Finally! It took about 5 months, but the NBA has finally settled their nonsense. I'm gonna try to keep this post short and sweet: it's time to get to work. Especially for the Bulls. With a 66 game season ready to kickoff on Christmas (Bulls v Lakers!), lookout for plenty of back-to-back and even a few back-to-back-to-back games for your favorite hoop squad.
If you've been keeping up with the rumor mill, you'll now that outlandish (and amazing) trade deals are surfacing. Whether or not these will actually go through still remains to be seen. But talk about Rondo being the Celtics' biggest marketing chip and Dwight Howard going to the Nets seem to the all the buzz around the NBA. And as crazy as those trades might be, I don't care. All I care about is the next move my Bulls are going to make.
The 2010-2011 Bulls (pictured above) led the NBA in the regular season with a 62-20 record to earn top seed in the league. Despite the Bulls' heroic effort and their surpassing of all expectations, they were not able to topple Miami's Big Three in the Eastern Conference Finals. And as soon as the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs, all we heard was how Chicago needed to add a second scorer because MVP Derrick Rose simply could not do it all himself. So here we are. Who do the Bulls pick up in the next couple weeks?
Brandon Roy seems to be a name that's popping up quite often. Expect Roy to be an amnesty cut, putting him on the market for teams like the Bulls. Don't get me wrong, Roy is one of my more favorite players in the NBA. He would be the perfect fit at the #2 spot of the Bulls...if not for his knees. He's a huge liability if the Bulls choose to sign him so it leaves one wondering: is he worth it?
Of course, there are some big name free agents on the market as well. Namely, Jason Richardson or Jamal Crawford. But these names are soon to be wiped out of the Bulls radar because of one simple reason: money. The Bulls are basically maxed out. With Boozer, Noah and Deng under huge contracts (with a max contract being prepared for the reigning MVP), the Bulls just don't have enough money to sign a big name. Unless these guys are willing to take an almost 50% pay cut just to win a ring. So we're left with mid graders like Arron Afflalo or Nick Young, who would be a good fit as well but no guarantees there.
And then there's the trade route. Bulls have some big chips that they could market, including bigs Taj Gibson and Omer Asik. They're very reluctant to trade these guys, however, and I completely understand. Unless we get a huuuuuuge name, it just isn't worth it in my opinion to trade these guys.
Where does that leave us now?
We can always count on someone to take a pay cut and join a championship caliber team. Or we can just count on D.Rose to step his game up a whole 'nother level again and do it himself. Rose, Deng, and Noah have been (hopefully) keeping up with their conditioning. I'm also hoping the rest of the team hasn't been slacking over their long break. The Bulls arguably have the best chemistry in the Eastern Conference and that is one of the reasons they went so far last year. Coach Thibs has for sure been dreaming basketball plays day and night, so no worries there. Now I'm counting on Gar and Pax to put their masterminds to work and help take these new age Bulls to the next level. ESPN claims the Bulls' only goal should be to "Beat the Heat," but I'd have to respectfully disagree. The Bulls' only goal should continue to be another championship. Because at this point, anything less that would be a disappointment.
Let's make the nation See Red again.
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