It seems like Zach Randolph trade rumors started the second the Blazers drew the number one pick. With that selection (almost) certainly destined for Ohio State center Greg Oden, the Blazers 26 year old, all-star power forward, who averaged 23 points and 10 boards last season, would have to be moved. Randolph’s 12 million dollar a year price tag would be too steep for a Portland team that would be teaming up Oden with last year’s number two pick LaMarcus Aldridge, to form the league’s premier young front court.
If Portland drafts Oden, Randolph has to be moved. It’s that simple. The team that would seem to make the most sense for him would be the Chicago Bulls. Randolph would be great in a Bulls uniform next season, right? He would immediately cure the team’s biggest weakness, a low post scorer, he’s just about to enter the prime of his career, and because of his character issues, Randolph would probably come at a reasonable price. Nobody wants to trade Luol Deng or Ben Gordon, and to get Randolph, the Bulls wouldn’t have to. Possibly only their #9 pick, and maybe Andres Nocioni and Chris Duhon. That would seem like a pretty good deal for a player that could immediately elevate the Bulls in to the NBA’s elite stratosphere.
While it all seems great on paper, trading for Zach Randolph would kill the Bulls. As I detailed on my old website with a post creatively titled “Zach Randolph is a Dickhead”, a trade for him would erase all the positive vibes Paxson and Skiles have built over the past three seasons.
And I really don’t even care about his character issues- so what the dude spent his bereavement time last season going to strip clubs, if anything that just elevates his status in my book- I care about the effect he would have on the Bulls offense. Sure the Bulls need a low post scorer to complement Ben Wallace. Anyone who watches basketball knows this. But Randolph is not the man for that job.
Obtaining Randolph would hurt the offense more then he would help it. He’s a true black-hole in every sense. When Zach Randolph gets the ball, the offense stops. That’s because he isn’t passing it. He could be seen in numerous Trail Blazer games last season getting the ball from Jarrett Jack or Sergio Rodriguez with 16 seconds left on the shot clock, and then pump faking and jab stepping before forcing a jumper as the clock expired. Zach Randolph kills offense continuity, and the Bulls already have enough problems in that department as it is. The Bulls need someone who can score, but also a guy who can kick the ball to open shooters. If the Bulls have one thing, it’s shooters, with Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, and Nocioni all more then capable of hitting a dagger at any time. A big guy like that would be perfect, unfortunately Randolph doesn’t bring those skills.
Sure he can score, but when everyone else is just sitting around watching him, does that really help the Bulls at all? Of course not. Even though it might look great in the minds of Monday morning GM’s, Zach Randolph would certainly hurt the Bulls more then he would help them.
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Comments
When Zach Randolph gets the ball, the offense stops. That’s because he isn’t passing it.
Exactly why trading Eddy Curry was the absolute right move for the Bulls. Curry makes Randolph look like Steve Nash with his passing.
Randolph averaged 2.2 assists/game, 3.2 turnovers.
Curry averaged 0.8 assists/game, 3.6 turnovers.
you should read my article "Rickhouse is a dickhead." trading for me is the best thing any team can do.
First off, I'm glad you didn't use the character issues as an excuse to not trade for Z-Bo. I could care less about character issues.
As for why the Bulls shouldn't trade for Randolph, it doesn't have anything to do with "the ball stops". Brian, that's a joke (that the Bulls don't miss Curry). Rickhouse, you should know better - the job of the big man is to score, not pass the ball. When people argue otherwise, it becomes pretty clear they never played any real organized basketball in their lives... any coach will demand that Zach put the ball up if he catches it in the post, not to pass it out!
No, the only reason to avoid Z-Bo if you are the Bulls is because he has knee problems, is lazy (not going to get along with Skiles), and his contract is too big and long. The Bulls are a marquee franchise that can attract a premier free agent in 09/10, someone like Wade... they don't need to blow their cap (which is already stretched to 10/11 because of Hinrich) on a Randolph.
Now, if his contract was only two years long... I might advocate for giving him a try. Or if he was a harder worker (like Gasol). But Randolph is a bad fit for the Bulls.
Disagree on the big man passing/lack thereof. The only way to stop the double-team is to pass out of it. If you can't pass, and you average close to 3+ turnovers a game, then you are, in fact, an easily defended black hole of offense.
Laughable. Harping on the 3 TOs per game thing again, Brian? Your boy Dalembert, whom you swear is nice, averages 2 TOs a game. The difference between Randolph (or Curry - who knows which one you hate more) and Dalembert is that Z-Bo actually touches the ball more than Sammy. Way more.
Randolph had an eff of +22; Dalembert was +16, for comparison. So call him a turnover machine, an "easily defended black hole of offense" if you want; Shaq averages 3.11 TO/gm for his career. Shaq averaged a whopping 2.8 apg in his career; Zach had 2.2. apg last season. Guess you can say Shaq's career is an "easily defended black hole of offense", too!
Listen, if you don't care about the character issues (and you shouldn't), then the only real knock on Randolph is that he's in bad shape physically, has a lot of mileage for his age, and costs a lot of money for a long time. And is probably not going to get along with a tough coach like Skiles. Everything else indicates that he's an ALL-STAR PF IN THE WESTERN CONFERENCE. That's an impressive accomplishment. Put another way, Z-Bo most resembles Jermaine O'Neal - 21 ppg, 9.6 rpb, 3.0 TO/gm, eff = +21, 2.4 apg. Now Brian might not be impressed by these guys - Randolph, Jermaine - but these are the All-Stars, not Dalembert.
If the Bulls got Randolph for cheap, it wouldn't be a bad thing - he fulfills the low post presence they need. And he might be available for cheap. But I don't see him being a good fit with Skiles, so hope the Bulls don't sacrifice too much for him....
For the record, I hate Curry more. I don't hate Randolph at all, I just don't think he'd be a good fit for Chicago. He would, in fact, be a black hole of offense for the Bulls. Everyone keeps saying they need to have a low-post option to win (I don't agree, but whatever). What they don't need is the low post to be their main option on offense, or only option.
If we want to examine what building your offense around a player like Curry or Randolph leads to, we could take a look at the records of the Knicks and Blazers for the past two years.
Good work here. I agree with you in every way. Patience, Bulls fans. Patience