Da Bulls!

OK so what do you do with the Bulls this offseason? While the #7 seeded Bulls Here's a team that played in the best playoff series in the history of the NBA (at least in the first round, but close if not the best). While the #7 seeded Bulls battled the #2 Celtics all the way to the end in their 7-game series, let's try to keep this in perspective...the Celtics weren't exactly at full strength while missing KG and Leon Powe. But the Bulls weren't at full strength either with Luol remaining out with the most debilitating stress fracture ever. He didn't play after 15 minutes in a game on 2/28 at home in a pretty big W against the Houston Rockets. Counting that W, the Bulls finished the season 15-7 without Luol going from 8 games under .500 and nowhere near the playoffs to ending up #7 and finishing at .500 (41-41). Hmmm...

As far as I'm concerned, there's only one untouchaBULL on this roster. Derrick Rose has a chance to be very special. Is he the next MJ? NO!!! There is no next MJ, so let's stop even trying to find one. But D-Rose is going to be VERY, VERY good. The two most exciting aspects of this kid (and let's not forget he's 20!) is his head (not much ego with this kid) and his eagerness to learn. My biggest hope is that he goes back to watch tape of the Celtics series and watch all the little things Rondo did (well, all the LEGAL stuff anyway) - rebounding, defense, better ball handling, and limited turnovers. Rose can certainly be much better than Rondo as he is bigger, stronger, younger and quicker.

What about Coach Vinny Del Negro? In my opinion, the worst part about turning the season around to make the playoffs and then going 7 with the Celtics is that the Bulls management will be all but obligated to keep Vinny for next year. We can only hope they don't extend him over the summer. Do you really want such a totally inexperienced coach developing your franchise player? Not me! But we're stuck with him for another season at least.

What do you do about the guards? Gordon is an unrestricted free agent starting July 1st. Hinrich is under contract for a reasonable salary as his contract was front-loaded - $9 million next season and $8 million the season after that. Gordon proved pretty invaluable in this Celtics series - tough to argue that. Hinrich also proved pretty valuable as well. Salmons can play the 2 guard spot also and he's making under $6 million next season in the last year of his current contract.

Although Pax has been able to dump ridiculous contracts in the past, with today's economy and pending 2010 free agency, we're stuck with the ultra-soft (too bad we're not talking about toilet paper) Luol Deng at least for next year. This guy other than a short stretch after originally returning from a different injury, looked lost out there most of the time. He doesn't go to the hole at all and his stats were down in EVERY category this season. And while all of that sounds bad, the worst part is that the Bulls played their best basketball when he was wearing a suit and cheering from the sidelines. The newly acquired Salmons jumped right in to Luol's spot and played better D and was way more effective on the offensive end as well.

Pending 2010 free agency...most teams are putting themselves in position to make a run at next summer's unprecedented free agent class including LeBron, Dwyane, Bosh, Amare, Joe Johnson, and Dirk among others. Salmons is done after next season too so you can add him to the list. So if you are quick to say "sign Gordon to whatever he wants" aren't you knocking yourself out of signing these bigger stars? Do the Bulls have a legit shot at getting LeBron? Nope! He'll either stick around in Cleveland where he's a god right now or sign with Jay-Z and the Nets with an outside shot of going to the Knicks. What about the other guys - particularly Dwyane, Bosh and Amare? I think the Bulls have a shot at all three of these guys - Dwyane is, like D-Rose from Chicago, Bosh has already expressed interest in coming here to join D-Rose and Amare was nearly traded here during the season.

Can Dwyane Wade and D-Rose play together? Their games are pretty similar and both should have the ball in their hands most of the time so how compatible would they be on the same team? They don't exactly play the same position, but Dwyane has the ball in his hands more than most 2-guards. He has a much better handle than Ben Gordon and also attacks the basket better too. So if you think they can play together and think you have a good shot at getting him in here, then you can't resign BG.

What about getting Bosh or Amare NOW? Bosh is stuck in the Great White North (OK, so Toronto's weather isn't much worse than here) and the Raptors know he isn't coming back so why not work a trade before losing him for nothing to the highest bidder in 2010? Pretty much the same situation in Phoenix who missed the playoffs this year. As much as I like Brad Miller as a wiley veteran, Chris Bosh or Amare would obviously be a HUGE upgrade. Now you just have to put together a decent package to get either of them that would have to include Brad Miller.

The play of Tyrus and Joakim really allows the Bulls some flexibility. Both of these guys played really well down the stretch and Joakim took it to another level in the Boston series. The one question mark here is why Vinny limited Tyrus' playing time in the playoffs even with a short bench. That was a very perplexing sub-plot for me. Now if Joakim could start next season in better shape, he could start being effective before January. I'd like to see Joakim dunk the ball a little more rather than attempt so many tip-ins on the offensive glass and I'd like to see Tyrus play with a little more consistent passion as it can be disheartening to see the most athletic player in the league get beat down court by another PF. Tyrus also needs to drive to the hole a little more and rely less on the 15-18' jump shot.

So how about this for a 2009-10 lineup as follows?
Starters:

1. Derrick Rose (duh!)
   
2. Salmons (could be a very effective 2-guard that can score and play D)
   
3. Luol (can he come back and be the player we saw in 2006-07?)
4. Bosh/Amare (I think you go get one of these guys)
5. Noah

Bench:

1. Tyrus (3/4)
2. Gordon (can you sign him to another 1-year deal?)
3. Hinrich (not sure you can keep him if you trade for Bosh or Amare as he may be part of the deal)
4. Tim Thomas (this guy could flourish in Vinny's O-first philosophy)
5. Aaron Gray (needs to lose some weight and show a commitment to being an NBA player)

I think it's possible with today's economy and NBA teams actually borrowing money that Gordon may not be able get the big deal he really wants. The 2010 free agent class will also play a roll in whether BG gets a big deal too. Will he sign another 1-year deal with the Bulls and go after the free agent money left over in 2010? Not every team that wants one of the big players in 2010 is going to get one so they'll have money leftover if they don't which could be good for BG. The Bulls also have two first round draft picks. They aren't very high picks, but they could be packaged in a deal too.

Should be an interesting off-season...The Bulls have already had somewhat of an interesting off-season. Gar Forman (currently director of player personnel) is said to be taking over Pax's GM role while Pax gets promoted to a new position and basically be Gar's boss. Will Gar be more aggressive with trades? We have all heard the numerous deals the Bulls were supposedly close to pulling the trigger on only to have something hault the deal. While we'll never know what really happened to those deals or even if they ever existed in the first place, a lot of criticism has been placed on Pax that he overvalues this own players and limits his trade possibilities because of it. Will this change allow the Bulls to take more risks and really get another star in here to play next to D-Rose? I sure hope so!