For those of you who follow me on Twitter (@Avi_RagingBull) or have followed this Tumblr for a while (despite how infrequently I post), you’ll know that I love to play GM. In the past, I’ve spent quite a bit of time obsessing over roster moves and trades that I think Chicago should do (ex: Trade Ronnie Brewer for Dorell Wright, something I was initially ridiculed for).

Well, I’m back in that mode again.

A lot has happened this NBA season. Despite having a makeshift bench and no Derrick Rose, the Bulls are finding themselves in a good position just over a quarter of a way through the season. But it’s still early in the season and, unfortunately, my pessimism about this team remains intact.

While Chicago may be fighting for the division and own one of the leagues top 5 (top 3 statistically), they still are one of the worst scoring teams in the NBA and still have no one to create a shot for them. Rose will be coming back and that will definitely help things, however it’s completely unreasonable to expect him to regain full basketball form this season. So while the Bulls may be able to make the playoffs this season, there is still not getting out of the first or second round.

For this reason, I’ve focused my expectations solely on the Bulls future and my mind on ways they can set themselves up for the future. When I think of that, one person comes to mind, Kevin Love.

A quick refresher: in a recent interview Kevin Love expressed displeasure with the Timberwolves organization and how things are run. He hinted that unless a consistently contending team is put together he will opt out of his contract at the first available opportunity.

Keeping that in mind, I (and many other Bulls fans) figured, “What’s the harm in exploring trades for Kevin Love?” We all know it’s not going to happen (I’ll expand more on that on Bulls101*), but hey, let’s see what we can put together.

*Note: If you dont follow Bulls101, I recommend it. The site is Bulls101.Com and the Twitter handle is @Bulls_101

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After spending hours on the NBA trade machine, this is the most fair trade I came up with:

Under this trade, Chicago would send two first round draft picks (this year and next year) to the Sacramento Kings and the future Charlotte Bobcats pick that they currently own to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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First and foremost: I KNOW THIS TRADE ISN’T GOING TO HAPPEN. The Timberwolves have no reason to trade Kevin Love while the Kings get slightly screwed in this trade (though I still believe by not much).

But here are reasons why I believe each team should pull the trigger:

Chicago:

1. The Bulls cut salary, something they’ve wanted to since the preseason. Currently, the luxury tax threshold is set at $70.307 million with Chicago at $74.638 million in salaries. The ramifications of this is that the Bulls have a smaller MLE to use in the offseason and cannot use the bi-annual MLE. This trade only cuts about $2 million for the Bulls which isn’t quite enough. However, it puts Chicago in a position where they can ship off Kirk Hinrich for absolutely nothing to just about most teams which puts them at just under $70 million. Of course, this is also a reason why Chicago wouldn’t do the trade. They could easily just trade Hamilton for nothing. Also, the front office loves Hinrich so much that they’d never let him go again.
2. The Bulls rid themselves of Boozer
3. The Bulls get a young, borderline superstar in Love to pair alongside Rose. Love also helps expand the floor with his three point shooting and is a better defender than Boozer.
4. The Bulls get a guy who can create his own shot in the form of Tyreke Evans. While Rose is out, Reke can also play point guard (which replaces the loss of Nate Robinson- who’d get cut anyways despite him playing better than most players on the Bulls- and the loss of Marquis Teague.
5. The Bulls get a tough defender in Stiemsma to replace Taj Gibson.

Minnesota:

1. The Timberwolves don’t get equal value for Love, however they get a young and good center in Demarcus Cousins (who may be up for trade after more issues w/ the Kings coaches and front office).
2. They dont lose too much range since Boozer can hit the midrange jump shot consistently.
3. They get an excellent guy (Boozer) to run Pick-n-Rolls and Pick-n-Pops with Rubio. For as much as I dislike Boozer, he’s excellent at running those.
4. The Timberwolves fulfill a void at shooting guard cheaply with Richard Hamilton. They’d also have the option to let Hamilton go this offseason if they’d like someone else.
5. They get a sure fire lotto pick from the Charlotte Bobcats.

Sacramento:

1. The Kings replace their problem child (Cousins) with Nikola Pekovic. Having someone who will play is better than having someone who you voluntarily bench. Benching Cousins is similar to not having him on the team altogether.
2. Pekovic is a better finisher around the rim and hardly takes jump shots which allows the Sacramento power forwards to do their thing in the midrange game.
3. The Kings at least get some players in return for Tyreke Evans (who they have said they may not keep around next season)
4. The Kings get a strong defender and good leader in Taj Gibson.
5. The Kings get Nate Robinson to replace Tyreke Evans scoring. Nate Robinson has been the second most efficient Bulls player this season after Joakim Noah.
6. The Kings get a young point guard who was projected to be a top 10 pick in this years draft (had he stayed an extra year) with Marquis Teague. With Teague, they get someone who should be able to distribute the ball better than anyone else on their team which ultimately helps their offense.
7. The Kings get 2 first round picks from Chicago. Draft picks are always nice.

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Now, there are a bunch of reasons why this trade wont happen. And I know it wont at the end of the day. However, it’s what I’ve come up with and, ignoring my bias, I believe it to be the most fair and the wisest for all the teams. Each team gets something of value in return and fulfills major needs that they have.

Focusing solely on Chicago, this team also contends heavily moving forward. A team starting Noah, Love, Deng, Evans, and Rose with a bench of Stiemsma and Butler is definitely a contender. To fill the rest of the pieces on the bench, all Chicago would have to do is use their MLE and a couple of minimums on quality players to fill the rest of the bench. This route also opens up the option of using the amnesty on Luol Deng (though I wouldn’t go that route).

Anyways, that about wraps up my rant about this trade and my belief in it. Thanks for tuning in. If you guys have any thoughts on the trade or have any of your own to share, please leave them below. ?

This is the third podcast for “Raging Bull.” Topics covered include commentary on the Bulls draft choice, Marquis Teague. A mini-summary of the Houston Rocket’s draft is included as well and how this affects the Bulls. Finally, I work another trade for the Bulls given how the Rockets drafted. Enjoy!

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Summary:

Draft:

-The Bulls drafted Marquis Teague out of the University of Kentucky
-I like the pick but I dont love it
-What I like:

• The Bulls got value for the pick. Teague has the potential to be a lotto pick next year
• The Bulls now have a backup w/ a ceiling of Kyle Lowry for the next 5 years under the CBA
• The CJ Watson era is over (I am still angry about that pass at the end of game 6_

-What I dont like:

• The Bulls needed a Sg. They didn’t address that with this pick
• The Bulls could have traded cash for a 2nd round pick to get a player like Doron Lamb. They didnt and now the team doesn’t have a Sg for the future

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Houston’s Draft:

-W/ their picks, they drafted Jeremy Lamb (Sg/Pg), Royce White (Sf/Pf), and Terrance Jones (Pf)
-They did 2 things by doing this:

1. Overloaded their backcourt. Assuming Lee and Dragic resign, they have White, Chandler Parsons, and Marcus Morris for Sf, Kevin Martin, Courtney Lee, and Lamb for Sg, and Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry for Pg.
2. Ignored their biggest need at center which means they’re targeting centers via free agency (confirmed via Jonathan Feigen). Which means Asik is going to be a big target for them

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Omer Asik:

-The Rockets have coveted Asik for the past couple of years. Every trade talk has included Asik’s name

-The Rockets were already rumored to make a play for Asik, they likely will.

-The Rockets could land Asik easily as they have anywhere from $6 to $17 million to offer to him (pending who they resign and for how much).

-They could backload the contract and the Bulls would be completely crippled in future years should Chicago match the offer

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The Trade to Solve Both Team’s Issues:

-It’s complicated, but the Bulls could talk to the Rockets prior to matching an Asik offer and inquire about a trade

-The idea is basically that the Bulls would do a sign and trade with Asik

-Trade would be centered around Deng + Asik for Martin and Parsons

• This is just a rough draft based off of current salary situations. In all likelihood, the Bulls would probably have to take on Lowry and give up Teague and the Bobcats pick

-Why the trade works for the Rockets:

1. They get their center and could potentially get him cheaper than what they’d probably have to pay
2. They clear up the backcourt a bit. Martin leaving opens it up for Lee + Lamb. Deng and Parsons swap and Deng can teach White while also playing some Pf.
3. If Lowry moves, that clears it up for Dragic to resign. If Teague is involved, they get a young backup prospect
4. All they have left to do is trade of use the amnesty on Scola which should be done easily

-Why the trade works for the Bulls

1. They get a Sg who can score (though doesn’t play as much defense)
2. They get Parsons who is a young but good player on both sides of the ball
3. If Lowry is included, then they have a Pg for next year to help them continue to contend for a title.
4. They also have potential financial flexibility. Martin would be a FA next offseason. They could restructure his deal to make him a cheaper player. They could let him walk and get Monta Ellis, Andre Iguodala, James Harden, or Tyreke Evans via free agency.

-Unfortunately there are deterrents that likely keep the trade from happening…

1. Deng’s Wrist
2. Deng’s Contract
3. Acquiring Deng doesn’t free up their backcourt for their younger guys

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That about does it for this podcast. I hope you guys enjoyed it. As always, if you have any feedback or any questions, comments, or concerns about anything I’ve talked about in my podcast, you can shoot me a message here on Tumblr or you can find me on Twitter (@Avi_RagingBull).

Until next time everyone!

Link Mentioned in Podcast:
http://www.bulls101.com/2012/06/26/bulls-101-roundtable-should-the-chicago-bulls-trade-luol-deng/ 

Twitter Handle: @Avi_RagingBull

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Summary:

With the NBA draft starting w/in an hour, I figured I’d weigh in one last time to give my input in which way the Bulls should go. In my eyes, the three routes the Bulls should go:

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Standing Pat:
I dont prefer this route in the slightest, but should the Bulls not move up in the draft, I think they should take Evan Fournier or Doron Lamb. I think they should use the amnesty on Boozer and then tank next season, but that’s just not going to happen

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Not Moving Deng- Tanking:
I talked about this in the last podcast, but I think the Bulls, if Deng is not traded, draft a big man (preferably Draymond Green) and replace Omer Asik. Use the amnesty on Boozer and get Taj experience as a starter (and extend Taj for 2 years). And cut the bench and sign sucky vets to 1 yr deals. W/ Deng looking to be out till Christmas w/ a wrist surgery and Rose set to be out almost all year next year, Hamilton is the best offensive player. The Bulls would then tank and do one of two things:

• Use a lotto pick on a Sg and try to get Josh Smith via free agency
• Use a lotto pick on a big man and try to get either Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, Andre Iguodala, James Harden, or Tyreke Evans next offseason

This creates a team of:

• Noah/Green
• (Smith or a draft pick)/Gibson
• Deng/Butler
• (Ellis/Iggy/Martin/Harden/Evans or a draft pick)/Some random guy
• Rose/Some random guy

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Moving Deng and Not Tanking:
This is the most ideal route for me. If by some miracle the Bulls can trade Deng to Toronto for the 8th pick and Jose Calderon. The Bulls get a Pg in lieu of Rose and can draft Dion Waiters. The Bulls would cut the bench and sign Gerald Wallace to a deal to replace Deng. Chicago would ideally use the amnesty on Boozer and then go for Josh Smith the next offseason, but they dont have to. Via this route, the Bulls could continue to compete next season. The roster would look like:

• Noah/Next Year’s 1st rounder
• Boozer (or Smith)/Gibson
• Wallace/Butler
• Waiters/Some Guy
• Rose/Calderon

The rumors are are that Waiters has been promised to be drafted by some team. If this is in fact true and the Bulls got him, Chicago could probably leverage Waiters and trade down for a pick (that could be used on Jeremy Lamb) and a Sf (which in turn saves them money on Gerald Wallace. The roster would look like:

• Noah/Next Year’s 1st rounder
• Boozer (or Smith)/Gibson
• Guy They Traded For/Butler
• Lamb/Some Guy
• Rose/Calderon

Either way, a championship contender is built (in my opinion)

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That about does it for me today. Thanks for listening in. Send me feedback and enjoy the draft.

Hey everyone. So this is my first podcast for Raging Bull. I’m planning on using these podcasts to go ahead and make posts quicker in the future. Unfortunately I’ve been super busy with school and writing for Bulls101 and Clipperholics so I’ve had very little time to dedicate to this site.

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Anyways, just a couple of things:

1. Sorry if it sounds a bit awkward at times. I’m not exactly used to just talking into a microphone with no one on the other end.

2. Sorry about my voice. For some reason it’s coming out more nasal than it really is (my friend’s words… not mine). I’ll see if there’s a way I can fix that for the future.

3. Also, sorry for the length. The posts will generally only be 5-7 minutes at most, but I combined 2 topics together so it ended up being much longer than I would have liked.

4. Just a quick summary of what it’s about:

• Rose is going to be out until at least March since it’ll take 9-12 months to recover from the surgery.
• Even if Rose does come back early, he wont be anywhere close to 100% next season which means his presence, while helpful, does little.
• The Bulls have 2 options to move forward from this Rose injury
  1. Sign Steve Nash (which is unlikely… more on that in another post)
  2. Tank next season and try to create a dynasty.
• To tank, the Bulls should let Asik go, use the amnesty of Boozer, cut the bench (except Korver) and sign on washed up vets. W/ Deng out for the first several months and Rose out for most all of next year, the Bulls should easily get a lottery pick.
• This offseason/year, the Bulls would draft a big to replace Asik and move Taj Gibson to a starting role to get him to improve.
• Next offseason, the Bulls would use the lottery pick to draft a SG/SF. They would also extend Taj Gibson, bring over Mirotic, and go after either Andre Iguodala, Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin, James Harden, or Tyreke Evans w/ the money saved from letting Boozer go. Also, the Bulls would let Hamilton go
• This would create a team of:
  Noah/2012 Draft Pick
  Gibson/Mirotic
  Deng/Butler
  FA Pickup/2013 Draft Pick
  Rose/Backup Point Guard 

I think tanking is the better way to go since it would create an opportunity for the Bulls to create a dynasty and win multiple championships for years to come (rather than just try, and likely fail, to win one this year without Rose). It worked for the Spurs and it could certainly work again for Chicago since most of the pieces are already in place. Unfortunately, this route, like the Nash route, is unlikely so long as Tom Thibodeau is the coach (I’m not complaining that he is though)

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Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the podcast. Sorry it’s long but they’ll be significantly shorter next time. Let me know, via Twitter (@Avi_RagingBull) or in a message on here if you have any other improvements that you’d like to see for future podcasts/audio posts.

Hope you all have a good day.

Hey everyone.

Just want to apologize for the lack of posts on here. I’ve been trying to write some commentary posts for you guys. Unfortunately between working my game grades on Bulls101, trying to cover Clippers games for Clipperholics (website still heavily under construction), and researching, school, studying, and running a tennis club, I have absolutely no free time.

I’ll try to get more going in the playoffs as far as commentary goes. The condensed schedule hasn’t helped since there’s pretty much a game every single day. But the playoffs will be stretched out over time so I should be able to write a bit more.

Again, sorry. Just please bear with me a bit more.

—Avi

I wont be making any more blog posts for the rest of the week (or at least until Friday) because of Finals. That means no game grades for this week or any commentary posts on here. So… yeah

Game Grades are up on Bulls 101. Today was a great win against the Heat. The best part is is that Rose and Hamilton weren’t even playing which just further solidifies that a team is much better than three players.

Here’s the link to grades. Enjoy!

http://www.bulls101.com/2012/03/15/chicago-bulls-106-miami-heat-102-game-grades/

Game Grades are up on Bulls101.Com for tonight’s game against the Knicks.

Here’s the shortlink:

 http://sport-ne.ws/bfi

Hey everyone,

So you all know I write about the Bulls on here and on Bulls101.Com. Well I was actually asked by Phillip Barnett to join him and write for a new Clippers blog (Clipperholics.Com). Right now, the site literally just started and there isn’tmuch going on with it (we’re working on that). But it should be a relatively big site since the guy who founded it is also the founder and owner of the blog LakerNation.

Anyways, I just made my first game recap post. It’s the first one I’ve ever done that isn’t game grades, so bear with it when you read it. I’m still learning. Anyways, the link is below. Check it out and let me know what you think of it.

http://www.clipperholics.com/?p=277

The Richard Hamilton experiment has failed, so it seems. At least, that’s what it seems like many Bulls and NBA fans are saying as of late.

As many of you know by now, Richard Hamilton sustained a right shoulder injury when fighting through Roy Hibbert’s screen a mere 89 seconds into the game against the Pacers back on Monday. Though the injury seemed very serious initially, it was only diagnosed that Hamilton has a slight sprain and a contusion. Currently he’s listed as day-to-day, in actuality, we all know that it’s very likely he’ll be out for a week to week and a half with the likely hood of being eased back into the offense again.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, many are left asking the simple question: Should the Bulls look to trade for another shooting guard? My answer to this question, an emphatic NO!

Look, I wont deny, this recent injury to Hamilton sucks. It’s been a frustrating season as we all thought he’d be the answer to all of Chicago’s problems when it came to the Heat. So far, he’s only disappointed having played in 16 games this season out of a possible 41. But here’s the thing: he’s only played 16 games out of 41! By that I mean, we still dont fully know what this Chicago Bulls team is capable of.

Of those 16 games, only 7 of them were with the other starters. I know it’s a rather small sample size, but looking at those 7 games when all the starters were on the floor, the Chicago offense has never looked better. Floor spacing was phenomenal. Everyone was moving around, the defense was spread around, and EVERYONE (Boozer included) had easy paths to the basket after one or two passes or even had a wide open jumper. To compound that excellent floor spacing, ball movement was better than it’s been all season. I’d like to cite an assist/turnover ratio, but I’m going to avoid that since:

1. I dont have the numbers on me
2. It’s late and I dont really care to do the research for those numbers
3. I think the assist/turnover ratio is a bit flawed since it doesn’t account for missed shots

All this is to say that Hamilton has been good with Chicago when he has played. He still hast 7 weeks of regular season to get healthy and get into the flow of things. I’m fairly certain that’s enough time.

BUT…

Lets just assume the Bulls brass went ahead to look at exploring trade options. To realistically get an upgrade at shooting guard (someone like OJ Mayo or Courtney Lee), the Bulls would have to give up Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. Is it worth it? Not really.

1. The Bulls bench as a unit gives up only 0.67 points per possession (statistic courtesy of @AshesofPot on Twitter). That’s pure defensive dominance. Sure they dont score, but they dont need to do much scoring with that kind of defense.
2. The Bulls would be giving up their dominance inside. Remember, the Heat’s biggest weakness is their lack of an inside presence. Why do you think it burned them so badly when Pryzbilla went to Portland instead of Miami? Because were left hopeless inside.
3. If you give one of those guys up, who do you get to replace them? Fesenko? HELL NO! I do not want Kyrylo Fesenko anywhere near this Chicago Bulls team. Period. The fact of the matter is, there’s no one left on the market. So if Boozer and/or Noah went down with injury (a very likely scenario given their both injury prone), who do you put on the floor?

The price is not worth the product. That’s just the cold hard fact. Even at this point, now that Hamilton is injured again, I’m thoroughly against my own idea of trading for Dorell Wright (but you can read about why in a roundtable on Bulls101.Com that will be coming soon).

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All in all, Chicago doesn’t need to make a trade for a better shooting guard. They need to stand pat and make sure that everyone gets healthy. No one in this league, the players themselves, have seen what this Chicago team is capable of doing. At this point, the organization and the players need to take a gamble on themselves, and we have to have faith that the professionals know what they’re doing.

Rose still does not smile when he hits game winning buzzer beaters. He only looks at you as if to say, “I will destroy you all… especially you Lebron!”

Could everyone please vote for me if you haven’t already? I want to just win this one round over Curtis. Seriously, I would love you all forever. I’m only down by 2 votes.

http://polldaddy.com/poll/6017341/

Rose’s first game winning buzzer beater in his career. It looked so effortless.

Chicago got their revenge handily today shutting the Pacers up with a blowout win. I wrote my game grades and they’re posted up on Bulls101.Com. I hope you guys continue to enjoy these posts and, as always, I appreciate any feedback you guys have so I can continue to grow and improve.

http://www.bulls101.com/2012/03/05/chicago-bulls-92-indiana-pacers-72-game-grades/

Ric Bucher knows whats up!