Chicago Bulls Thread

[Fenix]

Gibson is a poor man's Joe Smith. I just like the thought of a Rose-Lee starting backcourt. I think they'd make a great tandem.

Definitely on offense, but on defense and on the boards Taj will be (and probably already is) better. I do agree with you about pairing Rose with Lee.

[air gordon]

i wouldn't compare Duhon to Taj Gibson, or at least wouldn't give that comparison a negative connotation. Gibson is far more talented and already more productive than Duhon ever was. He averaged 12ppg, 10rpg and almost 2bpg per 36 minutes in his rookie season, numbers that are infinitely more rare than 11ppg, 7apg and 3rpg, which is what Duhon was averaging per 36 in his best season.

rare? Aaron Gray averaged 13/11.5 per 36

yeh of course the numbers don't match to a T but Gibson-Duhon are a similar type of player.

unless you think Gibson should be a starter in this league (barring injury to a starter or the aforementioned pair him with another stud big men (wouldn't any average PF paired with a stud big man make a solid froncourt anyway?))... i don't see the big deal here

I don't agree btw that Thomas is playing like a wannabe Nowitzki especially under Brown.

lol give it time. you already agree he thinks he's L James. now that he has a contract- you'll see him in all his glory

And yeah, everybody grows out of their rookie deal eventually. Doesn't make Johnson any better though.
He'll probably never sniff a contract like that

i never said he was "better" nor should he have a contract like that. Thomas is ridiculously overpaid and is on a LONG TERM contract. johnson right now stinks but the bulls aren't stuck with him. they could just let his contract run out or even use him a trade piece since his contract is expiring

[Andrew]

Bulls to honor Pippen with statue inside United Center

The Chicago Bulls have plans to unveil a bronze statue of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen that will be displayed permanently in the United Center at some point towards the end of the 2010-11 season.

“Not only is Scottie Pippen one of the greatest players to ever wear a Bulls uniform, but he’s among the best players in history of the league to play the game,” said Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “He had a tremendous impact in bringing six world championships to Chicago and there is no better way to pay tribute to him than with a permanent statue that honors his inspirational career.”

The statue will be crafted by Omri and Julie Rotblatt-Amrany of Highland Park, Ill., who also sculpted the famous Michael Jordan statue which was unveiled in January 1994 in conjunction with Jordan’s No. 23 jersey retirement.

Well-earned.

[shadowgrin]

It wasn’t about me as an individual, though; I just wanted to help make our teams extraordinary when we were out on the court.”

Not to diss Pippen but lol, 1994 Eastern Conference Semis Game 3 against the Knicks, 1.8 secs. to go with the score tied at 102. lol Pippen.

[Andrew]

Much as I like Pip,fair call. Still just one incident though and with MJ's retirement he had been thrust into the alpha dog role. That incident and a couple of moments as recounted in The Jordan Rules aside, from all accounts he was the ultimate team player.

[George7]

Though it was a lol moment ,only one incident can't erase what he done all these years
Congratulations Pip

[air gordon]

lol you guys forgot the incident where Pip threw a chair on the court after being ejected, he called bulls fans racist, threatened holding out in '98..

Reinsdorf is doing all this because he's working his way into getting Krause recognized...

Pax took some time off from hiding in the shadows...
http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/20 ... -slam.html

[Andrew]

Reinsdorf is doing all this because he's working his way into getting Krause recognized...

That's going to go down well...or do you think perhaps enough time has passed? Given the outrage over MJ daring to take a dig at him during his HOF induction speech, he's somehow being transformed into a sympathetic figure. In all fairness he deserves credit for what he did putting the team together in the first place and that's something no one can take away from him. We can be forgiven for overlooking that at times though as he sure did lose the plot along the way. Organisations win championships, indeed.

Sounds like Pax is keeping things in perspective, or at least saying the right things in public. As I've said before I like the offseason they had, clearly everyone but Miami were destined to be runners-up when it came to LeBron, Wade and Bosh and the Bulls' Plan B wasn't too shabby at all.

[air gordon]

to me he's never going to be the sympathetic figure. i haven't heard him gaining more sympathy even after MJ's speech. no one wants to see this guy's name go up in the rafters next to MJ, Sloan, PIp, Love.

c'mon this is the guy who would get boo'd at the bulls championship rally's... EVERY SINGLE YEAR THEY WON IT. i'm sure if he showed up at a bulls game and the camera panned on him... he would still get boo'd

only way he even gets considered to being honored is when he passes away. even then i'm not even sure. who would even show up to this kind of ceremony anyway.. besides reinsdorf lol

as far as i'm concerned krumbs has received enough recognition. and he won executive of the year. twice.

which reminds of the Jordan Rules. thanks, andrew. there's a lot of shit in there about Jordan ripping Krause a new one several times. i can't wait to read that when i'm on the can

[Andrew]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't champion him to be honoured like that. More a case of if it happens, it happens. Likewise, I don't see him as a sympathetic figure but for whatever reason MJ's jab was seen as inappropriate (but then much of that speech was taken out of context and made out to be much nastier than I'd say it was intended; Sam Smith's take on it, funnily enough, was the most fair-handed) but perhaps I'm mistaking anti-MJ sentiment for pro-Krause sentiment. Point taken though, it seems unlikely that would ever be embraced or tolerated by Bulls fans at large.

Remember when he wanted to trade Pip and Longley for Antoine Walker prior to the 1998 season? Who needs a sixth championship when you can start rebuilding (with the wrong players) and wallow in the NBA basement?

[shadowgrin]

That Pippen for Kemp idea wasn't a bad one though at that time (94/95? before MJ returned).

[George7]

Krause managed to destroy a great team. Not signing Pip, Jackson, Rodman. giving away Brand and Artest later on with any hopes for rebuilding the team.

As for the Jordan rules book. Because i can't find it in Greece, is there any case of a pdf file or something similar?

[air gordon]

Krause's misadventures in GM's and social networking... it's quite a long list and that's just when MJ was still on the team

one of my favorite quotes of krause: after phil Jackson resigned in '98... i don't care if you go 82-0 . next year you're fucking gone

yeh the Kemp offer was a good one...

my guess is after the 6th title, Reinsdorf commissioned a monument to be made in Krauses liking with an inscription "organizations win championships". it's probably in krause's porch

[Andrew]

It was a better deal than the rumoured Phoenix deal from around that time that basically would've been Pip for Majerle. Fortunately, we got to see a third scenario unfold.

[Andrew]

Carlos Boozer thinking big

Chicago Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer has lofty expectations for his new team this season.

"A championship," he told ESPNChicago.com on Wednesday night after a Nike House of Hoops event. "I think a realistic goal for us is a championship. I think anything shorter than that we're setting ourselves up to be shorter than what we can reach. I think [we have] potential to be a championship-level team."

I'm looking forward to the upcoming season but I'll freely admit I'm not as optimistic as that. I like the attitude though.

[George7]

That would be great! I have the same optimistic thoughts but big expectations lead to even bigger disappointments.

[Lamrock]

Not so sure if he really believes that. I think its just one of those things that you're supposed to say. Not like he'd go "meh, we're probably first-round fodder unless the Bucks get banged up".

[Martti.]

A big goal, but definitely more reasonable then LeBron's 8 championships.

[NovU]

A nice team in Chicago, but I don't see them being the true contender yet. Rose and Boozer duo will be fun to watch for sure though. Agreeing with Lamrock on Boozer's comment. He's just saying the right thing for his team to hear.

[Murat]

Rose and Gordon was better.

[TheMC5]

Rose and Gordon was better.

Ben Gordon? Cause he'd have solved the Bulls glaring need for inside scoring? And replacing him with Jannero Pargo cost Chicago how many wins?

[Lamrock]

About 7.

[TheMC5]

About 7.

Except that in 08-09 and 09-10 they finished with identical 41-41 records. Granted, there were of course some other roster moves made, but the loss of Ben Gordon was, in terms of minutes played, the most significant change.

And yes, I realize this is a highly simplified view that doesn't take into account how Gordon's 08-09 minutes were distributed in 09-10, strength of schedule, etc. The point was that losing Ben Gordon for nothing quite obviously did not cause the Bulls any sort of meaningful regression.

[Lamrock]

The Bulls were a fifty win-caliber team after the mid-season trade in 2009 that got them John Salmons and a few other guys. Losing Gordon more or less set them back to where they were before the trade (albeit a little better with Rose and Noah's improvement and other factors).

[Andrew]

Not so sure if he really believes that. I think its just one of those things that you're supposed to say.

Probably, but as I said I like the attitude.