SB Nation User Blog: piccolomair

Trade Deadline Pre-Talk

piccolomair — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:58:50 -0000

Trade Deadline Pre-Talk

Post Your trade ideas here, use espn trade machine so at the very least its realistic according to nba league regulations if not logic...

The logic behind my trade is this, tyrus is an enigma who i think will break out this season, but keeping him still affects the cap and leaves the organization to make hard choices. From what ive seen thus far, this organization sucks when faced with hard choices. This trade makes sense for them in that way....

For raptors its harder...the only reason they would/should go for this trade is if the adition of Head O' Turkey glue really does nothing. It would also help if thomas become more of a slashing pf as opposed to a face up jumper. Another factor would be bargnani who im convinced will pan out for toronto, maybe not as a go to guy, but as something between dirk and okur. I also think tyrus would help toronto with his defense, rebounding and slashing ability (all which i hope he demonstrates throughout the season, pre trade-deadline)

Brad miller will be hard to let go of for the organization, no doub they want him to be another assistant player coach....i hope thats a joke.....At any rate he could help toronto because he gives that front court some veteran presence, while keeping within the face up style of play that bosh and bargnani play, so he should be a quick fix, but more importantly he is a huge expiring contract...

...And thats what its about isnt it? If toronto is failing as a team, then thier best bet would be to trade bosh for actually something of substance, while still having the ability to become 2010 players themselves as opposed to wtaching bosh leave the team in the offseason and trying to find a player to fill that void (much harder cuz guys like amare and boozer will probably think, 'huh they couldnt do it with bosh, they wont be that much better with me...i want to win!!!'

Ultimately i think this is one of the most realistic and pro trades for the bulls...theres one other trade i thought up...its not as spectacular...in fact...its probably just a wash...but its more realistic than this one...

Okay this is the first videos im gonna post, it shows the bulls vs the nets in Nba 2k10. Its not...

piccolomair — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:50:59 -0000

Okay this is the first videos im gonna post, it shows the bulls vs the nets in Nba 2k10. Its not hte best video showing the actual gameplay, but because its the only one i found of the bulls thus far i thought id post it...

I put the second quarter first, and the 1st quarter next for a reason. The biggest Being KIRK HINRICH!!! Okay thats not the biggest, THe biggest was because i felt the second quarter had more ingame happennings so that people could actually see what the game was like.

I also put up a non bulls video that shows how the game would look in the association mode (the bulls game is a quick game hence the stupid ai and easy baskets).
I want to note how awesome the game looks, and definetly sounds! The commentary is just spectacular! especially if you listen to the association commentary.

I also put at the very end a video of what Nba live's gameplay looks like to compare the two games....

I want to note that i absolutely love the way this game looks and the animation, but most importantly im LOVING the commentary....its actually intellegent banter that wont get old after the third game....especially if you play the association mode.

Im excited for many things that are coming in October...Video games accurately represesnt that...

piccolomair — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:48:08 -0000

Im excited for many things that are coming in October...Video games accurately represesnt that actual happenings in real life right?? Maybe this year...

Vinny on the Bulls

piccolomair — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:51:00 -0000

Vinny on the Bulls

Vdn covers a few questions about the upcoming season...beware...theres some Hinrich pre-season hype in here, but if you are anti-hinrich consider it more trade fodder (or your hopes of hinrich being traded vanishing before your eyes heh)

Okay i know hes not ben gordon but i mean cmon....

piccolomair — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:12:13 -0000

Okay i know hes not ben gordon but i mean cmon....

would it be too much to ask if no one talked about hinrich in this fanshot...? Please???

piccolomair — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:38:09 -0000

would it be too much to ask if no one talked about hinrich in this fanshot...? Please???

Im probably gonna regret this but....GO AHEAD AND ADD YOUR OWN CAPTION

piccolomair — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:23:11 -0000

Im probably gonna regret this but....GO AHEAD AND ADD YOUR OWN CAPTION

Why I am Excited for Next Season...or...That Horrid Thing Called Hope

piccolomair — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 07:11:47 -0000

A while ago there was a post about why we (we being the members of this blog) were Bulls fans. The most accepted answer ended up being Geography...but the truth is that was never the reason any of us are bulls fans...not really.

The atmosphere on this site has been completely cynical, enough so that posters are whining about posters whining. But theres also something else that I've noticed about this website recently...theres been alot of activity on the site lately...

Why is that? Why are there more people posting more things on this site this offseason, as opposed to any of the other offseasons in the past? If the team is doing so bad, if the team is growing worse day by day, with no light at the end of the tunnel, then why do people persist on posting? Doesnt it simply make sense to just stop posting, stop paying attention, divert attention to your second best team, follow your favorite player (ben gordon fans) or favorite superstar? Its not like non of that is possible what with the ability to stream or download games, and its the offseason....only die hards follow their teams or players in the offseason. So then the question comes again, why are we fans....no....die hard fans....of this poorly run, cheap, emotionally attached team? The answer: This horrid thing called hope....

Whether this community will admit it or not, we all have high hopes for this team, even in its current state. Blame John Paxson (oh wait...we pretty much do) for showing us that even a crappy team with no real star and less talent can fight and claw with the best of them. We all know though, we arent a less talented team without a real star. This team even in its current state, is just as good as the 2006 team.

Or so i believe...

And i wish for you to believe...

I agree that losing ben gordon hurts this team a lot offensively. I wasn't a huge fan of ben gordon, but I understood what he brought to this team...he was a game changer. He could single handedly bring back a team on brink of death, he was the only one who could step on another teams throat (or rather stab them through the heart with a 3 pt Dagger) but that doesnt mean this team joins the lottery automatically.

Its called a leap of faith...and i am free falling...

There are so many what ifs, who can accurately predict anything? Statistics are a great way to predict the future but somtimes there are things that stats dont predict. A player like John Salmons couldnt shoot for anything a few years ago, and suddenly he is having his best shooting season out of nowhere. Is that an outlier, a fluke, some statistical noise prevented it from being predicted? Whatever is the cause of his sudden offensive outburst, i believe in it.

Lets consider the bulls roster in its current state:

First lets talk about Kirk Hinrich. Its no secret that I am a huge Hinrich fan. As a Hinrich fan ive realized that theres nothing i want more than for Hinrich to go to Portland. He will instantly become a star there (I think he already sort of is) and helps that team go over that huge per. defensive hurdle that existed last season and make them a contender. As a bulls fan I am indifferent about Hinrich's fate. Whether he stays or not i dont think truly has that much hold on the bulls fate. As a Hinrich fan i believe that kirk hinrich is probably working heavily on his jumper, though he will never hit ben gordon like ability to shoot the ball, having a much more consistant jumper (he shot 43% this year on pretty much all jumpshots, which isnt horrible) is definetly possible since in his best season he shot close to 45%. His defense may not be spectacular 1on1 but Hinrich definetly helps the team defensive scheme mainly because he can pick up most switches on the per which allows the interior defense more ability to stay in tact, with tyrus and noah showing great ability on defensive end last year i can see hinrichs involvement on defense to truly help the team defensive scheme a great deal more than it did last year (more because of the return of deng and noah and tyrus having more of a handle on team defense). As a bulls fan, i am hoping hinrich plays well, even if not up to extent of what i wrote above, because i want portland or other teams intrested in him to be EVEN MORE intrested, thus allowing us to get something more than just instant cap relief (rudy?)

Then there is public enemy number 2, Luol Deng. Just two years ago luol deng was being considered by many experts as one of the best small forwards in the game. A guy who really brought back the art of the midrange game, and was heralded for his ability to move without the ball. This year Luol Deng was bothered by nagging injuries (which the doctors told him to play through?) and an unfamiliar play scheme by a rookie coach that seemed to have no room for the sf. Luol Dengs game took a hit, however recently i was watching some of the games from earlier this season, Against toronto and cleavland, and i was reminded that luol deng really is a good player. I dont think anyone thinks that 2006 was a fluke for luol, but more the question was could he stay healthy. I think with the addition of john salmons the bulls were able to put Luol deng on a true healing process (damn that word) which will bring him back 100% next season. With so much time to heal, work on his jumper, and learn how to get his shots off in vinny's system (if such a thing exists) luol should be back in true form. If that becomes the case, luol (for at least 3 quarters) can supply alot of the offense and attention ben gordon did.

Derrick Rose is a stud, but can anyone tell me what his ability is going to be next season. his ability to slash to the rim is amazing, how many times did we believe he got fouled when he didnt. Getting to the free throw line is one of the ways the greats scored so many points, take Dwayne wade as an example. Wade led the heat during the 05 championship by living at the line. Although D. Rose may not have the complete arsenal that wade now does, he does have that same tenacity that wade (and also jordan) had, which was going at the defense. Again, its hard to tell how much rose will improve next year, but with gordon gone, i fully expect rose to try to take over on the offensive end, and i dont think thats as large a leap of faith as my thoughts on hinrich are.

The bulls bigs have the second most ammount of potential on this entire bulls team. Both tyrus and noah showed huge strides from the season before, more apparent from noah. Tyrus seems to be putting things together, and with all the talk about the bulls needing a pf (or drafting TWO) thomas should (if he has any desire of returning to the bulls) have his most focused season yet. Especially with Noah finally getting a taste of what winning in chicago feels like, i am sure tyrus can finally find some allys to help him grow more focus going into the next season. Both tyrus and noah have shown great ability in terms of hustle and defense, and the two of them together and focused, thats one strong defensive front court and a great rebounding one to boot!

With my expectations for the rest of the team to be fairly similar to what they produced this past season (for the rookies, anything they contribute is a plus) i dont see how team cant be exciting to watch. Although ben gordon may be gone, I still am excited to see how each of the individuals above do next season, instead of trying to guess who fits with rose and who doesnt, next season is the chance for the entire league to find out what rose can do as well as the rest of the roster. If nothing more, next season's trade deadline will be super duper exciting, since by that time it will become apparent what the bulls are and what they should try to be, plus having a team with focused players, each individual players stock should rise up quite a bit.

Ultimately next season truly excites more than perhaps any other season this decade, but i suppose it may all be because of that horrid thing called hope....but i dont have to tell you about it....you already know....

Poll

Do You Truly Believe the Bulls are lottery bound next season?

YES!!!

29 votes

No!!!!

164 votes

OF COURSE!!! (but secretly no)

26 votes

After reading your post, i dont know anymore (DAMN YOU HOPE!!)

15 votes

234 votes | Poll has closed

A Case For Sam Young

piccolomair — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:42:22 -0000

I first started off just asking this as a question ( http://www.blogabull.com/2009/6/23/922835/no-no-5-pick-for-bulls#17333430 ) but as i did more searching and reading on Mr. Young the more intrigued i got with him as a prospect for the bulls at pick number 16.

From as far as i can tell Sam Young possess skills that can help the bulls now and the future. First off, i don't think he has the ability to be a starter which perhaps many feel that henderson may have the ability to do. I think ultimately Sam Young is gonna be a role player, at best a 6th man. This however is also what makes me like him as a prospect since i believe the only position the bulls could use a starter in is power forward. At shooting guard the ideal is to get ben gordon, but if that fails john salmons and ultimately even hinrich could take that spot. At sf i think deng is safe as our starter for at least another year, but i could see salmons taking that position if deng is traded.

Sam Young is the kind of player, that at a solid 6'6, he could play either sg or sf. He is the kind of player that contribute at both those positions right away because of his skill set. What is his skill set you ask? Well first off from all I've read at draft express defense seems to be his forte. He does have the speed and length to keep up with even the quickest sfs in the league and as he gets stronger he might be the kind of guy that can stay with the "Iggys" of the league and possibly be one of our best lebron defenders.

This to me is a great asset in ability since i think you want your role players to be the kind of players that can come off the bench and not give up leads so that the starters could rest without worrying about their guy getting into a rhythm.

Then we have Young's offense. This is one of the primary reasons he would be a great role player but perhaps not a starter. He isn't the kind of guy who can set up his own shot. this is good in a way because he will be playing with derrick rose, so as good as rose gets, the better young will look on offense. Offensively he is a terrific finisher or so seems it according to youtube highlights, but what intrigues me most is that he is a back to the basket game and has the ability to shoot 3s fairly well.

Having a back to the basket game wont mean we have our consistent post scorer, but it does give us an option to post smaller back-courts up the way our back-courts have always been exploited. I mean we have already tried the deng experiment and i wasn't a big fan of it at all. And the 3 point shooting thing helps since playing with rose we need guys who can shoot from range. Best of all about his offense is that, as far as i have read, he doesn't force anything. Unlike James Johnson who may get out of control at times, Young seems to understand his limitations. So I could imagine Young faking a 3, using his speed to get to the rim, and going into a quick back to the basket move and either passing out or scoring. Where most players would simply shoot the 3 and miss, or drive in hard and commit a charge or find the defense waiting to block, Young will be a guy that wont hinder the offense when he is in the game.

To me young is a better asset to have than henderson. He can allow us to get rid of some of our players like salmons, hinrich, gordon, or deng, contribute right away, and be available to draft without having to move up.

However the flaw in my reasoning might mainly lie in the fact that i have never watched Young actually play. So if anyone has any thoughts on him at all i gladly welcome them.

Measurements:

here is a list of links to follow for more details and looks at Sam Young:

A Great Article Why The Bulls Should Draft Young-

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2009/06/slamonline-mock-draft-no-16/

The Sam Young Draft Express profile-

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Sam-Young-1012/

A Nice Highlight Reel of Young in High School and College-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf9xL2VK22M

A Nice Nba Prospect Interview-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfAeqUst_7k

Sam Young Working out in the nba with some other Prospects you might have heard of-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0uvdo4xdcI

Sam Young Working Out For the Warriors, Great Interview!-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIJ5yGFaVXk

ONE MORE MIXTAPE (SHOTS,STEALS, and Windmills!)-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM20qxmyouY&feature=related

Poll

After Reading This Post, Who Would You Draft At 16?

S. Young

3 votes

G. Henderson

8 votes

D. Blair

16 votes

B. J. Mullens

3 votes

J. Johnson

5 votes

T. Hansbrough

5 votes

Other

1 votes

41 votes | Poll has closed

Hinrich for number 5?

piccolomair — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:13:10 -0000

Hinrich for number 5?

I saw the headline that wizards blog was talking about a backcourt mate for Gilbert Arenas. I clicked on it and started laughing at the criteria...check it out