Team Preview: Chicago Bulls

The Ghost of Seasons Past (2010 Free Agency Now Included)

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” Alexander Pope

If I recall correctly, the Chicago Bulls enjoyed a fair amount of success in the 1990s. The final count came in at 558 regular season victories and six championships. And those totals are weighed down by a 13 win total during the (lockout shortened) 1999 season, the first year without Misters Jordan, Pippen and Jackson. Since that obliteration of the NBA's last dynasty, the Bulls have managed to be considered an up-and-coming team for an entire decade. They have been the Houston Texans of the NBA (and Eddy Curry is certainly David Carr). The first wave of youngsters included Elton Brand, Ron Artest and Jamal Crawford. Then Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Jay Williams and Marcus Fizer arrived on the scene. It’s likely only Tyson Chandler will have an NBA contract next season so it should be rather obvious that the second wave fared particularly poorly. Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich represented an improvement but could not win more than 47 games and Deng is the lone holdover on the current roster. Why haven't things worked out for Chicago? I blame the continuous reliance on players from Duke University but you can come to your own conclusions. Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose were the latest (and last?) young wave. Thomas has already moved on but the Bulls replaced him this offseason with Carlos Boozer (another Duke player!). With this move, Chicago finally cashed in on its’ cap space/assets and acquired a veteran big-name that wasn’t an aging Jalen Rose (who came at the expense of Artest and Brad Miller). Unfortunately, Chicago missed out on the grand prizes of the 2010 free agency period despite being able to pitch to free agents a potential starting lineup of Rose, Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Noah. Now that is a super team. Boozer is certainly not LeBron, Wade or even Bosh. And he’s not Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett, two names previously linked to the Bulls in trade discussions. But he signed a reasonable contract (considering the general overspending this summer) and fills a gaping hole in the frontcourt that has been expanding faster than Eddy Curry’s waistline since Elton Brand was traded to the Clippers nine years ago. Things appear to be changing in Chicago and Bulls fans can barely contain the hope bursting from their protruding, mustard stained, Gino's enhanced chests.



The Ghost of Seasons Present
Let’s have some fun with numbers. Some “New Math,” if you will. The six million dollar man was an indestructible force in the 1970s. Accounting for inflation that comes out to about a twenty million dollar man in today’s world. The Bulls just spent $80 million on Boozer. For one fourth of that price they could have gotten a bionic superhero. One fourth is slightly less than three tenths, or the percentage of games Carlos Boozer has missed during his six years in Utah. In related news, Carlos Boozer is currently hurt, tripping over some misplaced luggage in the dark, and might miss as much as 1/4 of the season. Numbers are fun! Also, Chicago might have been better off investing in the Office of Scientific Intelligence. While Boozer’s initial absence leaves the Bulls with a similar roster to last year’s .500 squad, the less publicized summer acquisitions will prove as important as Boozer and his terrifyingly supple chest hair. Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer solidify the shooting guard position and Tom Thibodeau arrives as the new head coach. While Tim Floyd may excel at breaking up catfights in casinos and Vinny del Negro excels at…something I’m sure (ask his close friends or family if you’re that interested), Thibodeau excels at coaching defense as a basketball coach. According to my rough estimates, defense accounts for about half of a team’s performance in a basketball game. So this will probably work out a bit better than previous failed Bulls coaches.  This season, Chicago will be Utah East (except defense may actually be included), signing three players from the Jazz and having Rose fill Deron Williams role at point guard with Joakim Noah stepping in as a taller, uglier, Frenchier version of Andrei Kirilenko. This means around 50 wins and maybe a playoff series victory. They will be feared as a playoff opponent and will gamely battle a superior team while drawing rave reviews from the media despite never truly threatening to win the series. I guess everything doesn't change.

The Ghost of Seasons Yet To Come
Chicago has young talent, a (probably) good coach and the appeal of a major market. They seem to be one of the safest bets for prolonged future success. How much success? That’s up to Derrick Rose. While the dark horse MVP talk for Rose has been ridiculous, I still believe in the guy who choked away the 2008 NCAA title game former Rookie of the Year. Would I rather have Tyreke Evans? Yes. Will I "settle" for a 22 year old All-Star with room to grow? Certainly. For all the talk of an inconsistent jump shot, Rose shot 44% from 16-23 feet last year. He will eventually add three point range (a la Chris Paul) and already is one of the best penetrating guards in the league. If Tom Thibodeau gets him to exert any sort of effort on defense and he improves his ability to draw fouls (somehow averaged only 4.3 FTA/game last year), he will be right there as one of the best guards in the NBA. Derrick Rose can turn the Bulls into legit contenders (assuming one or two other minor upgrades) but Chicago will still be built around a point guard and a 6’9’’ big man. That is certainly not the well-trodden path of NBA champions. Or hasn’t been since the 1960s saw Bob Cousy and 6’9’’ Bill Russell rule the NBA! The Chicago Bulls are old school! Better that than simply old (Hello Celtics!). But worse than new, exciting and bursting with potential (Hello Legion of Doom!). Unfortunately, Boozer and Russell lack similarities outside of their heights and this Chicago team may forever be the bridesmaid, and never the bride, of the Eastern Conference (Derrick Rose is Katherine Heigl?!). Apparently awesome weather wasn't enough for Florida, it had to go and lay claim to the two present and future juggernauts of the Eastern Conference. But they don't have this statue out front!

So...there's that. Yeah.