So NBA free agency signings are winding down, and LeBron James' decision to leave the Heat for his hometown Cavaliers changed the balance of power in the East. Suddenly the Heat are an aging Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng. Not bad, but not the superteam that they were with LeBron and Wade near his prime.
My Bulls made an important signing, though not exactly where they probably needed one. With a dearth of impact free agents at the 2 and 3, they instead signed Pau Gasol, an aging big man who can score with his back to the basket. Will he be what Derrick Rose needs (assuming Rose can stay on the court after two years of injuries)? Maybe. Boozer is gone, but Gibson remains. And so does Dunleavy and Butler and Hinrich and most importantly, Noah. Added to the team are draft pick Doug McDermott and Euro star Nikola Mirotic. Is that enough to surpass the Heat and (now) the Cavs and the Pacers? Maybe. Just maybe.
So now the big talk all over is a potential trade. It seems that the Cavaliers are really pushing to get Kevin Love from the T-wolves. They've offered their number one pick, top overall selection Andrew Wiggins (no, not the kid from Ender's Game, this is Mitchell Wiggins' son) and other assets in an attempt to acquire the all-star power forward. And the Bulls are in the hunt as well. According to at least one report, they've offered Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott for Love.
I'm torn. Is it too much? Does it decimate their depth in order to get a superstar at a position where they're not all that weak? Is Love plus Gasol that much greater than Gasol plus Gibson? Is it enough better to absorb the loss of Mirotic's and McDermott's potential scoring? On paper I'd say no. I'd say that if they were going to move that many assets, they should instead go for an impact shooting guard or an impact small forward. Are there any of those such players available? Or is it Love or nothing?
On the other hand, Mirotic and McDermott are, at this point in time, nothing more than "potential". Let's put it a different way. If they had, two months ago, dealt Gibson, their 16th and 19th picks in the draft, and the rights to Mirotic for Love, would I have applauded the deal? (This before the Gasol signing...) I think I would have been cool with that deal. I was nervous about including Butler in the deal but that was because I knew what Butler brought to the table in a more concrete sense. But this is basically the exact same deal as that one.
In the end, does it make the Bulls a better team? I'm not sure it does. Unless I'm sure, I don't think I'd get behind such a deal. Love's a good player, but I've heard it pointed out that he got those boards and points on a bad team with very few options for scoring and rebounding. On the Bulls, where Noah is the rebounder and Rose will also score, does he really have the impact? Or is the hard-working Gibson just as valuable to this team?
If there's a deal out there for a SF or a SG, I'd rethink the deal. Otherwise, for now - no deal.
*****
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Off Topic - New fiction release: DIE 6, a 6-short story collection
- An Artificial Yearning
- Blood Ties
- The Fun House
- The Tooth Fairy
- Time Heals All Wounds
- The Ghost Train
Thank you!
*****
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
NBA Free Agency - something strange is about to happen...
What it's going to be, I don't really have a clue...but I have this feeling that something is going to go counter to the conventional wisdom - there is going to be a big surprise.
Two weeks ago it would have been a surprise to suggest that the big 3 from Miami were going to do anything other than resign with the Heat. Now it looks like that team might be broken into a few pieces as Bosh decides whether to take the max offer from Houston and King James decides whether to go home to Cleveland, which seems to be where his heart still is. (Remember a few weeks ago when his wife tweeted something about coming home and it being "real"? Maybe she knew something after all, huh?)
Or will Carmelo join James in Miami once Bosh is gone? It won't be max money but it will still be more than my Bulls can offer.
Will Phil Jackson suddenly call the Bulls and say, "Hey, we'll take Boozer, Butler and Dunleavy in a sign-and-trade for Anthony, if you toss in a couple of future first rounders"? Nah, that ain't gonna happen.
Suddenly I'm wondering where the chips will actually fall for the Bulls. Their team is the one place I don't see anything strange or unexpected or really exciting happening. I think that after Anthony says "No thanks, I'd rather have the extra 50 million," the Bulls will sign Nikola Mirotic and a few other pieces and hope that the breakup of the Heat opens things up for them to win the East next year.
But I think we're going to see something strange and unexpected happening, whether it be Anthony joining the Heat or James going to Cleveland.
Wouldn't it be interesting if the Bulls suddenly announce that they've come to terms with, oh, say, Dwayne Wade?
It wouldn't completely surprise me, but on the other hand, I think it's more likely that they announce that they've come to terms with Trevor Ariza and a few other of those veteran minimum types.
*****
Two weeks ago it would have been a surprise to suggest that the big 3 from Miami were going to do anything other than resign with the Heat. Now it looks like that team might be broken into a few pieces as Bosh decides whether to take the max offer from Houston and King James decides whether to go home to Cleveland, which seems to be where his heart still is. (Remember a few weeks ago when his wife tweeted something about coming home and it being "real"? Maybe she knew something after all, huh?)
Or will Carmelo join James in Miami once Bosh is gone? It won't be max money but it will still be more than my Bulls can offer.
Will Phil Jackson suddenly call the Bulls and say, "Hey, we'll take Boozer, Butler and Dunleavy in a sign-and-trade for Anthony, if you toss in a couple of future first rounders"? Nah, that ain't gonna happen.
Suddenly I'm wondering where the chips will actually fall for the Bulls. Their team is the one place I don't see anything strange or unexpected or really exciting happening. I think that after Anthony says "No thanks, I'd rather have the extra 50 million," the Bulls will sign Nikola Mirotic and a few other pieces and hope that the breakup of the Heat opens things up for them to win the East next year.
But I think we're going to see something strange and unexpected happening, whether it be Anthony joining the Heat or James going to Cleveland.
Wouldn't it be interesting if the Bulls suddenly announce that they've come to terms with, oh, say, Dwayne Wade?
It wouldn't completely surprise me, but on the other hand, I think it's more likely that they announce that they've come to terms with Trevor Ariza and a few other of those veteran minimum types.
*****
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Bulls' Options Clarifying...
Free agency has begun and it's beginning to look a lot like every other major free agent year for our Bulls.
Oh, there are differences. In those other years the Bulls were fully capable of offering max contracts. Two, actually, in 2000, I believe, and at least one and a half in 2010. In both years the top free agents (Hill, McGrady, Eddie Jones in 2000, James, Bosh and Wade in 2010) spurned the Bulls' offers. In 2000 they ended up here and there; I think Hill and McGrady both went to Orlando and Jones...well, who remembers? In 2010 they all went to the same team - the Heat.
In 2014, the Bulls can NOT offer a max contract. In fact, after they "amnesty" Carlos Boozer, they'll have about 11 million or so, if I heard correctly (or if what I heard was correct). If Carmelo Anthony signed here without the deal being a sign-and-trade, he would be leaving some 50 million dollars on the table.
So in the end, we're not going to watch Carmelo light it up in a Bulls uni next year.
Option two seems to be bringing the European kid Mirotic over here and signing a tier two free agent. Is that enough to win it? Well, we don't know how good Mirotic will be in the NBA. In fact, we don't know if he'll be ANY good at all. Is he Hedo Turkoglu? Is he Dirk Nowitski? Is he Toni Kukoc? One analyst stated that he would probably have been the #4 pick in this year's NBA draft if he was just becoming available now. That's good, but what does it do for us next year? Does it make us a contender for the title, or just a better team?
Option two also seems to possibly involve trying to bring Pau Gasol in for a couple years. Might make some sense if he isn't too expensive.
So the front line would be a combination of Noah, Gasol, Gibson, and Mirotic. Doug McDermott, their first round pick (taken at #11 by Denver then traded for by the Bulls) would be the designated shooter. I'm assuming Mike Dunleavy is history (though I liked him a lot last year). Rose would be the point guard, Jimmy Butler would presumably be the swing 2/3, and there might be a couple other bench types that they'd work to bring in. I heard Shawn Marion mentioned. I also heard Trevor Ariza mentioned.
That sounds like it would be a good team. Still doesn't have that elite scorer, unless Mirotic becomes GREAT. Possible, but hard to count on.
We might know something by the end of the week. More to come...
*****
Oh, there are differences. In those other years the Bulls were fully capable of offering max contracts. Two, actually, in 2000, I believe, and at least one and a half in 2010. In both years the top free agents (Hill, McGrady, Eddie Jones in 2000, James, Bosh and Wade in 2010) spurned the Bulls' offers. In 2000 they ended up here and there; I think Hill and McGrady both went to Orlando and Jones...well, who remembers? In 2010 they all went to the same team - the Heat.
In 2014, the Bulls can NOT offer a max contract. In fact, after they "amnesty" Carlos Boozer, they'll have about 11 million or so, if I heard correctly (or if what I heard was correct). If Carmelo Anthony signed here without the deal being a sign-and-trade, he would be leaving some 50 million dollars on the table.
So in the end, we're not going to watch Carmelo light it up in a Bulls uni next year.
Option two seems to be bringing the European kid Mirotic over here and signing a tier two free agent. Is that enough to win it? Well, we don't know how good Mirotic will be in the NBA. In fact, we don't know if he'll be ANY good at all. Is he Hedo Turkoglu? Is he Dirk Nowitski? Is he Toni Kukoc? One analyst stated that he would probably have been the #4 pick in this year's NBA draft if he was just becoming available now. That's good, but what does it do for us next year? Does it make us a contender for the title, or just a better team?
Option two also seems to possibly involve trying to bring Pau Gasol in for a couple years. Might make some sense if he isn't too expensive.
So the front line would be a combination of Noah, Gasol, Gibson, and Mirotic. Doug McDermott, their first round pick (taken at #11 by Denver then traded for by the Bulls) would be the designated shooter. I'm assuming Mike Dunleavy is history (though I liked him a lot last year). Rose would be the point guard, Jimmy Butler would presumably be the swing 2/3, and there might be a couple other bench types that they'd work to bring in. I heard Shawn Marion mentioned. I also heard Trevor Ariza mentioned.
That sounds like it would be a good team. Still doesn't have that elite scorer, unless Mirotic becomes GREAT. Possible, but hard to count on.
We might know something by the end of the week. More to come...
*****
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