Mr.Bottomtooth
05-20-2007, 12:24 PM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-070519bulls,1,7884123.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true
Bulls' reality: Change
To obtain an interior scorer, roster moves likely will be needed
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 19, 2007, 7:22 PM CDT
After talking to his players collectively late Thursday and individually all day Friday, general manager John Paxson put off his postmortem with the media until Monday.
That the Bulls' No. 1 need hasn't changed all season means the weekend wasn't a suspenseful one.
"We'd like to add some interior scoring and length and athleticism," coach Scott Skiles said, echoing Paxson's comments from the first day of training camp in October 2006.
Paxson declined to include Luol Deng in substantive trade talks for Memphis forward-center Pau Gasol in February, meaning the need must be addressed via the NBA draft, trade or free agency.
"We need a big man, somebody we can rely on to score in the post and demand a double-team," guard Ben Gordon said. "That would free up guys on the perimeter and take a little pressure off us."
Of course, unless the Bulls want to develop another player through the draft, to get is to give. The Bulls are loaded with young assets, some of which would need to be sacrificed to acquire a bona fide interior scorer.
Armed with only their midlevel salary-cap exception of approximately $5.5 million, the Bulls can't count on free agency to net them more than a journeyman answer.
"As long as it's not me," Gordon said, smiling. "We want to keep everybody, but it's probably not possible if you want to bring in another guy."
That the players are cognizant of this dynamic only confirms one of the certainties of sports: Change is inevitable.
The Bulls' rocky 3-9 start in 2006-07 could be attributed, in part, to eight new faces on the roster, as well as the annual extended November trip. Paxson must walk that fine line of trying to improve his team without disrupting it.
"I don't mind change," Skiles said. "Even after I live somewhere for a while, I get a little restless. But continuity is really important too.
"Because of contractual things, we're obviously going to have some spots open. We're going to try to go get people. We're going to have some natural change for sure. How much depends on once we start meeting and get around draft time and go over our roster."
Tuesday's NBA draft lottery will begin providing some answers. If the Bulls somehow parlay a 1.9 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, their problems are solved with eight letters: Greg Oden.
If they stay at their current ninth pick—or drop—then the choices become more difficult.
Paxson has made it clear how fond he is of the young core that has helped changed the losing culture surrounding the Bulls and resulted in three straight playoff appearances.
And Paxson's decision to pass on Gasol speaks to how difficult it is to find the right player at the right price.
"These are the tough decisions," Skiles said. "Do you give up somebody you like? It's hard to trick people these days. It's hard to think we're going to go into this summer and we're going to get this guy and get him for free.
"Not many times does it happen like Detroit got Rasheed [Wallace in 2004] where he went to Atlanta, they had no use for him and within two or three days they just give him to Detroit. It's so rare that stuff happens. Normally you have to give to get."
The players understand this as clearly as they understand they have a general manager who is always seeking improvement.
"Pax always tries to make the team better," Gordon said. "I really commend him for that.
"We've made measurable progress over the last couple of seasons. I don't see why he wouldn't try to do something. I'm looking forward to that."
Unless, of course, as previously mentioned, Gordon is the one contacting moving companies and real estate agents.
The Bulls shocked the NBA last summer by throwing $60 million at Ben Wallace, prompting him to leave the Pistons for a division rival. The 2006-07 season featured progress in the form of winning a playoff series.
But an argument can be made that this summer is equally critical to the Bulls' future.
Stay the course and hope for improvement from within?
Sacrifice assets to make a bold move along the lines of signing Wallace?
As usual, the off-season will be just as intriguing as the regular season and the postseason.
"John doesn't make any secret about it, and he didn't [Thursday] night after the game when we talked to the team about our goals: That's to get better and to be active and to try to improve and make difficult decisions on what you need to do with your roster," Skiles said.
"We certainly don't want to bust up any momentum we've created. But we don't want to come to a standstill. We want to get better."
--------------------------------------
Does their needs sound like they can use Scola?
Bulls' reality: Change
To obtain an interior scorer, roster moves likely will be needed
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 19, 2007, 7:22 PM CDT
After talking to his players collectively late Thursday and individually all day Friday, general manager John Paxson put off his postmortem with the media until Monday.
That the Bulls' No. 1 need hasn't changed all season means the weekend wasn't a suspenseful one.
"We'd like to add some interior scoring and length and athleticism," coach Scott Skiles said, echoing Paxson's comments from the first day of training camp in October 2006.
Paxson declined to include Luol Deng in substantive trade talks for Memphis forward-center Pau Gasol in February, meaning the need must be addressed via the NBA draft, trade or free agency.
"We need a big man, somebody we can rely on to score in the post and demand a double-team," guard Ben Gordon said. "That would free up guys on the perimeter and take a little pressure off us."
Of course, unless the Bulls want to develop another player through the draft, to get is to give. The Bulls are loaded with young assets, some of which would need to be sacrificed to acquire a bona fide interior scorer.
Armed with only their midlevel salary-cap exception of approximately $5.5 million, the Bulls can't count on free agency to net them more than a journeyman answer.
"As long as it's not me," Gordon said, smiling. "We want to keep everybody, but it's probably not possible if you want to bring in another guy."
That the players are cognizant of this dynamic only confirms one of the certainties of sports: Change is inevitable.
The Bulls' rocky 3-9 start in 2006-07 could be attributed, in part, to eight new faces on the roster, as well as the annual extended November trip. Paxson must walk that fine line of trying to improve his team without disrupting it.
"I don't mind change," Skiles said. "Even after I live somewhere for a while, I get a little restless. But continuity is really important too.
"Because of contractual things, we're obviously going to have some spots open. We're going to try to go get people. We're going to have some natural change for sure. How much depends on once we start meeting and get around draft time and go over our roster."
Tuesday's NBA draft lottery will begin providing some answers. If the Bulls somehow parlay a 1.9 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick, their problems are solved with eight letters: Greg Oden.
If they stay at their current ninth pick—or drop—then the choices become more difficult.
Paxson has made it clear how fond he is of the young core that has helped changed the losing culture surrounding the Bulls and resulted in three straight playoff appearances.
And Paxson's decision to pass on Gasol speaks to how difficult it is to find the right player at the right price.
"These are the tough decisions," Skiles said. "Do you give up somebody you like? It's hard to trick people these days. It's hard to think we're going to go into this summer and we're going to get this guy and get him for free.
"Not many times does it happen like Detroit got Rasheed [Wallace in 2004] where he went to Atlanta, they had no use for him and within two or three days they just give him to Detroit. It's so rare that stuff happens. Normally you have to give to get."
The players understand this as clearly as they understand they have a general manager who is always seeking improvement.
"Pax always tries to make the team better," Gordon said. "I really commend him for that.
"We've made measurable progress over the last couple of seasons. I don't see why he wouldn't try to do something. I'm looking forward to that."
Unless, of course, as previously mentioned, Gordon is the one contacting moving companies and real estate agents.
The Bulls shocked the NBA last summer by throwing $60 million at Ben Wallace, prompting him to leave the Pistons for a division rival. The 2006-07 season featured progress in the form of winning a playoff series.
But an argument can be made that this summer is equally critical to the Bulls' future.
Stay the course and hope for improvement from within?
Sacrifice assets to make a bold move along the lines of signing Wallace?
As usual, the off-season will be just as intriguing as the regular season and the postseason.
"John doesn't make any secret about it, and he didn't [Thursday] night after the game when we talked to the team about our goals: That's to get better and to be active and to try to improve and make difficult decisions on what you need to do with your roster," Skiles said.
"We certainly don't want to bust up any momentum we've created. But we don't want to come to a standstill. We want to get better."
--------------------------------------
Does their needs sound like they can use Scola?