Chicago Bulls Thread

They managed to be reasonably respectable in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (less so in 2006) with Ben Gordon on the team. One off-year and he's suddenly a team cancer, even though his teammates want him back and the Bulls had their best year of the post-championship era with him as a regular starter. Now, that's not to make some absurd claim such as Gordon's presence ensuring a championship or anything like that but I think suggesting Gordon or success is being a bit melodramatic.

It's speculated that Ben Gordon's decision will be coming today, with him either accepting the qualifying offer or the six year deal that's on the table. Given the lack of interest from other teams and Europe not appearing to be an option, if I were him I'd take the long term deal because he doesn't seem likely to get a bigger deal from anyone next year, barring a truly standout season.

However, it's been suggested that it could work to his advantage and a team desperate to make a change and sign any kind of "name" free agent might be willing to pay him what he wants next offseason.

Finally it will be over.
I don't even care what he does anymore, it is just annoying.

Gordon accepts 1-year deal with Bulls
better than having no deals at all...

Yeah, at least it's something. It's a contract year for him, hopefully that will show up in his game this year. I have a feeling that both he and Hinrich will be gone by the deadline.

Hinrich might be, but Gordon won't.

Gordon can not be traded this season but could leave as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

He might well find that he won't get a better deal anyway next offseason so the Bulls are interested in re-signing him beyond this season, he could be a Bull a little while longer. I know not everyone's enthused by that but they have enjoyed their best seasons since the championship era with Gordon on board (last year being an embarrassing exception) and while he has been quite stubborn this offseason, I don't think he's the useless team cancer people have been making him out to be.

people needed someone to put all the blame on, too bad they chose gordon...

He certainly deserves some, the whole team underachieved last season and he's no exception. Still, fans have been pretty quick to turn on him.

Anyone who blames Ben Gordon for everything was/is ignoring Kirk Hinrich.

The Bulls are stacked at every position, especially the Guards.
Whats their rotation going to look like?
They certainly wont be able to keep everybody happy, I guess thats will try make a trade before the deadline.

My guess?

Rose (30) / Hinrich (18)
Gordon (28) / Hughes (15) / Sefolosha (5)
Deng (36) / Nocioni (8) / Sefolosha (4)
Tyrus (32) / Nocioni (12) / Noah (4)
Gooden (24 / Noah (24)


Either Hughes or Sefolosha is going to get little, or next to no playing time.
And both deserve to be playing around 20 minutes. It will be interesting to see how the minutes are distributed.

What do you guys think?

Noah needs far more time. Best Chicago Bull last season.

Ben Gordon will likely still be coming off the bench, leaving a starting backcourt of Rose/Hinrich, Rose/Hughes or Hughes/Hinrich.

I agree with benji that Noah deserves more time. I can see Aaron Gray getting time at the C. Nocioni will be getting his 25 minutes. Tyrus will probably not be getting much more than 20 minutes per game.

Hinrich and Thomas are the most likely candidates to be moved by the deadline. Hughes should be traded, but his contract makes that difficult.

I thought Hinrich and Nocioni where the most likely to be traded.
Tyrus Thomas hasnt been given consistent minutes, and I dont think he will be traded just yet with so much potential.

This year has to be make or break for Tyrus Thomas. It has to be. He's being surpassed by a lot of the 2006 draft class. I think he'll be better off with Del Negro at the helm, but if he hasnt made really significant steps by season's end then I can't see him being with the Bulls after the 2009 draft.

Nocioni is, unfortunately, also a big chance to be traded. I'd hate to see him go. I love his heart, his energy and his defence. He and Noah should have been the Bulls MVPs last year.

I like Noce, but he's got a tendency to be a black hole. The ill-advised threes are easily forgivable when they're dropping but when he's having a night where he's constantly off the mark it's painful to watch him keep taking the shot instead of making the pass. If the deal is right, perhaps it will be for the best and the same goes for Hinrich.

Also agree that this year will make or break Tyrus Thomas. After watching Aldridge making strides towards being quite a good big man, the draft day deal has never looked like a worse idea. Perhaps Del Negro will give him some more freedom and a fresh opportunity but for the club (and us fans) to feel any better about that trade, he needs to be a bit more than simply an energy player who will bust out an exciting dunk or big block every now and again. To resort to a cliched expression, I believe he does have the tools but we're still waiting for him to put them to good use on a regular basis.

I agree with benji that Noah deserves more time.

Then he goes and gets himself poked in the eye.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... ye_injury/

Sounds unpleasant, though Amare Stoudemire's eye injury sounds a lot worse. I read that he may have to wear goggles for the rest of his career and will definitely have to sport them in the short term.

Right now I don't like the bulls lineup..with Hinrich , Rose , Gordon and even Hughes battling for the same minutes...then inconsistent "fours" with Gooden and Thomas.. now Noah gets poked in the eye...No quality big men...Deng and Noce are among tougher small forwards in the league, but I can't see them making the landscape brighter...well, that's just me...**wink**

I agree with Andrew.. in the beginning of regime, Pax was excellent in cleaning house and bringing the organization to a respectable level. however there's been no improvement since then. it was nauseating hearing about "bringing in the right kind of player/attitude" talk while other teams brought in players with the "wrong" attitude and were improving. P

Paxson so far has shown he doesn't have the ability to find the "star/franchise" player this team sorely needs.

maybe it's bad luck
-the T'wolves trading KG or the Grizz trading Gasol a year after the Bulls had the cap space room
-Ben Wallace giving up after he got his big contract

who knows? it's sad to say but perhaps if Tyrus Thomas doesn't play well this year and Derrick Rose has a weak rookie year- Pax could be fired after this season lol

and the pressure just isn't on Pax either. with the drafting of Rose, Hinrich has no more excuses at sucking. he no longer has to chase around quicker pg's and run the offense. he can focus on making jumpshots (which he isn't good at in the first place) and defending SGs(ok doing that). entering his 2nd year of his "big" contract, he is easier to trade. i don't think any player on this roster compliments Rose well or at least figures to be in the teams future plans. if Thabo ever finds a consistent jumper, there's your bulls starting backcourt for many years

there is some heat on Thomas as well but his problems stem from lack of consistent playing time. probably some of that can be attributed to his attitude but surely you can share the blame with the departed Skiles . there's no way a guy who's been playing the game ofbasketball for only a handful of years is going to get better being buried on the bench


still too many players on this team playing the same position. best way to solve it if Pax doesn't trade anyone is to not play Larry Hughes. the only reason he is on this team is because he was the necessary evil to take on to get rid of wallace. he has no future on this team other then being a cap filler in a future trade so he has no business taking time away from players like Rose and Thabo

i think Gordon will have a big year. he'll shut his mouth, play his game, and get his contract from another team next year. ideally- he's a 6th man on a good team. but a ballclub like this one, particularly one that has trouble scoring, he should be starting or at least get paid like one (despite his defeciencies in other facets of his game).

it gets somewhat easier with the bigs. Gooden-Noah-Thomas should get the bulk of the minutes. my guess is Del Negro will go with smaller/quicker lineups so maybe Gooden will be seeing lots of minutes at center. if the team is winning- Nocioni will be a good rotation player. if not- he'll revert to his rookie year and be spaztic & a chucker

it's just training camp so i'll try stay positive

Do you think anyone else would be willing to give Gordon more than the Bulls are likely to offer though? His best bet for leverage appeared to be Europe and even that didn't pan out for him, so if dollars are the only thing that would make him want to leave the Bulls then his options may still be slim in a year's time. Definitely agree with him starting, benching him is a tired Skiles fix and doesn't help while the team is struggling to score.

i think the bulls multi-year contract offer was spot on- especially when you consider the off-year the team had. i'm not sure who has the cap next year but i think that is his "market" price

The suggestion that was made earlier this month was that a team desperate to bring in a player with any kind of name recognition might overpay for him but I'm not sure about that.

Seems we'll be without Larry Hughes for 6 to 8 weeks to start the season with a dislocated shoulder. Bad news for him. Meh news for the team. Good news about it is that it forces Del Negro to give more minutes to Rose and Thabo, which is only a positive as far as i'm concerned.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... _8_weeks/#

I think that he will miss more time than just 2 months... Dislocated shoulder is pretty serious...

Seems we'll be without Larry Hughes for 6 to 8 weeks to start the season with a dislocated shoulder. Bad news for him. Meh news for the team. Good news about it is that it forces Del Negro to give more minutes to Rose and Thabo, which is only a positive as far as i'm concerned.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... _8_weeks/#

Agreed, you don't like to see anyone hurt and I wish him the best in his recovery but as cold as it sounds, it could be a blessing in disguise for the Bulls since Hughes only adds to the logjam in the backcourt and while he's being paid too much to sit (as they did with Tim Thomas a couple of years back), playing him comes at the expense of younger, up and coming players who are more likely to be in the team's longterm plans.