Is it really time to blow up the Bulls? Mid-season analysis
I haven't written a word about the Bulls this season yet we're already at the half-way point. Truth is, there's been nothing to write about. Well, there's been plenty of stuff to write about, but momma always said "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." If that were true, John Paxson would be wishing there were more writers like me. You know, crappy, untrained, no readers -- all of that. But today I'm going against mom's wishes and I'm going to take a look at what I've been avoiding - er, missing.
Holy mother of earth, what happened? If you had told me back in November that Scott Skiles would be fired on Christmas, I'd have said you were crazy. Skiles is/was a smart coach that, while a little heavy-handed at times, rarely seemed to be out-smarted by the opposition. Based on his history in Phoenix, though, I knew that his act would eventually wear thin with today's coddled athletes. I just didn't think it could happen in six weeks. The players just quit on him, and his firing was surprisingly justified. Other shocking developments:
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Kirk Hinrich sucks. I didn't see this one coming, but his scoring numbers are down 20% across the board. And this is after a slight increase after some recent solid play.
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Ben Wallace sucks. I didn't realize this when the Bulls signed him, but I did slowly figure this out over the course of last season. He was OK last season, but overall I would have labled him a disappointment. He's been downright awful this year. I know he's not here to score, but how does a big man shoot 34%? And why is he only averaging little over eight boards per game? I mean, what does he do for his sixty million dollars? Besides get his coach fired that is. And crap on rookies.
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Luol Deng is not awesome. His numbers are slightly down across the board, though he's still a pretty good player. Injured now, and he probably won't be tradeable at the deadline. But I think the "Kobe ship" has sailed anyways so its a moot point.
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Ben Gordon was worthless until he was benched. Then he was awesome again. Too bad the Bulls were already ten games under .500 before they figured this out.
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Adrian Griffin is Adrian Fucking Griffin. (Actually, that's not so surprising.) How does he have a say in anything other than what he orders for lunch? Going to new coach Jim Boylan (with Wallace) and demanding Noah's punishment be increased is not something this "grisled vet" needs to be doing. What he should be doing is thanking John Paxson daily for keeping him employed.
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Jim Boylan is very green. Mike Tirico had a point about Boylan today suggesting everybody should cut him some slack. He's only been a head coach for a few weeks and handling a situation like Noah's must be tough for a guy just getting his feet wet. So I'll give him a pass on stuff like this. Till March. The clock is ticking.
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Joakim Noah is a bit eccentric. The dude can play, but he's awfully immature (or so we hear.) Usually, teams go to great lengths to hide the immaturity of a young potential impact player. But this kid must be really an annoying sonofabitch and/or the veterans hate his guts. Even Boylan can't hide his dislike for the kid. A shame because, like I said, dude's got talent. (At least he didn't get
arrested for urinating in public.)
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Jim Boylan (and Scott Skiles for that matter) have no faith in Tyrus Thomas. He's looked great at times, but most of the time he's glued to the bench. Yes, he doesn't always look the greatest out there, but he's not going to get any better by sitting.
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Joe Smith is who we thought he was. Nothing more, nothing less. (I know - cliche - got it. But it works so well here.) I actually have no complaints because I had low expectations.
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Only Andres Nocioni is living up to expectations. Maybe Aaron Gray (who had absolutely zero expectations as a second rounder out of Pitt.) And I guess the aforementioned Smith.
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John Paxson is severely lacking in the "balls" department. Yes, at the time, it seemed like the Lakers were asking too much for Kobe. And that the Grizzlies were asking too much for Gasol. And, well, who knows what the Wolves wanted for Garnett but by judging what they got it couldn't have been that much. Pax not making any deal is by far the biggest problem with the 2007-2008 Bulls. Even if everyone lived up to expectations, and a few guys like Deng took a small step forward, they were NOT going to win a championship with this core. That's all there is to it.
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I gotta make that last point again, as its a biggie. No big-time scorer on the team, no closer, no championship. Frustrating as all Hell.
So where do we go from here? Is it really time to blow it all up? It's certainly time to give up on the season but I'm not sure that dumping all the major players on the team is going to solve anything. They're solid at small forward, they have two guards who individually are good, and they have some depth. That's really all they are. Never going to win it all.
Here's what I'd do. It's clear that the Hinrich-Gordon backcourt is never going to work, so trade one of them to the highest bidder. (Gordon has the most value right now). Trade Wallace's contract if you can, obviously, but don't expect much more than a crappy overpriced vet in return. Pray that Hinrich and Deng get better or at least remember who they were. Cut Griffin and any other malcontent/waste of space. Play Thomas a lot more, see if he can finally blossom. That's really all they can do in the short term, because the Lakers' ain't offering Kobe anymore and no other impact players with long-term prospects will be available. Try to resume trade talks in the summer. That's about it, baby. Good luck.