I've thought about this for a solid two hours, listened to the relevant sources (Doug Thonus and Shamsports) and I've come to conclusion that the best move for the Bulls right now, and going forward is to amnesty Carlos Boozer this summer.

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Indy v. Orlando and OKC v. Dallas later. I know everyone is bummed about Rose, but I'm going to wait until we hear the results of the MRI before getting freaked out. Tough season bulls fans, but we can still root against our favorite targets - the Heat, the Knicks, Westbrook and generally anyone not associated with the Bulls.

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The 2nd and 3rd best teams in the league square off today, Miami and Miami lite. Two BaB hates collide as Lebron and Westbrook square off in a after-dunk posing, crowd-stare down face off that will make JbJ blow his top.

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Simmons is at it again, with his annual trade value list. Its not a player ranking - its more of a bang for your buck type thing. The lower salary, better players (guys on rookie contracts) are valued higher than guys like Deng and Noah who have gotten paid but perhaps have no more room to grow. (So don't freak out that only 1 Bull makes the top 50 - guess who?)

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You gotta love Novak. A real comeback story. Or maybe a never was story? The Knicks are getting healthy and I'm hoping they climb out of the 7/8 seed so the Bulls don't have to face them in the 1st round. Not scared of them, but we can do w/o a 6 game 1st round series. Their opponent, Boston, I would love to play. As I type this its 29-25 and Novak is on FIRE!

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I posted an around the NBA thread. Saw someone had posted another one. Deleted mine. Only to see the other person had deleted theirs. More bumbling than the end of a Bulls-heat game

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The solution to the 2 guard position is obvious, but we've been ignoring it.   Delonte West?  Tracy McGrady?  Come on.  The Bulls are going up against a colossal power in the Heat.  They have 2 of the 5 best players in the game.  Vince Carter?  CJ Watson??? The Knicks are very much in the hunt for CP3.  The Bulls don't need a band-aid, they need a game changer.


Enter: Monta Ellis

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Extreme lockout boredom has set in.  No news, no player movement, not even negotiations to talk about.

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The Bulls are in an excellent position to make a move right now.  Despite being near the cap themselves, the Bulls still have opportunities to make trades and deals before and after the draft if they are willing to be aggressive and take on money.

The Bulls have $4 million in un-guaranteed contracts for next season (Bogans, Lucas, Pargo) and another $12.5 million in contracts that are set to expire after next season (Brewer, Korver, Watson).  The Bulls have 3 young, defensive big men with promise (Asik, Taj, Noah), 2 of whom are on very low paying deals.   Because of this, the Bulls have enormous flexibility in making deals if they are willing to be aggressive.  I don't believe the Bulls can afford to stand pat - but will they?

Here are 3 deals I think the Bulls could make to capitalize on their contracts and young pieces. -

1. Omer Asik, Bogans and the #30 pick for Courtney Lee, Brad Miller and the #14 pick.

Noah is the guy.  He's young, he's bright, he is the emotional center of the team.  Asik will never be more than a back-up here.  Miller is a big body who can bang and score.  Lee provides a young 2 guard who can shoot, defend and play Thibs' system.   With the #14 pick you can find a Asik replacement (Nikola Vucevic) a back up for Deng (Jordan Hamilton) or hope a 2 guard of the future falls to you (Burks, Thompson)

2.  OJ Mayo for Bogans, Pargo, Lucas and the #28 and #30 picks.

Basically you are trading 2 late round lottery picks for a former #4 picks.  The Grizz do this deal because if they are going to resign Gasol to somewhere near $12 to $13 million a year, they are going to need draft picks signed to cheap long term deals.  At this point, the best trade for them, may be one that has limited future salary commitments.

3.  Taj, Watson, Lucas and Pargo, #28 and #30 picks for Garcia, Jason Thompson and the #7 pick.

Do the Sacto Kings really need another young guy? When I look at this draft, I don't see a guy better for them than Taj Gibson.  Cousins and Evans are already going to take the shots.  You need some athletic guys, good citizens, who are willing to play defense.  That is where Watson and Taj come in.  And by trading Garcia, the Kings wouldthemselves to be in a good spot post CBA, with only Beno Udrih signed to a large contract (over $5 million).

For the Bulls, Garcia is a solid upgrade over Bogans.  He can shoot the 3, handle the ball and defend.  Jason Thompson is a solid big man who can play center and back up Boozer.  But the real prize is the #7 pick.  In a time when the CBA could be hanging over the Bulls head, locking up a Alec Burks as the possible 2 guard of the future would be huge.  I'd like to see them target Burks in this draft - I think he has the skillset needed to really pair with Rose.   Or if Kemba Walker were to fall you'd have your back up point guard for the next 4 years. 

Add your deals below.   The point is the Bulls can take on salary to move up in the draft, to add a vet or to sure up the 2 guard position.

Quick Fanpost - I found this series of events in the Hornets-Lakers series pretty interesting.

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Heat v. Philadephia, Atl v. Orlando and Portland v. Dallas today.  After an exciting Bulls game there is nothing better than watching MVP runner-ups Lebron James, D Wade, Dwight Howard and Dirk show what they can do.

Some important questions for today's games -

How many techs does Dwight Howard need to be suspended for Game 3 of the 2nd round?

Will Miam fans finally fan-up?  Is dressing in all white fanning up?  I thought the Bulls crowd was bad until Deng got them fired up, but than I saw Miami...

Hey guys, its the NCAA tourney, yfbb approved of a thread (and who cares, he isn't around anyway - I guess he is the one person in the world without a mobile device) so lets dump all our random talks about the NCAA tourney here.

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As the Heat lockerroom turns into an episode of One Life to Live, lets turn our attention to some of the other NBA teams who ESPN may consider important.  After a brief break (did ABC have a 2nd game on today?) two semi-important games coming up Hawks v. Knicks on ESPN followed by Celtics v. Bucks.  I say semi important because they won't feature Bosh crying, Lebron making promises he won't keep, and Wade's Napoleon complex (Wade you aren't Tupac, it isn't you against the world).

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One of the more interesting questions facing the Bulls right now is whether or not they should play their cards close to the vest, be patient, and wait until next year to  go all out for a championship.   One side argues that the Bulls are not in a position to win a championship this year: we lack playoff experience; we don't have the talent to compete with the top teams right now; it would cost us too much in the long term to make a run in the short term.

The other side argues that the Bulls can win a championship this year, and should pursue that goal.  They note the Bulls superior defense; the fact that Rose is a legit MVP candidate; and, how seemingly open the race is with Miami still figuring things out, Orlando faultering, Boston old, and the Lakers, well being the Lakers.  I believe the Bulls can win the championship this year.  But it will take some steps by the players, coaches and management, to take this season from great to unFRIGGINGbelievable.  

6 Steps to Win A Championship

1.  Upgrade the 2 guard position

This would seemingly be the toughest thing to do, because it is partly out of the Bulls control.   Having said that, I think there is a target on the table, and a possible deal to be made. 

OJ Mayo is on the outs in Memphis.  Since he has been suspended, the team has played better.  He doesn't fit with Gay, Randolph and Conley - he needs the ball too much.  He has run-ins with coaches and players.  He may have an inflated sense of self worth.

Don't care.  It is not often this amount of talent becomes available for seemingly so little.   And if he is a problem, you don't resign him.  You let him go and it wouldn't be a big loss.  I wouldn't trade Asik for him (and I'm not sure Memphis would want Asik with Gasol, but you never know).  But Taj, Bogans, JJ and a 2nd round pick for Mayo sounds good.  You could also do Scal instead of JJ if they don't want the extra contract next season.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=4h6jjvo

You would play Asik more, Noah at the 4 more and Deng at the 4 more, but I don't think Taj would be that sorely missed.  If you can figure out a way of getting a starting 2 guard without giving up Taj or Omer, I'm open to it, but just know I don't believe Parker, Courtney Lee or starting Ronnie Brewer gets us over the hump.

Even if you don't start Mayo, the Bulls could use a scorer off the bench to increase the effectiveness of the 2nd unit.   The 2nd unit plays great defense, but anytime your best option is a Taj Gibson jumper or a CJ Watson wild drive to the hoop, you are not going to be scoring to many points.  Which gets us too -

2. Figure out the Offense

Even if we do trade for OJ Mayo, the Bulls offense needs to work out the kinks.  I suspect much of this will be solved by adding Noah, but getting additional playmakers into the lineup is a must.   Noah (and Mayo) will also help us increase the pace and get more fast break scores.  Noah is also very good at turning offense rebounds into scores.  The fact that the Bulls already play a playoff style will help them in the postseason, but finding additional scorers and playmakers is necessary.  To that end, I suggest -

a. Giving the ball to Boozer more.  He can be very good when he gets in a rhythm.  I know Thibs loves D, but ironing out the trouble spots in the Boozer-Rose pick and roll will go along way to helping the Bulls win in the playoffs.  The Bulls were better at the pick and roll vs. N.O, but they can still improve.

b. Decrease Deng's minutes to get him ready for the playoffs.  He looks tired.  When Deng is aggressive offensively, the Bulls offense really shines.  An aggressive, efficient Luol Deng opens up the game for D. Rose.  Plus you need your legs to hit 3s.  Deng needs to be a proficient 3 pts shooter for the Bulls offense to be really effective.  To that end -

c. Guys have to make open shots.  It really is that simple.  Bogans, Deng, Brewer, Taj, Kurt Thomas even Korver are getting a ton of open looks a game.  You have to knock down wide open looks to make teams pay.  In my opinion, hitting open shots is a weakness of this team, at least in comparison to the Celtics or Lakers.  Guys hitting open shots would just open up the game for Rose, which is ultimately important if we want to win this year (see #6).

 3. Get at least the #2 seed

I don't believe Carmelo Anthony will be traded before the deadline. But if he does, the Knicks are a disastrous #6 seed to face.  Plus they play a style with a stretch 4 that gives Boozer, and therefore the Bulls, a problem.  Much better to play Philly who plays our style but not as effectively.

But the most important thing, imo, is to have home court advantage as long as possible.  The Celtics and Heat are both superior road teams to Chicago.  Facing as few game 7's on opposing team's floors as possible is very important. 

If you can get the #1 seed, and avoid having to play the Celtics and Heat - well life is too good.

4. Some old fashion luck

Obviously the Bulls need be healthy and take advantage of any unhealthy teams.  It would be nice if the Lakers went down before the Finals as well, although Rose v. Kobe having shades of Jordan v. Magic gives me goose bumps.  Miami possibly having more trouble with Orlando than one would expect, would also be helpful.  But with a couple of breaks here or there, the Bulls could easily find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals.

5.  Control the Paint

The Bulls have Noah, Asik, Boozer, Kurt Thomas, Taj and Deng - that is as rugged a front line as there is in the NBA.  The Bulls need to be physical and play strong defense.  Boozer I thought was turning a corner, but his performance on the road trip gave me pause.  If the Bulls can clog the paint against the Heat and Celtics, and turn those teams into jumpshooting teams (especially the Heat) they can beat those teams in a series. 

Omer Asik has the potential to play big dividends in a playoff run.  Physical, athletic 7fters don't come around too often.  Hopefully when Noah gets back, he continues to get minutes to develop.  Thomas looks like he could use a 5 game break.  He seemingly gets more surly and slower footed with each game. 

Against Orlando or the Heat I don't want to hear any excuses.  Orlando has 1 guy - we have 5.  The Heat have 1 pseudo power forward and a bunch of scrubs who'd they gladly trade for Kurt Thomas.  We need to control the paint area to win.  That means scoring, rebounding and blocking shots.

6.  D-Rose needs to go off

He has been going off, he needs to continue to go off.  He needs to have a D-Wade 2006 type playoff run.  In the 2006 Playoffs Wade was phenomenal averaging 28 pts, 6 ast, 6 reb.  Rose needs to give us a 28 pt, 8ast, 5 reb playoffs for the Bulls to win a championship.  I believe he has the tools and the mentality - lets hope it comes together.

We all have been disappointed with the Bulls play over the last couple of weeks.  With Noah being out a slight downturn had to be expected, but still these losses have been discouraging if you thought the Bulls were among the first tier in the East.  Boston has lost Rondo and Garnett and when they have at least 1, they keep chugging along.   We've seemed to have hit a speed bump.  Yet I think this period has also been illuminating.  Without Noah, it is allowed to examine some other parts of our roster.  We now know...

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3 games tonight.  Magic v. Spurs, Heat v. Suns and Bucks v. Kings.  A chance to see the hated Heat and the new look Magic and Suns

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