by Rickhouse on November 8 at 2:56PM
Here’s the second part of our Talking Hoops segment here at BlogsbyFans, answering questions from the rest of the network.
First up, Stop Mike Lupica
1. The Bulls need a down low presence, right? I know you are a Kobe fan (so am I), but why not trade for Jermaine O'Neal, or something along those lines? Or do you believe that the Bulls can continue to progress and advance with not one, but two positions contributing little offensively - PF and C?
It’s a great question- can the Bulls win this season with getting offensive contributions on most nights from only three positions? I would have to say no, the Bulls need an inside scorer. One can come via a trade (I’ll get to that in a second), but the more desirable scenario would be to see Tyrus Thomas develop into that guy. I think Tyrus can do it, and this certainly isn’t the prevailing thought among Bulls fans, especially with recent concerns of his work ethic. It might not happen this season, because he’s still so young, but I look for Thomas to his NBA ascension next season. He’s getting invaluable amounts of time this year, Skiles is even starting him right now, which bodes well for his future development.
As for trading for someone like Jermaine O’Neal, yeah, that would be great. But I’m certainly not offering Indiana the Kobe package for JO. If O’Neal is the target, Luol Deng must stay. The only player I even consider trading Deng for his Kobe, and while O’Neal is a very good NBA player, he certainly isn’t at Bryant’s level. If the Pacers would be willing to take a deal of Ben Gordon and Ben Wallace, or possibly Gordon and Andres Nocioni, I think the Bulls would certainly have to strongly consider it.
2. Give me a review of Joe Kim Noah so far, and how you think the PF situation will play itself out.
I personally really like Noah. Sure, he’s not the low post scorer the Bulls desperately seek at power forward, but he does a number of other things well. I envision him turning into a Tyson Chandler type of player only with better hands. He’ll bring defense, energy, and some much needed height to the Bulls this season, and looks like a natural replacement for Ben Wallace when the time comes. I’d like to see Noah split time with Wallace at center and Tyrus Thomas and Joe Smith at power forward this season, but Noce only playing PF when the Bulls need some scoring.
3. Was it mistake to not trade for Pau Gasol last season? Would you make the move now if it was an option?
I feel like it is impossible to answer this question without knowing what the exact offer was. Everyone knows Pax and Jerry West had discussions, but no one is sure what the exact deal consisted of. If the trade was Gasol for Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, that deal wouldn’t have made sense for the Bulls. If it was say, Gordon and Tyrus, that would be a very tough decision for me to make. Gasol would obviously help this team a lot during a period when the Eastern Conference is very winnable, but Deng and BG would be just too high of an asking price.
4. Pick one song you would want to kick ass at karaoke to. Any song you which you could pull off.
Probably this one.
Next up, questions from our forth-favorite Cubs’ fan Jack Cobra:
(Quick Cubs fans’ rankings intended only for my friends: 1. This old dude Henry I used to work with. He was the man. 2. Doyle, 3. Kipp, I guess…..457. Hyland and Oral……4,295. Richardson)
1. Do the Bulls have anyone who can guard a) LeBron James, b) Tayshaun Prince and c) Michael Redd?
Sure, it’s Thabo Sephalosha. The problem is that his offensive game is so raw at this point, his minutes have to be limited. If you remember last winter, Thabo shut down Kobe, holding him to only 19 points. If his offense can continue to progress over the rest of this season, I think could be a fantastic player for the Bulls who could, and give them a premier perimeter defender.
2. If the Bulls never traded Eddy Curry or Tyson Chander....what's the record of the team right now and how is the team doing as a whole (historically) with those two?
One of the first posts I ever wrote here was on this subject. I’ve always been a huge Tyson Chandler fan and wish he never left. The Bulls gave up so much to get him, that to see him walk away right when he was starting to come into his own at 24 years old was a huge disappoint. He’s eight years younger then Wallace, six inches taller, and, in my opinion, is better offensively and defensively. When you take guys with high draft picks out of high school, or even college, sometimes you have to let them grow together a little bit. The Bulls screwed up it once already by trading Elton Brand to get Chandler, and then by trading Ron Artest, Brad Miller, and Ron Mercer to get Jalen Rose.
While the Curry and Chandler trades were not as devastating to this team’s long term progress as the other two, I fear it was still a bad deal. Eddy Curry is kind of a piece of shit, so losing him wasn’t all that bad, especially considering the Bulls got two pretty prospects in return. But if Pax could redo the Chandler deal, I think he would. Also, don’t forget the reason Curry was traded was because of a heart condition that has yet to affect his career in New York. What is the Bulls biggest need right now? Low-post scoring. That’s something Eddy Curry does exceptionally well. It really is a great question.
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