Let's pull a Boston

[FrankDog]

Long time member of this board but have not posted much lately. Watching this team this season has been my most disappointing experience as a sports fan. I won't go into all my frustrations (which have been articulated very well here through other posters), but I think we all need to accept that this is a poorly constructed team that is not going anywhere. We have been talking about making that one "big trade," but I wonder, do we actually have the pieces to pull a Boston and make 2?

Wallace and Deng ==> Houston for McGrady
Gordon, Tyrus, Thabo, Khyrapa, Griffin ==> Memphis for Gasol and Warrick

(the inclusion of Griffin and Warrick is not really necessary, I just think Warrick's 3/4 versatility would make him a better fit for our new bench)

Why Houston does it: They are questioning whether TMac helps them get to the next level and want to turn the team over to Yao. Wallace would make a nice enforcer alongside Yao, and Deng would give them another scoring option without taking touches away from Yao. New lineup Yao, Wallace, Deng, Battier, Alston.

Why Memphis does it: This one I'm less sure of. Not sure how much they like Tyrus, and they do have plenty of other backcourt options (Navarro, Lowry, Conley, etc.). Still, if they want to emulate Phoenix' style of play, Gordon, Tyrus, and Thabo could all make sense.

Our new lineup:
Hinrich
McGrady
Noc
J.Smith
Gasol

Bench: Duhon, Noah, Warrick

That starting 5 would be a fun group to watch and a huge improvement offensively. Duhon, Noah, and Warrick would be a thin bench, but let's face it, the way the team is constructed right now, we still don't have a defined rotation, and most good teams only have 8-9 guys that receive regular burn. Would be pretty easy to add to the bench in the off-season through the draft and FA.

[JordansBulls]

Long time member of this board but have not posted much lately. Watching this team this season has been my most disappointing experience as a sports fan. I won't go into all my frustrations (which have been articulated very well here through other posters), but I think we all need to accept that this is a poorly constructed team that is not going anywhere. We have been talking about making that one "big trade," but I wonder, do we actually have the pieces to pull a Boston and make 2?

Wallace and Deng ==> Houston for McGrady
Gordon, Tyrus, Thabo, Khyrapa, Griffin ==> Memphis for Gasol and Warrick

(the inclusion of Griffin and Warrick is not really necessary, I just think Warrick's 3/4 versatility would make him a better fit for our new bench)

Why Houston does it: They are questioning whether TMac helps them get to the next level and want to turn the team over to Yao. Wallace would make a nice enforcer alongside Yao, and Deng would give them another scoring option without taking touches away from Yao. New lineup Yao, Wallace, Deng, Battier, Alston.

Why Memphis does it: This one I'm less sure of. Not sure how much they like Tyrus, and they do have plenty of other backcourt options (Navarro, Lowry, Conley, etc.). Still, if they want to emulate Phoenix' style of play, Gordon, Tyrus, and Thabo could all make sense.

Our new lineup:
Hinrich
McGrady
Noc
J.Smith
Gasol

Bench: Duhon, Noah, Warrick

That starting 5 would be a fun group to watch and a huge improvement offensively. Duhon, Noah, and Warrick would be a thin bench, but let's face it, the way the team is constructed right now, we still don't have a defined rotation, and most good teams only have 8-9 guys that receive regular burn. Would be pretty easy to add to the bench in the off-season through the draft and FA.

That's almost similar to what I have proposed.

Bulls Trade: Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas, Chris Duhon
Bulls Get: Vince Carter, Jamal Magloire, Pau Gasol, Damon Stoudemire


Bulls/Nets/Grizzlies Deal - Trade Machine

Lineup
PG Hinrich/Stoudemire
SG V.Carter/Thabo
SF Deng/Viktor/Griffin
PF Smith/Noah
C Gasol/Magloire/Gray

That team would be in the title hunt for the next 3 years IMHO.

[Clint Eastwood]

Long time member of this board but have not posted much lately. Watching this team this season has been my most disappointing experience as a sports fan. I won't go into all my frustrations (which have been articulated very well here through other posters), but I think we all need to accept that this is a poorly constructed team that is not going anywhere. We have been talking about making that one "big trade," but I wonder, do we actually have the pieces to pull a Boston and make 2?

Wallace and Deng ==> Houston for McGrady
Gordon, Tyrus, Thabo, Khyrapa, Griffin ==> Memphis for Gasol and Warrick

(the inclusion of Griffin and Warrick is not really necessary, I just think Warrick's 3/4 versatility would make him a better fit for our new bench)

Why Houston does it: They are questioning whether TMac helps them get to the next level and want to turn the team over to Yao. Wallace would make a nice enforcer alongside Yao, and Deng would give them another scoring option without taking touches away from Yao. New lineup Yao, Wallace, Deng, Battier, Alston.

Why Memphis does it: This one I'm less sure of. Not sure how much they like Tyrus, and they do have plenty of other backcourt options (Navarro, Lowry, Conley, etc.). Still, if they want to emulate Phoenix' style of play, Gordon, Tyrus, and Thabo could all make sense.

Our new lineup:
Hinrich
McGrady
Noc
J.Smith
Gasol

Bench: Duhon, Noah, Warrick

That starting 5 would be a fun group to watch and a huge improvement offensively. Duhon, Noah, and Warrick would be a thin bench, but let's face it, the way the team is constructed right now, we still don't have a defined rotation, and most good teams only have 8-9 guys that receive regular burn. Would be pretty easy to add to the bench in the off-season through the draft and FA.

you need to post here more often. i think both of those scenarios are fantastic, and not too unrealistic actually. i think if thabo is included, then we need to get navarro back as well, which shouldnt be a problem for memphis because they will no longer need him and he is on a one year deal anyway. i for one would enjoy the future lineup. and if they wanted noah instead of tyrus, i would be overjoyed. but as is the future could be one of two lineups

gasol
noah
noc
mcgrady
hinrich


bench navarro, thabo, warrick, gray
or

gasol
noah
mcgrady
navarro
hinrich

bench nocioni, thabo, warrick, gray

[whodey]

I like the deal, but with the risk of mcgrady's health, i dont think he's worth deng. Sub noch for deng and i like the deal and it is fair too.

[Action Paxson]

We would be pulling a Boston be not be nearly as good. I would pass and rather rebuild for the future.

[whonka]

somehow mcgrady + gasol doesnt strike as much fear in my heart as pierce + allen + KG

[DmoneyH3]

As a Blazers fan, and watching Gasol a lot out here in the West..He really isn't any more of an answer any more than Joe Smith and he will cost you way too much.

[Clint Eastwood]

somehow mcgrady + gasol doesnt strike as much fear in my heart as pierce + allen + KG

i dont know, they are actually significantly younger despite mcgradys injuries. and allen has had as much injury problems in the last few years as mcgrady. add in that the bulls would be retaining hinrich, noc, and noah or TT along with a decent pick this year and navarro and warrick and its not bad at all. maybe boston is better but aside from the big three, our team would be vastly better. our big two or three wouldnt be that far off, and would be younger.

besides, we arent looking to create a team on paper that is better than boston, we are just trying to get better than we are, and more fun to watch. for me, this accomplishes that .

[Teen Girl Squad]

Is Paxson butt buddies with thorn or west? hell need some help getting both players here.

[Future Coach]

As a Blazers fan, and watching Gasol a lot out here in the West..He really isn't any more of an answer any more than Joe Smith and he will cost you way too much.

I've been watching a decent amount of memphis games as well, and this statement may be true (at least for gasol this year). Gasol is having a bad year and he generally looks a little disinterested on the court. As in he is certainly not giving 100% every minute he plays. Whether it is because of the team he is on, his role, or whatever, it's not a mentality I like. When I watch gasol play in international ball he looks like one of the more dominant and determined players playing. Anyways his effort is particularly lacking on the defensive end especially in terms of help side defense, which is a characteristic I hate out of my big man. So in this respect I agree that gasol may not be the answer despite being a relatively young big man with a good offensive skill set.

So like some one else said a 3 some of hinrich, mcgrady and gasol isn't as good as boston. Granted with the proposed deals the surrounding team would be significantly better than what boston has, and would be in contention with boston and detroit. But hinrich as a pure pg I am still unsure of and while he was 2nd team all defense does he really have the quickness to stay with nba pgs we would have to overcome like Parker. I don't really think he does. That's why in a deal to bring in a star I would try to move hinrich. Say make the trade to houston center around him and wallace and bring back alston, alston can run a team if there is good communication between the coaching staff and all the players. I would much rather have (at least for now) alston, tmac, and deng then hinrich, tmac, and noc (or someone else) starting. Deng can be a premier complementary player in this league if there is a star next to him. He is not a main option but he is a consistent second option from several places on the court, plus a more than competent defender and rebounder. That's why deng should be the last of our main 3 to be trade, if he should be traded at all

[CBS7]

I don't like the first one, but the second scenario is better.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

"Pulling a Boston" is pretty much having a bunch of assets and then getting lucky with good timing and taking advantage of teams who are willing to sell their good players at a low price.

Paxson has done the first part. Now its just a matter of waiting for that deal that comes along where you rape someone for a superstar. Neither of your deals do that.

Want to see us pull a Boston? Wait until the 2009 off season when we have an expiring contract, a handful of good young players on big deals(good for matching), and a couple good young players still on their rookie contracts. That would be our best time to "pull a Boston"

[Jujuba69]

pax is faggggg, so, forget...

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

We can't build our team around two suspect competitors with chronic injury issues. The worst case scenario is just too ugly.

[Bulls_MIT]

Mcgrady and Gasol.

actually this is more like it

Is it me, or are those two players so boring. I can imagine myself falling asleep on my couch at 8:00 every night.

[Susan]

This looks like pulling a Houston instead.

[aaqubed]

Pulling a Boston would require 1) Keeping our best player (Deng), 2) Getting a top-tier superstar (on the level of Kobe), and 3) Getting a second-tier star (on the level of Gasol).

I don't really know if there's any top tier stars that are available right now. Our best bet to get someone on that level is probably when Lebron and Wade are free agents.

Second-tier stars come on the market every now and then. Problem is, Deng is always demanded. We can't give him up if we're trying to "pull a Boston".

I don't think pulling a Boston is quite what we should be going for, though. Getting one second-tier star might be enough if we keep Deng, one of Hinrich/Gordon, and one of Tyrus/Noah. Adding a Gasol or Brand on top of that core could take us pretty far next year.

[MrSparkle]

Personally, I would take Pierce or Allen over McGrady, just because they have been much less injured the last few years. Garnett over Gasol is a no-brainer.

My question is... if McGrady can't win with Yao and a pretty solid supporting cast, what makes me think he'll work it out in Chicago?

[Clint Eastwood]

Personally, I would take Pierce or Allen over McGrady, just because they have been much less injured the last few years. Garnett over Gasol is a no-brainer.

My question is... if McGrady can't win with Yao and a pretty solid supporting cast, what makes me think he'll work it out in Chicago?

mcgrady last 5 years played 71, 47, 78, 67, 74 games
ray allen last 5 years played 55, 78, 78, 56, 76 games

paul pierce was an iron man until last year played 47 games

so your statement is disproved. mcgrady is as good as pierce and better than allen as a star player in the league.