Bulls Contenders Next Season?

[LosBulls]

If Chicago plays their cards right they could very well be going for that chip next year. First thing they gotta do is focus on signing Tracy McGrady before anyone else (especially the Heat) get him. A lot of you might think TMac is to old but he still has great mileage left in the tank, he is only 30. Tracy McGrady would fit in the Bulls better than any team on the bulls because of his Driving/Jump shooting. Next year the Bulls will be a jump shooting team with Rose leading the offense.

If TMac joins not only will he compliment Rose greatly because he can shoot from anywhere on the court but he can also drive in and is a great passer. He may not be the old TMac but he is still the best FA still out there if you count out injuries. Once the bulls manage to sign Tracy they would now be able to trade away Luol Deng for a starting SG (Korver isnt a starter and neither is Brewer). Maybe package James Johnson and Luol Deng + a future pick to Houston for Kevin Martin (Houston gets an SF that they need and the Bulls get a starting SG and get 3 million more in cap space).

Once the Bulls make these moves I would look to sign Kurt Thomas. Then i would go after a backup PG like Randy Foye and Allen Iverson. If you can't get those you could always sign a rookie PG to see how he does like Scottie Renolds and Edgar Sosa. If the bulls follow these steps they could be so stacked I wouldn't be surprised to see them get past the first round this season lol.


PG: Rose/Foye
SG: Martin/Korver
SF: McGrady/Brewer
PF: Boozer/Gibson
C: Noah/Thomas

If you can't get Martin or T-Mac they can also go with Plan B and sign Josh Howard.

Rose/McGrady/Boozer compliment each other very well. Only thing this team would really lack is a bit of defense but that is what the new Bull's coach is for. Rose and Noah are great defenders anyway.

[Pharcyde]

To go to the ECF, yes. That's about it.

[LosBulls]

Yeah that would be more realistic. Im getting ahead of my self. They are better than the Suns last season though and they gave the Lakers a very hard time.

[ashbelly]

if they sign tracy, they are not going past the 1st round. Book it. ya'll think the tracy mcgrady curse is a joke. :roll: :roll:

[LosBulls]

if they sign tracy, they are not going past the 1st round. Book it. ya'll think the tracy mcgrady curse is a joke. :roll: :roll: Hell if there is a Tracy "No getting past 1st" curse then for SURE there is a LeBron "No championship" curse.

[Indian guy]

Nah, I'd say a tier below the Top 5 barring Thibodeau turning us into a defensive juggernaut rivaling his Boston teams. But that's unlikely given our roster, even with your suggested moves. So I'll go with 50-55 wins, 2nd round exit.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Hell if there is a Tracy "No getting past 1st" curse then for SURE there is a LeBron "No championship" curse.

No it's not the same. If Lebron plays at MVP caliber for 5 more seasons with no rings, then maybe there will be a 'no championship curse'.

This isn't a 'no championship' curse, it is a FIRST ROUND curse. Even Joe Johnson can carry his team out of the first round. T-Mac was for 4 or 5 years arguably the best individual player in the league, and never even won one playoff series. Remember when T-Mac got hurt and the Rockets subsequently beat the Blazers and took the Lakers to 7?

[Go Getter]

I still have them a notch below the Celts, Magic, and Heat.

If our core players continue to improve, we jell well, have extreme luck as far as health, maybe we can mount a fight but I still see us as a player [one bench, one upgrade at starter maybe?] away from those guys right now.

[LosBulls]

No it's not the same. If Lebron plays at MVP caliber for 5 more seasons with no rings, then maybe there will be a 'no championship curse'.

This isn't a 'no championship' curse, it is a FIRST ROUND curse. Even Joe Johnson can carry his team out of the first round. T-Mac was for 4 or 5 years arguably the best individual player in the league, and never even won one playoff series. Remember when T-Mac got hurt and the Rockets subsequently beat the Blazers and took the Lakers to 7?


Bulls have some off the best staff in the injury department. TMac trains in Chicago every season. Trust me, 4/5 of our starters can put up 20 any given day so it is not like T-Mac will be leading the team.

[Go Getter]

Dude, McGrady is WASHED UP.

He is not better than Deng.

He is not better than Brewer.

He is not an NBA starter anymore, he is a shell of his former self that will only eat up cap space and occupy time on the IR. Before he was washed up he was declining and only wanted to jack up jumpers....now he's just a waste of a roster spot.

[LosBulls]

Dude, McGrady is WASHED UP.

He is not better than Deng.

He is not better than Brewer.

He is not an NBA starter anymore, he is a shell of his former self that will only eat up cap space and occupy time on the IR. Before he was washed up he was declining and only wanted to jack up jumpers....now he's just a waste of a roster spot.
Right now all the Bulls can get is Allen Iverson/Josh Howard/T-Mac atleast T-Mac still has hope.

[Go Getter]

Right now all the Bulls can get is Allen Iverson/Josh Howard/T-Mac atleast T-Mac still has hope.


T-Mac is done, finito....straight basuro bro.

So instead of wasting money on other teams washed up stars we should maybe get Roger Mason Jr, Eddie House, Tolliver, or some other lively body.

We are a defensive team now. AI, T-Mac, and Josh Howard are not hustling and playing d out there.

[Micku]

Maybe. We have to see them play together first.

I see them being a dark horse, and scaring teams a little bit. I see them either giving a tough fight in the second round, at best they would go to the ECF.

But we gotta see them play together first.

[SinJackal]

Nah, I'd say a tier below the Top 5 barring Thibodeau turning us into a defensive juggernaut rivaling his Boston teams. But that's unlikely given our roster, even with your suggested moves. So I'll go with 50-55 wins, 2nd round exit.

Who beats them in the second round? They nearly beat the Celtics without Boozer/Korver/Brewer, and with a younger Rose and Noah.

[thejumpa]

Dude, McGrady is WASHED UP.

He is not better than Deng.

He is not better than Brewer.

He is not an NBA starter anymore, he is a shell of his former self that will only eat up cap space and occupy time on the IR. Before he was washed up he was declining and only wanted to jack up jumpers....now he's just a waste of a roster spot.

How is he washed up when we haven't even seen him play an extended period of time since he's rehabbed to a healthy state?

[thejumpa]

Chicago is going to be an exciting team. I hope they take that #2-3 spot in the East because I can't stand Atlanta and Orlando shows no signs of getting better.

[rfoster24]

No it's not the same. If Lebron plays at MVP caliber for 5 more seasons with no rings, then maybe there will be a 'no championship curse'.

This isn't a 'no championship' curse, it is a FIRST ROUND curse. Even Joe Johnson can carry his team out of the first round. T-Mac was for 4 or 5 years arguably the best individual player in the league, and never even won one playoff series. Remember when T-Mac got hurt and the Rockets subsequently beat the Blazers and took the Lakers to 7?


WHAAAAAAAT? 4 or 5 years my ass. If you were gonna go with a scorer back then as the best player in the league, you choose from 2: AI or Kobe. And if mcgrady was the best player in the league at 1 time, it wasn't for 4 or 5 years. he was dam good on the magic though. I'll give him that.

[CHi1PriDe]

Who beats them in the second round? They nearly beat the Celtics without Boozer/Korver/Brewer, and with a younger Rose and Noah.

they also didn't have KG n we had BG who hit some clutch shots.

[SinJackal]

they also didn't have KG n we had BG who hit some clutch shots.

KG's not that much of an impact player anymore. He's always injured in the postseason. You can pretty much pencil him in for knee problems next year too.

Besides, at this point. . .I would take Noah or Boozer over KG easily. Either one is going to rebound more, be quicker, and Boozer will score more. Noah will be slightly outscored by KG.

Bulls won't get knocked out in round 2 unless they're playing the Magic or Heat imo. Though they are a good matchup against the Heat, who knows.

[Go Getter]

Yeah man KG is a warrior but he looked bad in these playoffs. It was like he could never grab a rebound with two hands easily idk why.

[SinJackal]

Yeah man KG is a warrior but he looked bad in these playoffs. It was like he could never grab a rebound with two hands easily idk why.

It's his knees. He isn't nearly as explosive as he used to be. Even Duncan is more healthy than him at this point. I don't think KG has even come close to fully recovering. I think his maximum health is no longer even in the 85-90% range anymore. :\ It's too bad, he was always a great player.

[Go Getter]

I've been watching him since Farragut Academy [my bro went there for a bit] it's hard to see him hobbled like this.

[Soundwave]

Good news for the Bulls -- they probably have their best roster since 1998.

Bad news for the Bulls -- the rest of the East is the best/most competitive its been since ... the 90s.

[SinJackal]

East still isn't that great. The West is still by far more difficult. Teams that would have been a top 4 seed in the East barely even got into the playoffs in the West. Imo, every Western conf' team would have been at LEAST the third seed if they played in the East. That is straight up embarrassing.

East is weak as hell besides 2-5 teams. They will have extra games to play against the East to pad their win/loss %. The only real teams in the East are the Heat and Magic. The Celtics, Bulls, and Hawks are all question marks to being good teams this upcoming season.

Can't say there's much competition.

[momo]

I hate to say before seeing them play with the additions they have made. And I did not see much of them last year for some reason. But they do not look like contenders to my eyes.

Maybe I am wrong. Actually I kind of hope so. It would be great to see chitown in the mix. Great for Bulls fans, and I think the L is a better place when the Bulls are contenders.

[Soundwave]

East still isn't that great. The West is still by far more difficult. Teams that would have been a top 4 seed in the East barely even got into the playoffs in the West. Imo, every Western conf' team would have been at LEAST the third seed if they played in the East. That is straight up embarrassing.

East is weak as hell besides 2-5 teams. They will have extra games to play against the East to pad their win/loss %. The only real teams in the East are the Heat and Magic. The Celtics, Bulls, and Hawks are all question marks to being good teams this upcoming season.

Can't say there's much competition.

The Celtics were one game and perhaps one Kendrick Perkins away from an NBA title just this last June. I think it's safe to say they're at least a "good" team.

The Hawks should be at least a decent regular season team.

[Jordandunk23]

1. What's with the bulls fan's infatuation with t-mac? i guess you haven't seen this dude steady decline over the past few years. those 8ppg in new york WAS NO FLUKE. all this "oh if he comes back healthy...", "if he comes back 50% of what he used to be...".... yeah not gonna happen. He wouldn't fit chicago's offense healthy and he sure as hell is not going to fit it now that he is contemplating retirement.

2. That's just a horrible trade for houston. so your basically trading your crap away to benefit your team? how about i trade ariza and a couple draft picks for derrick rose... makes as much sense :confusedshrug:

3. Bulls are a great young team. The addition of Boozer finally gives them a low post presence which will do wonders for their offense and Derrick Rose continues to improve as one of the premier point guards in the league. (tmac doesn't make the team better and martin trade is unrealistic throw that out the window). Right now they aren't contenders but they are a strong playoff team in the east. They are definitely a team to watch out for in the east playoffs but they're missing a few more pieces to be contenders.

[SinJackal]

The Celtics were one game and perhaps one Kendrick Perkins away from an NBA title just this last June. I think it's safe to say they're at least a "good" team.

The Hawks should be at least a decent regular season team.

Decent doesn't mean good.

Yeah Celtics were in the finals, but they played a crappy Bobcats team, a mortally choking Hawks team, -AND- a choking Magic team to get there. They're older now, and have less pieces than last season. KG's health is in serious question, and Ray Allen is becoming more and more hot/cold which isn't good. I'm not saying the Celtics sucks, but I don't assume they're going to magically be really good again this year. How have they improved? Many other teams improved. The Celtics have not, even in the tinyest of ways. If anything they have taken a small step back. imo.

[ZenMaster]

There's no way Houston would rather have Deng than Martin.

[Kellogs4toniee]

Ok, your a Bulls fan, so I'll give you the respect you deserve and say kudos for having the enthusiasm.

But those are some really made bad changes. Let me get this straight, you want to trade away one of our most consistent players in Luol Deng at the 3-spot the last fewyears for a Tracy McGrady that couldn't score more than 10 points under Mike D'Antoni's system last year? The one who doesn't hustle on defense and couldn reach 40% Field Goal Percentage?

Then you want to have Allen Iverson as our back-up point guard?

What the Bulls need as a backup point is someone like Luke Ridnour, who has proven to understand how to efficiently run a half-court and transition basketball game. Jerry StackHouse and Kurt Thomas would also be great veteran leaders who could come in and provide that experience. Stackhouse can still shoot the ball and play efficient, and Kurt Thomas is always a nice pickup for the amount he is payed.

If the spurs don't sign them, Roger Mason and Richard Jefferson would be nice pickups as well. Our starting five in Rose, Boozer, Noah, Deng, and Korver is already on paper a potential contender. Korver is nothing special, but he spreads the floor and complements Rose as a 3-point shooter.

Gibson + and any of the free agents that I mentioned above would be a very solid bench, and all better fits than McGrady and Iverson IMO. If McGrady is willing to play for the minimum... sure I guess. But in general those two over there just have been way too concerning in there attitude / play / injuries to the game that as a Bulls fan I would rather not take that chance under Thobodeus new system.

[Go Getter]

1. What's with the bulls fan's infatuation with t-mac? i guess you haven't seen this dude steady decline over the past few years. those 8ppg in new york WAS NO FLUKE. all this "oh if he comes back healthy...", "if he comes back 50% of what he used to be...".... yeah not gonna happen. He wouldn't fit chicago's offense healthy and he sure as hell is not going to fit it now that he is contemplating retirement.

2. That's just a horrible trade for houston. so your basically trading your crap away to benefit your team? how about i trade ariza and a couple draft picks for derrick rose... makes as much sense :confusedshrug:

3. Bulls are a great young team. The addition of Boozer finally gives them a low post presence which will do wonders for their offense and Derrick Rose continues to improve as one of the premier point guards in the league. (tmac doesn't make the team better and martin trade is unrealistic throw that out the window). Right now they aren't contenders but they are a strong playoff team in the east. They are definitely a team to watch out for in the east playoffs but they're missing a few more pieces to be contenders.


I am a Bull's fan and I am 110% against acquiring T-Mac.

[lukekarts]

The Bulls won't be any better than last season's Jazz, so no, they're not contenders. They are obviously improved though, and will be 4th or 5th seed at worst.

[SinJackal]

Ok, your a Bulls fan, so I'll give you the respect you deserve and say kudos for having the enthusiasm.

But those are some really made bad changes. Let me get this straight, you want to trade away one of our most consistent players in Luol Deng at the 3-spot the last fewyears for a Tracy McGrady that couldn't score more than 10 points under Mike D'Antoni's system last year? The one who doesn't hustle on defense and couldn reach 40% Field Goal Percentage?

Then you want to have Allen Iverson as our back-up point guard?

What the Bulls need as a backup point is someone like Luke Ridnour, who has proven to understand how to efficiently run a half-court and transition basketball game. Jerry StackHouse and Kurt Thomas would also be great veteran leaders who could come in and provide that experience. Stackhouse can still shoot the ball and play efficient, and Kurt Thomas is always a nice pickup for the amount he is payed.

If the spurs don't sign them, Roger Mason and Richard Jefferson would be nice pickups as well. Our starting five in Rose, Boozer, Noah, Deng, and Korver is already on paper a potential contender. Korver is nothing special, but he spreads the floor and complements Rose as a 3-point shooter.

Gibson + and any of the free agents that I mentioned above would be a very solid bench, and all better fits than McGrady and Iverson IMO. If McGrady is willing to play for the minimum... sure I guess. But in general those two over there just have been way too concerning in there attitude / play / injuries to the game that as a Bulls fan I would rather not take that chance under Thobodeus new system.

Yeah I agree, Bulls fans here are too down on Luol Deng. Just because he's a "quiet" type of player doesn't mean he sucks. He's efficiant, and you don't see him getting burned too much on defense. . .that's a good thing. don't forget Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard are "quiet" type of players too. . .not to say Deng's anywhere near them. . .just saying quiet doesn't neccessarily mean he's bad.

Though. . .about T-Mac, he wasn't ready to play yet after surgeory. That sort of surgeory takes over a year to fully recover from. In his defense, I actually give him a pass on last season.

Richard Jefferson is almost 100% for sure resigning with SA. They're just working out the exact figures per year so they can avoid luxury tax every season for the entirety of his contract. The odds of him not resigning are like less than 5%. He wants to play there, and they want him back for sure.

I agree about Kurt Thomas and Mason though, except they aren't as cheap as you think. Both are good players. Both play pretty decent D', and Thomas can bang threes if he keeps practicing his stroke and doesn't get lazy. But. . .again, not cheap. Many teams want Kurt Thomas-type players. They will pay 4-5m per for them.

Overall though, I pretty much agree with you.

[Go Getter]

The Bulls won't be any better than last season's Jazz, so no, they're not contenders. They are obviously improved though, and will be 4th or 5th seed at worst.


We are better than the Jazz--I've watched both teams extensively.

[dbugz]

If Chicago plays their cards right they could very well be going for that chip next year. First thing they gotta do is focus on signing Tracy McGrady before anyone else (especially the Heat) get him. A lot of you might think TMac is to old but he still has great mileage left in the tank, he is only 30. Tracy McGrady would fit in the Bulls better than any team on the bulls because of his Driving/Jump shooting. Next year the Bulls will be a jump shooting team with Rose leading the offense.

If TMac joins not only will he compliment Rose greatly because he can shoot from anywhere on the court but he can also drive in and is a great passer. He may not be the old TMac but he is still the best FA still out there if you count out injuries. Once the bulls manage to sign Tracy they would now be able to trade away Luol Deng for a starting SG (Korver isnt a starter and neither is Brewer). Maybe package James Johnson and Luol Deng + a future pick to Houston for Kevin Martin (Houston gets an SF that they need and the Bulls get a starting SG and get 3 million more in cap space).

Once the Bulls make these moves I would look to sign Kurt Thomas. Then i would go after a backup PG like Randy Foye and Allen Iverson. If you can't get those you could always sign a rookie PG to see how he does like Scottie Renolds and Edgar Sosa. If the bulls follow these steps they could be so stacked I wouldn't be surprised to see them get past the first round this season lol.


PG: Rose/Foye
SG: Martin/Korver
SF: McGrady/Brewer
PF: Boozer/Gibson
C: Noah/Thomas

If you can't get Martin or T-Mac they can also go with Plan B and sign Josh Howard.

Rose/McGrady/Boozer compliment each other very well. Only thing this team would really lack is a bit of defense but that is what the new Bull's coach is for. Rose and Noah are great defenders anyway.


Healthy Kevin Martin plus Rose would be an exciting combo to watch :bowdown:

[lukekarts]

We are better than the Jazz--I've watched both teams extensively.

:roll:

You haven't seen your new team play at all!

On paper, it looks even:

Deron > Rose
Matthews = Brewer
AK = Deng
Boozer = Boozer
Okur < Noah

Korver = Korver
Miles > Johnson
Millsap > Gibson

[King Lebron LBJ]

They will be improved but 50-53 wins and 2nd round exit is likely. Suppose they could make the CF if they surprise.

[Go Getter]

:roll:

You haven't seen your new team play at all!

On paper, it looks even:

Deron > Rose
Matthews = Brewer
AK = Deng
Boozer = Boozer
Okur < Noah

Korver = Korver
Miles > Johnson
Millsap > Gibson
excuse my typo...we will be.....and Deng is better than AK.

[BIG FURB]

Decent doesn't mean good.

Yeah Celtics were in the finals, but they played a crappy Bobcats team, a mortally choking Hawks team, -AND- a choking Magic team to get there. They're older now, and have less pieces than last season. KG's health is in serious question, and Ray Allen is becoming more and more hot/cold which isn't good. I'm not saying the Celtics sucks, but I don't assume they're going to magically be really good again this year. How have they improved? Many other teams improved. The Celtics have not, even in the tinyest of ways. If anything they have taken a small step back. imo.

Uhhhh, the Celtic's took out D-Wades Heat, Lebron's top seeded Cavs, Dwight's 2nd seeded Magic and nearly beat Kobe's Lakers for he title just this past season. Even if they've taken a small step back they're still firmly in that 'contender" slot until proven otherwise. As a fellow Bulls fan I'm as excited about the improvements we've made as the next man, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. At least wait til we've seen them play before we start calling them contenders

[lukekarts]

excuse my typo...we will be.....and Deng is better than AK.

Haha no worries. Well I'm not sold on Deng being better than AK, and if he is, it's probably marginal. You have no Paul Millsap though.

Either way, still a solid 50-55 win team, and probably just on piece away from being a legit contender... you just need to find yourselves a very good SG.

[game385]

Don't think T-Mac is better than Deng at this point in his career. I believe he deserves a shot though. Looking at Grant Hill gives you a bit of hope for T-Mac.

If the Bulls can sign him for mid-level exception then its worth a shot, but I wouldn't trade away any pieces unless they independently make the team better. Not to mention, come playoff time I'd rather have Deng trying to guard LeBron before T-Mac.

[Go Getter]

Haha no worries. Well I'm not sold on Deng being better than AK, and if he is, it's probably marginal. You have no Paul Millsap though.

Either way, still a solid 50-55 win team, and probably just on piece away from being a legit contender... you just need to find yourselves a very good SG.
Noah is our Milsap.

Trust me.....AK is a major disappointment to the Jazz....

[Bigsmoke]

:roll:

You haven't seen your new team play at all!

On paper, it looks even:

Deron > Rose
Matthews = Brewer
AK = Deng
Boozer = Boozer
Okur < Noah

Korver = Korver
Miles > Johnson
Millsap > Gibson

The Bulls more balanced.


and give me Deng over AK47 at this stage. This is not 2004

[AMISTILLILL]

KG's not that much of an impact player anymore. He's always injured in the postseason. You can pretty much pencil him in for knee problems next year too.

Besides, at this point. . .I would take Noah or Boozer over KG easily. Either one is going to rebound more, be quicker, and Boozer will score more. Noah will be slightly outscored by KG.

Bulls won't get knocked out in round 2 unless they're playing the Magic or Heat imo. Though they are a good matchup against the Heat, who knows.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

[BigNBAfan]

i have a hard time believing theyre contenders

[HylianNightmare]

I believed last season. Not anymore