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