Chicago Bulls Thread

[Andrew]

Bulls are 1-0 with Felicio starting. Clearly, the MVP.

[air gordon]

even with the baggage that comes with him, i'd want demarcus cousins on the bulls

[Andrew]

Would they really get anywhere with him? The guy seems to pout and clash with every coach he has. He's a great talent, but I don't know that he'll ever be reliable, someone you can build around. He just seems too mercurial.

That said, let a steal of a trade scenario present itself, and I'm probably on board with it. I mean, if I can try supporting Ben Wallace on the Bulls for a season and a half...

[air gordon]

I like the Bulls chances in the east with Butler and Cousins as their main pieces much better than this mediocre roster

Sacto is more dysfunctional than the Bulls-
It's a great opportunity to buy low on a great talent who is heading into his prime

[Andrew]

What kind of trade do you envision it would take to land him?

[air gordon]

i'll leave that to you sophisticates. i'm not on the wagon with the opinion of the roster on paper is filled with talent

not counting Butler, the bulls "assets" are:
Rose
Niko
Portis
Taj
Dougie
Draft picks

i am fine with departing with any from that list. also a future 1st

[Andrew]

Probably not going to be good enough for Vlade, unfortunately. Though, he'd probably trade them George Karl for Fred Hoiberg, if he could.

[air gordon]

Vlade would have to get Ranadive's approval

what is enough from the bulls to get land cousins in your opinion?

[Andrew]

I don't think they have enough, period.

[mp3]

Bulls losing at home to the Knicks, things must be bad!

Bulls clearly have lost that identity that they were know for under Thibs and I think it may be time to do there best at moving Derrick Rose and cutting there losses

[Andrew]

If they can find a taker, sure. That's the rub.

[mp3]

Everyone can't traded in the nba it's all about what you get back in return so if the Bulls except (like the Knicks and Melo) that you won't get equal value or even close to it then with the cap going up I think teams would have interest in Rose.

Philly for example may trade for him and part ways with some picks and Noel

[Andrew]

At this point it's not so much about getting equal value, it's about not ending up with a deal that somehow puts them in a worse position.

[Jeffx]

Bulls losing at home to the Knicks, things must be bad!

Maybe air gordon was right after all.

[air gordon]

Classic Bulls game- some momentum heading into a home game they should win. Knicks wake up and put a smacking on them

Rose is in the midst of his best stretch of play. Most excellent for his trade value.

What's your read on management's thoughts on Rose? They publicly have been supportive of him and even promoted him to General Soreness

[Andrew]

I get the impression they're going to stand by him, though their expectations of how good he can be for them might be overly optimistic. Of course, it's possible they're trying not to tip their hand, so as not to diminish the trade value he's slowly rebuilding. As noted several times before, he's also an expiring contract next season, which might help them move him.

[Andrew]

Speaking of Rose, he threw down his first dunk of the season in the rematch against the Knicks today.

phpBB [video]

Most importantly, he didn't injure himself in the process. Hey, that's where the bar's at, these days...

[mp3]

He looked great last night just like his old self but it was all in vein with the result and really hurts the playoff chances

[I Hate Mondays]

My April will be very strange without the chance to cheer for the Bulls in the playoffs. Guess I will give a closer look to the Raptors since they are the only team able to defeat the Cavs in the Eastern Conference.

[air gordon]

happy for rose. no hesitation on the dunk...

2 games back, 8 remain. bulls really shit their playoff hopes with 2 losses to nyk and 1 to orlando

will they make it? think it's better off they don't??

[Andrew]

I'm thinking they'll finish at .500 or a game above, but with the improvement in the East this year, that won't be enough.

It's all much of a muchness, really. I think a token Playoff appearance will make it feel less like a completely wasted year, and it's not like they'd have a great shot of winning a top three pick in the lottery. On the other hand, maybe missing the postseason will be a bit of a wakeup call, and encourage management to consider shaking things up in a way they wouldn't otherwise. There's always the slim possibility they'll defy the odds and get very lucky in the lottery, too.

Either way, it's kinda hard to get excited.

[air gordon]

I get the impression they're going to stand by him, though their expectations of how good he can be for them might be overly optimistic. Of course, it's possible they're trying not to tip their hand, so as not to diminish the trade value he's slowly rebuilding. As noted several times before, he's also an expiring contract next season, which might help them move him.

missed this one oops...
to their credit, management has played the Rose situation very well. initially they were pressuring him to come back but now they have been so successfully passively aggressive it's Rose who is the bad guy when he decides to sit out games. the situation is a PR nightmare and i think Reinsdorf and GarPax will be happy to be done with it.

On the other hand, maybe missing the postseason will be a bit of a wakeup call, and encourage management to consider shaking things up in a way they wouldn't otherwise. There's always the slim possibility they'll defy the odds and get very lucky in the lottery, too

they are being criticized by their own local beat writers, who are normally soft when it comes to that. even a national reporter with no known beef with the bulls (unlike Woj), Mannix, put out an article on yahoo ripping management. i'd be very surprised if they continue on with the disillusion

Either way, it's kinda hard to get excited.

Cristiano Felicio

[Andrew]

It won't surprise me if they choose to move Rose because it's hardly an unthinkable notion, though actually succeeding in moving him will probably come as a surprise as it's difficult to envision. Or, to put it another way, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that's their plan, but I would be surprised if they actually pull it off (especially without giving up picks or taking on an even worse contract to make it happen). I think he ends up leaving via free agency.

I did see something about a local writer really going in hard on them about hiring Hoiberg. It's a refreshing change, but I'm guessing it's something they can still find a way to ignore. "What does he know, he's just a journalist?", and all that. Having to face up to a complete failure of a season makes it difficult to dismiss that criticism. But yeah, one way or the other, hopefully they get the wakeup call.

[air gordon]

The Surprise counter has exploded lol. an expiring contract would not be difficult to trade next year but I agree he'll just walk. I am curious to see what his market value will be in this salary cap explosion period

Friedell and Kc Johnson have been covering the team for years. he may deny it publicly but Forman knows this has blown up in his face.

Pro or anti Hoiberg?

[Andrew]

At this point, I'm highly sceptical as far as Hoiberg is concerned. I suppose that technically puts me in the "anti" contingent, though I'm saving the matches and leaving the pitchfork in the shed, so to speak. I definitely wouldn't be disappointed if they canned him, even though the blame for the season has to be shared around. Just as some stand-out college players don't quite make it in the pros, I think it's fair to say some coaches are more suited to the collegiate level than the NBA, too. Even though he did stick around for ten years as a player in the NBA, and had a few decent seasons as a role player - a couple of the best ones coming in Chicago, funnily enough - my impression is that Hoiberg may be such a coach. I admit I don't have a lot of confidence in him moving forward.

Where do you stand on him?