This could be just like 1988 when the Pistons crushed the Bulls in Jordan's 1st MVP year. Bucher and Simmons discussed it today. This loss was humiliating and it's going to carryover to next year. These teams aren't going anywhere. Bucher said it was important for the Bulls to at least keep the series respectable by winning tonight because they'll be dealing with the Heat for the next few years. A humiliating loss has lingering effects on the rivalry.

The Pistons knocked the **** out of Jordan and abused young Scottie Pippen. It took the Bulls 3 more years to fight through and when they did it was epic.


But what the hell am I doing comparing Rose to Jordan?

[This message has been edited by InternetFan02 (edited 5/26/2011 11:08p).]

It could be great. It is a shame that Chicago is so tied into a slapdick loser like Carlos Boozer.

Boozer failed to get into double digits in scoring six times in the playoffs. He only topped his regular season scoring average four times (including once in overtime.)

Boozer is a worthless piece of ****. I wish we coulf ship him & Korver out of town on the same loser boat.

Ehhhhhh. IDK. I got a feeling Miami will win more than 2 championships. chicago needs more horses to run with the heat. They need to pick up their Pippen/Rodman.

They have their Rodman. They do need a Pippen, though. Deng can't create enough offensively to be that guy. Add a legitimate offensive threat at the 2 and this is a championship team.

I have hated Carlos Boozer since the dawn of time. When the Bulls signed him, I wanted to cry.

I don't see how they get away with trading him, which I pray they do, but hell, if Rashard Lewis and Gilbert Arenas taught us anything, it's that no contract is untradeable.

Or it could be more like the Atlata Hawks (Dominique & Co) or Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Celtics (Bird).


The Hawks & Bucks could never get it done.

Another one for the Carlos Boozer hate. He may be the worst interior passer in the history of the NBA. I couldn't keep track of how many passes he tried to in squeezeonly to have them bounce off someone's foot or get stolen. It was also alarming how many of shots were so easily blockable. Miami was basically teeing off on his lay-ups. And then there's his "defense"...absolute garbage.

If the Bulls could add legitimate SG (maybe Jason Richardson/Ray Allen as free agents or O.J. Mayo via trade) and combine that with an extra year of experience, they could have enough to get over the hump next year. At the end of the day, it was the Bulls first time in that position, they had a glaring weakness at the 2 and they still took the Heat to the wire in four of five games.

With that said, it's hard not to account for the Heat improving as well. They'll convince someone like Moe Williams to take the mid-level exception and come run the point. And they'll have an extra year of cohesion/confidence in playing with eachother.

And while adding a SG like Richardson/Allen would put the Bulls right back in the convo next year, it's hard not to think about 2-3 years from now when Boozer/Deng/veteran SG begin to decline. And thanks to Boozer's contract, we have no cap flexibility. This is important because 2-3 years from now is when Rose will be in his prime. So if the Bulls decide to go the "let's add a veteran SG and see what happens" route, they need to tred carefully and keep the bigger picture in mind.

If I'm GM of the Bulls, I do whatever it takes to land Dwight Howard. This ensures Rose has a No. 2 (or 1B) to play with for the next five years. Any other piece is replacable. If the Magic won't trade Howard, I'd look back at Mayo. Part of the reason the Grizzlies were willing to trade him earlier this year was because of off the court trouble. But with his strong playoff performance, I wouldn't be surprised if the asking price is alot higher now. I guess it will just depends on how much value Asik and Gibson have in the trade market. (Or maybe we can convince Chris Wallace that Carlos Boozer is just now entering his prime... haha)

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If I'm GM of the Bulls, I do whatever it takes to land Dwight Howard.

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Center isn't their weak position. PF and SG are. Do whatever you can to move Boozer and upgrade and upgrade at SG.

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If the Bulls could add legitimate SG (maybe Jason Richardson/Ray Allen as free agents or O.J. Mayo via trade)

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The Bulls had a great offer on the table for Mayo at the trade deadline and Memphis declined. Oh, what might have been.

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Center isn't their weak position. PF and SG are. Do whatever you can to move Boozer and upgrade and upgrade at SG.

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Obviously I'd love to just trade Boozer but there aren't exactly a line of teams eager for his services. We'd have to accept pennies on the dollar to move his contract.

And like I said in my previous post, plugging in a veteran upgrade at SG could have consequences down the road. (Dr. Cub, for some reason I thought the Bulls balked at that Mayo deal, but I could be wrong.)

You can't look at every problem through a position by position lense. Otherwise the Bulls should have drafted Michael Beasley over Rose in 2008 because they already had Hinrich and Gordon.

What the Bulls really need right now, more than any help at any position, is someone to take some pressure off of Rose. And he needs someone who can do so for the next 4-5 years. Ideally that someone would be a SG, but major impact players don't grow on trees in the NBA. So you have to be a little creative. Also, since the Bulls don't have much cap space, acquisition has to be done through trade. That limits the options further. But fortunately, the Bulls do have some talented, young pieces to include in a trade.

You are right, center is not the Bulls weakness. But not having a suitable sidekick for Rose is probably their biggest one. The Bulls should go out of their way to find that No. 2 (or 1B) and worry about the rest later.

Ben Gordon. Sigh.

He was really fun to watch once out of every six games or so... haha

Ben Gordon is almost as overpaid as Carlos Boozer is these days. The Bulls were right not to re-sign him.

I'm not sure what went down with that Bulls-Grizzlies trade. What I've heard is that that the Grizzlies want Asik or Gibson, but the Bulls were only offering Brewer (who the Grizzlies had just had and was redundant with the cheaper Tony Allen).

Citing sources, the Chicago Tribune also reported that the Bulls offered Ronnie Brewer, two first-round picks and one second-round pick for Mayo but the Griz declined. A source with knowledge of Grizzlies' trade-deadline dealings claimed the Bulls' proposal only included Brewer.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/feb/26/mayo-says-there-are-no-hard-feelings/