It’s been a while since my last blog and I decided
it was time to let my growing reader base (from 6 to 10 people) know that I'm
back. Things are better now--I guarantee you are going to sleep well
tonight. A few thoughts that have been on mind about my hometown
Bulls, Phil Jackson, and the a few snippets about the NBA in my humble opinion
Let's start with Phil Jackson. He is getting ripped
apart for his "vacation" on his ranch. Could Phil be
recharging and accessing his higher self to come up with a solution to his head
coaching vacancy and how he can guide the Knicks to the
playoffs? Possibly. Or maybe Phil has a stealth plan behind the
scenes regarding a coach that he has on his radar like Terry Stotts? I
believe the whole rumor that he is only considering Rambis is false. If
Phil wanted Rambis as his coach, why did he even hire Fisher? I believe
that Phil is a strategist and has a plan to bring on a world class coach and
get the Knicks set up for success. Would you seriously bet
against the Zen Master? Trust comes to the forefront here.
Moving on to the Spurs; age really caught up with
them. They are an awesome team. I love their style, commitment to
excellence, and their humility. It’s looking like Duncan is very
close to the end and knowing that the organization has such a strong
culture of winning, I believe they will retool quickly. This roster took
them very far and they could contend with a few tweaks. I believe the
perfect scenario for them is to sign Dwight Howard and vice-versa. Dwight
needs the Spurs and they need him. Imagine what Pop will do with a
committed Dwight Howard playing next to LMA (La Marcus Aldridge)? I am not a
big Dwight Howard fan but with the right culture and a coaching staff that is
truly world class, he could get back to a new version of his younger
self. Billy Donovan can coach. Before the playoffs started, would
anyone have thought the Thunder to pick apart the Spurs in 6 games and
win? Donovan doesn't seem to get rattled and exudes a calming
presence, which produced great results with his team. The
Warriors/Thunder series is highly anticipated and will be fun to watch.
Finally, let's discuss my Bulls. If you are a Bulls
fan, you may have decided that watching old episodes of Murder She Wrote and
Matlock marathons on Lifetime was more fun vis-à-vis the
end of the 2016 regular season for this Bulls team. The verdict is
still out on Hoiberg and management is clearly supporting him.
I believe the Bulls are going build around Bulter and he is not going anywhere.
Bulter is a 2 way player and an all-star. What can the Bulls get in
return for him? They might get some nice young players as part of a
package but I don't believe a team will swap an all-star for another. And
Butler was home grown in Chicago and yesterday he was at the combine hanging
around with Hoiberg and the team’s staff. If am GarPax, here is what I
would do: trade Rose, don't sign Noah, trade Dunleavy, let Gasol walk, and find
a locker room leader. The Bulls need a new voice. When Noah went
down and Hinrich got traded, the team fell apart. Maybe go after a Jason Terry
(championship experience) type who won't take a lot of minutes but has seen a
lot and can own the locker room and teach Butler how to lead. (BTW, I don't
know if Terry is a good leader but someone like him). Then the Bulls need
to find a starting 3, and I believe, the biggest flaw in their roster this past
season was a having a 35 year old starting small forward coming off
back-surgery to compete against the elites. I also suspect that the
Bulls will trade Derrick Rose and use his expiring contract for leverage
to maybe move up in the draft or find a center that they can build
around. Felicio ended the season on a strong note and they can find a
younger starting 5. Hypothetically, they can have a 2 headed monster
(Felicio and a new center) to round out their roster. Hopefully with the luck
of the draft, the Bulls could have a completely retooled line-up. They
have a lot of talent and with some new pieces, they can get back into the
winning groove.
To conclude, this
blog is dedicated to my Dad who as some of you might know recently had a stroke
but is recovering very well...a true inspiration.
