Although nothing has happened, that doesn’t mean the rumors and analysis on what the Bulls should do have stopped.  Different ideas and possibilities have surfaced throughout the internet over the previous week, non of which appear to be that certain.

Here are a few over the rumors, analysis and other news that has come about over the last week or so.

• The Bodog Beat blog reported rumors of a possible trade between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.  The trade would send Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Chicago in exchange for Ben Gordon, Joakim Noah and Larry Hughes.  They are now reporting that trade talks between the two trade have halted.  The Beat also posted their ten reason why to bet on the NBA this year and number two on their list appeared the Chicago Bulls: “2. Chicago Bulls – The Bulls were expected to be an NBA title contender last season before completely tanking. With No. 1 pick Derrick Rose in tow will this season be any brighter for the Bulls?”
• The fans at Bleacher Report provided some Chicago Bulls analysis as well this week.  Michael Whittenberg gave his 2008-09 Chicago Bulls season preview.  Michael believes the Bulls will finish in 8th place in the Eastern Confernece with a 42-40 record.  The only question I have about that, is when was the last time all 8 teams that made the play-offs in the EC finished with a record above .500?  Adam Miller also gave his intake on the on going Ben Gordon-Chicago Bulls standoff, saying its a ‘no-win situation’ for either side.
• BetUs.com also provide their 2008-09 Chicago Bulls season preview.  Theres a lot of betting terms that I kind of fail to understand.  They have the Bulls at +1100 to win the Eastern Confrence and +2500 to win the NBA Championship.
• Diabolo at BlogaBull.com gave his view on Vinny del Negro and the Bulls in 08-09.  Much of which has to due with the Vinny’s first year as a coach and getting the locker room to ‘jell’ together.
• And last, but not least, from the UK the Great Britan national team has Luol Deng back on the court. In case you missed some previous news, after Deng signed his new deal with the Bulls, the company who insures players contracts elected not to insure Deng because of injury problems which kept him from being able to play with the Britain team.  Last week though he was re-insured, and has began playing with the national team.  As you’ll see on this UK news site, the basketball section is filled with praises for their GB team and Luol Deng

Hope this helps you get caught up on everything thats been going on.  My 2008-09 Chicago Bulls preview is currently being worked on and can be expected in the coming weeks.

The trade included San Antonio sending Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and Matt Bonner to Chicago for  Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni.  I am writing this post in response this trade rumor; a trade which does not make sense to me for Chicago.  Lets go over whats wrong about his points for the Bulls.

The first reason made was that Chicago needs leadership.  I agree with the fact the Bulls could use some veteran leadership.  NBNL believes that Chicago can find this leadership in Manu Ginobili once he returns from his injury after a month or two.  Why would we want someone who is injured? Ginobili is going to start the season injured.  Ginobili, although a better shooter, is not much different than Nocioni.  Each from Argentina, play tough nose defense, always playing with maximum effort.

Another reason made is the defense play of Bruce Bowen would also take pressure of younger Bulls players, as well as act as a mentor to teach the younger players.  Bowen is quickly aging and his defensive play will begin to diminish as he becomes slower.  Does another name pop into your head when you think of aging, defensive players? Ben Wallace.

The last point, and the only one I agree with, was that the Chicago Bulls get rid of two long term contracts they don’t really need.  The Bulls have Hinrich and Nocioni inked to long term deals, each for players likely to spend more time than before on the bench.  With Derrick Rose now slated as the Bulls future at point guard, Hinrich’s lack of skills at the shooting guard position make him a back up.  The same goes for Nocioni now that Luol Deng is signed to a long term.  The Bulls also need to be looking forward to 2010 when Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha become free agents.

Now although this trade makes since from a financial point of view, I believe the Bulls would be better off holding out on this one.  As the dead line begins to approach in February, teams who are just out of it or missing players due to injury, others may become interested in these players.

Trade Talk: In recent trade talk, it is pretty apparent that the Bulls would like to move Larry Hughes to free up his long term deal and cash.  The Bulls may be willing to accept next to nothing in order to move him… Andres Nocioni’s name continues to come up in trade talk around the league.

These young guys have stepped in and played some great games, and shown flashes of All-Star talent. Joakim Noah came from a college team in which he and the team succeeded year in and year out. In his first season with the Bulls he lashed out at teammates who dogged it during games, and weren’t always into the game in his opinion. Noah had a point, but as a rookie in the NBA this was not his role. This was the role of veteran players such as Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng or Andres Nocioni, who is by far the most mature of the group. Nocioni is a quiet player, who leads by example. He plays each game with 110% effort and never backs down to a defender.

This year the Bulls have a true point guard in Derrick Rose. Although still a young man, at 19 years old, he has the poise to become an All-Star and a leader of this team for years. Rose, a Chicago native, grew up watching the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. Those teams were obviously lead by Michael Jordan, but always had a premiere court general in players such as BJ Armstrong, John Paxson and Steve Kerr. This year the young group of ball players should look to take over the torch. Gordon and Deng are having contract issues, which may lead to them being traded before the season, before the trade deadline or lost via free agency following the season. And Kirk Hinrich is coming of arguably his worst professional season.

The athleticism of this young group is similar to that of the New Orleans Hornets, who finished with the fourth best record last season. The talent, and production of Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and David West may soon be compared to Derrick Rose, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. With players such as Tabo Sefolosha and Andres Nocioni there for the pass out for jumpers.

This team has the make-up to run up and down the court and tire opposing teams out with their speed, athleticism, and deep roster. The Bulls have 7 guys who can currently play the guard position, 4 who can play the small forward, and 5 who can play center or power forward. This allows Vinny Del Negro with plenty of substitution possibilites to keep the bodies on the court fresh.

Just imagine this for a second…

“Joakim Noah with the block.. ball recovered by Andres Nocioni who outlets to Derrick Rose.. Rose hurries the ball up the court and the Bulls have numbers with Tyrus Thomas running down the lane.. Rose sees Thomas, Rose tosses one up to Thomas, Thomas slams one down!”

• Derrick Rose
• Tyrus Thomas
• Joakim Noah
• Arron Gray
• JamesOn Curry
• Cedric Simmons
• Demetris Nichols

There are more on the team, but these are the players most of you will be framiliar with.

Game one was against the Heat, and the Bulls dropped it 94-70. Four Bulls finished in double digits, including Derrick Rose who scored 10 points. Tyrus Thomas also recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.

Michael Beasley tore things up for the Heat though. Beasley scored 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Beasley enters an easier role with the Heat than Rose does with the Bulls. Rose is taking over as the leader of a team, while Beasley is becoming another piece to a puzzle a few years removed from a championship title.

The Bulls will play five games in five days, the next game is tomorrow, Tuesday July 8th, against the Indiana Pacers.

The Bulls were originally destined for the number 9 pick in this years draft, were a few good point guards would have been available, including Longhorn’s D.J. Augustin. If they go with Beasley, they will have to make other moves to improve the point guard position. The point guards position is already full though, so what would be the best option, is to attempt to move a forward and a point guard in a package for a better point guard.

Baron Davis is one man who may become available. He is due $17.1 million next season, and will become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Davis’ history of injuries is a red flag. Davis played in all 82 games last season, but missed at least 15 each other to previous five years as reported by the Daily Herald. He is only 29 years old though, and is a great leader when healthy.

Another point guard who may be available is Raptor’s T.J. Ford. The Raptor’s will likely choose between Ford or Jose Calderon as their future point. To get Calderon it would probably take Ben Gordon, but Ford could be traded for Andres Nocioni, who would be a good fit for their roster.

Memphis’ point Kyle Lowry also could become available. Lowry outplayed rookie Mike Conely for the most part last season. Lowry’s small contract of only $1.2 million next year will make it hard to make a deal happen. The Daily Herald also came up with an interesting trade offer of Hinrich or Gordon, plus Thomas, for Lowry, Mike Miller and Hakim Warrick. This is a very interesting trade, as it would add some needed help the Bulls back court.

Even if the Bulls decide to go with Beasley and stick with the current roster, a team that still has a lot of potential would have even more. A starting line up of:

• Hinrich at PG
• Gordon at SG
• Deng at SF
• Beasley at PF
• Noah at C

could be a very dominating force. With Hughes, Thomas, Gooden, Nocioni and Sefolosha coming of the bench would be a very deep team.

Either way the Bulls go in this years draft, the team will definitely be upgraded nicely.

Further Reading:

• Scenarios if the Bulls draft Derrick Rose

1. Full House: The Bulls will have a plethora of gaurds and will want to move someone. After getting Larry Hughes in a trade with Cleveland in February, sharing minutes between Krik Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Hughes, and Tabo Sefolosha didn’t work well for either player. Sefolosha’s potential will make him an unlikely trade option, and Gordon’s jumper being the best of the team will make it hard to part ways with him. Hinrich and Hughes are left with huge contracts, which could make them are to deal though. Hinrich is owed $36.5 million over four years and Hughes is due $26.5 million over two years. Chris Duhon is an unrestricted free-agent and is unlikely to return.
2. Blockbuster Moves: Starting off really big would be to pursue Carmelo Anthony if the Denver Nuggets do look to move him. Anthony’s agent, Calvin Andrews, says the Nuggets aren’t shopping him, but after barely making the play-offs with the leagues third-highest payroll, and a 4-20 playoff record since 2003, the Nuggets are in need some sort of make over. Possibly acquiring Hinrich and Luol Deng can help the Nuggets become a little more defensive minded. If not that, theres the possibilty of the Elton Brand trade, but this time the Daily Herald had a little different opinion. With the Bulls sending Hinrich and Drew Gooden, instead of Hinrich and Andres Nocioni. Another forward who may be available is Charlotte Bobcats Emeka Okafor who is a restricted free agent. Although the Bobcats do not have much room for more guards. Inevititably, Hinrich could be traded for former college roommate Nick Collison and project center Johan Petro.

These are just some thoughts and rumors that could occur. What the Bulls inevitably end up doing could be decided by the other 29 teams. Read the full article at DailyHerald.com here.

Related Reading:

• Scenarios if the Bulls draft Michael Beasley

1. The Chicago Bulls keep the number one pick, and draft Michael Beasley.
2. This possibility we already discussed in an earlier article. The Bulls would draft Rose and trade Andres Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich for Elton Brand.
3. The Bulls trade pick to the Clippers for Elton Brand and the number 7 pick. With the number seven pick the Bulls then draft D.J. Augustin from Texas.
4. The fourth is a little out there, but the Bulls would trade the number one pick and maybe some players to Miami for Dwayne Wade. This would allow the Heat to draft Beasley and Rose with the number 1 and 2 picks.

These are for speculations on what the Bulls may do this off-season. They have a lot of options with the number one pick, and have a lot of control. Whether the Bulls keep the pick or trade it, they should definitely return the form of two years ago when they won 50 games.

After the Chicago Bulls won the NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday, the early favorites for their number selection is Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. On Wednesday, general manager John Paxson confirmed this belief saying that the Bulls would only scout these two players.

If the Bulls were to select Derrick Rose with the number one overall pick, he would join a long list of Bulls point gaurds. Chicago already has Kirk Hinrich, Chris Duhon, James OnCurry, and Ben Gordon, although he plays mostly at the shooting guard position. If the Bulls are to retain and not trade the pick, one of these players will most likely be traded or cut. Hinrich or Duhon would be the likely players to be traded because the addition of Rose would give the Bulls three premier point gaurds. And early trade rumors have Hinrich being the one shipped out of town.

This trade would send Hinrich and Andres Nocioni to the Los Angeles Clippers for former Chicago Bulls number one overall pick and power forward Elton Brand.

Elton Brand, who was the number one overall selection by the Bulls in 1999, was traded to the L.A. Clippers for Tyson Chandler. Brand recently turned 29 in March, played in only 8 games for the Clippers in 2007-08 as he was hobbled by injury. In these 8 games, Brand aveged 17 points per game and 8 rebounds per game, down from his career averages of 20 ppg and 10 rpg. At 29 though, Brand still is young and could provide the Bulls with a veteran presence in the post.