Basketball Trade Deadline

A non-story here in Chicago.  No moves were made by the Bulls. 

Did they need to make a move?  Well, not just for the sake of making a move.  It appeared to me (with the limited effort I put into looking at the market) there wasn't anything out there that would justify giving up something they already have. 

I wouldn't have minded if they'd kicked the tires on a big man.  Others seem to want to get a wing who can spread the floor.  Seems to me that they've got those players on their team in Dunleavy, Butler, maybe Snell and McDermott.  OTOH, they've got bigs, sure, but they're OLD or banged-up bigs.  Nazr Mohammed is just taking up a spot on the bench mostly.  Joakim and Pau are both playing too many minutes, Gibson is solid but not as impressive as he was last year in my view, and Mirotic is more of a stretch four, not really a power forward even if he has the size. 

Maybe this team has been playing it right.  Players like Dunleavy, Rose and Butler, and even Joakim have taken time off for illnesses and minor  (or major, in Dunleavy's case) injuries.  Even McDermott got time off, but that was not so great because he needed minutes and reps in game situations. 

Maybe Pau or Joakim should think up some injuries that will keep them out for a little bit in this stretch run so that everyone is healthy and rested for the real season:  the playoffs.

*****

Busy Chicago Winter...

So a lot has been happening in Chitown sports.  I don't have time to do much in-depth writing about anything in particular, so I'm just going to touch on the high points:

1. Bears go 5-11, fire Emery, Trestman, Kromer, and every other coach.  They turn around and hire John Fox, fresh off a playoff appearance with the Broncos after being in the Super Bowl last year.  Fox has hired good coordinators (a d- coordinator from the 49'ers who's supposed to be great, and the o- coordinator from Denver who seems pretty good too) and a bunch of decent position coaches.  Chicagoans are giddy about having a REAL head coach who knows how to run an NFL franchise.  Oh, and they hired a young fresh GM named Ryan Pace, who seems to not be threatened by making strong hires like Fox.
2. Cubs already had announced Joe Maddon as their field manager, and then they turned around and grabbed Jon Lester, the top free agent pitcher.  They made a few other signings as well, including Jason Hamel (who was traded with Samarzidja  for the A's top prospects last summer) and a catcher (name escapes me) from the D-backs.  Then they traded for Dexter Fowler, a high OBP guy from Houston and a switch-hitting CF.  
3. The White Sox made headlines by trading for Samarzidja, getting him from the A's for a package of prospects.  They also signed Adam LaRoche and a closer named Robertson.  They should get significantly better next year.  
4. The Bulls were doing great but seem to have hit a wall, with injuries slowing Noah and Mike Dunleavy, and with Jimmy Butler coming back down to Earth after a pretty incredible start to the season.  Taj, Derek and Hinrich have also missed a few games (as has Butler) due to injuries and illness.  The best thing has been Pau Gasol, who has been absolutely outstanding at the PF for the Bulls.
5. The Black Hawks look a little inconsistent, but they're coming off their All Star break, and they should look better into the second part of the season.  Their rookie, Tavo Taravinin (I know I butchered that spelling) has received some valuable experience, as has rookie goalie Scott Darling.  Kane and Toews are doing great, and Sharp is back from an injury.  Versteeg is out currently, but should be back sometimes soon.  
6. Ernie Banks died at age 83.  Was there a better person to represent Chicago baseball, indeed, Chicago sports?  Incredible player, and as nice a guy as you'd want to meet, by all accounts.  He's one of the players I never had a chance to get an autograph.  He was never down in Arizona for spring training.  (I got Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins and Ron Santo down in Mesa, and got guys like Hundley, Beckert, Kessinger, and many others at my one and only Cubs Convention.)  

So that's about it.  There is plenty to say about each and every one of those topics, but for now, that will suffice.  Now go buy a Scott Dyson horror short story!  (Thanks, if you do so...)

*****

Not that strange...

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.

*****

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.

*****