nitetrain8601

QUOTE (dasox24 @ Dec 13, 2009 -> 05:50 PM) Did he actually call the plays at Arkansas or did Bobby? Either way it's a good hire, but if Paul was running the offense like a true OC, then this is a great hire for Illinois. However, offense wasn't nearly as much of a problem as defense this year, so it'll be really important for Zook to fill that DC spot with someone legit. Yeah it was.

All in all, it means nothing. Pretty much everyone is jumping ship to the other side, so it just means, buy the Tribune if you have liked past Sun-Times columns, and vice versa. What's next? Telander moves?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 11, 2009 -> 03:31 PM) Avery Johnson Hearing his press conferences alone would make it worth it.

A little more closure in Ben Gordon saga. Apparently, the Bulls were going to pull the offer to Ben last summer had he accepted it even before their little deadline per KC Johnson.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 05:24 AM) Ben Gordon averaged 21 pts. 3.5 reb and 3.5 assists a game for the Bulls last year and he's in his prime. He may be an upgrade over Gordon, but its not huge, and certainly won't make the Bulls Eastern Conference contenders. Finally, some people are seeing that Johnson is not all that great in comparison to a guy like Ben. I suggest Johnson though because this team needs outside shooting and the bridges seemed to be burned to even get BG back. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) That anonymous quote certainly sounds like it's from a player who wants him gone. If I had to guess, it would be Deng. He was mad during the Kobe rumors, upset with the non contract extension, had beef with BG because BG was the man on the team apparently, and Rose last year because of all the fame and hype he was getting. Deng seems like a malcontent. A quiet one, but still one. QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 12:31 PM) They spent nothing on VDN and gave him a short contract. That alone showed you just how much faith they had in the guy. They took a chance when all other options flamed out (Collins/D'Antoni). Yes, they'll spend the money. This to me only shows evidence why they won't hire a big name coach. QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 02:00 PM) I disagree completely. Joe Johnson is on a completely different level than Ben Gordon Negative. QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2009 -> 02:13 PM) Without knowing intelligently how to evaluate differences in this stat, I'll note that Gordon has a higher PER than Johnson. Affirmative. Still, we would be better suited with Johnson's outside shooting and playmaking ability than not having a shooter at that position, especially when keeping Deng around.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 08:19 PM) The team is very different from what Skiles and Boylan had. Salmons, Miller and Rose get huge minutes. Gibson wasn't around. Noah is more advanced. I agree the baskeball IQ doesn't seem to be there a lot, but is that all on the players? A top coach makes sure Rose gets the last shot, not Salmons hoisting up another well off 3. All these blowouts can't be making Chicago a very attractive destination for soon-to-be FAs. I think the Bulls need to start focusing on who they really want coaching this team going forward. Gordon was a lot more valuable than even his biggest fans probably knew. It may not be able to get done now, but they need a headstart. Its obvious Vinny is not a championship-calibur head coach. His teams don't play defense. They have to do something to stop the bleeding. I have no idea what it could be. Maybe a new coach can shock them into a few more wins. I have no idea, but except for JR's profit margins, things with the Bulls look pretty bleak. His team was playing defense earlier in the year. What happened? Vinny isn't a top 5 coach, but canning him makes no different. It's a player problem. And a lot of what you see ran out there on offense is the players. There were quotes, I believe, that the team couldn't grasp the offense for the most part in training camp last year, so they had to scrap it and hope to put in more new stuff as the season progressed. I'm most assured this came from Del Harris who stated it was the most difficult year and team he ever had been a part of because of the lack of bball IQ and the selfishness of players(apparently Deng had beef with BG and Rose). BTW, this team is better off losing and getting a high pick then gaining like 3 more wins for nothing.

I knew this would be about the Bulls. More embarassing is that Toronto loss simply because of the Jarret Jack incident.

QUOTE (Sox72 @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 04:46 PM) Good point. I guess it was from looking at declining statistics (except for home runs). And not being overly impressed with his stats overall. Again, let me stress that I think he's an excellent player, just not one of the elite players in the game. However, I wasn't trying to argue that he's not a star. I was, like you, wondering why I seemed to be the only one on this board, at least, that doesn't think he is a marquee player. I simply asked for reasons why everyone else thought he was so that I could have a better understanding and see the other side and what I was missing out on. People here usually post statistics that I never think of and make me feel differently about players. I figured as soon as I asked the same would happen here. I wasn't looking to argue whether he was phenomenal or not. Just trying to figure out if he really was. Granderson has the chance to be a perennial all-star if he semi figures out lefties. You don't have to be elite to be considered a part of a blockbuster trade. You do have to be good and he's darn good.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 02:08 PM) I gotta agree with nitetrain, this roster is not top-5 caliber talent-wise. With Gordon gone their outside shooting is abysmal and they have no post scorer that can help bail them out when their shooting is off. Rose has the athleticism to be a difference-maker, but he still needs to learn that he needs to attack every night on both ends of the floor. The rest of the roster isn't doing him any favors, he basically needs to dominate every night for his team to have a chance. If they really passed on multiple offers to dump Hinrich for an expiring contract (I know there were rumors but didn't here anything was definitively shot down) that royally blows. I'm not a big Gordon fan, but he clearly had more of a positive impact on this team than Hinrich. If they had moved him, kept Gordon and drafted someone like Lawson or Collison to be the backup PG that would have been far more desireable than this current roster. They're banged up now and that definitely hurts, but they're still a lower-tier playoff team even at their absolute best the way everyone is playing right now. They're pretty much screwed if they don't snag a top-notch FA this off-season. Bingo. Last, but not least, if this team gets Wade, they will be better, but at the same time, not much better simply because they have zero outside shooting to open up lanes for Derrick alone, much less both him and Wade. With the front office falling in love with players, the Bulls are going to have to sign a Mehmet Okur and Dirk Nowitzki to make up for the lack of outside shooting. And if John Salmons opts back in (which he should because he's playing terrible), it still hurts the cap flexibility. Currently constructed, the Bulls best bet is to still get rid of Deng, sign Joe Johnson and Mehmet Okur for outside shooting so they have some type of balance, and fill up their roster with Raja Bells and Taj Gibsons of the world. Also, the Bulls will probably end up losing Tyrus as well in the process.

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Dec 9, 2009 -> 01:28 PM) Boylan wasn't a good coach period. Del Negro isn't just a good coach, he's a horrible leader as well. This team has the talent to be a top 5 team in the East. But with injuries to an already short rotation, they're hurting...BAD. Vinny Del Negro has no more qualification to be an NBA coach than anyone on this board. Yeah, I said it. No, they really don't. I don't see VDN as a top caliber coach, but I don't see him as a horrible coach. Is he an outstanding leader? So far, no. With that said, the front office is what's wrong with this team. The management has sabatoged this team. They're trying to lead the fans into thinking we got a superstar in Rose and a great club around him with hard workers, yet when it comes to specifically designing this team, they failed big time. They want to lead you to believe they couldn't keep BG if they wanted a big time FA in 2010. Well, yeah they could've and this team would've been more attractive considering they had 3 deals on the table for Kirk to free up cap room and they said no to all even though they were expirings. If they traded Kirk and didn't sign Pargo, there's room for Ben, Rose a big time FA, Noah, Deng, etc. They would run into cap problems down the road, yes. But in this event, they still will anyway.

Apparently the deal has stalled at 99% done as all teams are considering the downside to the trade. Yanks have concerns about Curtis' ability to hit lefties, his declining defense and his probablity to K. Arizona is concerned that this trade puts them in a win now mode and want to make sure they are first able to get the proper pieces in place. Detroit is concerned because they think if Arizona is willing to give up Scherzer so easily, there are legit concerns with his pitching mechanics.

With the way Ozzie wants to rotate people out of the DH spot, I wouldn't mind promising Matsui some OF time. Also, I'm not sure if it already has been mentioned, but apparently, Ozzie wants Mark Redmond to be the backup catcher to AJ.

I wouldn't mind Bradley on the Sox. I actually think Bradley is like Iverson in that he has to feel like he's wanted and that he's one of the guys. The Cubs, almost from the get-go, made him feel like an outcast. When he got off to the slow start, that made it even worse because the fans got on him and for a black male in the Wrigley OF, that's not a good sign. I'm not saying all their fans are like this, but enough to make others notice including players.

Apparently it's not to the Mariners. They're reporting a three team deal, but more than likely to get finished tomorrow. Where would they play Bradley?

I'd be shocked if they are close. If they are able to dump him, the team will not remain anonymous for long. Watch it be the Red Sox, lol.

All this arguing for a guy we haven't even signed. The Sox could do a lot worse than Matsui. He's actually still a productive hitter. I wouldn't be mad at the Sox signing him.

I think this deal ends up being better for the DBacks than expected. If anything, this has to take the Yanks out of the Doc sweepstakes as one of the main parts that was asked for was AJax.

Tim Dierkes also posts at the mlbtraderumors forums. I heard the same about Peter from my brother(huge Red Sox fan) who has a decent Red Sox source.

Only thing I could think is that Arizona is trying to win now. Haren, Webb, Jackson gives them a dominant 1-2-3. With that said, good luck. Schlereth and Scherzer were too much to give up for Jackson and Ian Kennedy. I would've traded them straight up for Granderson and Jackson.

QUOTE (Ron @ Dec 6, 2009 -> 12:48 PM) If we get a solid draft pick, who would you want to see the Bulls take? I'd really like Iowa State's Craig Brackins or Georgetown's Greg Monroe. Both are players with height, size and have offensive post games, things we desperately need. Brackins (6'10, 230) is a pro 4, versatile offensive game, can go inside/out. Monroe (6'11, 250) could possibly be a pro pivot, putting up some good numbers for the Hoyas (13.8ppg, 10rpg, 1.3bpg). No doubt, the answer is Evan Turner. Even after breaking his shiet.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Dec 5, 2009 -> 02:29 PM) Not really. Actually, not at all. Lebron is a better player than Kobe now. Has been for about 3 years. But I will concede there's nobody more dangerous in those type of situations than Kobe. Statistically, you're correct. The thing is though, Kobe finally got help, is happy to deter, and it helps him championship wise, but in the argument of who's best, it hurts him. I've seen Kobe and he can turn it on whenever he wants. Heck, he almost took a garbage squad with Smush friggin Parker as the starting PG to the second round in the west. That in itself is impressive.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 5, 2009 -> 12:44 PM) Benn's going to go pro. He's already #3 on McShay's WR rankings, and with the rookie salary cap coming in 2011, I just can't see many players returning next year that are draft eligible. Me as well, especially with Benn considering he's on a squad that doesn't come close to utilizing him.

Benn going pro after today.

Kobe > 'Bron.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 4, 2009 -> 05:14 PM) Does Comcast? Comcast now does from what I remember.