| Four-Point Play: Bulls Q & A With The Cobra Brigade Authored by Jeff Wong - April 16, 2008 - 2:47 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
 |
Maynor Using Utah’s Resources
Eric Maynor is an increasingly rare four-year, small college rookie. He sat down with RealGM to discuss how his first few weeks of NBA life has gone and what he has learned from Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.
|
 |
Why LeBron To The Clippers Makes Sense
LeBron James already plays for a perennial underdog in Cleveland, but moving to the Clippers would allow him to do so in a huge market and with a core that will immediately compete for championships while also having an encouraging long term outlook.
|
 |
‘Home-Heavy Schedule’ Brings Question Marks
The Heat have been plagued by inconsistencies, making it difficult to determine how good they really are this season.
|
|
More from RealGM's Columnists
|
| |
In one paragraph, how would you sum up why the Bulls went from predicted Eastern Conference champs to draft lottery hopefuls?
I could sum this up in one sentence: The organization collapsed. After Luol Deng and Ben Gordon didn't sign their extensions before the season started the team just crumbled like a bad chocolate chip cookie. Players started to complain, players stopped playing, players were suspended, the coach (Skiles) wasn't doing a good job with the rotation and eventually everyone just started ignoring each other. I could get into trades/signings that the GM John Paxson made/didn't make but that would quickly turn into an epic novel. All in all, an organizational collapse led to where we are today. It hasn't been easy to watch.
Is Kirk Hinrich broken? Can he get back to 2006-07 form in 2008-09?
Sure he can get back to that form....with another team. With his contract, which is surprisingly tradable, Hinrich will be out of Chicago before next season. He's not really a point guard, he's definitely not a shooting guard and he just doesn't seem to care about the Bulls anymore. The good news is that he doesn't openly complain, but the bad news is that he's proven he's not a championship-caliber point guard. The defense that he was known for is gone and his ability to run an offense, for one reason or another, has gone out the window, too. He just seems like one of those girls who's really hot when you are a freshman but by the time you are a senior she looks more worn out than your Dad's baseball glove.
What do you think of this young frontcourt of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah? What do you expect out of them next year?
First of all, it needs to be said that I don't like Tyrus Thomas. For everyone who thinks that he's been battered in the press for no reason....you are wrong. He'll be lucky if he turns out to be as good as Stromile Swift. Million dollar talent, ten cent head. Next year I expect Thomas to be itching to get out of Chicago as he'll be thrust into the 6th/7th man role. He might have a few good games (that the Bulls will lose) and try to sign a big deal in the off-season but it would be a mistake for any team to think he can produce consistently.
As for Noah....he is what he is. A good rebounder with a very good motor and limited skills. On a very good team he's probably a sixth man. On the Bulls, he's the starting center. I figure he'll put up 12 points and about 8 boards next season. If the Bulls are able to find someone who can drive and throw an alley-oop, he might be a Tyson Chandler-lite type player. He's not exactly the interior defender fans dream about when LeBron James blows by all of their perimeter players.
What changes do you realistically hope the Bulls will make this offseason?
I'm not sure "hope" and "realistically" can go together with what I hope the Bulls do in the off-season. On one hand, I'd like them to go after a veteran coach who can help them make a deep playoff run but realistically....all that coach (Larry Brown) would do is keep the younger players from finding out what they can do in the league. I'd like them to sign Luol Deng to a reasonable long-term contract but realistically.....I think he's going to ask for more than $12 million per year and force the Bulls to become fiscally irresponsible in their efforts to sign him. I'd like the Bulls to sign and trade Ben Gordon but, again, realistically I see Gordon signing a one-year deal that will allow him to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. I'd like the Bulls to trade Andres Nocioni but realistically I'm not sure there are many teams that want him. It goes on and on and on throughout the roster. I hope for a lot of roster turnover, realistically I'm not sure there is much they can do.
So, what I want the Bulls to do this off-season is commit to Thabo Sefolosha/Luol Deng/Drew Gooden/Joakim Noah for next season. I want them to pick up an actual point guard and a coach who will keep them in games (Rick Carlisle), force them to play defense and take them to the playoffs. I want the Bulls to play hard like they did the past two seasons and I want to see the United Center rocking next April. I don't care how ugly the offensive/defensive strategies are....I want to win.
Interesting to hear that you'd like to dump Andres Nocioni. Doug Smith of The Toronto Star has been hyping Nocioni as a good Raptors fit. Any comment on that?
Don't get me wrong, Andres Nocioni is a good player but the Bulls have absolutely overpaid him and he's blocking some of the youngsters from getting more playing time. The contract that he signed makes the amount that Gordon and Deng ask for even higher. Noc would be the perfect 6th/7th/8th guy on a very good team but on the Bulls he just seems to be in the way of others as they rebuild. He's not a problem in the locker room and he always plays hard but he might be of better use to others at this time.
- Special to RealGM.com from TheScore.ca |
