A new direction: leaving the free agency train wreck behind once and for all

Apparently letting Deng go made the team better, not worse. Actually, as I recall, you were the first to point this out.

In the season Asik went to Houston, the Bulls did not avoid the LT. Is that right?

 

Yes, the more people who get it the better.

 

When Asik walked, we were under the LT. Korver, Watson, and Brewer all had expired contracts by then.

As far as letting Lu go, we were better off with a different first option (DJ) because DJ shot the 3 ball. Many of Lu's shots were among the most difficult to make in the game - long range 2pt shots. That doesn't mean you should give him away for cap space. The basketball decision is keeping him to play defense, be 2nd or 3rd option, and to give us depth at SF. Or another basketball decision might have been to trade him for multiple players who could contribute on a regular basis.

 

Asik signed with Houston for the 2012-13 season. The Bulls paid the LT for the 2012-13 season.

 

Like I said, when Asik walked, we were under the LT. All those guys were cut loose to avoid the LT.

The Bulls signed Hinrich and went over.

Look, why not keep Asik and Korver and Brewer if the Bulls were that close to a championship as you believe they were?

 

According to basketball reference, Hinrich signed 7/23/12 and Asik signed with the Rockets 7/24/12, but the truth is that both situations were unfolding at the same time. Asik received Houston's offer on 7/2/12 and Hinrich reached a verbal agreement with the Bulls on 7/8/12.

There was a different reason for not retaining each of these players during the summer of 2012, but with Rose recently having blown out his ACL and likely to miss most or all of the coming season (as we now know, it was all), the front office had to re-tool for a no-Rose situation.

But of course, you know all this.

 

Overpaying Hinrich when we've seen that you can get a decent guard (Nate, DJ) for far less was also a curious move, especially for a team that pinches pennies when close to the tax line.

If the Bulls just had a vet min guy in place of the Hinrich contract, do they pay the tax at all in 2012-2013 and is this even an issue for the 2013-2014 season?

If the budget line is the tax threshold, you can' afford to overpay Hinrich as they did.

 

The basketball move would have been to retain the guys for when Rose returned, or to make a Melo deal then. That's what the Spurs would have done, and that's why it's ridiculous to think we're doing anything like the Spurs.

 

You guys sure do like bickering about Reinsdorf, don't you?

There's like sixteen reasons that come before team expenditures for why the Spurs aren't a great model. The first two on my list are the fact that their HOF center signed for 10M per year and Greg Popovic. The Bulls are going to have to find their own path to contention.

 

Continuity. A system that plays to players' strengths. Front office that picks up players nobody wants and turns them into really good players. Front office that will go into the LT to keep their roster deep.