SB Nation User Blog: DangerMouse

Three Trades and a Rose

DangerMouse — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:31:16 -0000

Many people on this site opined that the trade of Billups to Denver negated one of Chicago's chief possible trading partners for Hinrich. Maybe, but it also signaled the beginning of the western conference race. No team made the playoffs with less than 50 wins in the west last year, meaning, even a momentary slip up or a slight team defect can cost a western team a shot at the playoffs. And there are several teams in the west who have absolutely no need for another high lottery picks. What does this mean? Teams like Golden State and Portland will be anxious to make trades to keep up. In that vein, here are some proposals for trades that can help the Bulls by putting Rose in a more favorable position now, help our salary position down the road, and help those western conferences teams fighting for a playoff spot.

Trade 1

Bulls send Hinrich and Thomas to Golden State

Golden State sends Wright, Marcus Williams and Harrington to the Bulls.

Why the Bulls do it? Hinrich's value will never be higher. And it is clear, he will take opportunities away from Rose with his need for the ball. Wright and Harrington are better options with Rose than Tyrus at power forward. Wright is a power forward we can develop, and Harrington can play the power forward until Wright is ready. They both have developed offensive games, are quality rebounders and underrated defendders. The Bulls replace a erratic interior player with two more stable power forwards, one with as much if not more potential than Thomas.

Why GS does it? They desperately need point guard help until Ellis gets back. Hinrich can also run the point and guard the 2's when Ellis gets back so he will still have a prominent role. It will also give them a defensive minded 4 to go along with Randolph, the 4 Nellie seems to prefer. Plus in Nellie Ball, Tyrus could probably play the 5 some.

Trade 2

Bulls - Hinrich and Nocioni (local four-game fan favorites) to Portland

Portland - Outlaw, Rodriguez, and La Frentz to Golden State

Why the Bulls do it? Pretty much for the same reasons they do the Golden State trade. To get the ball out of Hinrich's hands and into Rose's. Plus both guys, Hinrich and Noce, have contracts that extend past 2010. This sets us up to be players in free agency this summer and next. I don't know if the 2010 plan is Portland's plan, and regardless, they have so much young talent that if they want a great player, they can trade for him. Outlaw and Rodriguez look like serviceable rotation players to me. Outlaw can be that wing defender we crave, without the horrible offense of Sefo. And PS, he is playing better than super Noce.

Why the Blazers do it? Because Steve Blake isn't the answer. Blake is serviceable but he isn't a starting pg. Hinrich is clearly better and would immediately improve that team. Plus they could use Noce's outside shooting, and Outlaw isn't going to be on the court in crunch time with Rudy Fernandez taking his minutes at SF. Plus, they seem to like Batum for their future. And are they willing get the best out of Roy with him at PG? I don't think so.

Trade 3

Bulls - Hinrich

Kings - Miller

Why Bulls do it? See Rose. Plus Miller is a reliable big man with a sweet jumper who only has 2 years on his contract.

Why Sactown does it? They are horrible. Nobody is going to sign their, 2010 plan or not. They need to acquire talent by trade and draft. And its time for a youth movement. Hinrich can be your point guard of the future. Miller isn't the center of the future. Side note, Miller isn't listed on the NBA trade machine, so this isn't ESPN approved.

So those are my preliminary trade thoughts. I think the same guys that had to go in the summer, still have to go now. Not because they are playing bad, or they can't play with Rose, but because they are not in our long term future. I personally like the Golden State trade, because I think they would do it and we get back good value. What do you guys think?

Poll

Which trade do you prefer?

Trade Hinrich and Tyrus to Golden State

35 votes

Trade Hinrich and Nocioni to Portland

23 votes

Trade Hinrich to Sacramento

21 votes

I'm a little dumber for having read your post, I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul

44 votes

123 votes | Poll has closed

Rose Getting Some Love in the ROY Predictions

DangerMouse — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:16:48 -0000

Rose Getting Some Love in the ROY Predictions

Rose getting some love from writers at CNNSI in the ROY race. Burns and McCallum pick him to win the award. He is also listed as the break out star of the season by Thomsen.

Blog a Bull - Put Up or Shut Up - NBA Predictions (w/poll)

DangerMouse — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:05:32 -0000

Every single NBA site has an area where people put their NBA predictions. Time to hop on the bandwagon. Commentary provided, when moved to.

East

1. Boston - The Champs. Allen won't be as good, but Rondo will be better as will Perkins.

2. Detroit - The young guys will keep them tough in the regular season. The old guys will make sure they disappoint in the playoffs.

3. Cleveland - I expect Lebron to have a huge year on both ends. I got the feeling at the end of the Boston series, he knew with just a little bit of help, he would be champion. Mo Williams may be enough. James MVP.

4. Philadelphia - I'm not sold on Iguodala. But great team chemistry goes far, and Brand will sure up their half-court offense.

5. Toronto - I don't know who the 5th best team is. But the Raptors got J'Oneal and will now start the best point guard on their team and play him full time. On the other hand, I think some of there guys spent a good deal of last year playing over their heads.

6. Miami Heat - Wade is healthy and motivated. That may be enough. They also got Beasley who should also be good. I think they will be fine at C because Haslem will play their with Marion and Beasley at the 3 and 4. The only thing that worries is point guard and why they are so desperate to move Marion.

7. Orlando - Howard is a beast. That is all

8. Chicago Bulls - D. Rose will play better than expected. I don't think he will be a huge assist guy right off the bat, but he will score, push the ball and get to the free throw line. I think Hinrich and Deng will have bounce-back seasons. Tyrus and Gooden will continue to be a tough-tough duo at the 4. If Noah can play with consistency and VDN figures out that Hughes and Sefo don't need to play at all, Chicago could be good.

9. Washington Wizards - They don't play defense. They always have injuries. I don't think their young guys are ready to contribute. The East got better.

10. Indiana - They are going to regret that Bayless for Rush trade. Eventually.

11. Charlotte - They could be better. Underrated talent and now they have a coach.

12. Atlanta - They were horrible the last 20 games of the season, which many people seem to forget. Bibby isn't the answer at point.

13. New York - Stephon Marbury is crazy. This roster doesn't fit what D'Antoni wants to do, no matter what he says.

14. Milwaukee - Veterans hate Scott Skiles. Enter Redd and Jefferson, who are 2 underrated pouters. Plus Redd, Villanueva and Bogut haven't played D since they came into the NBA. And Ridnour is their answer at point? Or maybe I just hate Skiles.

15. New Jersey - It is going to be an ugly year. Especially after Vince Carter quits on the team in December.

Playoffs: Boston over Chicago, Detroit over Orlando, Cleveland over Miami, Philadelphia over Toronto. Boston over Philadelphia, Cleveland over Detroit. Cleveland over Boston in 7.

West

1. Lakers - the deepest team in the west. Interior and perimeter talent. And the Zen.

2. Houston - They went on a 22 game win streak without Yao. Add Artest pretending to be sane for a season and you have a 60 win team.

3. Utah - Great balance. Deron Williams is the man. Boozer and Okur aren't tough enough on D for them to challenge the Lakers or Houston.

4. New Orleans - Chris Paul is the man. But they will take a step back, despite Posey. Too many things went right last year. They aren't going to sneak up on anyone this season.

5. San Antonio - They usually win in odd number years. Not this time. Not enough talent around Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. And is Duncan losing a step? Ginobili is definitely losing some hair.

6. Phoenix - They will undoubtedly have some growing pains switching to a new offense with some new players. But will pay off in the playoffs? Probably not.

7. Portland - If Oden is healthy, they will be a top 7 team in the west. If he gets injured, they will struggle to finish 10th. A lot of pressure on Roy. I see a lot of 3rd guards, no true point guards. They should take Nocioni off our hands, just for the hell of it.

8. Dallas - So the players hated Avery's discipline, so they hired Carlisle?!? I would put Golden State here but their point guard rides mopeds or some crap. Nowitki is underrated and hard to spell. Howard is solid but should stop speaking.

9. Golden State - See Dallas. Underrated talent on the inside with Bierdens and Wright.

10. Denver - I like Denver. I just don't know how committed to winning they are. If Nene has a good year in the middle they could do better than expected.

11. Clippers - In my opinion you can shake up 7-11 in the west, and they could come out any way. They are 11th, because I don't think Camby wants to be there or that B. Davis wants to be there without Brand.

12. Sacramento - They have one above average player. Good luck Kevin Martin.

13. Memphis - Rudy Gay will have a big year. OJ Majo will prove to be a good, but not great player. Conley will continue to disappoint.

14. Minnesota - I'm intrigued, but skeptical of Love. I don't know much, but I know this is a terrible team.

15. Oklahoma City - But the Thunder is worse.

Playoffs: Lakers over Dallas, Houston over Portland, Phoenix over Utah, New Orleans over San Antonio. Lakers over New Orleans, Houston over Phoenix. Lakers over Houston in 6.

Damn it. Laker over Cleveland in 7. Bryant versus James. Kobe wins Finals MVP but Gasol and Bynum are the difference.

How do you guys think the NBA Season will turn out?

Poll

Who will win the NBA Championship?

Boston Celtics

16 votes

Lalers

51 votes

Cleveland

7 votes

Detroit

0 votes

Philadelphia

0 votes

New Orleans

10 votes

Utah

4 votes

Houston

5 votes

Bulls

42 votes

San Antonio

3 votes

Phoenix

2 votes

Other

7 votes

147 votes | Poll has closed

A BG Sign and Trade That Makes Sense! Or Not.

DangerMouse — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:40:30 -0000

In a perfect world, the Bulls would trade Noce for a lesser contract and resign Gordon for 6 years 59 to 63 million. But sadly, its not a perfect world, and we don't have a perfect owner or GM. I just don't think Bulls management values BG to that degree. So in that vain, I think the Bulls should sign and trade BG to ... Toronto. The trade would be

Bulls get Bargnani, Kapono and a pick.

Toronto gets Gordon and Simmons.

Bargnani, a former Number 1 pick, hasn't reached his potential in the NBA and won't being forced to play behind Bosh and O'Neal or having to play SF. He can score from the outside, averaged more points than all our inside guys and has the size to play C at times. Plus, he would look really good in the pick and pop and could be another piece to add with Rose. Kapono comes in and helps us offset some of the loss of Gordon plus he allows us to move Noce at a later point.

Our lineup would be C Noah, PF Gooden, SF Deng, SG Hinrich, PG Rose. We'd have a 9 man rotation with Sefo, Hughes, Bargani and Tyrus coming off the bench.\ with Kapono providing outside shooting as needed. We'd still have the option to move Hughes, Noce, Hinrich or Gooden in case something opened up. (I woudn't mind moving Noce in a pure salary dump. He doesn't really fit with where the team is heading). Basically the Bulls would be counting on Kapono, Bargani and Hughes to replace BG's production. Not exactly an insane premise.

Toronto with the acquisition of O'Neal is preparing to win now. Gordon can help accomplish that. He fits with the style Colangelo prefers. They can make up for his lackluster D because O'Neal and Moon are top notch defenders, and Bosh can block shots as well. Jose Calderon ability to handle the ball means Gordon won't ever have to. With this trade and good health you can argue that the Raptors are top 3 in the East.

I reiterate that I would like to keep Gordon. But if we can get a talent like Bargani, a role player and a draft pick, I think we have to make the deal rather than sign him to the qualifying offer.

You can add in guys like Noce or Sefo and get back Graham and/or Parker. But I don't think Toronto is to keen on moving Parker.