Quietly I'm really hoping for the Heat to lose...

I know it helps that I hate Lebron….but also because

I think if they lose (and their odds went up with Bosh out, even if it’s just Bosh), that I think Miami might just trade one of the big 3.

I think Chris Bosh is the preferred choice of the 3, which fair or not is the likely first pursuit, just because Lebron and Wade are much better, not that Bosh is bad.

But I think the 3 of them don’t work all that well together (Wade and James have that take turns game) and Bosh is more a jump shooting big, when they could do well with a dominant post man.

They’re not likely to get that post man for Bosh in a trade….nor do I think they’ll get equal value.

They’d be silly to trade Lebron.

That makes me think if they don’t win this year, trading Wade might be the best move for them.

The Heat need depth mostly, they can do well with Lebron and Bosh for star power.

I propose a major trade:
Bulls trade: Gibson + Deng + Asik + 2016 Charlotte Option (who are we kidding Charlotte bottomed out quicker than we’d have thought, and a new perhaps #1 pick and 1 more year or more of high top 5 lottery picks and by 2016 that pick isn’t probably as appealing as it would seem).

Bulls get in return: Dwyane Wade

Heat Lineup:
PG: Chalmers-Cole and likely their first round pick choice
SG- James/Deng/Battier/Miller by committee
SF-James/Deng/Battier/Miller by committee
PF-Bosh/Gibson/Haslem
C-Gibson/Asik/Anthony/Haslem

Bulls:
Watson/free agent pick up
Dwyane Wade/Hamilton/Korver
Hamilton/Brewer/Korver/Butler
Boozer/first round pickup or free agent pick up
Noah/first round pickup or free agent pick up

Sure we need size, but once Rose is healthy, D. Wade and Rose look out….with Noah on the break, and the O of Hamilton and Boozer, opens up everything.

Hate to lose Gibson mostly and Deng….but would do so for a top 5 player.

Ok so Luol's good, he's still not worth his contract, and we'd still be better off not paying our 4th best player a soon to be $14M in a few years....

 

He's decent....but can we do better?  I think yes perhaps

Poll

Is this like a totally like awesome like trade or like what?

3%

Yes--right on

9 votes

21%

No-Luol too good even with a less than stellar contract

51 votes

25%

No-I think there's a better deal for Luol

60 votes

43%

You f-ing crazy

100 votes

5%

I'm ignorant, i don't watch the Kings.

12 votes

232 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

Ok so the non math driven sportswriters and analysts continue to trump just how terrible the East is compared to the West because there are 11 teams .500 or better in the West vs 7 teams in the East...

 

Great analysis folks.

Continue reading this post »

Ok so here's a trade that at the face of it looks terrible, but could be the real excuse this org needs to fully focus on 2010.

Continue reading this post »

Here's 2 trades that I think would be perfect for us.  What do you think (See poll)

Poll

What do you think of these trades?

9%

Good set of trades, but not enough for Bulls

7 votes

5%

Good for Wizards and Bulls not for Lakers

4 votes

1%

Good for Lakers not for Wizards or Bulls

1 votes

5%

Good for Lakers not for Bulls or Wizards

4 votes

50%

Never gonna happen, and dumb

39 votes

0%

You forgot something majo (let me know :)

0 votes

28%

Just do it

22 votes

77 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

 

Apparently there are rumors that Atlanta is tired of the headcasedness of Josh Smith....the athletic, talented, versatile Josh Smith (who might be a young Zach Randolph, or might be a guy who just freaking hates Mike Woodson or a little of both--nevertheless he's more talented for upside than Randolph and I don't know if he's had any of the run ins....checks sham...no I don't see any....

Continue reading this post »

Hey, I have the Dish and thought I'd set up to record game 1....which I though was starting tomorrow at 11:30.....but I cannot find it.

 

Does anyone know what channel it's on on the DISH in chicago?  Comcast in the guide has PAID PROGRAMMING and SLEDHEAD....listed.

 

I did searches and see TBA games at 2CST, which can't be our game....

 

Thanks for the help.  This Bulls fan needs it (75 words there you go).

I couldn't find anything here, but anyone know the results on Salmons's MRI?  All I keep hearing was he had an MRI yesterday....wow that's a great story...

 

Anyone know more about Deng?  Is he comign back? Any update?  I know they were "considering" shutting him down, but then I thought I last heard that he wanted to come back soon.....

 

Any other injury issues?  Tim THomas's back?  Tyrus Thomas?  Joakim Noah?  Derrick Rose's wrist?

 

Bulls are oddly tight lipped right now, even for them....and this much injured team....

 

Thanks.

FROM Today's Daily Dime:http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090331

 

By Brett Hainline | Queen City Hoops/TrueHoop Network

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15
Raptors at Bulls: Playing at the same time as Charlotte, the Bulls go into the game knowing they must win to have a chance. All the Raptors are playing for is pride (and a new contract for Shawn Marion). The battle of '06 lottery picks in Bargnani and Tyrus Thomas is lopsided and the Bulls win. Bulls win (39-43, 0.5 games ahead)
Bobcats at Magic: The Magic have the 3-seed wrapped up and cannot catch the Celtics for 2; Orlando's starters play less than a quarter each and the Bobcats knock off the Magic bench for the playoff-clinching win. Bobcats win (39-43, tied for 8th -- Bobcats own tie-breaker with 2-1 season series edge)

Editor's note: We asked Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops to spell out exactly how the Charlotte Bobcats, who stand two games behind the Chicago Bulls for 8th place in the Eastern Conference, might make the unlikely leap out of the lottery and into their first playoff berth. Here is their potential path to the playoffs:

 

With nine games remaining, the Bobcats have matched their franchise record for wins and would seem a lock to set a new record that is at least a couple tallies higher. This Charlotte team has beaten the Lakers and the Celtics. They've gone 5-2 in overtime games, showing improvement in clutch time where they used to fade. The Bobcats will have a winning record at home. But the season will still be a bit of a disappointment ...

If they don't make the playoffs. That is what the expectation around the Queen City became when Larry Brown was brought on as coach. Those expectations were ratcheted even higher with the various trades throughout the season that made the Bobcats a more complete (and more Larry Brown-ish) team. Barring Gerald Wallace's midseason rib-adjustment, they have been relatively healthy and improvement has been evident. But it hasn't been enough to draw the city in -- they want Cleveland (or Boston) in CLT for a couple of extra dates after the players would normally be on the golf course. And here is how that happens:

TUESDAY
Lakers at Bobcats: 5-1. The Bobcats' record in their last 6 against the Lakers. Make it 6-1 with a payback game after the last one ended with Gerald Wallace in the hospital. Bobcats win (34-40, 1.5 games back)
Bulls at Pacers: Chicago has but 12 road wins this season and cannot add to it playing in a building where Boston, Atlanta, the Lakers, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Cleveland ... you get the idea ... have lost already this season. Bulls lose (36-40, 1 game ahead)

 

WEDNESDAY
Bobcats at Celtics: What goes up must come down -- the Bobcats do not have enough in the tank to travel to Boston and win following the game against the Lakers the night before. Bobcats lose (34-41, 1.5 games back)

FRIDAY
Heat at Bobcats: Dwyane Wade nearly comes up with a triple-double, falling just short in ... turnovers. Wade has a season high of 8 against the Kings had a 5 turnover game against Charlotte earlier this season. Bobcats win (35-41, 1 game back)

SATURDAY
Nets at Bulls: Brook Lopez goes for 30 and 15 in his late rush at the ROY trophy. Bulls lose (36-41, 0.5 games ahead)

SUNDAY
Bobcats at Pistons: Rasheed Wallace sees Larry Brown on the sideline and reverts back to championship form, leading the Pistons to victory. After the game, he also goes back in time, only answering "Both teams played hard." Bobcats lose (35-42, 1 game back)

TUESDAY, APRIL 7
76ers at Bobcats: The Cats won in Philly a week and a half prior by out-rebounding the Sixers by 18. This time they do it by winning the battle of the boards by 10 and matching Philly in turnovers -- a problem for Charlotte against Philly, as they have averaged over 17 a game against them this season. Bobcats win (37-41, 0.5 games back)
Knicks at Bulls: Derrick Rose shows Mike D'Antoni what he missed out on by not waiting for the lottery results. His 25 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds carry the Bulls over the Knicks. Ben Gordon is seen crying at his locker after the game, mumbling something about seven seconds or less and a big payday. Bulls win (37-41, 1 game ahead)

THURSDAY, ARPIL 9
76ers at Bulls: The 76ers' pressure defense gives Rose fits (he has averaged 4 turnovers against Philly this season) and the Bulls cannot overcome all the fast break opportunities for Philadelphia. Bulls lose (37-42, 0.5 games ahead)

FRIDAY, APRIL 10
Bobcats at Thunder: With Kevin Durant on the court, the Thunder have a defensive efficiency of about 110. Even the Bobcats can score against defense like that. On the other end, Gerald Wallace make life tough on the league's future scoring leader and shows the kind of all-around game Durantula should learn to emulate. Bobcats win (37-42, tied for 8th)

SATURDAY, APRIL 11
Bobcats at Bulls: The Bobcats will have to contend with a late-night flight from a cornfield in the middle of Oklahoma while the Bulls have been sleeping at home after their Thursday game in the Windy City. Bobcats lose (37-43, 1 game back)

MONDAY, APRIL 13
Bulls at Pistons: Detroit remains in a precarious spot at 7th in the East, rarely more than a game or 2 ahead of the Bulls/Bobcats in 8th. For the two teams, all 3 games this year have gone to the home team -- the Pistons make it all 4. Bulls lose (38-43, 0.5 games ahead)
Bobcats at Nets: Through his UNC connections, Michael Jordan gets the Tar Heels to honor Vince Carter at halftime of this game ... in Chapel Hill. Vince is at the airport for the duration of the game, and the Bobcats capitalize. Bobcats win (38-43, tied for 8th)

 

Let's use this as motivation.  I mean surely we'er better than 2-5 through our last remaining games.  I know we laid an egg through 3 qtrs last game, but I swear they didn't watch us again.  The Pistons should be most afraid of losing the 8th spot, not the Bulls.

 

 

Ok, so the way we're set right now, presuming no trades will happen until at least next year's deadline (because let's say it, we're Chicago and we don't trade when we can trade), who would you like to see a Bull next year coming into the year?

 

I presume we won't be able to afford Ben Gordon....and while I think BG's our best player, I think the addition of Salmons has at least allowed us to weather that storm.

 

So presuming we have to get 2 #1 draftee, I guess we can presume whoever he is (Stephen Curry most likely as I think we'll nip into the playoffs for teh first one and then I don't know another SG who won't play much in year 1, maybe an international pick for the Thabo part), his cost will be between $1.5-2M to the cap.  We may have one more 2nd rounder on the team at $800K, and before doing anything else and the loss of BG we'll have 67.4M....locked up (hopefully we can get under Jerome James's contract....but I don't think it's happening)

Who should we try to add to this team?

Rotation

Rose/Kirk/Curry

Salmons/Kirk/Curry

Deng/Salmons/Tim THomas

Thomas/Noah/Tim Thomas

Noah/Miller.

 

I think the following could be good, inexpensive free agents:

Chris Birdman Anderson....give us solid off the bench contributions, ensure that with Tyrus out we always have a shot blocker.  I know he's had the drug issue, but the dude can play and is dirt cheap....might be a nice bargain.  He's athletic, he's played well in basically every year he's been eligible to play, and if one of our bigs go down for any spell, his athleticism should allow him to step in and at least perform.  I'd offer him 2 yrs $3M in the hopes of snatching him away, on play he's worth more than that, but given the checkered past, that might be a good offer.

Matt Barnes.  He could give us some scoring punch at the 2/3 off the bench.  He's played a bit better of late, but is still a bit inconsistent (hench a definite depth/bench guy), I'd prefer Andersen, but Barnes might help space the floor if Gordon's gone, in a surefire bench role.

Linas Kleiza.....he's picked a strange time to have a mediocre year and might lose his qualifying offer in the cheap land of the Nuggets, perhaps we can make an offer at him, so long as it's cheap.  He has proven he can play really well in the past and he isn't very old....

Wally Szcerbiak.  The pretty boy should come very cheap at or near veteran's minimum, and he might really help space the floor in the 2nd unit, he and Tim THomas could give some fits, so long as Rose is at the helm with them....

 

Anyone else you think?

I mean perhaps we use all the money and luck into Ben Gordon....I still think he's getting mroe than the just under I believe $8M we can offer him....

And frankly, while BG's been our best player, I think now might be the time to change some of the old regime...the nice thing with the guys above is that they can play and should be tradable and won't cost us a ton of money....

 

I know Matt hates Polls but screw it, who do you think will be the 2nd half of this year and next year's new Duhon or Nocioni (most irrationally hated, and unfortunately sometimes rationally hated (poor Noc) Bulls player post trade).  I guess you'd have to think they'll be here for the rest of this year AND at least next year....

Here's my takes of the top 5 and why (not in any order really):

1) Kirk Hinrich--easy, makes too much cha-ch$ng, while he's been a good soldier for us in the past, he was pretty damn bad last year, and now has been replaced by a far better (especially with future projections) Rose, whom he's stealing time from.  Will he be here after this summer?  I guess he can since he's still inexplicably here after last summer... I like Kirk though, he's too $$.

2) Luol Deng--with Nocioni and Duhon (God I hate Duh still) out of the picture to hate on, and Hinrich perhaps one foot out the door this summer (speculative), not to mention the injury woes, the new competition at the SF spot from Salmons, the money tied into him and the fact that that money seems to cause the can't sign Gordon blues.....will folks start hating Deng?  Me I don't know, I'm upset with the injuries, but hate?  I am not sure, Deng's decent, not great....

3) Ben Gordon.  Folks irrationally hate him anyway, so why not put him up here....especially if he gets trigger happy if say VDN cuts his time going forward in favor of Salmons....BG has to have his eyes on the prize (new contract) and this is his final audition.....who knows.

4) John Salmons.....he's having a career year, but was it the system, or did he just finally get it?  Might folks get on him for playing in lieu of Lu-yawn? What if he reverts?  Me, I like him though I haven't watched him more than a handful of games, and I thought he looked nice on the court at Indy, esp not knowing the teammates or system....

5) Brad Miller.  I loved him as a player in 2000-2002 or whenver he was here last.  I like his passing and D and just smart play, but if he starts playing and cutting into Noah's time and plays like the slow white Oaf he is, who knows....I like the signing though.

6) Aaron Gray.  Seriously if he plays, he wins this for me.  I just presume his Bulls playing days are pretty much over with with Noah and Tyrus and Miller on board....but I'm not VDN.

7) Joakim Noah.  Irrationally hated accross the globe thanks to the bad stint to start this year, the winning in college, the crazy hair, and well the clown outfit on draft night.....wonder if something leaks that he was the vital piece of the puzzle included in a failed Amar'e package (Pax didn't want to part, hoping he'd add the D to the team) and folks hate him for it?

8) Tyrus Thomas.....if he reverts back to his early season woes, I guess there's a chance of it, but folks would be dumb to hate on him, our best pure athlete with upside as high as Rose (though Rose has a far better IQ and likelihood of reaching those highs).  Still....like Noah he might be seen as a clog in either the Amare or Bosh failed trades...

9) Other.  And if anyone says D. Rose they are morons.  I guess you could put VDN here, but I was trying to focus on the players.....

 

The site is slow today....thought this would be a nice bitching session...

Poll

Who will be our new Duhon or Nocioni type hated player?

47%

Kirk Hinrich

113 votes

16%

Luol Deng

39 votes

5%

Ben Gordon

14 votes

3%

John Salmons

9 votes

0%

Brad Miller

2 votes

13%

Aaron Gray

31 votes

4%

Joakim Noah

10 votes

2%

Tyrus Thomas

6 votes

5%

Other

14 votes

238 votes | Poll has closed

Why don't we try this as a blow it up proposal....a pure development move and one that allows us to be major players in the 2010 sweepstakes and given that we're giving up more talent, is actually likely plausible if the Bulls were risky enough to take it.

"Why don't the Cavs and Bulls make a trade":http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2429~2456~3437~831&teams=5~5~4~4&te=&cash=

Sczerbiak and JJ Hickson plus this year's upcoming draft pick (likely 27th-30th) and next year's upcoming draft pick (likely in the same) both unprotected for

Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni

We throw in the towel and start over, getting some cap money to play with next year and/or retain for the following year.

Bulls lineup the rest of this year:

• Rose at PG (backed with Hinrich)
• Gordon at SG (backed with Hinrich and Thabo Sefalosha)
• Sefalosha at SF (backed with Szcerbiak)
• Tyrus Thomas at PF (backed with Gooden and JJ Hickson)
• Joakim Noa at C backed with Gooden.
• Bulls have 30.9M locked up in salaries for next season (or likely more like $36-38M with the 1st round draft picks).  Hughes and Hinrich are still available in trades.

Cavs Lineup is awesome.  Really and truly awesome.

• Mo at PG
• West (when he's back) at SG backed with Pavlovic
• Deng at SF backed with Noc
• James at PF backed with Noc, Wallace
• Big Z at C backed with Varejao and Wallace
• Wallace and Deng are very friendly too, which is nice for them.  The Cavs are the deepest team in the league and will win a championship barring a LeBron James injury.  They definitely make out in the talent department, but in the long haul perhaps this is the "Starting over" the Bulls need to make.  Luol Deng will never be a top 5 SF, but he's perenially nipping on top 10, and Nocioni's a great to have for a contender and would definately give the Cavs some bite.

Bulls can either make a Boozer (or more likely since I don't think Boozer's opting out given the injuries and player option) the Millsap run, or choose to just wait one mor eyear, develop the new core of Rose-Tyrus Thomas-Joakim Noah and be real players in 2010.

If the Cavs win it all there's very little chance Lebron leaves his hometown, and I'd be really surprised with that lineup if they didn't.

 

The Bulls really get the chance to start over.....develop these young players, and be major players in 1.5 years.

 

As a Bulls fan I can live with us being horribly bad perhaps (and seemingly so) even if the Cavs get a title out of it (someone's going to win anyway, and try as we might there is no chance we're getting Lebron James either way (it's Lebron to the Cavs, Heat or Knicks, and I bet he stays with the Cavs for the hometown thing)....

How's this one:

Bulls trade: Tyrus Thomas, expiring and very good Drew Gooden and a lottery protected first round pick in next years draft.

Bulls receive: Luis Scola and Shane Battier from the Rockets.

Why this works for the Bulls--obviously Scola is a starting quality big who'll stay on the books, play very well and be cheap for the next 2 years.  Battier is a very smart player, an all league defender and a Paxson kind of guy (winning program, etc).

Why this works for the Rockets.....folks expected the Rockets to go basically 70-12 this year and so far they're 6-4 in the tough West and after getting creamed by the Lakers a week ago and losing to the injured Spurs,etc they might need a change and the going in this trade would be good for them....I know Battier's been hurt and I believe will be back shortly if he is not back.  Battier is a similarly skilled, more sane but infinitely less talented version of Ron Artest.  Having Artest has made Battier to some extent even more of a premium player to them than Nocioni, and if they cut Artests minutes to give Battier time, that could cause locker room issues.  The Rockets add a lot of talent in this deal with Gooden manning the Post alongside Yao (Gooden's jump shooting outside game, and ability to grab boards will work well with a player who is as awesome as Yao Ming can be.  Rockets also benefit in that they can slowly build and train Tyrus Thomas (look what they've done to Carl Landry).....

Bulls lineup post trade:

Rose-Gordon-Deng-Scola-Noah, with Battier and Nocioni filling in at the 3-4 spots entirely and Thabo still having a role.

I don't think this trade makes the Bulls moves done, as I think when Kirk is back the next trade to be made is now Kirk and very likely Nocioni out the door for another piece.....maybe we hold off on making a trade for Scola and Battier once Hinrich is healthy too, but I think this works considering really the Rockets don't have any bad contracts, they have 2 superstars who are paid accordingly, 2 mid level contracts (expiring Artest and 3 yrs left with Battier) and from the Rockets perspective, while Kirk is an upgrade over Rafer, Kirk's contract is looong, and them having Artest and Gooden up expring (witht he little odds and ends players) that might be nice for them to get another missing piece if this tandem didn't work (and I think it might work).

The Rockets lineup is scary:

Alston-TMAC-Artest-Gooden-Ming is a solid top 5 with Landry, Hayes, Brooks and the upside that is Tyrus on their bench, and add to that a possible 15th pick from the Bulls in next year's draft....(we don't need to get younger and get 2 starter quality players--one of whom is actually better (Scola) than he's shown given the amount of players around him in Houston)....Houston also has about $20M in expiring deals this offseason to maybe resign Artest or go a different direction with maybe Shawn Marion and Boozer and or Lamar Odom and still get a veteran's minimum.

Bulls lineup of the future then would have a lock at the 1-3-4 spots (Rose-Deng-Scola) I think Gordon is gone (I think he's gone either way :( ) but I think he's gone, but in his place we get a legit PF, something we haven't had in forever.  I understand we maybe could have done better to get Scola last year for far far less, but we didn't.......plus Battier can be a real Adrian Griffin, a veteran player who is supposed to be a great team leader, but one who can actually play and can play very well)....

As I've said before, I really do hate the idea of giving up on Tyrus, he is just 22.....but at the same time we have to start investing to keep Rose, and much as I like Tyrus's upside he's not looking to ever be a back to the basket post player and while Tyrus might end up being a billion times better than Scola when Tyrus is 28, he also likely will do so not as a Bull either way, and might even never amount to anything and be the thorn in our cap that causes us to never be an elite team.....

I think this would be a nice trade for both clubs.  What do you think?

Here's my trade of the day (first trade for me in a few months I think too):

 

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=1711~530&teams=7~4&te=&cash=

 

Bulls: trade 27 year old Drew Gooden to the Nuggets for old, unhappy Antonio McDyess....

What the Nuggets get: a solid PF and spot minutes Center who can give them more future cap relief flexibility if they desire, otherwise who can be a good PF to pair with Nene for the future.  Billups-Smith-Melo-Gooden-Nene is a very good starting 5....they part with the unhappy Dice and don't have to buy him out to watch him go back to Detroit or make the Celtics better on the Nuggets dime.

 

What the Bulls get:

Well we get a decent body, a tireless worker, and a good citizen to teach our guys.  But let's cut to the chase, why this trade to me is good is that it prepares us for teh Wade/Bosh free agent year when Hughes and Dice come off the books, leaving us $20M in those two alone of free agent money.  I think D. Wade would love to come our way and might be an option more so than Bosh even given the hometown thing, and mostly given Derrick Rose....

What do you think?  Makes us worse this year definately, but forces us to play Tyrus and Noah more....and might in 2 years be viewed as a huge win for us if we land a major free agent (it's very very doubtful we'd get Lebron even with our market unless Derrick Rose moves up to a Chris Paul stratosphere after next season--possible but might be too early still....

Where to quickly and easily get info on what TV channel Bulls games (preseason too) will be on?  I seem to always struggle finding where the games are at, and even Bulls.com doesn't seem to have a place (or I can't find a place) that's updated very quickly.

 

Matt is this something you'd be able to get on BaB as some sort of permanent link?  Like for instance what channel is the Thurs preseason opener on?

 

Thx.  And I'm sorry if there is another post/link to this somewhere else on here....i didn't see it.

I think this is a perfect trade for both sides.  Bulls trade Hinrich and Thabo, and maybe a 2nd round pick to the Orlando Magic for Hedo Turkoglu, JJ Reddick, and Brian Cook.

Why this works: Orlando.

Orlando is a solid team but really is missing a solid PG to bring them over the hump.  Captain Kirk really is a solid PG and will prove it again actually playing with guys who can play inside.  Folks forget that Kirk was the starting PG for the FIBA team 2 years ago and did quite well playing with guys who can score inside. His contract looks rough but improves over the remaining years.....Orlando is so capped out due to Rashard Lewis's ridiculously mammoth contract that they need the help they can get.  Having Lewis-Howard-Hinrich is a great trio for them.  They also add in Thabo a guy who I think is a better version of Pietrus.  They'll have a defensive ace in the SG/SF spots for all 48 minutes rotating Thabo with Pietrus too.  I think this is fabulous. They give up on a player that they will likely lose after this season for nothing (Hedo who has a player option and is a very affordable salary at $6.8M).  THey give up on Reddick who's a bust and won't play either way.  And they give away a bad contract in Cook, who was never worth his $3-3.5M salary.  I think this definately improves them.  Orlando also needs to put the pressure on Lewis to perform to his vast abilities, especially now that he's played more like 3rd fiddle to Howard and Hedo but makes quite a bit more than both.

 

Why this works for the Bulls:

I hate the idea actually of losing Kirk "one bad year" Hinrich, a guy who I feel is a solid top 10 PG in this league who's been dealt a bumb hand by never having a solid offensive PF/C.  Kirk's done whatever the team has asked him to do, and for the most part done well, sans Nov-Dec last year.  Management made him redundant not really because they wanted a major upgrade at PG, but because they feel Derrek Rose is the future PG of the NBA, and you don't get many chances to win the lottery and luck into a pick like Rose.  We give up on the great upside of Thabo.  Another tough loss for us given that he's one player bloggers like me (and likely many on here) love.  He's tall, athletic, has nice passing abilities, can score, shows signs of improving drastically on offense, and is already skilled enough to contain the great Kobe Bryant for proof of his solid D.  The reason we give up on him is just to free up our guard logjam and to add a piece like Hedo.  Hedo's a tall SF, true he might be redundant, but his outside shooting touch can allow him to play a bit at the SG spots.  His height also helps him defensively as guys who might get past his feet speed have to remember he has long arms.  Sure he doesn't get a ton of blocks, but having that height will impact som shots.  Hedo can hit last second shots, a major plus for a team like the Bulls who often fizzle at the end or put too much emphasis on BG.  He has height too which might allow him to play some PF in a quick uptempo game.  He spreads opponents defense with his solid shooting.  And most importantly he likely will opt out next year, giving the Bulls the chance to have both Gooden and Hedo come off the books where we can make a call to resign both, one or the other, or none and go after a solid PF/C that we can play often.  The Bulls need to think the future with Rose and Hedo, while ideally redundant to Deng, really gives us some flexibility for even future trades this year.   I know this isn't a trade for exactly what we need (or anything that we need), but it is a longer term trade strategy, will put some of the pressures of winning on hold while we bring Rose along, will give Rose a nice piece to play alongside with.

I might be crazy, but perhaps we try a tall lineup of Rose-Hedo-Deng-Tyrus-Noah, being backed up by Hughes, Gooden, Nocioni, maybe even Gordon for this year, and who knows maybe Reddick can be a 3pt ace, or perhaps they can at least try Cook again in his Laker role....

We won't be stellar next year, but will have ways to build for the future, and we'll at least be tall, and very much athletic.  Plus we'll have another solid offensive player for Rose and take some of the pressure off of Rose-Noah-Tyrus to see those guys blossom.

[ed. note: this is 'reportedly' going to be a big day in terms of possible coaching changes. Both D'Antoni and Johnson saw their teams bow out of the playoffs last night, and could both be fired today.  Majoyenrac already started a fanpost thread on this, those thoughts are below.]

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with a stress fracture on his foot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3265631

I'm shocked this isn't front espn.com news worthy....

I wonder if this injury ocurred when Noah also got tangled up.  

Tough loss for Houston.

It figures of course that we would face them just before this happened.

This really changes the landscape again out West.  Just when I thought Yao and co were tops too....Every year Yao or TMAC or both are hurt....

How about this?  Jersey is shopping Vince, and while I've thought vince is slightly overrated (not due to talent, which he has a ton of, but due to his desire), this trade might work for both clubs.

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2381~885~2990~136~498&teams=17~17~4~4~ 4&te=&cash=

We give them similar production in Gordon, get a taller SG in Vince, who can be dynamic and unstoppable when motivated, and we get rid of Wallace and get a decent young big in Josh Boone, we also grab $4M in cap space from Magloire who rides the pine for the rest of the year.

New Jersey gets a flashy scorer who will be playing closer to home, and a big who could give them a bit of toughness inside.....they see how BG works to decide to resign him or not....

I think it's a decent enough trade for both clubs.  What do yout hink?

Here's my 4 team trade scenario.  THis one involves current powerhouse New Orleans, who might want to get a better "instant offense spark" than Pargo.  It also involves Jersey and Kidd, and New York ridding themselves of the talented but not working with their talent Randolph.  THe Bulls get maybe the least in this deal, but at least we're trying something:

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2990~429~498~2377~2381~285~788~2986~1718~1 017~813&teams=4~18~4~17~3~3~17~3~17~17~4&te=&cash=

Here's how I see it:
New York adds another marquee name, except finally a name that could do them some good, one who could facilitate the ball and be the true PG they need (they could actually be good).  Their lineup:
Kidd/Robinson/Marbury at PG
Marbury/Crawford/Robinson at SG
Richardson/Jeffries/Rose at SF
Lee/Jeffries at PF
Curry/James at C.

A Kidd-Marbury-Crawford-Curry lineup could be an offensive juggernaut.  New York would refocus on Curry and have Kidd, Lee, and Jeffries cleanup on the D woes.  New York has no cap exceptions and would sign Kidd for the contract he wants.  They'd finally get the purest of pure PG's that they need, and NEW York would have another big marketing victory to make the Knicks nationally respected again.  Kidd would get a 3-4 yr reup deal and be useful for 3 of it, but still, New York finally a very very good player who would instantly help Curry be the offensive player he truly is.

For New Jersey:
Duhon/Williams at PG
Carter/A Wright at SG
Jefferson/A. Wright/Natchbar at SF
Randolph/Joe Smith/Allen at PF
Williams/Kristic/Collins at C

Jersey has to have a decent PG and between Duhon and Williams they should make a mix for a decent PG, they get rid of the distraction of Kidd (with Carter and Jefferson--especially RJ this year there is no reason they should be in the same boat as the Bulls record wise, I think Kidd's more a paper good fit for them than he actually is a fit for them).  Duhon actually might be a nci fit, he's a better/more streaky shooter than Kidd, but knows his limits.  While nobody in the league sans Nash is a better PG than Kidd, Jersey really has struggled inside.  Maybe New York throws in a first round pick to Jersey in 2009 to make this deal happen, I don't know.  I can't see New York backing down on this.  Jersey becomes a solid free agent player next year ridding themselves of Duhon $3.3M, Kristic/Allen/Armstrong/Wright ($5.5M more).  Jersey uses the offseason to get a more solid PG if possible.

For New Orleans.  
Paul/Pargo/Jackson PG
Gordon/Jackson/Bulter/Pargo/Griffin SG
MoPete/Balkman/Griffin/Butler at SF
West/Wright/Ely/Viniscious at PF
Chandlger/Ely at C

THe Gasol trade has to make everyone out West scared.  The Lakers now add more muscle, grit and firepower to what already was the deepest team.  Now you can't guard Kobe at all with Gasol (and Bynum) coming back, Odom will be more a threat too and they'll burrow over all the competition with Kobe the league's best player now coupled with the deepest bench, smartest coach, and best inside presence (Gasol, Bynum, Odom) and savvy smart, big shot PG (Fisher).  New Orleans has been a cinderella team, but while Stoyakovic has bounced back from injury decently, he's a risk for them, and they could still use some more firepower when the going gets tough on the offensive end (Pargo has been a spark at times, but Pargo as we know shoots every 1.2 seconds he has the ball--somethng that can hurt more than it helps when he's off and the pressure's on.  Add in Ben Gordon to the mix, and the nice defensive hustle playing Balkman, with the "veteran leader" in Griffin, who while we all hate that he's here because of the talent we gave up for him, Griffin can come in in clutch moments and can do a nice job if the team gets flustered and needs a stop, or needs to calm down in the playoffs--unless he guards D. Wade that is, which this year ain't happening).  New Orleans gets first crack at Gordon next year, who really could be that weapon they lack, and having Paul with Gordon could be fiery, especially with Chandler and West (Tall bigs inside) who can control the paint, instead of our smallish Bigs who play more outside)....I like this trade for New Orleans, they can offer Gordon a little less than Peja and Ben's been much less an injury risk and is much younger, and as good a shooter--if not maybe better at some point.

The Bulls:
Hinrich/Thabo PG
Stojakovic/Thabo SG
Deng/Stojakovic/Nocioni SF
Thomas/Boone/Noc
Noah/Wallace/Gray/Magloire C

The Bulls play the young ins, get $4M more in cap space for next year, get a solid draft pick, and hope against hope that either the very talented Tyrus or talented but inconsistent Boone mature intoa  solid PF for the future.

Peja's shooting should help us get some easy, consistent baskets even though he'll play out of his best position.  Thabo and Noc make a solid backup team.  We give Noah and Thomas the playing time we need, and next year we talk about fire selling Big Ben.

We work in the offseason to get some PG help (backup) and definately try first to get an inside offensive presence.

with these pieces we look to move Boone, Hinrich and maybe Tyrus next year as I doubt Big ben's gone before 2010 without a buyout.

I think this trade's the weakest perhaps for the Bulls, but I'd be happy at least if we tried something.  The Players will likely play better just with the stirrup/shakeup, but if they don't it'll be all the better for our draft choices.

We could still be safe if Deng went elsewhere next year with Peja, if not Nocioni's contract looks more appetizing in year two to trade sicne the BYC is gone and unlike all the BaBers I like Noc and I know even with his current slump that the guy's a valuable asset, but with Deng and Peja he's not needed.

The Bulls take the injury risk and softness that is Peja, but hope he can continue to get back to his old self.  He's a consistent shooter and can hit big shots.  

What do you all think of this trade idea?

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3221659&categoryId=2459788

This was on ESPN on the scouting report for Noah.  They indicate like we all know that he's a smart player, but also say that his offensive game (while currently limited) has gobs of potential because of his skills.

They also mention his continued work on every play, his ability to pass the ball, and tap balls against the glass to make them rebounds (with video examples).....

I'm liking Noah even more after watching this....perhaps he can develop into something we didn't know we had offensively, especially if he remembers that he was fairly effective using the left hand last year when he tore his right rotator cuff.

Just thought I'd share this with you (the link above), it's brief, but was pretty informative from a scout's perspective.

Yesterday's blowout to Atlanta forces our logo to be missed without anyone noticing:

I think we're 20th in si.com's latest power poll (I'd argue that's still high because of our preseason talk, we should be inching more towards that 25 rank) judging from the description, but there isn't a Bulls logo (shocking from the 3rd biggest city in the country, and one of the league's biggest NBA cities)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/marty_burns/01/14/power.rankings/1.html

The Racine Daily News is reporting the Bucks are trying to sell Villanueva amongst others and are looking essentially for either Pt Guards or defensive 2's or 3's....

http://www.hoopshype.com/rumors.htm

I say we make a run for Villanueva for the following:

Thabo Sefalosha, Adrian Griffin, and maybe 2 2nd round picks.

The Bucks get 1 decent defender and long proposed "great locker room guy" in Griffin (who I know doesn't play and everyone including me hates him because we gave up JR Smith for nothing and even though that isn't quite awful not having smith, we likely could have gotten some value for him).....but Griffin can make a nice play here or there for a team and its not like his "great locker room" guy thing has helped us at all this year.

The Bucks also get the upside of Thabo, who is a solid defender and someone who may develop ok but needs tim to do so.

They also get I'd say 2 second round picks, where who knows they could find a decent player like Aaron Gray (who we could argue we got for JR Smith, but it's likely we could have drafted anyway for our 2nd round pick--I presume we had one, I can't remember if we got both on the deal...).

I guess we could try to thrown Duhon in the deal, but would have to add another crappy Bucks piece.

I'd like Villaneuva's upside.  I'd rather have Gasol sure, but Charlie V's been a 50 pt scorer in the league and plays D as well as Gasol anyway (which is hardly at all).

This might work, although I'm coming from the Bulls side of things.

If this does work, I say we scrap the season and start the following:
Hinrich PG
Gordon SG
Deng SF
Thomas PF
Noah C

and have Noc, Villanueva, Duhon, Wallace come off the bench.

Use the Wallace benching as a wake up call that we need him to be the leader he's paid to be.

I like Big B more than most Bulls fans, but it seems we kowtow to him much more than we should which is irritating.

Hopefully after he sits he can get over his "bone spurs" and "back spasms" and get back to playing with the intensity he showed during the playoffs and his Detroit years, and then give us a boost substituting him with Noah again....

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=285~3028~2792&teams=15~15~4&te=&am p;cash=

I worked out a perfect trade for the Bulls, let's get D. Wade.  Wade's a winner from Chicago, a total team player, and one of the best all around players in the NBA.

The Heat are in shambles and will be in for at least the next 3 years while Shaq gets older and gets $20M......they desperately need to get younger fast, and unless they part Wade they won't be able to do so (And Wade will leave after his contract ends, while the fickle Miami fans tune off the team by the end of this year--only to see them continue to slide for the next several years).

Ok so, what's the proposal:
Gordon-Deng-Khryapa-Griffin-Thomas-next year's draft pick

for
D. Wade-Alonzo Mourning-Smush Parker-Chris Quinn

This trade will work now that Mourning's career is basically over.  Parker and Quinn are mere trade fillers and ride the Chicago Bench....

The fresh faced Bulls now have a lineup of
Hinrich
Wade
Nocioni
Smith
Wallace
with Noah,Duh, Gray, and hopefully Thabo leading our bench.

Noc rotates a bit to the 4 from time to time to help us out, and Noah and Gray continue to improve as our bigs off the bench.

The Bulls would now have the guard rotation they've wanted with Hinrich and Wade teaming to be a more consistent and better defensive tandem than the Hinrich-Gordon-Deng backcourt.  Wade would likely not balk at this trade at all being a Chicagoan himself, and for the Bulls while we'll be thinner, we'll be solid for a while to come and finally have that superstar we've lacked.

The Heat obviously will improve as Riley will get Deng and Gordon (contingent that they agree to resign for the Heat at maybe $9M/year).  Khryapa, Jason Williams, Griffin fall off the books next year, and the heat find a PG in the draft with their picks.  Tyrus Thomas works with Riley to become the talent that he is and is a monster making this trade seem less one sided in hindsight (but Tyrus is likely barried as a Bull anyway so why not).

Heat finish the year with:
JWilliams
Gordon
Deng
Haslem
Shaq

and have Thomas, Davis, Blount, on their bench.

It's more a desperate to fix trade for the Heat, and since the Bulls have the assets and will be better in the post mortem (the Heat will be better too in the long run for sure if not off the bat with Deng and Gordon playing alongside a still 14-15 PPG big guy like Shaq who still demands a double team) why not make it work?

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=2429~2381~285~2435~3032~580~1823~3046~1987 &teams=14~14~14~14~14~4~4~4~4&te=&cash=

I know it's a dream, but I'd love it.

Sorry, I know this relates nothing to the Bulls, but thought this was hilarious.  Rashard saying that he isn't mad at the Sonics and might have been willing to stay in Seattle for a hometown discount
   "It wouldn't even have had to be for $118 million (from the Sonics). If it would have been in the $90-100 million ballpark, it would have been extremely difficult to leave."

I just think it's hilarious that he's considering a $90-100M contract a big hometown discount.

Of course Seattle wasn't going to pay him that kind of money...I mean $25-20M a year for a 19PPG-5RPG scorer is asinine.

It's just hilarious that he'd act like that was a hometown discount and that $90-100M is a reasonable offer for him or discount worthy.  ANd while he says he has no grudges, he shouldn't, he's got to be the happiest guy in sports today and the only person who was more overpaid than him in the past year was Roger Clemens.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/SPORTS/711290338/1002/SPORTS

I was wondering if anyone has really heard anything more from Paxson (or has any real insider info) on what is going on with this team?  I mean it's unusual that a team with pretty unanimous ECF or Finals expectations comes out of the gate and sucks as badly as the Bulls have so far (I mean we're right now worse than we ever were in the Ron Artest days, except at least then we tried to play with some passion).

I know we typically start off slow record-wise, but this team is starting off slow record wise and is playing nothing like themselves (I mean sure we would lose some games to start the last few years but rarely would we look this bad doing so).

I am just surprised I haven't really heard anything from the team or any real meat about the team in the last 2 weeks or so, and yet we seem to be getting worse instead of getting better.

Does anyone know what's going on?  Perhaps I missed some Paxson talks since I've been travelling a bunch lately?  Please let me know.

I'm a huge Bulls fan that's never been more disappointed in my team than I am at present....

Although I think Hollinger's rating system is less than ideal, it does prove what we've seen that our guys have been terrible to date.  This seems to signal why Skiles is doing a "try anything" approach with the starting lineup.

We're ranked dead last in Hollingers stats.....I know it's early, but it's not that early now (6 games in or 7%).

Hopefully this will motivate our guys tonight:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerranking?season=2008&page=2&order=false  

The team is in complete disarray.  THey are way too talented to be this bad.  I know Skiles' teams start off slow, but this seems to be a mutiny......it's either that we're trading for Kobe on Dec 15th and because of that the guys in the trade aren't interested, we've tuned out Skiles, or both.

I like Scott, but I've always questioned whether his micro-managing would be good for us to take the team to the next level.  I wish Skiles luck in the future, but these guys obviously aren't playing with any intensity or grit.  THe only reason we played well against Detroit is because of Big Ben....

This team definately needs a change of pace.  I know it's early, but to lose at home (unfortunately I didn't watch the game as I was at a friends 30th birthday party, but when we got to the bar it was something like 90+ to 50....

It's completely unacceptable.  Why suddenly has "Captain" Kirk gone from very solid defender, good leader and top 5-6 PG to possibly the worst PG in the league.....why suddenly has Mr. Consistent Deng become so horribly inconsistent.....why suddenly has Big Ben played without any intensity whatsoever....why is the rookie Joakim Noah calling out the team after his first game basically speaking of discontent in the locker room--without specifically saying so....why are our guys playing so freaking listless.

It has to be issues with management, either Pax or Skiles (And likely all has to do with trade rumours)....

How can we possibly be this bad, we have the deepest (talent wise) team in the league, not likely any top 4 players at any position, but many 5-7's in the league (although Big Ben if he played at his normal self would be a top 3-4ish guy at Center).

We have several people who seemingly could be starters on our bench, and yet we're not getting anything from anyone besides the young, freak talent Tyrus (Who still isn't consistent) and our best player to date this year has been (albeit a very underrated) journeyman Joe Smith....

I think we need a change to try to salvage this season.....get rid of Skiles, hire defensive minded Jeff Van Gundy (a good coach, who won 51 games with the Rockets last year and was ousted rather unfairly after the loss to a good Jazz team in the playoffs).  I know JVG's slow style didn't work with Tracey McGrady's speed and the ridiculously slow Yao Ming, but I think it would work better with our guys....JVG's always a defense-first coach, and really defense has typically been our team's strength (all our guys are above avg defenders--maybe sans Gordon).

I like Skiles and wish him well in the future, but this team is playing as if there's a mutiny against him.  Skiles' outspoken behavior and micro managing the lineups seems to be totally wearing thin on this club.

I know it's kind of a cop out because the way the guys are playing we really should release Kirk altogether and Big Ben too.......but obviously those guys have gobs of talent....

There is no way this is the same team under Skiles that we've seen the last few years.  We're too talented to be this listless.

Even T.J. Ford said ""What's going on with this team?"
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271110004

I mean there's some major issues with the club all around, and given the talent I think Skiles has to be our fall guy.

Let's get him out while our team still has chances to practice and while the season is salvagable.  It's a shame for a guy who had brought us back to futility, but he's lost this club and needs to go.......

Good luck in the future Scott, I'll still be a Skiles fan even though I'm saying to oust him (and possibly jumping the gun), but unless things change in 2 games, he's gotta go, our season depends on it.

I just wanted to rant that I hope this year Victor gets some much needed minutes.  The guy is pretty decent, well decent on offense.  A great passer, with very finesse type offensive moves (and I know bloggers hate the word finesse, but with a team that gets so stagnant sometimes on offense, having a finesse guy who has natural passing skills will be great).  Victor should really get some time especially when the Bulls go into their draughts.

I know his defense is suspect and he needs to improve more in the rebounding department, but again as is the case with Gordon, we sometimes need gifted offensive players and I think Viktor's underutilized passing skills will really come in handy when the Bulls go into their draughts.

And besides it's not like he's going to improve much on his d and boards by sitting on the bench.  The guys got some skills, we should feature them a bit more and get some trade value from him if in the end Viktor doesn't fit our needs.  I do think he was a very under utilized piece last year, and think this year should see him get more minutes.

So I wanted to start the "Give Viktor some more burn" petition.