Chicago Bulls

[Fresh8]

I'm just askin all thos chi-town fans... wat/how do u think the team will do next season?

As an outsider... I believe the Bull's success will really lie on Chandler and Curry. If those two don't perform... perhaps they will get traded? I'm also wonderin whether Deng and Gordon will be on the same starting lineup and whether Jay Williams will be signed again to the Bulls roster... (I heard he's starting to do some basketball drillsa nd stuff....)

And also- has Pippen's 33 been retired yet? I'm not sure if he still wears it...

[Andrew]

In my opinion the Bulls simply need to add some scoring.

No question. The Bulls need that one player who can go out and get his points on a consistent basis; preferably a guy who can do more than just score and won't score at the expense of the team. A guy who can light it up when the team needs to make a run or put an opponent away, a guy who can score 20 or more per game outside of a contract year. You know the type.

Jamal Crawford could have been that guy, but it just didn't work out. Whether it was playing out of position or the offense or some other reason, Crawford's offensive production just wasn't consistent enough throughout the season.

The problem is, the NBA's most prolific and talented scorers are basically unavailable. The Bulls don't have enough to offer without leaving their roster severely depleted and most of the top scorers have no reason or desire to push for a trade to Chicago as they're more or less happy where they are.

One exception is Peja Stojakovic, who ranked second in scoring last season and has hinted that he'd welcome a trade with Chicago being a team mentioned on a couple of occasions. Peja could definitely be that consistent scorer for Chicago, but Sacramento could demand a king's ransom (I assure you, no pun intended) in return.

If it came down to trading one of the two Cs, I'd send Chandler. I know, he has plenty of potential, he's shown flashes of brilliance and he had a nice start to the 03/04 season, but last season there were whispers of his injury woes looking as though they would resurface. If he's going to be battling injuries more often than fulfilling his potential, I'd rather see him shipped while he can still get the Bulls a good player.

After getting my hopes up the last couple of seasons, I'm not too optimistic either but with key players expected to be healthy this year, some fresh talent from the draft and the two Cs in a contract year, perhaps the Bulls will overachieve.

[air gordon]

well said demilioso but i think there is no simple answer (offense?!) for a team that's been in the shits for 6yrs now...

from what i read on the other boards, according to his blog, jaywill's able to practice for 2hrs now. he still got some ways to go but the team and jay agreed he will be back with the team if/when he returns

The Bulls need that one player who can go out and get his points on a consistent basis; preferably a guy who can do more than just score and won't score at the expense of the team

imo that will be mostly curry and then combo of him and gordon, once gordon gets acclimated to the nba game

as far as what i think on the bulls this upcoming season...

i'm not optimistic as well- meaning i'm not expecting playoffs. i'm more concerned with curry & chandler. these guys have the longest tenure on the team and it's time for them to step to the plate- curry needs to be a consistent force and chandler needs to stay healthy. it's encouraging to see curry come into camp in shape at 281lbs and chandler sporting broader shoulders & supposedly a stronger midsection (couldn't tell from the pics)

the biggest obstacle for the team is that there are so many new guys around and the key players are very young. and with skiles saying every position is up for grabs, (whether this is lipservice or not) it's going to be hard for the team to mesh and identify their roles on the team

can you imagine skiles sending a starting lineup full of players under 23? i think that's why initially nocioni will get the nod over deng and possibly AD over TC.

i'm not as worried as much as before about the lack of height at the SG position. as long as gordon can stay in front of his man, the bulls should be fine. he may be lacking height but he's strong as an ox with long arms and there are less then a handful of sg's with great post-up games (besides, if e-rob could ever get out of the doghouse, he'll get those assignments)

my guess is 30-35 wins

[Andrew]

The only problem with 30-35 wins is that it will place Chicago in the mediocre class rather than the NBA basement. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the Bulls win as many games as they can but sometimes mediocrity can be worse than being bottom of the barrel.

If there's been one good thing about the last six years, the Bulls have had a high draft pick to play with. I guess if the team continues to develop it isn't such a problem, but if Curry and Chandler have great contract years and then jump ship, the rebuilding plan is set back (again) with fewer resources to put towards Plan G (I believe that's what they're up to).

I guess that's the worst case scenario. On the other side of the coin, a season of overachieving should build confidence, might encourage guys to stick around and will be much easier on the fans. I certainly don't want them to tank the season...at the end of the day, I'd be much happier with lower-middle of the pack than NBA laughing stock.

[air gordon]

The only problem with 30-35 wins is that it will place Chicago in the mediocre class rather than the NBA basement. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the Bulls win as many games as they can but sometimes mediocrity can be worse than being bottom of the barrel.

ok this is getting a little confusing here- if you look at the bulls roster and listen to what paxson has been saying & doing, the bulls finishing in the bottom of bottoms is the last thing pax and the fans want. if this were to occur, that means a combination of this happens:
curry turns into oliver miller
chandler gets hurt again for a big part of the season
either deng or gordon bust their rookie year
another jalen rose/jamal crawford type of trade happens
it all adds up to a grand disaster and ANOTHER rebuilding plan

If there's been one good thing about the last six years, the Bulls have had a high draft pick to play with.

imo entirely false. all these young players that have been drafted in consectutive years has stunt these players growth and eventually lead to the big jalen rose/indiana trade. btw- curry is the only holdover from all the draft picks they had (chandler as well if you count the brand trade). bonus btw- pax traded next year's 1st round for deng

I guess if the team continues to develop it isn't such a problem, but if Curry and Chandler have great contract years and then jump ship, the rebuilding plan is set back (again) with fewer resources to put towards Plan G (I believe that's what they're up to).

development is the key word here. pax took some bold steps to get rid of what he perceived the bad apples and now he's got to give this core a chance. it's almost impossible that the twin towers will walk away for nothing. if they don't get their extension within the next few weeks, they will be RESTRICTED FA's at the end of the year, giving the team the right to MATCH any offer.

I guess that's the worst case scenario. On the other side of the coin, a season of overachieving should build confidence, might encourage guys to stick around and will be much easier on the fans. I certainly don't want them to tank the season...at the end of the day, I'd be much happier with lower-middle of the pack than NBA laughing stock.

again i'm getting confused, this time with your wishy washy statements. earlier, you say it's bad to be mediocre but now you're happy with the same thing

[Andrew]

OK, to be more concise: I'd like to see the Bulls win as much as possible. I don't enjoy seeing them lose and I don't want to see them tank the season for another high draft choice. I didn't mean to say that being mediocre is all bad, just that there is the problem of not being good enough to seriously compete for the title, but too good to have the option of acquiring the top talent in the next draft.

It's been said before that it's better to be among the elite teams or among the bottom teams since teams in the middle of the pack can easily find themselves in a stalemate position. I'm just trying to raise another point and look at both sides of it. I'm sorry if you find that "wishy washy".

[beau_boy04]

I'd like to see the Bulls make a run for Vince Carter, once considered Michael Jordan replacement.

Thanks.