Ed- Thanks to arjosheph for tonight's preview!

I wanted to come up with a fresh angle for this game, and here's what I settled on:  this game will suck.

When I say that it will suck, I don't mean it won't be interesting.  There's the obvious angle of Rose vs. Wall, our beloved point guard vs. D.C.'s great new hope, two really fast guys who used to play for the same college coach (let's ask Coach Cal one more time who's faster, just so he can be diplomatic again).  I'm sure that's what the national audience will care about most, and it's what the national media will focus on in the recaps.  It's also going to be very interesting to watch; I'm hoping Rose schools the rook at least three times tonight.  Of course, there's the question of whether we made a huge mistake in trading away Kevin Seraphin (zero minutes played so far in real NBA action).  I should probably mention the ex-pat Captain Kurt; I still feel unsettled whenever I see him in a non-Bulls jersey, and it was interesting to see him and Deng go at each other in the preseason.  There's also the fact that this is the last home game before the dreaded Circus Trip (which is really an incongruous name for something hyped to be so scary, unless of course you don't like clowns; I propose we call it the Scary Clown Trip from now on), meaning it's a game the Bulls "need" to win.  Those are the reasons to tune in, and I certainly will be doing that myself.  But this game will probably suck (explantion after the jump).

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According to J.A. Adande (who reported this on ESPN.com's NBA Today podcast; go to around 17:50), Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has been trying to consult with LeBron on the various firings and (potential) hirings going on this off-season, and LeBron has demurred.  Adande says that LeBron doesn't want to give an opinion because he doesn't want "blood on his hands" if those moves don't work out.  I can see the logic in that. 

I can also read between the lines and see a LeBron who is avoiding giving any signals that he's coming back, who's trying to avoid creating any more ties between him and the organization. 

Now, maybe he resigns with the Cavs anyway.  And maybe it is just that he doesn't want to share any responsibility for a new GM/coach's potential failure.  But it sure does seem like he's trying to keep the slate clean with respect to his pending free agency.  Not a huge deal, but I found it interesting.

(In other news, around 25:00 or so -- maybe a bit before -- Adande espouses the view that Bosh is the first domino this summer; where he goes will determine how the rest of the dominoes fall.)

For the past few days all ESPN reporters have been hopping on the Interwebs to break rumors and stories.  Since I've been obsessively checking it, I thought I could bring it over here and paraphrase for non-Insider folks (and maybe throw in some quotes).

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[A few updates around 4:00 ET]:  Cybit has pasted some below in the comments, but here's another:  An Amare deal tonight is very unlikely (sorry Matt).  The update is in conjunction with a Warriors Amare rumor, but I think it applies to any team.  Since a trade for Amare would involve not only an intense examination of his injured eye and a status exam on his microfracture knee, but also some form of assurance that he would resign in 2010, it's highly unlikely all of that gets done by the draft.  The item also pours water on the Houston Amare rumor, saying sources familiar with both teams are skeptical.

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[Update @ 3:03 ET]:  Among other things, Chad Ford reports that Houston has offered Battier and Brooks to Memphis for #2.  Chad states that Memphis could unload Marko Jaric's contract in the deal.  The question remains: who does Houston want?  My bet would be Rubio.

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[Update @ 2:13 ET]:  Andy Katz reports a few nuggets:  (1)  Minny has a certain player in mind for the 18th pick (rumor is either Earl Clark or James Johnson).  If their guy(s) aren't available, they'll trade.  (2)  Brandon Jennings is considering pulling out of the green room.  Basically, he's scared that Golden State, NYK, and Milwaukee will all pass on him, precipitating a fall into the 20s.  If he doesn't pull out, it probably means he got a guarantee from somewhere.  The next two tidbits deserve quotes, since they're Bulls-centric:

• Oklahoma City, Detroit and Chicago made assurances early on Thursday that they weren't dealing their top 16 picks.

• Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon received a number of calls earlier this week, and as late as Thursday, about DeJuan Blair's knees. Dixon, who is en route to New Zealand to coach the USA Under 19 national team playing in the World Championships, said he told the teams, including Indiana at No. 13, that Blair never missed a practice or game in his two years. Blair's knees have been questioned because he had ACL surgery on each knee in high school.

The first bullet seems to contradict a report from Poopsworld that the Bulls and Nets have an agreement to swap if Williams is there.

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[Update @ 12:31 ET]:  Marc Stein reports that it's looking like Memphis will keep the #2 pick unless Minnesota gives up both #5 and #6 for it, which Minnesota says it won't do.  On the Minny front, it's looking like Curry and Evans will be their two picks (if one of Rubio or Thabeet doesn't fall), but they're still aggressively working the phones for possible trades.

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Here's the latest update (I'll be updating this post as more interesting stuff comes in):

Chad Ford: Watch out for the Houston Rockets. Sources say they have been really active the past 24 hours, having contacted the Grizzlies, Thunder, Kings and Timberwolves about trying to get into the lottery.

It sound like virtually everyone on Houston's roster is available. Teams report that the Rockets are trying to parlay Tracy McGrady's expiring contract and Aaron Brooks' newfound celebrity status into one of Minnesota's lottery picks. Carl Landry and Shane Battier were also mentioned as possible trade pieces.

The Rockets are also among several teams that will be making a run at Amare Stoudemire. With Shaq gone, expect the Stoudemire rumors to start heating up again.

So Dork Elvis is making moves.  This kind of scares me.  He's one of the better GMs in the league, and Houston has some assets.  I could certainly see them making a strong play for Amare and moving up to draft Blair (who seems like the type of player who could shine on all the secret advanced metrics they use down there in Houston; yes, that's a complete guess, but whatever).  Then I can imagine self-immolation.

Now it gets crazy.  [Update: crazier.]

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This one's interesting.  Chad has once again updated his mock draft (in two parts, 1-5 here and 6-30 here for Insiders).  A review on the movers and shakers and how it impacts the Bulls:

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Every year, Hollinger performs a regression analysis to compare this year's prospects to last year's prospects.  As he explains, the error rate on the analysis is pretty high, but the information provided by the Rater can identify some busts and some sleepers.  Significantly, if the Rater puts a guy in the Top 5, there's almost no way he's a bust.

So what does the Rater say to Bulls fans?

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In the face of reports that the Bulls want to draft B.J. Mullens with the 16th pick and realizing I don't know much about the kid (other than the fact that he's big, athletic, and a statistical disappointment), I thought I'd do some research.  I've become even more irrationally excited about drafting Mullens than I am about bringing over Omer Asik.  After reading some things and watching some things, I think I might have convinced myself that getting Mullens at 16 would be a major coup.

My thoughts:

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[Note by your friendly BullsBlogger, 03/03/09 3:04 PM CST : Thanks to arjoseph for today's preview -ed.]

It's good to know that we're not the only ones frustrated by the Bulls.  As fellow SB-Nation Bobcats blog Rufus on Fire notes in its preview of our upcoming game, "The Chicago Bulls are a frustrating team to sum up."  (I would encourage everyone to click through to that preview, by the by; it's good stuff, an accurate encapsulation of the Bulls from the POV of an outsider.  It also includes a clip of Brad Miller vs. the Diesel during Brad's first tour of duty in Chicago.  (As a parenthetical to the parenthetical, I'm amazed that – on a team featuring Ron Artest and Charles Oakley – Brad Miller was the one who ended up shirtless and escorted from the floor.  Perhaps this was before he started engaging in certain mellowing recreational activities.))

Accurate game-to-game prognostication of the Bulls' chances of success is nigh impossible recently (considering that the team varies so greatly game to game).  It is doubly so (can something be doubly nigh impossible? I say yes) against a tweener team like the Bobcats who themselves are fairly unpredictable. 

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