We're far enough in to the Greatest Summer of Free Agency (tm) that I think we can begin to make educated guesses for how things shake out. I thought I'd put my completely unsupported guestimations down on paper, and would be interested in hearing your predictions. Wade -- Stays in Miami. He's made it clear all along that he prefers to stay home, and the fact that his comments in support of Miami have been getting stronger, rather than weaker, leads me to believe he has another free agent lined up to join him. Bosh -- LA or New York, if LA can't swing a sing and trade. Bosh seems to have been leaning towards these two cities for years, and the fact that Miami seems to be pursuing Amare makes me think he doesn't consider the city in the same bunch. Amare -- Miami. I think that's a done deal with the Suns refusing to give him a new max contract. Lebron -- I'm less sure about Lebron. I think it's either NY, Chicago or Cleveland. Probably in that order but it vacillates between the three, and primarily now between NY and Chicago. If Bosh ends up going to LA, he's coming to Chicago. I'll say Chicago for purposes of filling out the rest of the roles. Dirk -- Staying put. Boozer -- Coming to Chicago, provided that Chicago can't somehow land Bosh. Joe Johnson -- Coming to Chicago if the Bulls can't land Lebron. Otherwise, he's going to New York. Thoughts?
I don't have anything to support the Boozer conclusion besides the fact that inside scoring has been a problem for the Bulls since we traded Elton Brand. Booozer seems like the type of tier-two free agent that would be worth overpaying for, especially if the Bulls don't land LJ.
So let's say you get LeBron, Chicago still has a decent shot at Boozer and/or Bosh (how likely are other teams to take on Deng)? Assuming no sign and trade, is Chicago the place where Boozer's offered the most money? With people overpaying for Joe Johnson, I don't really know what to expect.
We tried to trade for Boozer last summer so it makes sense to me. We fail in getting Bosh, we try for Carlos. It's clear the Bulls don't want Amare. They have their reasons.
Deng's numbers aren't that much worse than Joe Johnson's. He had a really solid season, and if his numbers were bad last year, its because VDN didn't understand how to use him. I can't imagine that GMs don't also see that. People assume that Joe Johnson will be overpaid, which is fine. But if that is true, then someone will be ready to take on Deng's contract. He doesn't close games like Johnson does, but he works better in a system and has a history of playing well in the playoffs, and that's certainly worth something. He's going to end up at one of the second tier destinations with cap space such as Minnesota, Sacramento, Toronto, LAC or New Jersey, and the Bulls won't have to give much in terms of additional value. Heck, the Bulls may even get draft picks in return, given how many teams have cap space and the fact that every team is not going to be able to lure a free agent.
I think Bosh goes to Miami and plays alongside Wade. Amare or Boozer to the Bulls, if they leave. I get the feeling most will stay put though, since they can sign bigger deals with their own team.
Wade is stayin in Miami, hes tryin to lure someone to come there with him Lebron either stays in Cleveland or comes to the Bulls Bosh comes to Chicago if we dont land Bron and he cant go to NY or the Lakers Johnson will prolly end up in NY, if not they the Bulls MAY go after him I really dont know about Amare, Ill just say Miami Boozer comes to the Bulls if we dont land Bosh, maybe also if we dont get Bron. If not, NY I see Dirk maybe goin to Jersey, if not, I can see him comin to Chicago
