by Rickhouse on May 16 at 12:47AM
So. School’s over. Now onto some hardcore sports blogging action.
I just couldn’t take that little break for Finals (should the F be capitalized? This is driving me crazy) before ripping the Bulls. I was trying to churn out some lame paper for school and all I could think about is how bad they screwed this whole thing up. It’s going to be a longtime before they’re going to be good again, so don’t hold your breath. At least until Hughes comes off the books, or until they can peddle his expiring contract. But a lot can change by then. So who knows. But as of now, I have zero confidence in management to figure it out, or even for more great opportunities to continue to present themselves.
I think the thing that pisses me off the most about the Bulls is how they overvalue their own players. I didn’t talk about it much on this blog, but I really, really hate Nocioni. To me, nothing gets my hate going like a guy everyone likes only because he’s white. Reed Johnson, you’ve been warned. But the Bulls insistence on giving huge contracts to Kirk, Noce, and now Deng and Gordon is so disconcerting when you think about what could have been.
And this team is already doomed for next year (FYI, the 09 draft class is horrible. Kind of like 2006, when the Bulls had the second pick). I don’t want to search for the link, but I read Matt say somewhere on BaB that “Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon can’t all be as bad as last year…”. If this is what those guys are thinking (they’re usually great), I can only imagine that’s what the organization is going to pass off to us. “Stand pat, these guys aren’t as bad as they played last season.” Yeah, we will get that. And it sucks. Cause it’s lazy and almost certainly wrong. I’m not sure who comes up with evaluations for players already on the team (Pax? Scouts?), but management horribly overrates this roster. Deng is ok, I’d pay him up to $60 mil or whatever.
But Gordon sucks. Giving him a huge contract is suicide. The great thing about Gordon is that I feel like he still has good value league wide. If I were running the show, the first thing I would do is deal Gordon. You got to dangle him first to see where the market is. If you can get Vince Carter straight up (and I think there is a good chance New Jersey would strongly consider it), you do it. When I wrote that last time, everyone wanted to start throwing rocks at me. And I get it. Vince Carter represents everything everyone hates about the NBA. Sure he does. But, contrary to popular belief, the Bulls biggest need is a swing man that can score. Low post scorer and point guard is a necessity too, but you need someone you can count on for 25 a game. Really, without that, a point doesn’t do that much good unless it’s CP3, Deron, and Rose.
But let’s say you can’t get the big perimeter scorer for just Gordon, here’s what I’d do: offer around a package of Deng and Gordon. It won’t be popular, but the Bulls need a major talent infusion. That’s the best way to accomplish it. What do you ask in return? Well, I’d start with Carmelo. He’s precisely what this team needs. Does Denver do it? I’m not sure. I guess we have to hope that Melo gets arrested again in the next three months so the possibility goes up.
If not Melo, I’d be fine dealing the two for T-Mac. I’m pretty sure Houston would do that. But would the Bulls? T-Mac has gone on record saying he might retire after his contract expires in 2010. If that’s the case, then, of course, no deal. But if McGrady is committed long term, I think he’d be a great option. He’s still one of the ten best talents in the league, and he’s definitely not old quite yet. He’s in his prime. You can win now with T-Mac as your best player. Even though facts would dispute that claim, I really believe it. I never know what’s up with Houston- I always think they’ll be better than they end up being. But maybe McGrady comes here insanely motivated, desperately trying to avoid the (strange) tag of being the best player never to make it out of the first round.
With Anthony or McGrady, or even a Deng-Carter combo, I think this team can maybe be alright. Especially if they hire Thibodeau, who would have to be my top choice now, unless there’s a good looking assistant from the Spurs or something. Just no Avery. Don’t put us through that again, Pax. But standing pat won’t work. It hardly ever does. You need to mix shit up sometimes, and the Bulls have reached that point.
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If you ever want to know why Toronto hates VC so vehemently, this will help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuqD9XiMNv0