What Do the Bulls Do?

So what to the Bulls do?  I just spoke to one of the most loyal Bulls fan (my Dad) and his reaction was that this is really sad news.  I absolutely agree.  I have never met Rose but the more I read about him, the more I really like and respect him.  People describe him as selfless, a great leader, and an awesome teammate.  You can tell from the players’ reactions and not just from his own teammates, but from others around the league.  The Twitter verse was exploding with comments for D-Rose to get well.  So back to my original question, what should management do?  We all don’t know what’s going to happen, the jury says 1 month to 6+ months.   Let’s assume that we take it almost down the middle and Rose is out until the end of March.   If Gar Foreman added me to his staff and asked for my recommendation, here is what I would propose:

1)      Option A:  Gut it out.  Keep the current team in place.  Trust your rookies like Snell and sophomores like Teague to step up.  Maybe sign another back up PG to keep as insurance.  But do what Thibs and the Bulls coaches preach: “Next Man Up”.  Hinrich is still very good.  He can start and keep the offense going.  Secure a playoff spot and hope that by April, Rose can get back to playing a few minutes and then start to bring him off the bench in the first round of the playoffs.  By the second round (assuming Bulls win) sometime in May, start Rose and make a run for it. 

 

2)      Option B:  Make some big changes.  Trade your biggest asset: Luol Deng.  He is a free agent next year and his expiring contract is going to be attractive to a lot of teams.  And he is playing really good ball right now.  I see a perfect scenario with a team like Houston who wants to make a run for it.  Offer up Deng and Teague for Parsons (stud) and Aaron Brooks (spark off the bench).  You now have a young small forward at the 3 spot and you added a high quality back up PG who can score off the bench.  Brooks also can start in case Hinrich goes down and when April rolls around, you have a deeper team.  You sacrifice Deng’s leadership and defense but you gain youth and depth.  Another option is the Bobcats.  Yes, the Bobcats.  I could see them drooling for a played like Deng. He went to college in Duke so he is attractive to the local fan base and he might be the player that puts down over the top.  You trade Deng for Henderson and some other considerations.  You then slide Butler to the 3 and the Bulls now have a true shooting guard in Henderson.  Then you sign a backup PG. 

3)      Option C:  a combination of A and B.  Keep the team intact but make some minor changes.  Maybe you offer up Taj Gibson and a combination of picks (future 1^st or 2^nd round) to a team like the Clippers and you get back a Matt Barnes and a Darren Collison.  The Bulls get depth and Barnes would fit in well with Thibs’ hard nose style.  Or you call a team like the Celtics who have a lot of needs.  You give up Teague and Taj Gibson and you get back a Jared Sullinger, Jordan Crawford, and a pick.  You get a potential scorer off the bench in Crawford and someone who can post up and play the back up 4 and even 5 in Sullinger.  The Celts can start Gibson at the 4 and get a real PG who can hold the fort until Rondo comes back.

4)      Option D:  Andrew Wiggins.

 

….Wishing Rose a safe and healthy recovery period ….Now off to Sunday Football, Bear Down!  D needs to step up big time. Go McCown.

 

Happy Thanksgiving,

 

Girish

 

Start Of The Season

To all my blog fans (all 3 of you), I am back.  As you know, I just moved to NY from SF and am getting settled into my new city...  So here are some thoughts on the NBA season thus far.  SI picked the Thunder to beat the Heat in the NBA finals and that looks to be a very logical choice.  The Thunder have Westbrook back and still have an absolute beast in KD.  And the injury showed how valuable Westbrook is to that team.  He is the motor that makes them run and although he might not be a pure pass-first point guard, Westbrook is a gamer.  He is an elite athlete, a defensive matchup nightmare, and absolutely fearless on the floor. Once they really figure out how to play together (trust/pushing egos aside), they can be a true force in the Stockton/Malone, Pippen/Jordan, Magic/Kareem, and Wade/James tradition...hopefully not the Icognito/Martin combo that people labeled them to be...Speaking of the Icognito situation, yes, the NFL culture could use some cleaning up.  But it's a whole culture built around the warrior mentality that we all buy into. And I blame the Dolphins for having bad leadership. Why didn't one of the other captains step in?  When you have to go to the media to get help, there is clearly something wrong.  How many Super Bowls have the Dolphins won in the last 20 years?  Exactly.  Leadership, and it usually starts at the top (ownership). ..Ok, back to basketball.   The Bulls have had a slow start but are showing signs of coming together. I really believe they came to the regular season tired.  Thibs drove them really hard in preseason and treated those games like playoff games. I think the Bulls will be fine but it might take a month or so.  Rose will come back to his old self although I don't think his focus should be on scoring a lot right now for the Bulls to be good.  He needs to limit his turnovers, control the tempo, and ease his way in.  But I think the biggest problem in the Bulls is their lineup in general. They still don't have a deadly shooter, someone to come off the bench and knock jumpers.  Dunleavy looks ok but I am not sure he is a great fit.  Sure, he is taller than Belinelli but Marco just looked smoother.  The Bulls really need a Ben Gordon type, an instant offense type.  They don't have that in their starting lineup and they clearly don't have that in their bench. Boozer is playing well, and Deng is solid but they have holes offensively.  Bulter clearly can play but he does not like to shoot and he is more of a 3 in my opinion than a pure shooting guard...Why did the Cavs draft Bennett? Everytime I check out a box score, I see zeros across the board.  I know its early and people say he can play but right now, it's looking bleak. Imagine if they got Oladipo and put him in off the bench? ..The Lakers will be scary when Kobe comes back, assuming he can stay healthy.  Gasol is playing inspired ball and they are clearly stacked with a lot of solid role players (Blake, Young, Henry)...I really believe the Clippers will the best (regular season) team in the West after All Star Break.  Once the players learn from one of the best in Doc, they will be scary.  They are stacked with shooters, athletes, and a strong bench...The Warriors also are going to continue to be an elite team.  Igoudala is a true pro, they have great shooters, and if Bogut can stay healthy, they have one of the best starting lineups in the NBA....Look out for them in the playoffs, they have NBA Finals material...I don't understand how a lot of people were all over the Nets to be a dominant team to start the season....they need time to integrate a whole new lineup with a new coach....And the Knicks, they are a confusing one and no true identity.    With Chandler out, they don't have a lock down defender down low. Rumors are that they are trying to get Ken Faried..they could really use him....How about the Suns and the Sixers? Congrats to the Sixers for drafting MCW and for the Suns for playing inspired ball...Where does Omer Asik land?  A playoff team will be lucky to have him.  The Knicks can use him now but who could they give up to get him?  Asik would look perfect in a Mavs uniform next to Dirk but that would never happen.  Look for Dar

yl Morey to make a genius trade...It's going to be an interesting season....Thoughts and continued prayers for the Philippines.  The support has been amazing and inspiring.

Hail Air Jordan by Girish Mirchandani

All the talk and recent comparison of LeBron to MJ is getting old.   I understand why, he is the reigning MVP, and brands spend a lot marketing him.  He plays for the champs (might be not be for long) and Lebron is an electric player.  I agree, he is a freak.  Lebron is built like an NFL defensive end, can break out like a Wide Receiver, and has mad skills.  However, he is not MJ.  They don't even play the same position.  Lebron is more like Magic Johnson, a really big ball handler who can do it all.  And they way they went about winning is so drastically different.  Lebron went to a team that had a superstar and recruited another guy to join them (Bosh).  Jordan stayed patient and fought through some hard fought series with the Pistons to reach the Finals.  Jordan is a builder, Lebron is an opportunist.  Jordan did not go around meeting with other teams.  The day he got drafted by the Bulls, he was committed to win in Chicago.  He trusted that the team will surround him with players that complimented him.

Jordan is so much better than Lebron, it's not even close.  In his first 10 yrs in the league, Jordan won 3 championships.  Lebron has won 1 championship.  Jordan was 6-0 in the NBA finals, Lebron is 1-2.  And MJ did it with only 1 true All-Star, Scottie Pippen.  He did not have another superstar near him.  Lebron has Wade who used to be a beast and already had a ring prior.  And they added Bosh as Riley basically bought a team.  Jordan had Luc Longley as one his centers and won 3 championships with him.  Do we need to say more?

If Jordan was in Lebron's shoes, he would not have allowed his team to lose game 1 to the Spurs.  MJ would have found a way to take it over.  Everyone was raving about Lebron's triple double which is definitely impressive.  However, he only had 18 points though. Why did Lebron drive and then dish to Bosh (who missed the 3) when the game was on the line? Jordan would have gone to the hole and had an and 1 or gone to the line.  With the game on the line, Jordan would have willed his team.  If you want proof, watch the highlights of MJ's last game as a Bull. 

In addition, the rules are much different now.  The refs are more whistle happy and when you get near a player, they call a foul.  There was no hand check rule in MJ's playing day.  Do you remember how those rough Pistons would play the Bulls?  It was nothing like the NBA today.  There were hard fouls, hand checking was legal, and real hard nose D.  Even Foreign relations expert Rodman today said MJ would average 40 in today's NBA:

http://nba.si.com/2013/06/07/dennis-rodman-lebron-james-michael-jordan/

I don't agree with Rodman that Lebron would have been average, I think he would still be an All Star if he played in the 90s.  He is very skilled, and is super athletic.  Today, the NBA is more of a finesse game. 

So until Lebron wins 5 more NBA titles and really takes over games, then we can have that discussion.  There is only one King. Hail, Air Jordan.