Chicago Bulls Thread

[puttincomputers]

I listen to the Bulls games on am1000 out of chicago. From what I hear on there Paxson is the problem and not Forman. Paxson pretty much runs the show and Forman cant do anything. Also Paxson is old school and thinks only those who went to school for 4 years should be in high regard. coaches are included in that. Nobody up in chicago likes Paxson.

[Andrew]

Perhaps, but Forman still strikes me as a disciple of Paxson's methods and ideology, so I'm not too keen on the idea of Paxson getting the boot and Forman moving up the ladder to take his place. Forman handled the situation with Del Negro just as poorly as Paxson did. If they can get the job done this offseason then great, I'd much rather they prove us all wrong. But if Paxson goes, then I think Forman should go too. Otherwise it could well be a case of a different name on the door, but the same results.

[benji]

Ryan (Los Angeles)

John, what do you see the Bulls doing this summer? Do you agree they should focus on adding Joe Johnson in a sign and trade for Kirk Hinrich, then focusing on adding a guy like David Lee? Let the other teams jockey for the stars!

John Hollinger (1:26 PM)

I think they'll hold a lot of meetings, dither, nearly sign a guy, dither some more, watch everybody else make their moves, and then in September explain how this was the plan all along.

[Andrew]

A gloomy prediction, one that I hope doesn't hold true but could realistically see happening.

[George7]

I would like this one.
Johnson is not a superstar wanting a ball on his own,so he can help the team a lot.
Adding a great PF like David Lee or Boozer and Amare would be great,and along with a good 6th man and reserves the team can be champ contender.We have to be better than current Atlanta's level(A great team but won't go to the finals for sure.3rd team in east maybe)

[Andrew]

I'd be cautiously optimistic if they picked up Joe Johnson, but I'd prefer they spent the money on the frontcourt. So long as they don't make another Ben Wallace or Ron Mercer-like signing, or end up doing absolutely nothing productive as per Hollinger's prediction. That might be even worse than overpaying a player like Johnson or Lee, letting all those players go and positioning themselves to have cap space, just to do absolutely nothing with it.

[puttincomputers]

I think the bulls should either sign a high value sg (and keep law) and 2 low tier centers. or they should trade deng and hinrich and somehow pick up a good SG/sf and low level center. a trade involving hinrich, deng, and miller and/or alexander, warrick for durant, thabo, colllison, and Kristic comes to mind. lol
I think the bulls should draft sf/sg in the first round and then center or sf in the second

could you imagine the 1,3,5,2,4 or 3,1,5,4,2 punch that could give the bulls?

[Dee.]

Thunder would never trade Durant.

[puttincomputers]

i wouldnt want them to.

[Andrew]

I think the bulls should either sign a high value sg (and keep law) and 2 low tier centers. or they should trade deng and hinrich and somehow pick up a good SG/sf and low level center. a trade involving hinrich, deng, and miller and/or alexander, warrick for durant, thabo, colllison, and Kristic comes to mind. lol
I think the bulls should draft sf/sg in the first round and then center or sf in the second

could you imagine the 1,3,5,2,4 or 3,1,5,4,2 punch that could give the bulls?

I'd rather they aim lower on the shooting guard and higher on the big man. I'm not against them keeping Law but I don't see him having a significant impact so I don't think it should be a priority or count as a big offseason move.

[puttincomputers]

a great big man would create an unbalnced team in that the would have to have either noah or gibson coming off the bench. Noah is very good now and Gigson surpassed expectations and will be force in years to come.

[air gordon]

you don't pass on Bosh, Amare, etc because it would force you to bench Gibson. (lol)

so... aside from Lebron James , who should be the bulls top priority (1-5) and how much should the bulls be paying these players?

and andrew- which FA's have you identified as "Ron Mercer"/"Ben Wallace" types?

[Lamrock]

Chris Bosh is the guy you'd want. Wade is aging and likely unattainable, Johnson couldn't be less of a difference maker (and is also aging!), Boozer injury prone and its no coincidence that Amar'e has been playing phenominally in the past couple months. Priority list for Chi-Town should be:

1. LBJ
2. Bosh
3. Amar'e
4. Wade
5. Carlos Boozer

[Andrew]

a great big man would create an unbalnced team in that the would have to have either noah or gibson coming off the bench. Noah is very good now and Gigson surpassed expectations and will be force in years to come.

No, a great big man would fill a huge hole that has been a weakness for years. As air gordon said, you don't pass on one of the top big men in free agency just because it would move Taj Gibson to the bench...ever. Noah's been great for them but he does not nullify the advantage of acquiring a 20-10 player; put him together with one and beef up the front court, and they're actually going to have a respectable inside game.

and andrew- which FA's have you identified as "Ron Mercer"/"Ben Wallace" types?

Glancing at the list of players who will be free agents at the end of the year, it's admittedly tough to come up with a list of players that would likely get paid anywhere close to the $15 million a year that Wallace got that absolutely wouldn't deserve it (then again, who'd have thought they'd give Wallace that much?), but I suppose someone like Tracy McGrady, Jermaine O'Neal or Mike Miller. Those probably wouldn't be completely awful moves given the price those players come at, but they'd still be a let down if someone like that turned out to be the big offseason acquisition. I suppose overpaying for Joe Johnson or David Lee could be seen as a Ben Wallace type move, though probably with better results.

[air gordon]

1 LBJ- max contract
2 Bosh- max contract
3 Wade- max contract
4 Dirk- max contract
5 Amar'e max contract

the rest... somewhere near max contracts: Lee, Johnson, Boozer

if somehow they land Bosh/Amare, make an offer to Morrow. either way, they should go after Morrow

andrew- no priority list for you?? actually i don't think there is a Mercer/Wallace FA. Johnson has succeeded as being a "role" player (suns) and leader (hawks)... unlike Mercer who was just an inefficient scorer on poor teams . Lee is only 26 and is a fundamentally sound player that put up 20/10 with Wilson Chandler as frontcourt mate... very un-Wallace like

but yeh...the bulls/every other team will be overpaying to get a top free agent(s).


LAMROCK- I don't want Boozer coming to the Bulls. i see this guy quitting once he gets his contract. I hope the Johnson backlash continues. he would be a good signing. his age is somewhat a concern but he's not a run/jump wing player anyway. he would greatly benefit playing with another perimeter who could facilitate the offense/create their own shots

[benji]

Bulls 09-10 stats here: viewtopic.php?p=1196599#p1196599

[Andrew]

andrew- no priority list for you?? actually i don't think there is a Mercer/Wallace FA. Johnson has succeeded as being a "role" player (suns) and leader (hawks)... unlike Mercer who was just an inefficient scorer on poor teams . Lee is only 26 and is a fundamentally sound player that put up 20/10 with Wilson Chandler as frontcourt mate... very un-Wallace like

Sorry, forgot about the priority list. Honestly I'd have to go with the same order as yours, though I go back and forth when it comes to Dirk over Amar'e or vice versa, mainly because Dirk is a little older.

As for the Mercer/Wallace comparisons, I'd agree that there's no exact parallel with the names on the market this offseason. I suppose I'm talking in more general terms as far as settling for (or being forced to settle for) a much lesser player than desired or grossly overpaying someone who doesn't warrant a big deal and is not what the team is looking for; scenarios I don't want to see repeated and because I don't have a lot of confidence in Paxson and Forman, fear might end up happening (though the Mercer signing was admittedly under the Krause regime). I agree that Johnson or Lee would work out much, much better than Mercer or Wallace ever did or could have, they're the only players I could see the Bulls (or indeed, someone else) going a little overboard in overpaying...but again, with better results than with Wallace.

Call it a mix of skepticism, paranoia and a lack of confidence when it comes to the Bulls front office, I guess.

[john26]

ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard made an early TV appearance on Wednesday, saying the Bulls are LeBron James' No. 1 option should he leave the Cavaliers.

RealGM: Basketball Wiretap Archives: ESPN's Broussard Claims Bulls Are LeBron's Top Pick If He Leaves Cavs

Yay!

[Andrew]

I have to admit it, I'm skeptical.

[Oznogrd]

saw broussard on espn this morning claiming the same.

Theres talk of getting lebron AND wade. Which leads me to believe broussard is a moron...

But he was saying with the young talent and trade bait chicago has built up and the friendship wade and LBJ have from USA ball: its a likely scenario.

So Andrew the question is now:
If you end up with a lineup that is Rose, Wade, Lebron, whatever random big man you like, Noah:
Has paxson redeemed himself? I'm on your side and think he's made some horribifuckus (Nostalgia Critic reference) moves...but if he gets that team in Chicago...he might be canonized by Bulls fans the world over.

[benji]

Wouldn't that be happening in spite of him, not because of him?

EDIT:

Thursday, May 13, 2010
LeBron to the Bulls? 3 GMs think so
By Chad Ford

Boston Celtics fans were chanting "New York Knicks" during Thursday's Game 6 every time that LeBron James went to the foul line. Maybe they should've been chanting "Chicago Bulls."

Within minutes of the Cleveland Cavaliers' elimination at the hands of the Celtics, the speculation about LeBron James' next destination resumed in full force.

In the space of five minutes I heard from three NBA GMs via text, e-mail and phone. All three said that based on the information they have, they believe LeBron will leave the Cavs.

More surprisingly, all of them said they believe the destination will be the Chicago Bulls. Two said they believe that John Calipari will be the Bulls' new head coach.

One GM went a bit further in a phone call a few minutes later. "I think the Bulls are really going to go for it. Look for them to offer the Cavs Luol Deng in a sign-and-trade for LeBron. That will allow them to retain most of their cap space. Then they'll go after Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh as well."

I'm sure we'll hear various scenarios involving the Knicks, Nets and Heat over the course of the next month. But it's hard to come up with any other scenario that would be quite as appealing for LeBron.

[Andrew]

So Andrew the question is now:
If you end up with a lineup that is Rose, Wade, Lebron, whatever random big man you like, Noah:
Has paxson redeemed himself? I'm on your side and think he's made some horribifuckus (Nostalgia Critic reference) moves...but if he gets that team in Chicago...he might be canonized by Bulls fans the world over.

Absolutely. If Pax brings one of them in to play alongside Rose, Noah and whomever else they're able to keep or acquire, let alone both of them, then the gambles of the past will have paid off and while I'd probably still be a bit wary of his next move, I'd feel a lot more confident that he's still the right man for the job and give credit where credit is due.

[NovU]

Damn... I would hate to see that scenario, but that does make more sense than Lebron coming to Miami imo. In Chicago, it's going to be Lebron's team while it's likely not in Miami. However, I think the contract he can get in Miami will be too tempting to pass by, along with the cap space the Heat can work with. Miami pretty much will resign Wade plus one more star at max on top of 16 million cap space(if Beas is gone). I am dreaming Bosh(Amare)/Wade/Rudy Gay core in Miami next season. Gay is hitting prime in age during contract period and comes pretty cheap for a guy who can post 20/5 consistently.

[Andrew]

Beasley is signed through next season, with an option for 2011/2012.

[NovU]

Yeah, though it's likely that he'll be relocated in the best interest of both parties. Trying to make it work for Beas has obviously failed, and him being benched in second half of last game, I think was a hint.