PF Questions

[Chi town]

1. Most of us can agree that Tyrus won't be here next year. It may be tough for him to regain his staring spot let alone even sniff 25mpg once he returns from injury as long as Taj plays decent.

- So do the Bulls trade Tyrus this season? Tyrus plus a contract like Salmons or Kirk to clear even more cap with some young talent or picks coming back our way?

- Let Tyrus walk for nothing ie Gordon last summer?

2. If Tyrus goes and we get no bigs in return what do we do next season at PF if Boozer, Amare, or Bosh don't come via FA?

- Taj is not the answer long term next to Noah. Maybe next to a great low post player like Al Jefferson or Bynum but not an offensively challenged C like Noah.

- Deng is not the answer as the full time PF. Backup PF a resounding yes. I really like him there. But not full time especially with his fragile frame.

3. I really want to get a feel for what the the board thinks will happen given the various scenarios.

- Personally I think Wade will come to CHI via FA

- IMO we need a better starting PF than Taj if we want to win titles.

- Unless Taj turns into PJ Brown this season and JJ turns into Al Harrington there will have to be trades next summer somewhere

[Jvaughn]

I dont think it will be as hard as people are predicting for Tyrus to get back in the starting lineup. Taj has been decent, but he's nowhere near starting PF material right now. Taj is solid, but Tyrus still can give us more than him given the sufficient amount of playing time he deserves. If Tyrus does get to walk next year, then we have Miller (assuming we sign him for a smaller contract), Noah, Taj, and Omer as our front court. We're still solid there.

[Kyben36]

Look at the draft, I personaly think Pat Paterson would be a nice player, but there are other players with talent that are sure to slip.

There are plenty of others though

Ed Davis
( That crazy Lituanian dude ) Danas Maja ( not even gana try
Derrick Favors
Cole Aldrich
Pat Paterson
Craig Brackins
Greg Monroe
Demarcus Cousins
This is just a few, Also some others could be there, such as Michael Washington, Larry Sanders, John Henson

I mean, this is a PF draft, so Im sure we can find somebody.

[Slackerr]

I want Greg Monroe.

[Polynice4Pippen]

John Henson

John Henson is a definite talent. But something about that body just doesn't scream "NBA power forward" to me. It doesn't even scream "ACC power forward" to be honest. MJ needs to get down to Chapel Hill and give this kid Tim Grover's phone number ASAP.

[teamCHItown]

I'm not getting any younger and it's about damn time the Bulls have a veteran 4 that can play the damn game. Vets almost always have better jumpers, foul less, and defend better than rookies, so if the Bulls can't find a decent vet 4 next year I'll be massively disappointed.

Unfortunately after the max type guys - Amare, Bosh, Boozer, Dirk - there are very very few in FA. There's Tyrus, a couple oldies like Marcus Camby who wouldn't be such a good fit anyway.

Call me insane but worst comes to absolute worst I'd consider Kenyon Martin on a reasonable deal.

[teamCHItown]

Wait I forgot Martin has to opt out of making almost 17 mil next year in order to be available. I think the chances of that happending are about 10%. Obviously in a new deal he'd be very lucky to make more than the MLE, ,but with his age, another year and another CBA might mean the end of his career, whereas if he opts out he may snag a 4 year MLE deal from somebody who can't get one of the pretty girls to dance next summer. We'll simply have to resign Tyrus, develop Johnson, or trade Kirk, our first, or a non-opted out Salmons for a 4 if we cannot sign a star 4. I don't want to rely on yet another rookie including Omer. I want to make a damn run in the playoffs.

I have a feeling we're going to end up with Ray Allen and trade Salmons, Gibson and our first next year for a decent vet 4. Then we'll bring over Omer, loose Miller to somebody who will pay him more, and go with:

5: Noah, Omer, Gray
4: vet, Johnson, Deng
3: Deng, vet FA - minimum type
2: Allen, Kirk
1: Rose, Kirk

[coldfish]

Every time I see someone write that they want Wade in Chicago, I have to point out what a waste that would be of talent. That is, unless Rose really isn't that good and you are OK with trading him. Quite frankly, Hinrich is the perfect PG to put next to Wade and they are roughly the same age.

People just don't want to read this, but if you get Wade, trade Rose for the best possible PF.

Hinrich, Wade, Deng, good PF, Noah >>>>>>>>>> Rose, Wade, Deng, no PF, Noah

[transplant]

- So do the Bulls trade Tyrus this season? Tyrus plus a contract like Salmons or Kirk to clear even more cap with some young talent or picks coming back our way?

I can see them trading Tyrus for an expiring (ideally a serviceable forward) and a pick, but those are pretty specific parameters and you may not be able to get this done. No way they include Salmons or Kirk for more cap space...they need those guys.

- Let Tyrus walk for nothing ie Gordon last summer?

Cap space isn't "nothing" if you intend to spend it on talent, which is what the Bulls will do.

2. If Tyrus goes and we get no bigs in return what do we do next season at PF if Boozer, Amare, or Bosh don't come via FA?

Don't know, but since

- Taj is not the answer long term next to Noah.

they really just have to find someone better than Gibson to improve themselves.

- Personally I think Wade will come to CHI via FA

Be nice, but I'm not counting on it.

- IMO we need a better starting PF than Taj if we want to win titles.

An epic understatement

- Unless Taj turns into PJ Brown this season and JJ turns into Al Harrington there will have to be trades next summer somewhere

Agree, and this is where you may need to trade Hinrich and/or Salmons.

[Miltpalaciofanclub]

Coldfish, I think that's fair. I like Rose and think he is a remarkable talent, but it isn't like he is a dominant player at this moment. Although I theorhetically think that Rose and Wade could work together, a more balanced combination of trading Rose in order to get a high quality power forward makes more sense.

The problems that still remains: who do you want? I can give you a short list of people I wouldn't want to trade Rose for:
Al Harrington
Carlos Boozer
Lamar Odom
David West

I'm sure that I'm leaving somebody out, but that's the level of talent that would be available. Who would you want instead?

[VolumePoster]

I want a pf with 3 point range to pair with Rose - that's the ideal, IMO. The guy who could slip to us is Craig Brackins. Mature, three point range, good athlete...but plays for a crappy (basketball) school in Iowa State. He's certainly on the radar, and he'll probably put up 20/10 this year, but then tournament time will come around, and his stock will drop. Out of the lottery? I certainly hope so, cause that's where's we'll be picking.

But...please just sign an elite PF. I don't want to have to wait for a group to "grow up" with Rose. I want to try to win a championship with him twice - as he develops, and when he's dominant. Win now, dammit!

[boogydown]

Cap Room
We do not need more cap room. What we have right now is fine. All we need to do is win now to attract a max free agent. Once we sign one, we can get others via S&T.

Power Forwards
I see Boozer, Amare, and Bosh being free agents next year. I expect ALL of them to leave their current teams. The draft as mentioned is also deep, but I do not think we will necessarily find a solution there. This draft maybe deep with PF's, but it doesn't mean that the talent is really there.

Trades Before Deadline
I think the Bulls may sit and do absolutely nothing until this summer especially if we start winning now. However, I really think the best route we can go is pushing for a trade and cleaning up the loose ends.

I'd start preparing this season for free agency now by obtaining a SG or PF. I think our best shot is moving for a PF near trade deadline.

Tyrus + Jerome James now for Carlos Boozer

Free Agency
I think we have a good shot at landing Bosh and or Wade. If those fail, we have a even higher shot at Amare and Boozer. We can also eat up bad contracts in exchange for picks + young stars with our cap room.

However if we wait this out until the summer, here are your scenarios

Scenarios

1). We sign Wade, then move Hinrich for 3PT Shooting SF/PF (Al Harrington?), use MLE to sign 3PT shooting SG/SF (Salmons?). Another option is to move Deng for a 3PT shooting SF.

2). We sign Bosh or Amare to the max. Use the MLE to resign 3PT Shooting SG/SF (Salmons?). (most likely scenario)

3). We sign Boozer to a large contract. With the remaining cap space we sign a SG/SF (Morrow/Rudy Gay?), and use the MLE on Salmons

4). We do not sign anyone as they are overpaid, and we use the cap space to absorb current contracts in the NBA

5). We let everyone walk, we tank next season, and go hard in 2011 free agency.

This of course is if Salmons will agree to a MLE on the basis we pay the guy for a long 6 year contract for the MLE where he'd get a 4 year deal someplace else with less money involved.

[boogydown]

Every time I see someone write that they want Wade in Chicago, I have to point out what a waste that would be of talent. That is, unless Rose really isn't that good and you are OK with trading him. Quite frankly, Hinrich is the perfect PG to put next to Wade and they are roughly the same age.

People just don't want to read this, but if you get Wade, trade Rose for the best possible PF.

Hinrich, Wade, Deng, good PF, Noah >>>>>>>>>> Rose, Wade, Deng, no PF, Noah

Coldfish,

It really depends how you put Wade on our team. Wade would work in this scenario

Rose
Wade
3PT shooting SF - John Salmons
3PT shooting PF - Al Harrington - via Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng
Big Center - Kaman - via Luol Deng or Kirk Hinrich

I can understand where you're going with this, but you simply cannot pass on Wade.

[Tommy Udo 6]

My opinion is that the Bulls were planning to trade Tyrus soon for a serviceable PF and maybe another player. they would probably have taken on a little salary for next season if they really liked one of the players.

Very unfortunate - Tyrus' injury comes at a really really bad time. No one will take him when he is injured and his value will obviously be less when he returns.

[coldfish]

Coldfish,

It really depends how you put Wade on our team. Wade would work in this scenario

Rose
Wade
3PT shooting SF - John Salmons
3PT shooting PF - Al Harrington - via Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng
Big Center - Kaman - via Luol Deng or Kirk Hinrich

I can understand where you're going with this, but you simply cannot pass on Wade.

I'm not advocating on getting no one instead of Wade. I'm advocating trying everything to get a quality big man before you approach Wade. I would rather have Wade than Tyrus or scrub free agents. Please don't get me wrong.

Quite frankly, with the way the Bulls are playing defense, Rose/Wade would be a pretty good team overall.