Chicago Bulls Thread

[Dee.]

Byron Scott would be perfect.

[Valor]

Byron Scott would be perfect.

Lets all hope that Paxson would not screw things up by hiring anyone other then Byron Scott.....He is the perfect coach for a young and potential filled point guard in Derrick Rose

[shadowgrin]

Paxson would not screw things up

lol

[Oskar]

Byron Scott, Lawrence Frank are my favourites, but I'm pretty sure that some cheap, unknown garbage will be hired.

[Lamrock]

Weird how you guys are both 1.5 games out of the 6th seed and 1.5 games out of the 6th draft pick. Gotta love the (l)eastern Conference. I like the idea of Avery Johnson for you guys. He wouldn't have let that Kings game happen.

[Valor]

Paxson would not screw things up

lol

yeah i know, kind of an oxymoron huh?

[shadowgrin]

Remove the 'oxy' and I guess what remains is how most Bulls fans would describe Paxson.

[Oskar]

The ownership is even worse, not willing to spend at all. The Bulls were one of the 6 teams that had not payed luxury tax in the last decade. And I believe that the Bulls were one of the, if not the most profitable teams in the league.

[Andrew]

An article a couple of days ago mentioned they were making inquiries about Lawrence Frank, who wouldn't be too bad either. Bringing in the permanent replacement now so they're in place for the 2010 offseason sounds like a good plan if they can make it happen.

A strong run by the Bulls, who beat New Orleans Saturday night after the return of Tyrus Thomas from a broken arm, could delay Del Negro's eventual firing, but there is practically no chance he would coach the team beyond this season.

If they have no intention of retaining his services beyond this season, they might as well cut him loose now and try to get the best available candidate. If they need a loss to "justify the decision", let it come after the very next loss so they can move on rather than dragging it out.

[air gordon]

The ownership is even worse, not willing to spend at all. The Bulls were one of the 6 teams that had not payed luxury tax in the last decade. And I believe that the Bulls were one of the, if not the most profitable teams in the league.

you go that right. Reinsdorf is business man when it comes to basketball. he could care less about win-loss records as long as profits are up

this whole Del Negro thing- yet another embarrassing move by the bulls. i agree w/Andrew- just fire the guy. i feel sorry for VDN. he's in a bad situation.

with all this nonsense going on, we haven't heard one peep from Gar/Pax!!! Where the hell have these guys been? At least come out from the shadows and lie to us and say that you have faith in VDN/say he's doing a good job with what he has. personally i think management is stalling here because they don't know what to do. firing VDN is basically admitting they made the mistake of hiring him in the first place

LAMROCK- anyone but Del Negro doesn't blow that 35pt lead. Even assistant coach Pete Myers guides them to the win. but yeh- that's a unique situation they are in. i want them to lose so they have a good draft pick but i think for Rose's psyche they need to win.

[Lamrock]

Getting a real franchise player is probably more important than Rose's psyche though. The Bulls will need to make a conscious effort to miss the playoffs though, Losing 50 games somehow may not cut it.

[air gordon]

Bulls can take the easy way out and trade for McGrady. at least they are admitting with a move like that they are tanking the season...

i'd like to see Rose get a fair shot to prove if he's some superstar/allstar/average/bust. this mish mosh disaster of a roster is proving that's he not a franchise savior like Lebron James. at least surround him with a roster that has complimentary skills- guards that can hit's 3's and/or a big man that score in the paint... and a coach who's not on on the job training

[Andrew]

The win over Indiana leaves me with mixed feelings. Of course it's nice to see them get a victory and not be humiliated at home, but at the same time it's hardly a sign that everything's going to turn around and at this point every win could well be buying VDN a little extra time on the sideline when they really should be making a clean break and moving on. Meanwhile...

Bulls GM won’t respond to Del Negro reports

“Vinny is our coach. Our goal is to get better each and every day,” Forman said

For some reason, I feel neither reassured nor full of confidence in the current front office.

[Lamrock]

Rose is extremely athletic, but merely average in pretty much all other aspects. If he's the future, then enjoy a long string of first round exits. In his defense, I thought they should have taken Beasley at the time, and he hasn't been any better. Same with OJ Mayo. Guess someone had to pick first, and picking up Lopez, Love or Randolph would have looked bad.

[Andrew]

He's certainly not the future alone but at this point I'm still optimistic that he can be an important piece of a more successful team and grow as a player. air gordon noted the team surrounding him and I think that's a key issue here. He could probably average around 8 or 9 assists per game if he had more offensively competent teammates, he's a decent enough scorer that desperately needs a better jumpshot and combined with a post scorer and someone with more of a "shooter's mentality" I think he can be a key player on a more successful Bulls team. Easier said than done of course, especially teaming him up with better players in Chicago.

[Andrew]

Bulls’ leadership void starts in GM’s office

Great read. Meanwhile...

Rumor: Bulls are open to acquiring Tracy McGrady

At this point, why not? Depending on how healthy he is and how much he's got left in the tank, he might give them some semblence of a go-to scorer for the rest of the season before giving them a lot of cap relief at the end of the year. It may not be anywhere close to happening, but I wouldn't mind too much if it does.

[Oskar]

McGrady + Cook

for

Brad Miller, King Jerome James and Salmons

How does it look like? I'd definitely grab onto it as a Bulls fan, not so sure if the Rockets want to shop Cook though, but I don't follow them at all so I don't know if he's even used. Known as a nice three point threat though, one the Bulls could use.

[Andrew]

It would work under the cap so no worries there and I wouldn't mind as Cook is an expiring contract as well. The question is whether the Rockets would want to take on Salmons' contract for another year (barring him exercising his opt-out clause); probably not, though with the Wafer signing falling through perhaps there's a glimmer of hope there.

[air gordon]

yeh A.W's article was friggin spot on. notice no criticism towards Paxson? what a genius Paxson was to hire Forman and let him take all the heat. seriously, only the bulls could make Del Negro into a sympathetic character. and is forman really delaying the firing of VDN so he can hire Mussleman?? haha

and add to the Rose list- give the guy a real nba offense lol

a tracy mcgrady trade or something like that would be great

[Andrew]

Well-spotted, I didn't really notice that. A crafty move by Pax indeed. My heart sank when I read Musselman's name.

[Oskar]

Last night it was really hilarious, Rose was rolling and had a couple of baskets straight in the beginning of the fourth. The Bulls completely had the momentum, the lead, everything, no problems what so ever, and in the middle of an offense, VDN calls a timeout! Aha, and the best part, Rose threw his hands up in the air, looking with this "WTF!?" face, that was hilarious.

[Andrew]

That's why Del Negro isn't the right coach moving forward but the way the Bulls are leaving him hanging and not making a move just isn't right. It's not fair to him and it's not good for the team either.

[George7]

Nice win vs Detroit
Bulls played well at last!
Noah had 20 rebounds! equal his career high
Thomas was monster on D again
Pretty good game though in the late 3rd Pistons almost tied the game

[benji]

Musselman's a good coach, look at what he did in 2003-04. As Wikipedia notes the key players on his two Warriors teams:

2002–03 Golden State Warriors (NBA) 38–44 Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Bob Sura, Troy Murphy, Earl Boykins, Eric Dampier, Jason Richardson
2003–04 Golden State Warriors (NBA) 37–45 Avery Johnson, Speedy Claxton, Cliff Robinson, Brian Cardinal, Calbert Cheaney, Nick Van Exel

[Andrew]

Nice to see them finish the calendar year with a win, amidst all the other turmoil and front office tomfoolery.