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Here are some of my thoughts on what the Bulls should do to prepare themselves for a championship run.
I think we can all agree that the Bulls are set (as far as starters go) at PG (JC/JWill), PF (Chandler), C (Curry), and either SG or SF (whichever Jalen will ultimately play). Over the course of the next season, Krause and the Bulls will need to determine how far along Tyson and Eddy are in their development. My suspicion is that they'll probably be still 2-3 years from playing at their peak. Which means that soon-to-be free agents Duncan, O'Neal, and Brand are not out of the question. All three are relatively young PFs with significant experience who can play C in a pinch. All three will ask for the max too. Duncan is clearly worth it. A strong argument could be made for Brand. And O'Neal has an outside chance that he'll secure a contract at or near the max.
If the Bulls decide to go after a young veteran PF/C with the bulk of their cap dollars, Tim Duncan would be the logical choice. However I haven't heard of read anything that would indicate that Duncan would consider coming to Chicago. It wouldn't make much sense for the Bulls to pay Brand the max as they clearly didn't think that he was worth it when they had him, otherwise they wouldn't have traded him in the first place (as they could have signed him to a contract extension under the Larry Bird provision and would have stayed within the parameters of the CBA and salary cap). Unless, Krause intentionally let Brand go thinking that there was a chance to get him back at a later date (knowing Clipper's relunctance to spend).
O'Neal would be a someone to consider, but the guy tends to be a headcase at times. Talentwise he's a star-in-the-making, but attitudewise he's a cancer. I don't think Krause or Cartright wants to go down that path. Certainly not at the dollars that O'Neal will be seeking.
Mourning is another PF/C to think about, but his medical history and age would be counterproductive to the rebuilding process.
Some journalists have suggested a reunion of Rose and Howard. Personally, I think that picking up Howard for anything more than the mid-level exception for one year would be plain dumb. And even then, I question it. Howard wasn't motivated to perform when he was making $20M a year, what possibly would motivate him to play for $4.5M? Playing with an old buddy in his hometown? Not likely.
If the Bulls decide to prolong the development of Chandler and/or Curry, Tim Duncan would be best and most logical choice. Hopefully Rose has been secretly campaigning to Dunc.
Assuming that the Bulls stick with their orginal plan to throw Eddy and Tyson into the fire (which is the smartest thing to do IMO), the Bulls will need to spend their cap space on either a SG or SF. Ideally someone who is interchangable between those two positions as Jalen is. The best of of the list are Stackhouse, Odom, Maggette, Lewis (although playing SG is not likely), and Wells. Conventional wisdom would suggest that if the Bulls were interested in Lewis or Wells, they would have made a play for him this season. It's also very possible that I don't know the nuiances of the CBA well enough and that there is some financial advantage for the Bulls to wait until these guys become unrestricted free agents. But logically, it would make more sense for the Bulls to go after one of those two now while the competition (other teams with cap space) is so few.
Personally, I think that Bulls should make a play for Bonzi. He's guy who plays hard, is very well rounded, can play SF or SG, has a ton of playing experience, is still relatively young, and has had to share the load with several other strong players for past few years. But what do I know?
That leaves Stackhouse, Odom, and Maggette. I will be amazed if Detriot doesn't sign a multi-year extension to keep Stack. Next up, Lamar Odom. Odom is a gifted player who tends to hit the chronic a little too often. Not that it's a deal breaker or anything, because I'm sure that Rose lites it up from time to time too. The problem with Odom is that he doesn't know how to be discrete about it. That's too risky for a team to invest a lot of money in. The Bulls may decide to work out an agreement with Odom where his salary is contigent upon him not getting busted for smoking weed. A heavily incentive-laced deal may prove to be helpful to both Odom and the Bulls. Still there's a risk. The best of the three for the Bulls is Maggette. He's young, athletic, versatile, a Chicago native, low key off the court, his stats aren't overwelming which means that he's affordable, and he's a star on the rise. Not to mention that he'll be one of five players that the Clippers will be looking to re-sign (Kandi, Brand, Odom, and Miller).
The Clippers have been trying to unload Odom all summer, but to no avail. It's not likely that they'll try to re-sign him. I believe that Melvin Ely is the heir appearent to Odom/Maggette's position. The bulk of Clipper dollars will be used to sign Brand, Miller, and Kandi ... in that order.
So, let's suppose the Bulls get Maggette. Let's also suppose that the Bulls cannot unload ERob. That will leave the Bulls with a mid-level exception. Would Brad Miller consider taking the MLE to play back up to Eddy Curry? Hmmm ..something to ponder. If the pieces fall into place as I have suggested, the Bulls roster would be quite competitive.
PG: JC, JWill
SG: Rose, Maggette/Wells, Hassell
SF: Maggette/Wells, Rose, ERob
PF: Chandler, Fizer, Baxtor
C: Curry, Miller, Blount
Lemme know what you think.
I think we can all agree that the Bulls are set (as far as starters go) at PG (JC/JWill), PF (Chandler), C (Curry), and either SG or SF (whichever Jalen will ultimately play). Over the course of the next season, Krause and the Bulls will need to determine how far along Tyson and Eddy are in their development. My suspicion is that they'll probably be still 2-3 years from playing at their peak. Which means that soon-to-be free agents Duncan, O'Neal, and Brand are not out of the question. All three are relatively young PFs with significant experience who can play C in a pinch. All three will ask for the max too. Duncan is clearly worth it. A strong argument could be made for Brand. And O'Neal has an outside chance that he'll secure a contract at or near the max.
If the Bulls decide to go after a young veteran PF/C with the bulk of their cap dollars, Tim Duncan would be the logical choice. However I haven't heard of read anything that would indicate that Duncan would consider coming to Chicago. It wouldn't make much sense for the Bulls to pay Brand the max as they clearly didn't think that he was worth it when they had him, otherwise they wouldn't have traded him in the first place (as they could have signed him to a contract extension under the Larry Bird provision and would have stayed within the parameters of the CBA and salary cap). Unless, Krause intentionally let Brand go thinking that there was a chance to get him back at a later date (knowing Clipper's relunctance to spend).
O'Neal would be a someone to consider, but the guy tends to be a headcase at times. Talentwise he's a star-in-the-making, but attitudewise he's a cancer. I don't think Krause or Cartright wants to go down that path. Certainly not at the dollars that O'Neal will be seeking.
Mourning is another PF/C to think about, but his medical history and age would be counterproductive to the rebuilding process.
Some journalists have suggested a reunion of Rose and Howard. Personally, I think that picking up Howard for anything more than the mid-level exception for one year would be plain dumb. And even then, I question it. Howard wasn't motivated to perform when he was making $20M a year, what possibly would motivate him to play for $4.5M? Playing with an old buddy in his hometown? Not likely.
If the Bulls decide to prolong the development of Chandler and/or Curry, Tim Duncan would be best and most logical choice. Hopefully Rose has been secretly campaigning to Dunc.
Assuming that the Bulls stick with their orginal plan to throw Eddy and Tyson into the fire (which is the smartest thing to do IMO), the Bulls will need to spend their cap space on either a SG or SF. Ideally someone who is interchangable between those two positions as Jalen is. The best of of the list are Stackhouse, Odom, Maggette, Lewis (although playing SG is not likely), and Wells. Conventional wisdom would suggest that if the Bulls were interested in Lewis or Wells, they would have made a play for him this season. It's also very possible that I don't know the nuiances of the CBA well enough and that there is some financial advantage for the Bulls to wait until these guys become unrestricted free agents. But logically, it would make more sense for the Bulls to go after one of those two now while the competition (other teams with cap space) is so few.
Personally, I think that Bulls should make a play for Bonzi. He's guy who plays hard, is very well rounded, can play SF or SG, has a ton of playing experience, is still relatively young, and has had to share the load with several other strong players for past few years. But what do I know?
That leaves Stackhouse, Odom, and Maggette. I will be amazed if Detriot doesn't sign a multi-year extension to keep Stack. Next up, Lamar Odom. Odom is a gifted player who tends to hit the chronic a little too often. Not that it's a deal breaker or anything, because I'm sure that Rose lites it up from time to time too. The problem with Odom is that he doesn't know how to be discrete about it. That's too risky for a team to invest a lot of money in. The Bulls may decide to work out an agreement with Odom where his salary is contigent upon him not getting busted for smoking weed. A heavily incentive-laced deal may prove to be helpful to both Odom and the Bulls. Still there's a risk. The best of the three for the Bulls is Maggette. He's young, athletic, versatile, a Chicago native, low key off the court, his stats aren't overwelming which means that he's affordable, and he's a star on the rise. Not to mention that he'll be one of five players that the Clippers will be looking to re-sign (Kandi, Brand, Odom, and Miller).
The Clippers have been trying to unload Odom all summer, but to no avail. It's not likely that they'll try to re-sign him. I believe that Melvin Ely is the heir appearent to Odom/Maggette's position. The bulk of Clipper dollars will be used to sign Brand, Miller, and Kandi ... in that order.
So, let's suppose the Bulls get Maggette. Let's also suppose that the Bulls cannot unload ERob. That will leave the Bulls with a mid-level exception. Would Brad Miller consider taking the MLE to play back up to Eddy Curry? Hmmm ..something to ponder. If the pieces fall into place as I have suggested, the Bulls roster would be quite competitive.
PG: JC, JWill
SG: Rose, Maggette/Wells, Hassell
SF: Maggette/Wells, Rose, ERob
PF: Chandler, Fizer, Baxtor
C: Curry, Miller, Blount
Lemme know what you think.
