whitesoxfan101

If Peavy is only out a month, I'd be absolutely thrilled. Here's the next question though. Let's say it's July 31, and we have an opportunity to acquire a big bat, but need to include Hudson. Would you be willing to deal Hudson and trust Peavy will be back and healthy within a week or two?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:20 AM) The NBA as a superstar driven game has been unbearable for a long time anyway. This week of ego stroking and fawning over every single work these guys had to say about the NBA didn't help at all. Well this is definitely true. I think the bigger problem the NBA has is lack of competitive balance though. There are just so man teams that don't matter, makes it hard to keep fans interested.

Let's try the winning thing again, just with nobody getting hurt this time.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:14 AM) If he went to the Bulls or Heat that team becomes an immediate title contender assuming the Bulls got Boozer/Lee. However in Miami he will never be "the man" and probably wont be in the conversation with MJ/Kobe when its all said and done. Look at Scottie Pippen, he led the Bulls deep in the playoffs without MJ and is considered one of the best all around players of all time but he is always in Jordans shadow. Kobe knew he had to win without Shaq to seal his legacy and he has and people are throwing him into the conversation for the best of all time now. Some people might not see the relevance of this but if Ive learned anything the past few weeks its that LeBrons ego is driving him. Chicago is such a unique opportunity because it has the 2 most vital positions, pg and c, secured with Noah and Rose who are in their early 20s. Theyre also both young enough where LeBron could come in and run the show without stepping on their toes. Lets say he stays in Cleveland. They arent winning anything with their roster, not to mention how much the power has shifted in the east. He will end up like Kevin Garnett jumping teams in his early 30s to get his ring or two before he reitres. A situation I think people might be overlooking is the Knicks if he truly believes they can get Mello or Tony Parker or both next year. Hed get the Knicks in the playoffs net year and then have the potential to add another superstar next offseason. Thats obviously much riskier but its still a viable option. We know he likes NY. I know ESPN has basically ruled out Chicago but they have proved time and time again they have zero idea what theyre talking about. I will wait and see what happens but if he doesnt sign here guess what, Hawks are Stanley Cup Champs, Sox are on fire and one game out and the Bears got Julius Peppers. I can live without the NBA right now. Hmm I finally agree with you. I actually agree with this entire post other than the hopeful Bears thought.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:55 AM) but with the cap and how the NBA is structured you're want to be good enough to compete for an NBA title or terrible, being stuck in the middle is brutal and probably in all 4 major sports the hardest to pull yourself out of. Exactly, the NBA is the only sport where being in the middle is a disaster. You can build yourself up in the other sports if you're an average ish team, but in the NBA it just means you're absolutely screwed.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) Well if he wants to win titles than you can easily defend him signing with the Heat, but between the Cavs, Knicks, Bulls and Nets I agree with you. Ahh yeah that's true. I guess I keep ignoring that because I just can't believe it'll happen.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) Nobody is saying that is good enough to win a title. I didnt know winning championships was easy and to be expected. I guess we should blow the team up with our 2 rising stars and call it a decade because Chris Bosh didnt sign with the Bulls. No, you keep the two rising stars and hope you get lucky. It's not a great plan, but it's all you have now.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:49 AM) You guys realize Wade was never leaving Miami right? Quite the fools errand for Bulls brass to sway his decision when he had no intentions on leaving. We know Bosh is a little fruitcake piggy backing the big 2 and was going to end up with one of them. That basically leaves us with LeBron (who hasnt announced where he is going) to lure into Chicago. One of the most sought after free agents in sports history and were still in the running to get him and I still contest he is an idiot if he doesnt come here considering the situation he would be walking into. What a fail. I will say that I agree it still makes the most sense that LeBron come here of every situation out there. If he stays in Cleveland and takes the extra 30 million that's one thing. But if he goes somewhere else and it's not the Bulls? Good luck defending that.

At this point, I'm more interested in hearing the apparently glaring argument that the Bulls can acquire Carlos Boozer and Mike Miller or J.J. Redick (Allen isn't coming here) and be good enough to win an NBA Title than hearing defenses of how awesome a job the Bulls did missing on the top 3 free agents.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:44 AM) The trio of Deron, Boozer, and Mehmet Okur were winning 50+ games a year in the West. Rose, Boozer, and Noah won't be a contender in the East? Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah isn't winning any NBA titles. I'm not sure how you can say they will.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:43 AM) So we didnt sell Dwayne Wade on how great a city Chicago is? No, we didn't sell him on Chicago being a better place to play with Chris Bosh than Miami. Or we didn't see Chris Bosh on that idea, depends on what order that came in I suppose.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:37 AM) What should they have done? LBJ hasnt signed yet. Does Chicago not make the most sense for him? If he signs here is up to him but theres only so much you can do. They cleared cap for two big free agents and have 2 stud players in their early 20s already in place. Should we have sent Oprah? Asked Obama to make a call? If you put LeBron on this team with a Boozer/Lee type theyre the favorites in the east, even over the Heat. They created the best scenario out of any other team to lure free agents here but if they dont want to play here for whatever reason thats life. Chicago makes a ton of sense for any of the big free agents. I suppose there are two ways to look at this really: either the Bulls are some sort of victim because they made this an attractive spot to come to and none of the big guys did, or they didn't do a good enough selling job of how attractive a spot this is.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:36 AM) Guys, it's time to move on... hopefully Boozer will get signed by the Bulls, maybe they'll even get him at cheaper than max depending on what New Jersey is offering. There is still a team that can be built here, and if LeBron doesn't go to Miami the East will be pretty wide open. We still have a 22 year old guard who can ascend to the levels of Wade sooner rather than later. You're not winning an NBA championship with Carlos Boozer as your 2nd best player and making either near max or max money.

I actually think Thibbs will be a good head coach, but obviously nobody knows that for sure since he's basically just a longtime assistant up to this point, albeit a highly respected one.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:30 AM) How did they fail then? Did they make a mistake? Did they not trade to get max contracts? Everyone who loses here is a complete failure? The Heat and the Cavs if Bron goes there are the only front offices than deserve to keep their jobs? First point, front office. Paxson should have been fired years ago, and Gar Forman isn't qualified for his job. That is a bigger reason they should be fired than this failure, pulling a rabbit out of their hat and getting one of the big guys would have been a job saving move more than anything. And how did they fail? They didn't get anybody. You can do everything in preparation you want, but if doesn't work, you failed. Pretty simple concept.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:27 AM) With what scholarship? When he's at Miami and not Ohio State this fall, will you come in here and admit I was right? I don't have a Miami scholarship availabilty chart in front of me, but he's going to be there.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:26 AM) Wow, this thread has taken a pathetic turn. Demanding personnel changes because they couldnt lure in a free agent that has several options? It's amazing to me how many of you were personally in on every meeting and know exactly what the Bulls brass offered to the players and any teams in a trade scenario, if only you all could have posted that stuff on twitter over the last week then maybe some accurate info would have actually been out there. I assume most of the comments are people's way of venting their frustration, but at the end of the day, the people that work for the Bulls front office are MUCH more disappointed than you if they come out of this with nothing. They gave it a good shot, made the moves they had to make and gave the players their pitch. These guys are adults and have the ability to choose their fate and where they want to play. If you think a powerpoint presentation or what suits our guys were wearing had any bearing on their decisions than I hope you actually get a job someday and have to sell someone on something. So it's not the Bulls fault they came up empty here? I mean, yeah we're venting our frustrations, and I agree that you can't make anybody come here. But the Bulls are going absolutely nowhere anytime soon now, and regardless of how good of a shot they gave it, this has been a completely failure. And just sitting there and saying oh well isn't good enough.

Just getting Bosh wouldn't have got the Bulls any rings either. It's his connection to Wade (and to a lesser extent LeBron) that made him so important. Nobody should lose sleep over the specific fact that Bosh isn't here.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:20 AM) If they dumped Beasley's $5.0 mil they would have exactly $16.6 mil to pay LeBron's max contract. That's with no S&T for Bosh. Ok, so it's theoretically feasible. I still can't see LeBron's ego allowing it to happen though. He'd be tied for 2nd on his own team in salary at best, and never have a shot at being the superstar with the most rings on his own team. Goes against everything he's ever done to agree to that.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:00 AM) Here's another hypothetical. The starter pitches 4 and 2/3 innings and his team is leading. They pull him because he's at 120 pitches already or whatever reason. There are 4 relievers that come in and each pitch 1 inning except one guy who pitches 1 and 1/3 inning, without ever losing the lead. Why shouldn't the starter get the win? Because a starter shouldn't have to throw 120 pitches to record 14 outs. I like the starter 5 inning rule personally. I honestly think the official scorer should have more discretion as to who the winning pitcher is. How many times do you see a LOOGY come in and get one out and be rewarded with a win because the offense comes out and scores 3 the next inning? It's silly, and a classic example of why wins for pitchers are massively overrated.

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:16 AM) I agree. If LBJ was coming to Chicago, Bosh would be too. Exactly. And as much as Chris Broussard is telling us he's going to Miami, I just can't see LeBron's ego allowing that to happen. Could they even afford to pay him a full boat?

QUOTE (sircaffey @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:16 AM) But can the Bulls suck that bad with our current roster? Sadly, we are going to need some luck to get out of this hole we are suddenly in. Rose type luck. Exactly, which is why regardless of if the Bulls handled this well or not, they're screwed for a long time now.

I'd be pretty suprised if LBJ doesn't either stay with Cleveland or go to the Knicks tomorrow.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:13 AM) Bosh and Wade are not enough for the Heat to win a championship. They'll need more weapons than just those two. I agree, but Pat Riley will figure out a way to acquire them. Playing with Bosh and Wade and in an organization with Pat Riley is a great opportunity.