[Thanks to K_yle33 for today's game preview. Game thread up at 6:08. -yfbb]

The Bulls are currently in the midst of a pretty interesting week involving a 9 game road trip, all-star game appearances, injury updates, Will Ferrell introductions, and now ... the Charlotte Bobcats (sarcasm).

Chicago is 5-2 on their current road trip and just broke a NBA record for winning 3 road games by 20+ points. Given the fact that Charlotte is 3-22 and is a -13.7 in point differential, there is probably a good chance that Thib's defensive team (which was featured on NBA's BIG promotion) could make this a 4th straight game of winning by 20+ points. The way that the Bulls have been handling sub .500 opponents, and not playing down to their levels makes me more confident in their performance tonight.

Another reason to be confident is due to Charlotte's injury situation. They will be missing Gerald Henderson (out 2-4 weeks), D.J. Augustin, and Corey Maggette is also day to day with an injury . Henderson was the leading scorer with 22 pts (and 9 rebs) in a 95-89 Bulls win on Jan 21st.

However, Reggie Williams and Derrick Brown have been playing well lately. Then there is always B.J. Mullens...

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There are no rumors or evidence of this BUT do you guys think there is any chance Michael Redd gets a buyout.  He is owed 18 million dollars and is in last year of contract!?!?  Theoretically, Milwaukee could set up a buyout of 15 mil, he could get to sign with the Bulls for 2.9 million and be on a contender and a 3 point specialist.  He will definately suck on defense but was at one time a great scorer/shooter. 

We have not seen him play all year but he has been deemed healthy and able to return.  what are your thoughts??

I'll keep this brief.  I was bored tonight and just really looking at possible under the radar trades the bulls could make for the SG position.

After looking at most teams, trade rumors, and needs for the SG position I honestly thing Fransisco Garcia would be a great starting SG for this team.  He plays defense, can shoot the 3 on occasion, and can play SG/SF.  For instance, tonight (Jan. 11th) he scored 26 points as starting guard for the Kings. 

I think Thibs has had enough with Korver.  I think he is a good instant-offense when he is hitting shots but his inconsistency and inability to score lately have actually hurt the team because of his matador defense.

My trade idea would be Korver, James Johnson FOR Garcia, Donte Green, and Luther Head.

Donte Green has feel out of the rotation.  He has played well against the bulls in the past.  he can also score and play defense.  Luther head could be a 3 point shooter/scorer as 5th/6th guard.  Plus we only have 13 on the roster at this time so we could do a 3 for 2 deal.

The bulls could also throw in a couple second rounders or a 1st rounder in my opinion. 

I think this rotation would look like this:

PG: Rose, Watson

SG:Garcia, Brewer, Bogans

SF: Deng, Garcia/Green

PF: Boozer, Gibson

C: Noah, Asik/Thomas

[Thanks to Kyle33  for today's game preview. -ed]

"We have a tough game tomorrow night...", says Derrick Rose in ESPN postgame interview after a 29, 9, 5 game vs the Lakers. This "every game is important" mind-set of this team and MVP candidate is going to make for a great year and help over the next 14 games. 

After the first 21 games of the regular season and a strength of schedule (above .57) which is the most difficult in the entire NBA, the time has come for 14 games in a row against weaker competition.  To be more specific, only 2 team (New York and Indiana) actually have winning records.  These next 14 games are going to be extremely important for the Bulls ranking in the Eastern Conference come playoff time.  Not only does Chicago play teams in Central Division like Indiana and Milwaukee but this is the time to transform into an elite team that does not lose to mediocre or poor teams.  This brings us to the game tonight, Bulls vs Timberwolves. 

The T-Wolves are one of those teams that should provide a winable game; however, based on the Bulls at times playing down to level of competition (For example, Bulls vs Cleveland on 12/8) and that Kevin Love/Michael Beasley are putting up big numbers this is going to have to be a game the Bulls come ready to play.  This also has the potential to be a major trap game.  After a big win against the Lakers last night there is a great chance they start the game slow, but based on Rose's postgame quote I have a feellng this Bulls squad knows how important these home games can be during the season. 

It has to be said, Kevin Love is a beast.  Over his last 5 games he is averaging 27 points and 18.2 rebounds.  He is also 13-21 from the 3-point line over that same time frame.  Wow.  Needless to say, this matchup at the PF position between Love and Boozer is going to be key.  Boozer has looked slow at times in guarding quicker players and players that can shoot the 3/drive the ball, such as Jamison on Wednesday night.  Booz will also need to pick up the slack in terms of rebounding.  Hopefully this is a game where Boozer, who averaged over 11 rebounds last year for the Jazz, will need to prove his worth.   I wouldn't be suprised if we saw more of Taj Gibson this game again for defensive reasons. 

Darko Milicic is now making a name for himself as a solid NBA player (can't believe I just said that...).  Joakim will likely be matched up with Darko for most of the game as he played 37 minutes in a Win vs Detroit last night.  Darko had 7 blocks.  He may present a slight challenge for Rose as he drives the ball to the hoop but I dont see Darko's awareness being that good to stop Derrick (who can stop D-Rose these days!). 

Michael Beasley was traded for 2 second round draft picks and is now averaging 22 points a game.  To be honest, this season I have almost been routing for Beasley to do well as it is just another jab at the Miami Heat.  Now that Luol Deng is the 3rd option on the Bulls offensively, I am hoping to see a better effort from him defensively.  He has done well this season shutting down some solid SFs and this will be another test for him.   In my opinion he also played a great game last night when matched up with Kobe Bryant.  His legs has shown to really disrupt shots. 

Keys to the Game:

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I'm bored today waiting for the Bulls/Rockets game to start and was thinking about some players that could fill in our starting SG spot for Bogans.  Here are some ideas:

1. James Johnson + 2 2nd round picks for Courtney Lee (Houston)

2. James Johnson + John Lucas for Anthony Parker (Cleveland)

3. James Johnson for Marcus Thornton/trade exception (New Orleans)

4. James Johnson + 1st round pick for Rudy Fernandez/trade exception (Portland)

5. James Johnson for Jodie Meeks/trade exception (Philadelphia)

6. James Johnson/John Lucas for Nick Young (Washington)

With a Trade for a SG the lineup would look like this...

PG: Rose, Watson

SG: (TRADE), Brewer

SF: Deng, Korver

PF: Boozer, Gibson

C: Noah, Asik

Once Carlos Boozer returns to the lineup it will not only provide further fire-power and scoring from the PF position, but it will also strengthen the rotation in many ways. 

First and foremost, I believe it SHOULD get Keith Bogans out of the main rotation.  I personally do not see why Bogans is starting and playing minutes on this team.  He really hasn't shown much on the defensive end, and lately he has been horrible on offense (especially with three point shooting).  I am becoming a big believer in Ronnie Brewer.  Lately, C.J. Watson has also shown an ability the play the 2-guard position in smaller lineups which enables Rose to play off the ball.  Because of this, I believe the rotation should go like this...

Starters = Rose, Brewer, Deng, Boozer, Noah

5:00 first quarter - Korver in for Brewer (Rose, Korver, Deng, Boozer, Noah)

2:00 first quarter - Taj in for Boozer (Rose, Korver, Deng, Taj, Noah)

Start of 2nd quarter - Asik in for Noah (Rose, Korver, Deng, Taj, Asik)

9:00 2nd quarter - Watson in for Rose, Brewer back in for Deng (Watson, Brewer, Korver, Taj, Asik)

7:00 2nd quarter - Boozer in for Asik (Watson, Brewer, Korver, Boozer, Taj)

5:00 2nd quarter - Rose in for Watson, Deng in for Korver, Noah in for Taj (Rose, Brewer, Deng, Boozer, Noah)

* Second quarter is about the same rotation but start the substitutions earlier and probably have Korver in for Brewer at end of game

- Asik should only be getting about 8 minutes a game with a 3 big man rotation between Noah/Taj/Boozer

- Bogans is only used in foul trouble situations or with injury

As of now, the reports are that Portland will not take JJ from the Bulls and are looking for a player like Taj Gibson.  However, I am not willing to give up Taj at this point for Rudy as we would not have a backup PF and there are not great ones on the market.  To get this to happen I tried to think of moves/trades that all teams would appreciate.  Here they are below:

Trade 1: Taj Gibson for Rudy Fernandez

Reason - If this is what it takes to get Rudy I would only do it if the Bulls knew they could get backup PF.  Also, this would be my last option.  I'd first try JJ or charlotte's 1st rounder for Rudy. 

Trade 2: Bulls 1st Rounder for Ryan Anderson (Orlando)

Reason - Orlando is WAAAYY over the luxury tax and already have a backup PF in Brandon Bass.  Otis smith already stated he was looking for trades to relieve some CAP pressure when they resigned JJ.  Ryan Anderson could spread the floor for Derrick Rose as he is a 3 point shooter avg .370 last year and shot over 200 threes.  The Bulls first rounder is likely going to be a top 20 pick next season anyways and will not have much value. 

Trade 3: James Johnson for Jordan Hill (Houston)

Reason - Same situation here for Houston.  They are over the luxury tax and already have big men in Scola, Miller, Yao, Chuck Hayes.  They would save 4 million dollars by this deal given the luxury tax.  I don't know much about Jordan Hill but he was the 8th overall pick and didn't seem to get a good opportunity last season. 

Bulls roster after these moves:

PG: Rose, Watson

SG: Brewer, Fernandez

SG: Deng, Korver

PF: Boozer, Anderson, Hill

C: Noah, Asik, Thomas

As we all know, the Bulls will be working out Tracy McGrady on Monday and are looking for another wing player.  There are arguments for and against signing TMac.  I thought i'd take a closer look at his numbers from last season with the Knicks to get an idea of how he'd contribute with the Bulls, if signed. 

Here are some numbers to begin with: He played 24 games, averaged 26 minutes a game which lead to 9 shot attempts a game with the Knicks in which he was basically the primary scorer/ball handler on that team. 

Lets say that he only averages about 10 minutes a game with the Bulls.  Given his minutes played vs shot attempts last year, this would only mean he'd take about 3.75 shots a game.  Another thing is that he would not be the primary ball handler/scorer, so this number may be lower.

The only reason I point this out is that many believe he would corrupt or hog the ball; however, based on statistics this wouldn't be the case. 

I may be one of the people out there that believe that given a strong belief that McGrady would be "ok" with being a bench player with limited minutes and a good teammate, that the bulls should take a chance on him.  If he is getting no offers, maybe an unguarateed 1year contract for 2 million dollars would be appropriate.  If he doens't work out, the bulls could just release him. 

With the remaining 1 million, they could still sign a player like Eddie House or Roger Mason.  They could put James Johnson on the injury list as he will likely not see minutes anyways. 

This would form a roster of:

Rose, Watson

Brewer, McGrady, House/Mason

Deng, Korver

Boozer, Taj

Noah, Asik, Thomas

Again, I am not 100% a fan of McGrady or think he is all that great but if they would sign him to an unguaranteed contract in which they could also sign Mason or House I'd be interested. 

Also, I attached a Poll to see everyone's opinion on McGrady as I am interested to see how many people are FOR him and how many are AGAINST him. 

The Bulls have needs remaining at backup PG, backup SG, and backup C.  Here are my top 4 free agents available in those slots:

PG

1. Jason Williams

2. Rafer Alston

3. Shannon Brown

4. C.J. Watson

* After thinking about it I really like Jason Williams on this Bulls squad.  He can shoot the 3, he can score, he can play uptempo and pass the ball. 

SG

1. Roger Mason

2. Flip Murray

3. Keith Bogans

4. Josh Howard

* I think the Bulls need a scoring backup SG and Mason is probably the best shooter whereas Flip may be the best scorer left, he did well for the Bulls at the end of last season. 

C

1. Brad Miller

2. Kurt Thomas

3. Brian Skinner

4. Shaq

*Gotta resign Brad

With the current news that all 3 players may talk over next couple days and that there is a possiblity of still playing together, I really wanted to see what it would take (salary wise) to sign all 3 players:

First here are some facts (based on what i've heard):

1. Salary Cap is going to be 56.1

2. Bulls currently have 30.0 million in CAP space to spend

Here are the steps the Bulls would have to complete to make signing these 3 players work:

1. Trade Luol Deng and James Johnson for pure cap space.  Possibly Deng to Sacramento or LAC for future protected 1st round pick.  Then JJ to a team for a 2nd round pick.  This would create 43.049 in CAP space 

2. Sign both Lebron and Wade to 5 year contracts starting at 16.0 million.

* "Regular" contracts without exceptions have an 8% annual raise/increase which would lead to a contract of 5 years for 92.8 million total.

* This would leave 11.05 in cap space

3. Then perform a sign/trade for Bosh sending Taj (1.117)  + future 1st rounders to Toronto in which bosh would get 15.25 first year.

* The reason this would work is for 2 reasons: First, by performing sign/trade Bosh gets an annual raise of 10.5% which at the end of 5 years equals out to about exactly the same as James/Wade (92.25) and also adding additional year to contract at 23.3 million.  Also, it would work for Bulls because if you add 11.05 mil in cap space + Taj's 1.117 contract x 125% it equals about 15.25. 

These numbers are not exact and may need to be fluctuated by about .1 million but in general it is a way for each player to get REALLY close to their max contract while still all being able to play together.

Bulls, I believe, can still use MLE and Bi-annual exception on players like JJ Reddick and Matt Bonner.

In general, if these 3 players really want to play together, I still think bulls possess best chance. 

I chose to start a new post/thread on this topic as I just punched numbers and have a new theory based on reports/trades that have happened.  Here is what has happened first of all:

1. Hinrich and 1st round pick has been traded for NOTHING to washington

2. Rumors have surfaced that Joe Johnson wants to commit early to bulls for a 4yr/60 mil contract with first year being about 13-14 mil.

3. Continued Rumors that Deng is also being shopped to sacramento or clippers for CAP space

4. Bosh on sportscenter pretty much saying he might go where lebron goes

So, based on these news/rumors here are the numbers:

- If the bulls can trade Hinrich, Deng, and James Johnson for Cap space they will have 46.3 mil left for free agency given the CAP is 56.1 (which it is projected). 

- Lets say the Bulls do immediately sign JJ for 13.3 million

- This then gives them still enough to sign 2 max free agency; hence, Lebron and Bosh

- This results in a lineup of Rose, JJ, Lebron, Bosh, Noah (Taj 6th man). 

- I then think the bulls can still use the 5 mid level exception to sign a player/free agent. 

So, If the bulls do trade hinrich/deng/james johnson for NOTHING tonight or before FA they MUST believe something like this should happen.