With that said, if you're Chicago, at what point do you start building with the plan that Rose will not play for you again?
I don't know if you build planning on Rose not playing again, but I think they've already begun to build knowing they won't have MVP Derrick Rose anymore. I don't see them shopping for a starting PG anytime soon, provided Rose comes back in some capacity next year, but I think that secondary scorer they were looking for suddenly becomes a primary scorer potentially. The silver lining of Rose's absence is Noah and Butler have really emerged. Noah went from quality role player and energy guy to a legit top 5 all around center. Butler really stepped up overall, especially with Deng being traded, though his scorer has taken a hit with him being asked to do so much other stuff for the team. It will be an interesting offseason with a pair of first round picks, the likely amnesty of Boozer, and the expendibility of basically most of the team save for Butler, Noah, and, of course, Saint Jimmer. I hope they make at least one aggressive move that doesn't include Carmelo.
And therein lies the problem IMHO. Derrick Rose's elite status was predicated on him being a scorer who could distribute. Without that first step how good is he as a pass first PG? All-Star caliber? All-Star reserve? Decent enough starter? For the kind of money he's getting (3 more years at $60 mil if memory serves) he needs to be top 5 elite, and while I sincerely hope he will be (because the more elite players the better for the NBA) he might not which will screw the Bulls over for the time being. I completely agree with you in that they're probably planning on not having Rose at 100%, but at what point do you start making inquiries as to moving him?
And therein lies the problem IMHO. Derrick Rose's elite status was predicated on him being a scorer who could distribute. Without that first step how good is he as a pass first PG? All-Star caliber? All-Star reserve? Decent enough starter? For the kind of money he's getting (3 more years at $60 mil if memory serves) he needs to be top 5 elite, and while I sincerely hope he will be (because the more elite players the better for the NBA) he might not which will screw the Bulls over for the time being. I completely agree with you in that they're probably planning on not having Rose at 100%, but at what point do you start making inquiries as to moving him?[/quote] Probably around this time next season, assuming of course that a) he plays the whole season to that point, and b) his play has dropped to dramatically that this is even an option. Not that I think anyone would take him if he's playing at decent-starter-level for 20-some-odd million a year(Stoudemire, anyone?). Right now this is all speculation, he needs to play 2-3 months minimum without getting injured so the Bulls can see exactly what they're dealing with (if they're dealing with anything at all). I'm still holding out hope that everything's going to be A-OK, but that might be the Bulls fan in me talking...ok it's definitely the Bulls fan in me talking. He'll almost certainly lose something, what/how much is the question.
I'm sure that Melo will definitely join the team with a great defensive center and a guy on a huge contract who is diminished by injuries. That's obviously a better situation than New York.
Additional incentive for them to make a big splash sooner rather than later: while it's all fine and dandy that Noah's stepping his game up, he's 29 years old. It's pretty rare to get great production from a player who is older than 32. Look at 32 year old Dwyane Wade, for example. Or the fact that of this year's all stars, only 4 of 24 were north of 30 (including Joe Johnson, who shouldn't have been there really).
Nothing is more exciting than the United Center when the Bulls are playing The Heat. The fact we won that game is a fucking crime. I have no idea what Spoelstra was thinking keeping Ray Ray off the court with LeBron missing everything and getting thrown off by Butler. 6 of his points were fast break breaks or 2on1s. When the Bulls were in their halfcourt defense they really didn't make any plays.
In my defense, I absolutely believe that Simmons would do a Brian Scalabrine documentary if he could get someone to produce it. (Which I'm sure is the point of the video.)
Never say never. I guarantee that ESPN is going to milk 30 for 30 until they run it into the ground. The last few before they pull the plug will probably be gloriously stupid.
Well they might, or might not. They're at like a 95% hit rate with the ones they've put out. There are just so many great untold stories to be told. And more being created every day. Anyway, back to basketball. Not excited to see Durant lose his mind on the Bulls. Its really not cool, but I'm not upset. I'd love to have Durant beat LBJ, just because I hate LBJ, but that's not going to happen.
Ok, time for playoff predictions; I mean, we all know that my Beloved Bulls would easily win the championship hands down if Rose was healthy, but anyways: WEST: Spurs in 5 Rockets in 6 Clippers in 5 Thunder in 6 EAST: Pacers in 5 Heat in 4 Bulls in 5 Nets in 6
I was talking to my brother earlier(his team is the Rockets), and I said that both of our teams have the same playoff ceiling(second round at best), albeit for completely different reasons. Not that he believes this of course. He thinks "LORD DWIGHT" will carry the Rockets to the title. Ah, homerism.