The Bulls can talk about finding value in any draft. They can have a strong plan to spend their roughly $23 million of salary-cap space in free agency. Management can support coach Fred Hoiberg and express belief in his potential for growth in his second season. But, really, one of two things has to happen for this offseason to be successful: The Bulls have to trade Jimmy Butler or Derrick Rose or figure out a way to unlock the potential of their powerful partnership. Trading one won't be easy, either to execute or to reconcile internally. It would run counter to the conservative nature of this management team. But it's the better route. For myriad reasons, a smooth partnership between the two has become untenable. It's less somebody's fault than a situation where each player believes he's the No. 1 option, a classic case of will and skill colliding. It's less about who's the better player and more about who's the better fit. Neither possesses knockdown 3-point shooting ability to play well off one another. Both prefer to have the ball. Butler has added a screen-and-roll element to his game that nobody envisioned when he first came into the league. This has little to do with whether Rose and Butler like each other or get along. Simply put, they didn't consistently play well together last season, getting outscored by 3.5 points per 100 possessions. If left unaddressed, their uneasy alliance will continue to have a negative effect on the locker room. Read more http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...my-butler-trade-spt-0522-20160521-column.html
The Bulls are probably in for a tough season because they can't trade Rose without taking something worse back and I believe they're smart enough not to do that.. Of course, there's always the hope that Butler and Rose can find a positive synergy to replace the negative synergy they showed last season. It's the only hope I see for a good season...I just dont happen to believe that it's going to happen.
Butler and Rose with sound leadership in our former coach was the #3 team in the East. Now with Hoiberg, suddenly, the wheels have come off the wagon. GarPax still collecting steady paychecks.
I wonder if the Sixers would be willing to trade their #24 pick this year to the Bulls for Derrick Rose. When evaluating potential trade partners this is the only option I can think of that might make sense for both sides.
If you are trying to "win now" it would make sense, IMO, to keep Rose around and perhaps get this contract year out of him. If he's going to perform at a high level again, its very well might be this season. If you are punting and going for "win later," I imagine that a pick like this is all you can get for him right now. One issue with keeping him is that if he does have a knockout year this season, do you really want to reup him for big $$$? If he knocks it out of the park and wins the hearts and minds of Chicago back, it would be tough for the front office to let him walk.
