Chad Ford says Elton Brand is available. The way I look at it, the question is who is Elton Brand? Is he just playing his way back and not fully healthy yet, or is he never gonna get healthy again. And the system seems to be a dreadful fit for him. That being said, I don’t know if DRose is the prototypical PG you pair up with him. But that’s why we need a real coach teaching DRose. When I look at a potential trade, what I see is this: Bulls trade: Gooden Gordon Tyrus Simmons Sixers trade: Brand Williams Rush (or Ratliff or Marshall... needs to be 3 guys coming back to fit the roster requirements). This, just barely, keeps the Bulls under the luxury tax. The Sixers will be well under the cap this summer with this trade, so Gordon would likely consent to the deal since he could re-sign there. If we get Brand, Thomas pretty obviously doesn’t have a role with us, but the Sixers could use him. Likewise for Louis Williams, who’s (up till this year) been developing into a good shooter and signed to a fairly reasonable contract with the Sixers. Ford has his own Brand to Chicago suggestion: I simply doubt the Sixers would bite on Hughes + Thomas. But hey, if they do, I'm all for that. Also, Ford has this to say:
Pax had the authority to remake the roster once, I don't see why he wouldn't have it now. TT and Hughes for Brand would be great, but I don't see it getting the bulls to the promised land. Brand is 30 now, right?
He's 29 IIRC... will be 30 toward the end of the season. Still, one would imagine he'd be productive for the remainder of his deal. In his final year he'll be 33 and 34 at the end of the year. It's sort of a risk, but he's not all that reliant on his athleticism, so I'd guess he'll be decent, if not quite as good as he's been at his best.
Carlos Boozer is also available according to pretty much everyone. I'd rather take a shot at Boozer. I think sometime in the next 4 years, a Rose/Gordon/Deng/Boozer core could be competing for championships. That's a lot of talent between those four. Just plug in a defensive center (maybe Joel Pryzbrilla) and that teams good. Begin bringing in a bunch of shooters as well. Trading for Boozer is essentially Baron Davis part 2 imo. Injured player that's really good when not, that everyone is excessively down on. Some risk, but not overwhelming risk. If we could do something surrounding Gooden, Thomas, and Noah, that would be great.
