Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams, and Chris Jeffries for Donyell Marshall, Jalen Rose, and Lonny Baxter Defense- Defense, more specifically, post defense, has been the weakest link for the Bulls this year. They do not have anyone who can make teams regret coming inside. Simply put, they are not physical enough in the post defensively. What does this trade do? Gains toughness inside. Davis is a well known player for his toughness inside. He's as hard nosed as they come. He can take poundings, dish poundings, and play gritty. Chicago lacked someone like that. Now they have it, in Davis. Not to mention, Jeffries is a good perimeter defender. He should get some minutes off the bench. Energy- Every team needs an energy player off the bench. Someone who can come in, give it their all, and influence the game. Williams does that. Sure, he may lack the outside shot the Bulls would have preferred, but there is no doubt that Chicago will utilize him as the Spurs do with Malik Rose. Malcontent- Its no secret Rose didn't want to be here. And that the Bulls didn't want him here either. Losing Rose could help chemistry. It surely can't hurt. Now the only malcontent could be Crawford. But this trade will give Crawford more PT, and he may change his ways as a result. Keep your eye on this. Loss of scoring Many people are worried about where the points were coming from. Rose was averaging 13.3 ppg, Marshall 8.7. Thats a combined total of 22ppg. Jerome Williams is averging 5.1 ppg, Davis 8.6 Combined, thats a total of 13.8 ppg. We roughly lose 8 ppg. So who will make that up? Crawford will get more PT with Rose gone. More interesting to note, he should get more PT at SG. Crawford is the only perimeter player who can create for himself. As a result, his shots a game will probably rise, as will his ppg, mpg, and his time as a SG. It also eases pressure off of Curry. Curry will have a legit backup that can come in and score inside, or play alongside of. Davis will also install a 'tougher' streak in Curry, or at least, thats the hope. What to expect? First, look for Chandler to go to the IR. His back has been bothering him, and the trade for Davis will allow Chandler to rest up. In the meantime, Id expect Curry and Davis both to start. Robinson was with the first team in practice, Skiles' first practive. Apparently, Skiles liked what he saw. Also worth noting, Gill said Curry had his best practice ever. When Crawford comes back from his back injury, as well as Pippen, look for Chicago to start Davis, Chandler, Pippen, Gill, and Crawford. Reason? Defense. This is the best defensive group Chicago can put out without losing too much scoring. Chicago proved they cannot win games that are shootouts. At least not yet. So they will have to try to win games by playing great defense. Davis and Chandler will form a good defensive frontcourt. Pippen is still Pippen, a good defender. Gill has been a pleasant surprise as well, playing tough defense. Crawford, although not a good defender, will start as he and Pippen are the only players who can create shots on the perimeter in this lineup. Why Curry off the bench? For starters, his confidence is clearly shaken. Going up against second units should help him get back on track. Curry should have an easy time against second units. This will cause him to gain more confidence. Plus, Curry's defense is suspect. This will give him time to work on his defense, as well as play an intregal role, and option in the second unit. A second unit of Fizer, Williams, Hinrich, Robinson, and Curry can not only score, but run. Look for this unit to fast break at every chance, giving Chicago a much needed offensive surge from its backups. Obviously Robinson has made a concerted effort, as Skiles had him with the first team. Maybe, just maybe, Robinson will put forth that work every night. Overall, this trade was good. It gives Chicago a better defensive team, something we desperatley needed to move towards. Teams were killing us, as we were unable to stop them. Hopefully, this will fix the Bulls' problems, and right the ship.
You know, after reading that post, it's making me a whole lot less dissapointed in this trade. See, the way I was looking at it is that they were losing a good scorer in Rose, a consistent player in Marshall, and a terrific young and talented player in Lonny Baxter. But, than I realized that this team will be able to replace Rose's scoring. Crawford will now realize that he's gonna have to step up. ERob will also realize that. And, I also really like the idea of that line up. This team has been getting torched when it comes down to shootouts. For example, don't remember who it was against, but, a couple weeks ago, they shot 55% from the floor and lost. You shouldn't lose shooting that high. So, yea, that defensive line up might help. The thing they really need to to do though, I think, is keep Hinrich out of the starting line up. Sure, he is a young player and is going to go through his bad times as a rookie, but, as a point guard, your expected to be able to take care of the ball, and he hasn't done that very well. So, that's the one thing I think they need to do concerning starting line ups. But, yes, I agree that Williams will without a doubt be that energy player for them. Same with that thought about the 2nd team being able to score and run. But, the thing is, in order to run, you need to be able to defend. That's the question there, will that 2nd unit be able to defend good enough so they can get the steal or rebound they need in order to get out and run. But, yea, terrific post. Made me look at this trade in a whole different aspect.
I just hope they dont bench Curry too long, it might make him lose confidence, although it could have the reverse effect like you said. One of my favorite players was Rose, and I hate to see him go. But this is better for the franchise. So i just hope he does good in Toronto. btw do you guys think we will make the playoffs now?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ObieCent:</div><div class="quote_post">I just hope they dont bench Curry too long, it might make him lose confidence, although it could have the reverse effect like you said. One of my favorite players was Rose, and I hate to see him go. But this is better for the franchise. So i just hope he does good in Toronto. btw do you guys think we will make the playoffs now?</div> My guess is Curry wont be benched for now. Like I said, I think Chandler will be moved to the IR. He needs time for his back to heal. When he comes back, if he reclaims his starting spot, then Id expect to see Curry moved to the bench. Skiles will want to have his best defensive team out. Curry could be on the bench for a few games, a few weeks, a few months, for the rest of the season, or not at all. I don't know. But IMO, I think he'll be backing up Davis once Davis learns the system and Chandler's back problems are gone.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting ObieCent:</div><div class="quote_post"> btw do you guys think we will make the playoffs now?</div> I think the possiblity is still there. But, it's not likely in my thoughts. The possibility though, I think is still there cause they still have the skill and talent to do so. But, it takes more than talent and skill to make the playoffs. This team needs to figure out a chemistry first and foremost. They also need to cut down on the turnovers, and I think starting Gill or Pippen at point will help this tremendously. Than, of course, they need to be able to play a lot better defense. There have been a few games where Chicago has shot 50% or higher from the floor this year and have lost. That's partially because of the amount of turnovers they've had but it's also because of poor defense. So, if they can figure all this out, they might be able to make a run for it. But, after such a slow start, I just don't see it happening. But, than again, the Lakers got off to a slow, well, very slow start last year and they still made it. But, than again, the Lakers have 2 of the top 5 players in the league, so, that helps. But, nonetheless, if Chicago is gonna make a run fo the playoffs, they're gonna have to put all the pieces together very quickly. Can they do that, maybe. We'll soon find out if this trade is gonna help them move in the right direction or if it was just a mistake.
Well, I think that the Bulls got somewhat of a better deal, maybe not for the season but for the franchise itself. Look: Bulls Trade: Jalen Rose- 13.3 mill, 14.5 mill, 15.6 mill, 17 mill Marshal- 4.5 mill, 4.5 mill Baxter- 563,679 thou. Raptors Trade: Davis- 12 mill, 12 mill, 13 mill Jerome Williams- 5.4 mill, 5.6 mill, 6 mill, 6.4 mill, 7 mill Jefferies- 840 thou, 1mill, 1.6 mill, 2.4 mill Look how huge Rose's contract increases, Raptors will probably never be able to sign someone again (joke). Rose looks like the key to that deal, how they got rid of his cap. In return they got Jerome Williams who they know they can trade, Davis, who they know they can trade and young chris jefferies. Bulls are trying to REBUILD. Even tho they know they have to that Jerome's cap with them, releasing rose's is huge. They can always do another trade to get rid of more cap. So in the long run Bulls didn't do THAT bad of a deal, but its decent, its not as bad as people are makin it seem. Tho for the season, I think that Raptors did get the better end of the deal. Just a post to make bulls fans feel better EDIT Lets add this: Davis for Rose - Advantage Bulls ( for their Franchise ) Williams for Marshall- Advantage Raptors ( season and franchise ) Jefferies for Baxter- I don't know how well the players will end up but lets just say even. So as you can see its not too bad I just think the MArshall part of the deal was bad but Jerome Williams is good enough to have a nick name so he'll do his part. Maybe there is another trade comin, anythin can happen.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MVPlaya:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, I think that the Bulls got somewhat of a better deal, maybe not for the season but for the franchise itself. Look: Bulls Trade: Jalen Rose- 13.3 mill, 14.5 mill, 15.6 mill, 17 mill Marshal- 4.5 mill, 4.5 mill Baxter- 563,679 thou. Raptors Trade: Davis- 12 mill, 12 mill, 13 mill Jerome Williams- 5.4 mill, 5.6 mill, 6 mill, 6.4 mill, 7 mill Jefferies- 840 thou, 1mill, 1.6 mill, 2.4 mill Look how huge Rose's contract increases, Raptors will probably never be able to sign someone again (joke). Rose looks like the key to that deal, how they got rid of his cap. In return they got Jerome Williams who they know they can trade, Davis, who they know they can trade and young chris jefferies. Bulls are trying to REBUILD. Even tho they know they have to that Jerome's cap with them, releasing rose's is huge. They can always do another trade to get rid of more cap. So in the long run Bulls didn't do THAT bad of a deal, but its decent, its not as bad as people are makin it seem. Tho for the season, I think that Raptors did get the better end of the deal. Just a post to make bulls fans feel better EDIT Lets add this: Davis for Rose - Advantage Bulls ( for their Franchise ) Williams for Marshall- Advantage Raptors ( season and franchise ) Jefferies for Baxter- I don't know how well the players will end up but lets just say even. So as you can see its not too bad I just think the MArshall part of the deal was bad but Jerome Williams is good enough to have a nick name so he'll do his part. Maybe there is another trade comin, anythin can happen.</div> The Bulls aren't trying to rebuild. They are trying to get back on track and fill their shortcomings. If it was a rebuild mode, Chicago would have dealt for shorter contracts. But Davias has a large, 3 year contract, and Williams has a 5 year contract. Something Chicago would stay away from if they were actually rebuilding. What they are trying to do is improve their team. Thier biggest weakness was defense. This trade should help, as Davis, Williams, and Jeffries are all good defenders.
Chris Jeffries Sucks he got playing time last year when there were injuries. Lonny Baxter is a decent player. I think he did very well in summer league. He had 17 pts in 19 minutes last game and 10 the game before. He shoots a good feild goal percentage too.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kid Canada:</div><div class="quote_post">Chris Jeffries Sucks he got playing time last year when there were injuries. Lonny Baxter is a decent player. I think he did very well in summer league. He had 17 pts in 19 minutes last game and 10 the game before. He shoots a good feild goal percentage too.</div> Chris Jeffries is a defender. When he was drafted, EVERYONE knew his offensive game was a work in progress. It still is. He is a perimeter defender, something Chicago needed. Lonny was a good player for us. Always hustled. Always cared. Always tried. He will give you solid minutes. But those numbers came from summer league. Look at Ruben Boumjte-Boumjte from Portland. He had very good summer league numbers too. But he is doing jack this season. Summer league doesn't tell the whole story.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">Chris Jeffries is a defender. When he was drafted, EVERYONE knew his offensive game was a work in progress. It still is. He is a perimeter defender, something Chicago needed. Lonny was a good player for us. Always hustled. Always cared. Always tried. He will give you solid minutes. But those numbers came from summer league. Look at Ruben Boumjte-Boumjte from Portland. He had very good summer league numbers too. But he is doing jack this season. Summer league doesn't tell the whole story.</div>Well he hasn't been getting alot of playing time. In his last two games he has had 10 and and 17 points thats alot better than what Jeffries has done.
I saw Jefferies play live during Summer league in Long Beach, and I was like "who is this guy, he's horrible." He shot like 3 airballs, and then i heard the PA say it was Jefferies, I was like Toronto traded Kareem Rush to the lakers for this guy and Linsey Hunter?!!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">I saw Jefferies play live during Summer league in Long Beach, and I was like "who is this guy, he's horrible." He shot like 3 airballs, and then i heard the PA say it was Jefferies, I was like Toronto traded Kareem Rush to the lakers for this guy and Linsey Hunter?!!</div> And like I keep repeating, Jeffries' offensive game is a wok in progress. EVERYONE knew that. From nbadraft.net: "Strengths: Tark basically throws Jefferies on the top scorer for the opposing team and it's welcome to 'lockdown'. A super defender, with great versatility. Very athletic, specializes in open court play and slashing to the basket. Weaknesses: Still refining the offensive side of his game. Ball handling must improve"
As expected the league finally approved the trade http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/pr_rose_ma...ter_031201.html http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/davis_trade_031201.html Will Davis,Williams play tonight? They said Rose,Marshall and Baxter will all suit up for the Raptors game tomorrow.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting allnet:</div><div class="quote_post">As expected the league finally approved the trade http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/pr_rose_ma...ter_031201.html http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/davis_trade_031201.html Will Davis,Williams play tonight? They said Rose,Marshall and Baxter will all suit up for the Raptors game tomorrow.</div> My guess is that they could see some action. But I doubt it will be much, as they probably haven't had any time to learn the offense, practice, etc.
