by Rickhouse on May 6 at 8:36AM
So it looks like Mike D’Antoni is going to be next coach of the Bulls, huh? Sweet. But now comes the biggest hurdle: Paxson has to turn this roster into something D’Antoni can use.
Like we said on Friday, this team is built more for Avery Johnson than D’Antoni. Paxson has focused on bringing in defensive-minded players since he got here. That all has to change now. Outside of Tyrus Thomas, who I think can do a dead-on Shawn Marion impersonation, and maybe Noah and Thabo, Pax has a lot of work to do if D’Antoni is going to be successful.
While Phoenix’s offense was awesome, it never seemed all that complicated: Nash and Amare would run a pick and roll at the top of the key, Marion would sprint up and down the court to push the tempo, and the other two guys would stand out behind the three point line to space the floor.
Right now, it is Hinrich and Noah doing the Nash-Amare thing, and that doesn’t bode well. Also, who are your shooters? Gordon is the best shooter on the team by far, but he can’t be worth $60 mil in that role. I suggested moving him to point and dealing Kirk, but Gordon is far from the creator that Nash is. Hell, Gordon is far from the creator that Kirk is, and that’s downright embarrassing.
So we got Tyrus in the Marion role, but where do the Bulls go for everyone else? Let’s take a look.
Point guard: Jose Calderon would be ideal, but Toronto would be crazy to let him sign elsewhere this summer, and if they do, every team in the league will be all over him. Monte Ellis would be great too, but, again, a lot of teams will be throwing money at him as well. Do the Bulls give Hinrich another chance? I was a big Kirk supporter before last season, but he was just so bad that I’m not sure if they can do that. If they do and Kirk sucks again, now you’ve just wasted one year of the D’Antoni Era.
Assuming the Bulls stick with the ninth pick in the draft, I’d use it on UCLA’s Russell Westbrook. Nash’s decision making is what made him so special, and no one could expect that from Westbrook right away. But he played at a big program (which we know Pax loves), can be a top notch defender, and is extremely athletic. With some tutoring from D’Antoni, he could be the guy to run the show.
Big man: I love Noah, but you can’t have him as the top option in that whole pick and roll thing. He’s just too awkward offensively to pull it off. Drew Gooden likely isn’t graceful enough either; he’s simply more of a bruiser. Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan could make sense in the first round, but he has a ways to go. I’m not sure the Bulls would want to wait for another young big man to develop.
This is going to be a little dicey because there isn’t a whole lot in free agency either. Jermaine O’Neal would be nice, but I’m not sure if that’s feasible. If the Bulls can get Gordon to sign the one-year tender, maybe there is enough room to sneak O’Neal in under the cap.
Shooters: JR Smith would be the ultimate here. But can D’Antoni turn him into a disciplined player? George Karl sure couldn’t. We don’t need Smith if he’s going to come in here and start chucking threes at will; it only works if he does it in the flow of the offense. I suppose Kirk could just be made into a shooter, but at 6-3, he’s too short for a two guard. I think Noce, even though I kind of hate him, could maybe pull off the role as well.
Guys like Pat Garrity and Brent Barry could be options in free agency, and maybe Kevin Love is one in the draft.
So I just wrote 650 words on the Bulls without mentioning their best player: Luol Deng. I’m not sure if D’Antoni’s offense fits Deng all that well, but we certainly can’t expect Pax to do something crazy and deal his best player at 23.
The offense will have to be amended some to make up for some deficiencies in the talent and to best incorporate Deng. He’s at his best as a slasher and mid rage jump shooter, and those are two useful skills in any offense.
***
I'm ridiculously busy the next two weeks so we'll leave you with this for a few days. I couldn't possibly let Oral be on top of this website for more than 24 hours.
***
Wednesday update:
Like we said on Friday, this team is built more for Avery Johnson than D’Antoni. Paxson has focused on bringing in defensive-minded players since he got here. That all has to change now. Outside of Tyrus Thomas, who I think can do a dead-on Shawn Marion impersonation, and maybe Noah and Thabo, Pax has a lot of work to do if D’Antoni is going to be successful.
While Phoenix’s offense was awesome, it never seemed all that complicated: Nash and Amare would run a pick and roll at the top of the key, Marion would sprint up and down the court to push the tempo, and the other two guys would stand out behind the three point line to space the floor.
Right now, it is Hinrich and Noah doing the Nash-Amare thing, and that doesn’t bode well. Also, who are your shooters? Gordon is the best shooter on the team by far, but he can’t be worth $60 mil in that role. I suggested moving him to point and dealing Kirk, but Gordon is far from the creator that Nash is. Hell, Gordon is far from the creator that Kirk is, and that’s downright embarrassing.
So we got Tyrus in the Marion role, but where do the Bulls go for everyone else? Let’s take a look.
Point guard: Jose Calderon would be ideal, but Toronto would be crazy to let him sign elsewhere this summer, and if they do, every team in the league will be all over him. Monte Ellis would be great too, but, again, a lot of teams will be throwing money at him as well. Do the Bulls give Hinrich another chance? I was a big Kirk supporter before last season, but he was just so bad that I’m not sure if they can do that. If they do and Kirk sucks again, now you’ve just wasted one year of the D’Antoni Era.
Assuming the Bulls stick with the ninth pick in the draft, I’d use it on UCLA’s Russell Westbrook. Nash’s decision making is what made him so special, and no one could expect that from Westbrook right away. But he played at a big program (which we know Pax loves), can be a top notch defender, and is extremely athletic. With some tutoring from D’Antoni, he could be the guy to run the show.
Big man: I love Noah, but you can’t have him as the top option in that whole pick and roll thing. He’s just too awkward offensively to pull it off. Drew Gooden likely isn’t graceful enough either; he’s simply more of a bruiser. Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan could make sense in the first round, but he has a ways to go. I’m not sure the Bulls would want to wait for another young big man to develop.
This is going to be a little dicey because there isn’t a whole lot in free agency either. Jermaine O’Neal would be nice, but I’m not sure if that’s feasible. If the Bulls can get Gordon to sign the one-year tender, maybe there is enough room to sneak O’Neal in under the cap.
Shooters: JR Smith would be the ultimate here. But can D’Antoni turn him into a disciplined player? George Karl sure couldn’t. We don’t need Smith if he’s going to come in here and start chucking threes at will; it only works if he does it in the flow of the offense. I suppose Kirk could just be made into a shooter, but at 6-3, he’s too short for a two guard. I think Noce, even though I kind of hate him, could maybe pull off the role as well.
Guys like Pat Garrity and Brent Barry could be options in free agency, and maybe Kevin Love is one in the draft.
So I just wrote 650 words on the Bulls without mentioning their best player: Luol Deng. I’m not sure if D’Antoni’s offense fits Deng all that well, but we certainly can’t expect Pax to do something crazy and deal his best player at 23.
The offense will have to be amended some to make up for some deficiencies in the talent and to best incorporate Deng. He’s at his best as a slasher and mid rage jump shooter, and those are two useful skills in any offense.
***
I'm ridiculously busy the next two weeks so we'll leave you with this for a few days. I couldn't possibly let Oral be on top of this website for more than 24 hours.
***
Wednesday update:
Top Ten Guys Who Could Have Placed The Infamous Blowup Doll in the Sox Locker Room
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Comments
It might be best to develop a rudimentary understanding of the NBA's salary cap and laws before putting together a post like this.
Hey man, the Bulls are over the cap, way over it, unless they immediately renounce their rights to Deng and Gordon as soon as the season is over and make them unrestricted free agents, which they won't do.
Uh, I meant Monte and Jose won't work. I never reread my comments, I should really start doing that.
I totally agree that Noah is way too awkward offensively to run the pick and roll... but I see Tyrus Thomas working pretty well in that position. He's got Amare's explosiveness, and is developing a 15-18 foot jumper.
Then let Deng and Nocioni be the Marion-like hustlers. Deng has to learn to make outside shots some day, and Nocioni already basically hustles on every play.