hitlesswonder

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 10:11 AM) They were deeper and MUCH stronger defensively. I think people don't understand just how good the Heat are. Bosh/Wade/James and D leaguers is a 60 win team at least. And the Heat will have better than D leaguers on the floor with them. Here's a projection which captures just how damn good the Heat will be. This is very likely to be the best NBA team ever assembled. The Bulls win record will fall..if not next season then some time in the next 5 years.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 09:43 AM) So we missed out on a couple of big time FA's who clearly planned this whole thing 2 years ago. Can't fault the Bulls for that. Yeah, they were handed a gift by the NBA gods (or Stern) when they got Rose, but who cares? The future is very, very bright IMO. I think they're contenders for the conf finals now and contenders for the championship in 2-3 years. I think you are way under-estimating how good the Heat are. This is likely the most talented team ever assembled. The Lakers with help from the refs might put up a fight, but that's it for next year. And in the years after that, the Heat roster will only get stronger. So, no, the future for any NBA team isn't bright. Miami is essentially a championship lock (barring multiple injuries) for the next 5 years at least. I like Rose and Noah a lot, and I think the Bulls could build a team that repeatedly makes the conference finals. But that's contingent on having an owner that doesn't give up because he knows a title is unlikely. JR has already said he won't put the best team possible on the floor unless it's a championship contender. If you take him at his word, it's over. I'd rather see an owner say that they want to build a team to beat Miami (even if it's delusional) but JR is not that guy.

QUOTE (Chi Town Sox @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 09:28 AM) I am 100% positive that if the Bulls needed extra money to give Noah and Derrick a raise, they would trade Deng You are presuming they would be able to trade Deng. They couldn't get anyone to take him this year. Also, with the new CBA, Boozer's deal is also absolutely not movable.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 09:17 AM) You also have to realize that he played for a team that absolutely doesn't stress defense. He played his role to perfection. I'm not saying he'd be a defensive stopper by any means. Even if he isn't a complete player, he is an elite-level shooter. The Bulls have enough players with multiple mediocre skills. If you look at what the Bulls can do at an above average level, right now they have Rose's ability to penetrate at an elite level and Deng/Noah's above average rebounding. If they want to put together something excellent they need a stone-cold shooter like Morrow. If Thibs is a decent coach he should be able to hide whatever Morrow's game lacks in other phases.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 09:10 AM) Exactly. If you added LBJ(clone) to a team that he's a perfect fit for (i.e. the Bulls with Deng traded for a SG) the Heat would still be the favorites. There is, therefore, no single player in the NBA you could add to the Bulls's roster to make me think they could beat this Heat team. There's no way JR goes over the cap. Especially not before the lockout season. That's true -- in fact, the harsh reality is that the Bulls have no chance to win a title in the next 10 years. If JR is true to his previously stated philosophy, he'll start selling off players soon. Noah will be the first to go, followed by Rose. Have fun with Boozer, because the Bulls philosophy dictates that Deng and Boozer have just cost the Bulls what young talent they have. I think we'll be seeing the NBA version of the white flag trade.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 9, 2010 -> 12:03 AM) Ace You cant just give up if your the Bulls. They may not have the star power, but a solid team with a great system can win 4 out of 7 games. There will be a huge bulleye on the Heat, they will get the other teams A game every night. Well see what happens. Well, considering the money that Bulls fans have gifted JR since Jordan left, the Bulls shouldn't give up. Over a decade of ineptitude and yet still the most profitable NBA franchise in the game. I think they owe it to the fans to embrace the spirit of Gilbert's letter and build a team to beat the Heat (goodness know poor Dan Gilbert and Cleveland won't be able to do it). It would be awesome to see someone from the Bulls front office say they take this as a challenge and think big. Instead, I imagine the next big signing will be someone like Keith Bogans or Roger Mason. Of course, in reality, I think there's no way Miami loses a 7 game series. But the point of owning an NBA franchise isn't to throw up your hands say that there's no hope of winning this decade. The Bulls should make a move (probably trade) for a good 2 guard or think even bigger than that. Pay the tax when it's time to extend Rose and Noah.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:28 PM) It doesn't matter if you have a great villain if there's no one to challenge it. I think the league will do their best to see that the Lakers challenge Miami in the finals. I do agree that the regular season is pointless now.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:21 PM) Ok, he needs to shut up too. This is going to be such an easy league to not care about. Ugghh...I know. And I love basketball. I suppose there's college, but the NCAA is pretty disgusting piece of work as far as organizations go....What a great game that is completely dis-serviced by the two most watched venues in which it is played. I have to admit...if someone can build a team to compete with Miami I'll be interested. The toppling of the dynasty will be a good storyline...unless it takes 10 years for that to happen.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 11:17 PM) Really nice article from Will Leitch on this: http://nymag.com/daily/sports/2010/07/lebr...as_being_a.html That's a fantastic piece of writing (and by fantastic I of course mean writing that I agree with). The tone-deafness of the whole is really the most surprising aspect to me.... If Leitch is implying that this will lose the NBA fans...I don't know. The NBA now has a great villain. And I'm sure the league will use the refs in the finals to make sure there's some drama about whether or not Miami wins the ship next season.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:56 PM) even though it's only a little over 10 years since Jordan left the Bulls and the championship run, media has changed so much since then, it's impossible to have that type of protection again IMO Maybe...with so much more access to "publishing" I think you are right that we would have heard some stuff that made MJ look so not great had the media technology been the same as now. But I don't think that Jordan's team would have shot themselves in the face by putting on an ESPN special in which MJ left Chicago unprofessionally, looked liked he'd been playing a week (or months) long hype game, and maybe worst of all made it look like he thought he was bigger than the game and league. The "Decision" and how it was handled was under their control and they screwed up.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:45 PM) couldn't agree more....this is turning into a PR disaster for him...looks like he should actually hire some guys who know what hes doing instead of his posse The hour-long televised "decision" was ridiculous. How could anyone have thought that was a good idea. It's funny, I get the impression that Lebron is actually a better dude off the court than Jordan ever was and yet you never saw Jordan's PR team make a mis-step like that. Lebron should hire whomever ran interference for Jordan.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:32 PM) So, you're telling me that if you did nothing but Take Lebron away from Cleveland and Wade away from Miami, they'd only lose 40 wins between the 2? So Cleveland wouldn't go from being a 60 win team to a 20 win team? Totally disagree. Yeah...that's crazy. I love stats, but not all stats are accurate representations of reality. The reality is that 2 of the three best players in the league, one of whom being arguably the greatest basketball player to ever play in the NBA, are on the same team with another top 15 (or 10?) player. I fully expect they will win more than 72 games next season. It's nausea-inducing but they will arguably be the most talented team to ever play in the NBA. Wade and James are that good. I think the Lakers might be able to beat them, but it will be an upset.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:31 PM) That is incredibly pathetic and unprofessional in my opinion. So much, in fact, that I have a hard time believing it is authentic. I agree with that. Weird use of quotation marks as well....

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:30 PM) again, I think you are going to have a lot of the have not owners joined by some of the have owners really take a stand against this sort of thing in the new CBA True...I wasn't thinking of the new CBA....

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 10:26 PM) So I wonder if the rumor that Bosh, Wade, LeBron and Paul decided to play together at the 2008 Olympics was true and we see Paul join that team in the next couple of years as well. I'd put money on it. Paul will be the point guard on that team at some point. Miami is going to be dynasty on the order of the Russel Celtics.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:32 PM) LeBron wanted to play point guard That's true. I'm not going to look for the link, but somewhere I saw James question how he'd play with Rose...I think he didn't see a great fit with the Bulls.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:28 PM) Get the f*** outta here. Do you really believe any of the garbage you just posted? I'll think Jordan is the greatest player I've ever seen even if James gets his 10 rings. I'm just saying that I think public opinion will not necessarily agree with me, expecially with ESPN working to make sure James is considered the GOAT.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:19 PM) I'm not. But Lebron has undoubtedly taken himself out of the discussion. He could win the next 10 rings and it won't mean s*** to anybody outside of the true 27 Heat fans there are in the country. That's not true. If Bron wins 10 titles he will be regarded as the greatest player of all-time. Coming straight from HS, his numbers will likely trump Jordan. And you can bet that going to Miami will be spun as Lebron wanting to win more than anything, being unselfish. ESPN will want the greatest player ever to be playing now, so they can cover him. You need to get ready for it happen -- and honestly Lebron might be more talented than Jordan. I happen to like Jordan more, but who knows.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:15 PM) I'm not watching SportsCenter the rest of the night. That's OK, you'll hear enough about how the Heat are the best team ever before they even step on a court together.....

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:09 PM) “I remain convinced that this organization made the strongest of bids to acquire LeBron James during this free agency period. While we’re disappointed he chose to go to another franchise, our strategy for the future competitiveness of this organization did not begin or end with James, and we feel today’s addition of two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer significantly strengthens our team's already talented roster. It is our goal to keep exploring every avenue that it may take, whether through trades or free agency, to continue to build this team to compete at a championship level.” Gar Forman statement I think The Bulls are incompetent, but in this case I think the decision to go to Miami had been made a while ago. I don't think the Bulls had much of a shot at Lebron. And I have to think that Wade's "interest" in the Bull was just BS.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:06 PM) I've always liked Kobe, for some reason. Of course, I liked Bonds also. I'm hoping the Lakers get Phil one more ring next year. Maybe the Bulls should trade Rose to the Lakers for Fisher just out of spite....

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 8, 2010 -> 09:04 PM) And how many travels will they get away with? I hate watching James and Wade play when they're in "f*** it, I'm going to the rim every play and drawing fouls" mode. I'd rather watch P. Gasol play them those guys. I agree. Pau's game around the basket is awesome. Running into traffic because you can count on the ref bailing you it is boring...slows down a game that is best played fast...

I can't believe I'm going to be rooting for the Lakers in the finals next year. Count down until Miami is crowned the greatest team ever...I'm guessing it happens withing 30 seconds of LBJ's announcement.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 08:48 PM) Well, you all know I would love Anthony Morrow on the Bulls. As a starting shooting guard? I don't know. He's the best long-range shooter in the league, but his defense and handle are pretty suspect. Still, they need someone who can create space for Rose and Morrow would do that....

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 6, 2010 -> 02:27 PM) Well, it sounds like there's an 80-90 pct chance that the Bulls miss out, so go hide from your fiance all week and let that be your area of focus. Yeah...it's pretty clear that the Bulls will be lucky if they get Lee or Boozer. Even one of those guys is becoming unlikely the longer the Bulls wait...Bosh and Boozer likely get paired with Lebron and Wade and Lee would pick NJ over the Bulls.