Chicago Bulls - which direction should they take?

So here are the Bulls, sitting with the potential to get about 11 million under the cap if they "amnesty" Carlos Boozer.  They had a good draft, getting the guy who many thought would fit best with their roster no matter what - Doug McDermott from Creighton.  They also got a power forward from New Mexico with the second pick (number 49), a senior with decent numbers. 

Here's the key pieces on their current roster:

• Derrick Rose - coming off two seasons off due to injuries to both knees
• Taj Gibson - power forward who really came on in 2013-2014
• Joakim Noah - center who I should have listed one spot higher - double double machine
• Jimmy Butler - swing man who can play big guard or small forward, good defensively
• Mike Dunleavy - swing man who can hit threes and do more
• Carlos Boozer - power forward with below average to average defensive presence
• Kirk Hinrich - may be a free agent at point guard
• D.J. Augustine - another free agent at point guard
• Tony Snell - rookie swing man with promise
• Jimmer Fredette - possible free agent shooting guard who can, well, shoot
• Greg Smith - forward/center who held up the end of the bench at the end of the season
• Cameron Bairstow - power forward rookie second rounder
• Anthony Randolph - power forward obtained in the pick swap with Denver in the draft
• Ronnie Brewer - free agent signed at end of year for playoffs then not used
• Lou Amundsen - forward and that's all I know
• Mike James - another filler player, point guard who Thibs likes
• Nazr Mohammed - center who has to be close to done, not used much last year

I took that info from the Chicago Bulls/NBA.com site.  I wouldn't have included at least a quarter of them as Bulls.  But they're listed as part of the roster for 2014/2015.

So what do they do?  Do they try to trade for Kevin Love, perhaps moving Taj Gibson and Tony Snell or even Jimmy Butler while amnesty-ing Boozer to get under the cap enough to make the deal work? 

Do they try to sign Carmelo Anthony, maybe doing a sign-and-trade with the Knicks and dealing Butler and Dunleavy while amnesty-ing Boozer?

Do they make a move to bring over Nikolai Mirotic, the kid playing in Spain (I think?) who it will cost big money in terms of a buy-out of his European contract and his salary?

What would I do?

I would try my darnedest to sign Anthony.  I thought that they could maybe do a sign-and-trade with Boozer, since his contract is expiring next year and he's not a bad player, just not worth 16+ million a year.  It would seem that if they could do that, they could easily accomodate Anthony's big contract.  Otherwise he's going to have to take a pay cut.

An acquaintance who played pro ball overseas says that, as an observer and someone who understands the game pretty well, he feels Love would be the best move.  He would give them the superstar they need to go with Rose and Noah (assuming Rose comes all the way back).  If they do that, their lineup would be Rose, Noah, Love, maybe Dunleavy, maybe Butler, maybe Ronnie Brewer.  There's a big three but is there anything beyond that?

Another acquaintance who also played pro ball and major college ball suggests that Anthony is the right move.  Assuming they'd have to deal Gibson, their lineup might be Rose, Snell or Butler, Anthony, Randolph (the kid they got from Denver) and Noah.  There's a big three with plenty of scoring but again, is there ENOUGH beyond that?

Tonight's the night.  Free agency opens and Anthony is meeting first with Chicago.  Hope we get him somehow.

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QUANTUM ZOO is live on Amazon!

The SF/Fantasy anthology QUANTUM ZOO is available for purchase at the Amazon Kindle Store for the low low price of $0.99.  It's currently on sale to celebrate its release, but it will go up to regular price soon, so if you're a fan of those genres and enjoy short-form fiction, give it a try! 

My own story in there is called "Playing Man", and it envisions a future where Earth is a wildlife reserve and botanical garden, as well as a source of natural resources for a space-faring human civilization.  But strange things happen when you take humans out of the picture on Earth while leaving the other life forms to their own devices. 

It's one of 12 stories themed around the word "Zoo".  Other excellent authors in the collection include Bridgette McKenna, J.M. Ney-Grimm, D.J. Gelner, John Hindmarsh, and seven more (besides me). 

Please take a look!  Here's the link:  QUANTUM ZOO for Kindle

Thanks!

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So what's going on?

Maybe a blog titled "Chitown Sports Ramblings" should occasionally have a post expressing an opinion about, oh, I don't know, Chicago sports? 

Well, I did have that one about the Hawks about a month ago.  And one about the Bulls in April.  And then there were the ones about the Bulls in March and January. 

But not too much on any sort of regular basis.  And I don't see that changing (the 'regular basis' thing). 

I thought that maybe I'd put up a couple of thoughts in short form about potential future topics for me to post about, all the while hoping that maybe someone will see and buy the anthology QUANTUM ZOO that my short SF story will be part of, to be released on June 17th.  So here goes:

The Black Hawks need a jolt, perhaps, but no major changes.  Everyone always complains about the lack of a second line center to go with superstar Patrick Kane (and apparently Andrew Shaw is NOT that guy).  They don't appear to have a good candidate in their system, but maybe it will turn out that they DO have someone and we're just not aware of him yet.  Barring that, a trade may make sense - if it brings a quality player and doesn't sacrifice something vital to the Hawks' future.  What's vital to the Hawks' future?  That's another good question. 

The Cubs have shown some signs of life, winning 5 of their last 6 versus the Mets and Marlins.  The promise of Anthony Rizzo is becoming more apparent, and Starlin Castro has looked better this year than last (even if consistency is still a problem).  But the big issue is the pitching, which has been pretty good.  Jeff Samardzija has pitched like an ace most of the time.  He's just about in the prime of his career.  The Cubs have indicated that they'd give big money to players that made sense for the big picture.  So what about Samardzija doesn't fit?  They talk like they want to deal him before the deadline, along with Jason Hamel, who has also been pretty good.  But why?  I'm not sure this makes sense to me.

Sox hit the jackpot with Jose Abreu, or so it seems so far.  Made a good signing with Adam Eaton, and they've improved themselves up the middle.  Their pitching has been up and down, but they're hovering around .500.  Is that what they are, a .500 team?  Or can they be better?  I think they can make a nice run.  I don't know if they're a division champ, but I think they can be a wild card contender.  They may need to acquire a pitcher, however.  Maybe the Cubs have someone that will make sense for them. 

The Bulls have two picks in the first round of the draft, and apparently they've made an offer to Minnesota for Kevin Love.  I'm not sure Love is a HUGE upgrade over Taj Gibson, who is reported to be part of the package offered to Minnesota, along with Jimmy Butler, the rights to Nikolai Mirotich (spelling?) and possible draft picks.  But he's DIFFERENT.  Love, Noah and Rose to go with...who at shooting guard and who at small forward?  A resigned Deng?  Anthony?  A draft pick or a free agent?  I just don't know.

And finally, the Bears:  A nice draft and a nice free agent season put them in the thick of things in their division.  They've improved their defense and not made any significant downgrades (except backup quarterback) to their offense.  Should be a nice year. 

Perhaps I'll get time to write a bit more in depth in the near future on some of these topics.  Thank you for reading!

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In the meantime, feel free to check out my title , Doing Disney: How To Spend A Week At Disney's Florida Resort   It's available on Amazon for $2.99.

Thanks!

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