Chicago Bulls Thread

[Doobie]

Question to the Bulls fans... How did you guys feel about Chris Duhon when he played in Chicago? What'd you like and dislike about his game?

[Andrew]

I thought the backcourt of Hinrich and Duhon had its moments but was a bit overrated and overused by Skiles during his tenure. He's a solid player that I was a bit sorry to see go but drafting Rose certainly made him expendable.

[air gordon]

andrew- yeh with those rookie contracts- i thought getting PJ Brown and his expiring contract was supposed to help the bulls land someone like Gasol. what was the proposed deal for Gasol anyway?

doobie- i thought Duhon was serviceable. good defender/ball handler but inconsistent shot... to a point where'd he stop shooting if he missed a few early. i always thought him as a college coach's wet dream- we worked hard/played hard and was a general on the floor. in fact he was skiles wet dream haha

his last year though i think he wore out his welcome- he earned a reputation as party guy and he would be late for practices. as andrew said- once Rose was drafted, Duhon's days were numbered as a bull

[Andrew]

I believe it centred around Noce and Noah going to Memphis for Gasol. I definitely know Noah was mentioned in the rumour because the Bulls were reportedly insisting on trading Thomas instead and supposedly that's what stalled the talks. Whatever it was, it didn't involve Gordon, Hinrich or Deng or the pick in 2009 which of course turned out to be the first overall selection and Derrick Rose.

EDIT: Just had a look back through the thread and it was Noah and Thabo for Gasol, though someone like Noce would've had to have been included to make the deal work under the cap.

[Bodz]

Bulls History & Tradition

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1:40 - Larry Hughes shot bears some reminiscence to MJ's shot over Craig Ehlo.

[Andrew]

A little, about as close to MJ as Hughes is ever going to get.

[The X]

yep, Bulls look stupid....for some reason Paxson just has a huge reluctance to trade young players....I think he must buy into their hype....whereas he should be dealing them when their value is at its peak (players like Rose excluded of course)....Gasol was a must, but such is life....

[Andrew]

Ah, but that's easier to say in retrospect. Even up to this past offseason, Deng continued to be hyped as a star in the making which would suggest he's a player they need to hang onto or his trade value hasn't peaked. Obviously that isn't the case and I'm sure I wasn't the only one to doubt that before this season either, but I understand the reluctance when you're trying to build a cohesive squad and remain mindful of giving up players who may be destined for bigger things; a case of the grass always looking greener.

Passing on Noah/Thabo for Gasol, if it was indeed close to being a done deal if not for Pax's reluctance, was a huge mistake though. I'll still defend earlier rumoured trades involving Gordon, Deng and Hinrich because at the time they were all playing pretty well and had shown a lot more than Thabo and Noah have so far. So much of their value is tied to their potential and how much faith a team would be willing to put in them and trading them for Gasol would've been a worthwhile risk when they still have other young players who are more proven and one who still has potential in Tyrus Thomas. I think you can defend passing on Gasol when the Grizzlies wanted a package involving at least two players from the trio of Deng, Hinrich and Gordon but passing it up in favour of keeping Noah was the wrong move...assuming it's one that could've been made.

And that's the other factor here. It's fairer to judge Paxson or any GM on the moves they actually do make since we don't know for sure how close some moves that never happened were to actually happening, who backed away first and whether the other team simply decided to go with a different deal (as the Grizzlies ultimately did with the Lakers, regardless of what happened in the talks with the Bulls). Pax may or may not have sabotaged the deal with the Grizzlies but he most certainly traded away Aldridge and signed Ben Wallace.

[NovU]

Yeah, couple wrong moves, but who'd have thought Aldridge was going to be great while Ben was going to be not so great. I remember Ben's value was at its peak because of success in Destroit. Although his size was always a concern, he was the biggest inside defensive presence for the Detroit. I enjoyed watching him blocknig and posterizing in almost every game.

[Andrew]

It was still a concern because of Ben Wallace's skillset, his age and the size and length of the contract. I was disappointed they brought him in for the amount that they did because it seemed like such an unnecessary and risky investment and it sure blew up in their face, though his attitude and sulking didn't help matters.

As for Aldridge, I see where you're coming from but at the end of the day the Bulls traded away a big man who had a lot more potential as a post player, which is something they needed (and still do). It is easier to criticise these moves in retrospect but again that's a move I was disappointed in at the time because Aldridge - as a big man - struck me as better choice though there were concerns about him too. It's a move that's worked in Portland's favour thus far though and one Pax should privately regret, though that's the choice he made so hopefully Thomas will prove his worth and show it wasn't such a bad trade after all.

[Andrew]

And naturally, they go ahead and beat the Hornets today. Admittedly New Orleans is without Chris Paul at the moment but without him they're still better than the Timberwolves and Thunder, both of whom the Bulls blew leads against and ultimately lost both contests. It's nice to see of course and I'm not complaining, but go figure.

[air gordon]

iirc- it wasn't like Paxson outbid himself to acquire Wallace. the bulls offered a similar contract to wallace as detroit did. just more years? at the time it made sense. Chandler regressed and had a terrible playoff series. i think that was the year Malik Allen, Othella harrington, Sweetney, songaila, chandler made up their frontcourt

they rightfully so frontloaded his contract- Wallace was 32 but i don't think anyone knew his skills would eroded as much as it did... or that he didn't want to be the leader for this team and would eventually become a cancer

in hindsight the move has sucked balls

also in hindsight swapping picks with Portland looks like the wrong decision for the Bulls. i must say that lamarcus aldridge is very skilled but hardly is a "post" player. he's a big man who likes to take jumps shots. interestingly enough- it is Tyrus Thomas who mixes it up more inside then Aldridge. he may not be a better finisher but he draws more fouls & gets to the line more then Aldridge (but i will conveniently leave out passing stats and Aldridge's ability to garner defensive attention )

in all honestly, if we had to do all over again (in hindsight)- i'd be most happy with Roy

[Andrew]

From memory the Bulls' offer did exceed the Pistons' by at least a few million. You're right, looking back one does have to look at the rest of their frontcourt but it was at least questionable at the time given his age and skillset. Worst of all was the fallout with his attitude though. He took Chicago's offer because it was in his best financial interests and I can't fault anyone for trying to make more money when the opportunity is there but I'd say from a basketball and personal standpoint he would've preferred to stay in Detroit.

[Fcuk Orlando]

Dang, Derrick rose just hit a clutch floater against the Mavs (It would've counted anyway because Josh Howard touched the net ) But theres 24.1 seconds left and its 94-97
EDIT: KIDD Hit a clutch 3 over Rose and now the game is tied with 11 seconds left
EDIT: Rose missed the game winner so its OT. Kidd plays good d against Rose and even got a block on him and Gordon
GG 114-115 Dallas, Nowitzki was unstoppable in OT, 44 pts including clutch FTs that sealed the game

[Andrew]

Tough loss, but not quite as disheartening as some of their other overtime losses this year.

[Dan's Brain]

Really solid comeback against the Pistons, outscoring them 36-17 in the fourth, and topped off by a Ben Gordon 4-point play.

Back-to-back 20-10 games by Tyrus Thomas, he's doing quite well lately, possibly increasing his trade value, maybe. But really good stuff from him of late.

[Andrew]

If he could play like that consistently then you might think twice about trading him, but I think the Bulls have roll the dice on Amar'e if they've got a shot at it and games like this must certainly help his trade value as you said. In any case, nice win. At this point they can't bank on a deal going down and need to compete with what they have; so much the better if Amar'e is part of that in the near future.

[air gordon]

the Red Kerr tribute was awesome. it was like taking a little trip in the time machine. Obama even paying his respects was the cherry on top. what was sad though was seeing Kerr in his weakened condition. (yeh i know i ripped him these past few years for his damn cough drops and sounding senile sometimes) he's now confined to a wheelchair and looks like he's lost a lot of weight. i heard he's dealing prostate cancer.

it's a shame that he's honored only now. he's been the face of the bulls organization for a long time now. it would have been better enjoyed when his health was still strong

[Andrew]

I didn't see it but it's certainly a well-deserved honour.

[Andrew]

Hornets Offered Chandler To Bulls

Tyson Chandler was offered back to Chicago for Joakim Noah and the expiring contract of Drew Gooden before New Orleans dealt the former Bull to Oklahoma City, Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald is reporting.

Tough call. If he was playing at the level he was his first couple of years with the Hornets then it would've been more tempting but if either of those guys are the keys to a possible Amar'e deal then fair enough passing it up. Supposedly they're trying to work out a three way deal including the Wolves that would move Hinrich and bring Stoudemire in. I wouldn't mind that.

[air gordon]

you know how i feel about Chandler lol. besides there is no need to waste salary on a player like Chandler anyway. the bulls should at least be allowed to dream about signing someone like James, Wade, Bosh, etc

i don't think Amar'e will be leaving PhX now. i watched the PhX game and everyone was re-energized playing the"d'antoni" offense

latest rumor is trading Hinrich for Collins (contract expiring this year) & Brian Cardinal (expires 2010). go for it Pax!

[puttincomputers]

the bulls pass on chandler but get miller? hmmm. now that i think about it. nice

[Andrew]

It's good enough, but it's a shame the likelihood of Amar'e being traded in the next few hours has dwindled.

[Dan's Brain]

Goodbye Thabo. Off to the Thunder for a first-round pick (one of the five picks that the Thunder have over the next two years). Shame that he was never able to get an opportunity to play and play well for the Bulls. The arrival of Salmons did spell this, in a way. But i liked Thabo all the same.

Also good to see Hughes gone. With the Noce/Gooden/Ruffin/Simmons - Miller/Salmons trade, the Bulls were down to a 11-man roster with Hughes essentially deactivated. So they needed to bring in an extra couple of somethings. The James contract will also be a valuable commodity next year. I'm thinking, with the chips they have, the Bulls will be a major player on draft day this year.

[TheBigEasy]

Well ... looks like the Bulls gave away half their roster. How do you think are their chances of getting into the post season or even make it out of the second round? Are they good for just 8th or 7th place or could they even challenge Detroit or Miami for 6th/5th?