, Humphris will be a rooie). Hello lottery again.
