FROM MY COUCH—Is there such a thing as “really apathetic”?
Because that’s how I felt about last night’s loss to the 76ers in a classic
sequence of foolery and brain freezes.
C.J. Watson should know better than to pass the ball to Omer
Asik in must-make free throw situations.
Omer should split at least one of those free throws.
But ultimately, what it all means is that we get a little
more couch time with our Chicago Bulls in what has morphed into the daftest and
most awkward Chicago sports fan experience of my life. It might have started
when Jay Cutler fell in the NFL Championship game one year ago and then
followed up another season with a season-ending injury, dashing a realistic
shot at the Super Bowl.
Then the Blackhawks’ watch their best player, Jonathan
Toews, deal with concussion issues near the playoffs and see Martin Hossa go
down with a blast thought could have dented a dump truck.
And then Rose. And the Noah. And then…
But the matchup with the 76ers really never should have been
this close as the Bulls played down to their level and couldn’t hit shots.
Carlos Boozer’s sizzling one for 11 (three points) is the
kind of amnestied effort that many of us have come to expect. Actually, I’m
fairly pleased with the type of season Boozer put together: He was healthy and
somewhat productive comparable to his career averages. But, I was always
certain he was a bit of a stats stuffer who never makes important plays in
important games. And Thursday’s effort epitomized Boozer.
A Flawed Philosophy
With only Rip Hamilton and Boozer to score, he wilted. Of
course some sports writers will continue to praise Boozer as if he were an
important asset for the Bulls next season, but that’s incomprehensible given
the sample size we now have with him. He
really isn’t that important for the Bulls, considering many of his baskets are
made 10 feet out from the basket on isolation pivot sets.
He seems to put up numbers against weaker competition and
doesn’t particularly excel with Rose in the lineup. I can go a step further and
wonder that because his physical skills have declined so much in the past two
years, it has put an even greater burden on Rose to score at the rim. Boozer
simply isn’t a good finisher.
Whereas Gibson, who does have a decent vertical and good
quickness, gives Rose more liberty to drive and dump off in traffic. Ideally
the Bulls will be able to keep Taj Gibson, but they won’t because they are
capped out. Gibson is one of your biggest trade assets and so is Omer Asik, as
you can’t continue to cling to the idea of “depth is important” when your frontline
isn’t talented enough.
This has always been a flawed philosophy because if your
starting five is talented enough, you should never want the backups in the
game. You never wanted CJ Watson in the game more than Rose, nor Ronnie Brewer than
Luol Deng. But when it came to Omer for Joakim or Taj for Boozer, you didn’t
think the Bulls were as vulnerable.
Trading Taj Gibson
Fans bought in: “WE HAVE SO MUCH DEPTH—THE BEST BENCH IN THE
LEAGUE!”
That’s like saying we have the best house in a bad neighborhood.
It's like saying your quarterback is Tim Tebow. It’s like saying that your girlfriend only looks good when she wears baggy
clothes.
Fans should have been saying “WE HAVE DERRICK ROSE! WE HAVE THE
BEST REBOUNDING AND DEFENSIVETEAM IN THE NBA. AND…and…um…WE HAVE DERRICK ROSE!”
So, aside from looking back, here’s what John Paxson and Gar
Foreman should do with this Bulls team in the offseason:
First off, fans need to understand there are no major moves
to be had (unless Dwight Howard mysteriously changes his mind and wants to come
to the Bulls). There are no free agent signings. Understand that? They don’t
have any more room under the cap.
If you’re going to amnesty Carlos Boozer, make sure you have
your sights on a star who can fill that spot—not just a free agent who gets
paid like one (see Carlos Boozer and David Lee). More realistically, if you
believe you can make another run at the title with Boozer, you’ll need to trade
Gibson and Omer Asik and damn the depth.
Gibson will want too much money to remain a Bull. I would
consider trading him for Drew Bledsoe, the dynamic and explosive point guard
for the LA Clippers. The team is loaded with point guards and can use the
backup depth and smart rebounding and defensive instincts that Gibson offers.
It’s a win-win for both teams because the Bulls also get their primary point
guard for the 2012-2013 season.
Rose won’t play the majority of next season and will simply
not have his explosiveness back yet. And no one should ask him to do just that
from the start.
Bledsoe, while smaller than Rose, is sort of like Baron
Davis before he stopped liking basketball. He has an
explosive first step,
great vertical, remarkable strength and a unique ability to finish in traffic.
But why he has only averaged 3 and 3 thus far in his career?
He is playing behind Chris Paul and under Vinny DelNegro—not
exactly the basketball mentor you want with your prodigiously talented point
guard. The Clippers also run a pretty awful offense (DelNegro) and don’t run
enough to use the talent they have.
The Bulls could use his speed and athleticism in Rose’s
void. It might be an opportunity for
Thibodeau to mold another talented point guard (Rose, Rondo) and pair
him with up with Rose when teams are overloading on the two.
Options B, C and D:
Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks, Rodney Stuckey of the Detroit Pistons (more
of a combo) or cherry picking something off the Washington Wizards. (Would
Denver ever ship Ty Lawson for that kind of package?)
But the Bulls will still be without a star, and this is
where holding onto Omer makes sense as the NBA nears next year’s trading
deadline. Big men like Omer are held at a premium and seeing that Monta Ellis was
shipped for an always injured Andrew Bogut, you can see why teams might
oversell to get size.
There are difficult realities to face this offseason. It
began when Rose went down. A new era started, but I don’t think fans are ready
to hear that.
Contact Mike Mitchell
at michaelkennethmitchell@gmail.com.
2 comments:
If there's "really apathetic," then I am really, really apathetic. I made peace with the Bulls elimination as soon as Derrick went down. It took me five seconds. Being eliminated in the first round did not occur to me until the Sixers went up 3-1, and then I made peace with that. So I'm not sure why so many in the media are taking the position that this is a surprise or a disappointment. Is being rational not a job requirement?
In some ways, as I've remarked before, I am happy the Bulls are done so soon. There's simply no reason for Deng to continue to play with one hand, and I am happy he can start his recovery process since he's so integral to this team. I am happy Noah did not force himself to return in this series since he, too, is so integral to this team. Now if Rose never sustained an injury in this series then we wouldn't be having this conversation, the Bulls would still be in the mix. But what sane person would want these two core player to exert themselves in a series that meant absolutely nothing?
I like your out of the box thinking with regards to Taj Gibson. The only deterrent I can think of is how other teams will determine how much they value Gibson. To me he's reached his ceiling and has become the classic example of a guy who will be seen as either a "good value" or "overrated" depending on his next contract. I'd be sad to see him go but your proposals make sense. The PG situation will be messy next year with Rose out so I see why you would target Bledsoe.
I'm not sure who else the Bulls should target for now, a lot may depend on where Howard and Williams end up. But clearly they've got to acquire another scorer, bringing back the band will not suffice in this case. It's somewhat surreal for the Bulls to start the season with so much hope and optimism only to end with innumerable roster questions and a hazy future. I think not knowing what to expect next season, after two seasons of justifiably high expectations, is the saddest part of this mess.
In many ways, few fans have ever been here. When has a young, promising team peaked and plummeted this quickly?
Really, looking at all of this, you have to consider moving Taj for a dynamic ball-handler or scorer.
Of course, we can't overvalue Taj because we tend to do that, and that's why I believe Bledsoe is a realistic get with a lot of upside that won't be harvested behind Chris Paul.
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