Chicago Bulls Thread

[Andrew]

I just took a look back at the last few 49th overall picks and noticed that strangely enough they're all players who made the team's roster and contribute every now and then: Aaron Gray, Leon Powe and Andray Blatche. You've also got James Jones, Darius Songaila and Jason Hart since 2000. Not such a hot pick in the 90s, though Cedric Ceballos went 48th in 1990.

Still, in all seriousness a player like Aaron Guy should be working for minutes, not demanding them. He had some good moments in his rookie year, there's no need to let his ego spoil that.

[kinokong]

aaron gray demanding minutes...... lol, seriously the nba is filled with players of the same retarded mentality, not proving shit and blaming their crappy ass situation on the management, the coach, or their agents..... i mean wtf aaron gray??? i can probably name 50 big men deserving more minutes than him.

[Oskar]

50 big men ? the league has around 350 active players, most of them are forwards and guards, lawl. Going to be a hard time for you naming them.

[kinokong]

lol i count pf as big men also lol

[shadowgrin]

Even Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant can be considered as big men.

[Andrew]

There's easily more than 50 players in the league that can be classified as big men. Whether or not you could name 50 big men who are more deserving of PT than Gray is debatable especially if you omit players like Duncan, KG etc who are already getting considerably more minutes than him.

[air gordon]

Still, in all seriousness a player like Aaron Guy should be working for minutes, not demanding them. He had some good moments in his rookie year, there's no need to let his ego spoil that.

this was more or less the cherry on top of a nightmare season for the bulls. i'm surprised you didn't hear about this earlier. but anyway, you know things are going bad the scrubs are complaining about PT

[Andrew]

It wouldn't be so bad if he had been a bit more diplomatic about it, saying that he's hoping for a bigger role and would be working hard to try and earn more minutes but simply demanding more minutes doesn't make a good impression.

[air gordon]

it was stupid- Gray was taken out of a game, on his way to the bench he yelled at Boylan something to the tune of "This is what i get for working my butt off in practice?"

anyway- Vinny Del Negro is the latest coach being reported as the front runner. the media has to be embarrassed with this coaching fiasco. i think i'm numb from all the proclamations of who's supposed to be the next Bulls coach

[Andrew]

I guess that's not quite as bad as I imagined, something you could possibly chalk up to the heat of the moment but still not the attitude you want to see from him.

The coaching situation is getting a bit silly. I'd still prefer them to go after someone with a more established track record, which I suppose right now would mean Avery Johnson or Flip Saunders.

[The X]

I guess not all players have the same attitude as the likes of Sean Marks....somebody who can clearly play & contribute, but is relegated to 12th man duties....he works hard in practice & you don't hear a peep out of him about lack of playing time....

[Andrew]

Indeed, but that's not to say that players should resign themselves to that role. It's admirable that guys like Sean Marks can be that much of a team player and be content with the role they have but someone like Aaron Gray is probably going to have aspirations to earn more minutes at this stage of his career. It's not so much the aspiration but the player's attitude towards it. Dorell Wright is an example of someone who (so far) has approached the situation with a more admirable attitude.

[The X]

I don't believe Sean Marks is content with that role....he left Spurs to go to Suns as he wanted a more prominent role, at least as a bench role player & the way I understand it, the Suns gave the impression to him that he would get a chance to fill that role in & up & down offence....but D'Antoni only played 7 players the last couple of years, so he's not the only player who didn't play....so no, I don't think he's content....I don't expect him to be back with the Suns next season....if he's not back in NBA, he'll be doing the family thing....

aside from Dorrell Wright, Bulls should point Gray to the Celtics' examples, like Leon Powe & Glen Davis....they sit & wait for their opportunity to arise, without complaint....then again, playing on a championship calibre team compared to a lottery team, might be the big difference....if a player sees that they're losing, they want to be on court helping out....but yep, Gray needs to keep working hard & keep his mouth shut & his opportunity will come, ala Brad Miller....

[Andrew]

By "content" I don't mean to suggest that Marks wouldn't like more playing time but he is accepting of his role in Phoenix, electing to keep working hard and not complain about it.

And I agree, Powe and Davis are two other good examples of young players working hard and biding their time,

[Andrew]

Harris, Bickerstaff join Del Negro’s staff

A good move getting a couple of reputable and experienced coaches on board, but I'm still skeptical about the Del Negro hiring.

[Dan's Brain]

Either of those guys could have and should have got the top job. Vinny will probably just be the public face of the coaching staff, while Harris and Bickerstaff will be the ones really pulling the strings.

[putodelagoa]

Bickerstaff strikes me as someone able to manage young talent. People played hard for him in Charlotte, and he got some overachieving seasons out of some players. Solid hire.

Off season is long and boring, but I was wondering how the Bulls are going to adress their need for a low post scorer.

Do you think it would make sense to let Hinrich and Gooden go to NY in change for Zach Randolph?

This sounds like one of those trades that make too much sense for both teams, and therefore won't take place...

[buzzy]

Duhon Signs with Knicks

I wonder if the Bulls will get rid of Hinrich too.

[Andrew]

Either of those guys could have and should have got the top job. Vinny will probably just be the public face of the coaching staff, while Harris and Bickerstaff will be the ones really pulling the strings.

Agreed, it seems like the roles are reversed. As long as he's got experienced assistants like them to back him up though.

Duhon leaving isn't that unexpected, though if they're looking to trade Hinrich it would've been good to have an experienced point guard backing up Rose, at least for another season. He's obviously got his own interests to look out for though so it's unlikely he would've been interested in putting his career on hold for a year so the Bulls could transition forward.

[Dan's Brain]

It is a shame. Duhon was generally pretty dependable. A good floor leader and defender, and a solid shooter. He's the kind of character guy the Knicks need, hopefully he's utilised properly.

Do you think it would make sense to let Hinrich and Gooden go to NY in change for Zach Randolph?

This sounds like one of those trades that make too much sense for both teams, and therefore won't take place...

Zach Randolph to Chicago always seems to get talked about, but he's the last kind of post scorer the Bulls need - a fat lazy one with a bad attitude. I'd rather keep Gooden with all his faults than bring in Zach Randolph. Particularly with a new untested coach coming in.

[Andrew]

Agreed. It doesn't actually make sense for the Bulls to bring in such a headcase, whose talent doesn't justify his attitude. Hopefully, it won't take place because it shouldn't take place.

[putodelagoa]

See your point... The character issues.

Well I guess that a team with strong minded guys can allways accomodate a talented looney. The Bulls are young, for sure, but I wouldn't call them impressionable. I am not sure that Zach's arrival would hurt them the way Ben Wallace's moodiness did.

The Bulls have done it before, but of course, they had established superstar players and coach then.

But you are right that it would put the new coaching staff under added pressure...
Well, just wondering how the Bulls will transform all their redundant players into a usefull one.

[Andrew]

I'm not concerned that he'd have a bad influence on the rest of his team, I just think his attitude is problematic. After all, he got upset when he was fined for missing a practice in Portland (or maybe for being late, I can't recall which at the moment). He's also proven himself to be selfish and frankly, he just doesn't strike me as being good enough or dependable enough to justify his ballhogging. He's just not worth the risk.

[putodelagoa]

Ok. I see your point.

My question then is what to do about the glut of guards they seem to have now?
It has been said before that Hinrich isn't likely to accept the backup role that would suit him best. His contract says he's supposed to be a starter...

The Bulls however, are handling the keys to Rose, Hughes is untreadable and Gordon is a usefull point maker (as long as they don't overpay him...). Hinrich, on the other hand, seems expendable... What to do of him? Theoretically, trading him to the Knicks would solve both teams needs, but as you stated it means undesirable trouble. What to do, then?

[Andrew]

They could possibly make a trade for Marbury whom they could then release as his contract comes off the books at the end of the year, though that would be wasteful. I still think Hinrich is the player they need to move as I don't fancy him moving over to shooting guard; if they're going to have a 6'3" player at shooting guard putting up his share of shots, it might as well be Gordon since he's capable of being the more potent scorer. I don't think Hinrich can be moved for a star low post scorer though, perhaps they can get another big in the deal who can help out but considering who's available he's probably not going to be markedly better than the players they already have up front.