Could The Bulls Swap Carlos Boozer For Golden State’s Monta Ellis?
Flickr Photo via Keith Allison
You don’t need to be an NBA expert to know that Carlos Boozer‘s first season as a Bull can be labeled as a disappointment. The Bulls had hoped he would bring a strong scoring presence to the paint for Chicago when they signed him to a 5-year, $80 million deal last summer.
That never really happened. Boozer struggled to find offensive consistency and couldn’t maintain chemistry with his battery mate in the paint, Joakim Noah. His inconsistency really burned the Bulls in the postseason, when he disappeared on both ends of the court, and had many questioning whether or not Boozer was a good choice for the franchise.
Those questions weren’t new, though. When the Bulls signed Boozer, after missing out on the likes of free agent big men Amar’e Stoudemire and Chris Bosh, the questions about Boozer’s health and consistency were instantaneous. And he would prove both of those concerns to be valid over the course of his first season in the Windy City.
It’s because of those struggles in his one season that have left many wondering whether or not Boozer will be a Bull in the 2011-12 season (if there is a season). Despite the woes Boozer experienced this year, he did do some good things, which has left a rumored interest in him from some teams.
While many will hope one of those teams is Orlando, the Magic are reportedly interested in Boozer to pair with Dwight Howard, not to swap the two. But Orlando isn’t the only name that has popped up in these early-summer, and questionable, trade rumors. The Golden State Warriors are looking for a big man, and their biggest scoring threat just might be available.
While Warriors’ brass has shot down the rumors already, Monta Ellis‘ name has come up several times already this offseason, since the NBA finals ended just over a week ago. His name has come up in a possible deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, which would send Andre Iguodala to the Golden State.
But as ESPN’s Chris Broussard has already stated, the Bulls and Warriors have had talks about a possible deal at some point this summer. While that doesn’t mean much, given the fact that the Bulls may have simply inquired as to Ellis’ availability, it shows that the Bulls are serious about upgrading their lineup at the two-guard.
It’s pretty clear that the Bulls need a second scoring threat to pair with Derrick Rose. Boozer was a let down and Luol Deng isn’t a strong scoring presence. If the Bulls do upgrade their roster and find that scoring threat, it’s most likely going to be at shooting guard.
The 2010-11 season was the first season in which Ellis played 80 or more games, after playing just 89 combined the previous two seasons. He finished the season with just a touch over 24 points per game, to go along with the almost six dimes per.
Now if the Bulls are somehow able to pull off a deal for the 6′ 3″ shooting guard, it wouldn’t likely be a one-for-one swap with Boozer, as nice as that would be for the Bulls. Picks and role players could be involved in such a deal as well.
If the Bulls do deal for Ellis, the lineup would include he and Rose in the backcourt, Deng and Noah in their regular starting roles, and Taj Gibson likely moving into Boozer’s role, provided none of them get dealt as well.
At the end of the day, how likely is this trade to actually happen? Not very. The Warriors have been pretty adamant about not trading Ellis, and while honesty in regard to something like that is something rare in today’s sports world, the Bulls would likely have to give up a lot more than Boozer to get Ellis, and that’s something that Gar Forman and co. seem unlikely to do.
This Bulls squad isn’t in need of a facelift, it simply needs some tweaks. If they are able to unload Boozer for a two-guard anywhere near Ellis’ caliber, which would move Gibson in the starting role he has appeared to earn, then it would be the right deal. But until the right deal comes along for both sides, which would require the Bulls to move the minimum amount of players on their current roster, while also upgrading at the two, I doubt that make a Ellis-caliber splash.
Rose on threshold of super-stardom, playing like an MVP
Last year, we celebrated Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose for becoming the first Bulls All-Star since Michael Jordan in 1998. The confetti and blow horn sales will remain high in Chicago because Rose is about to add his name to another accolade: NBA MVP.
I understand this is a brash statement early in the season and the NBA is full of players who are contending for the award, but by the time the trophy has been molded to shape and the name plate inscripted, Rose will clarify himself as the best player in the league.
Rose led the Bulls to a 9-6 record in the first 15 games of the season and was on top of each box score in everything but rebounds and blocks, although he has those on his season stat board as well. Since then, Chicago is the third best team in the Eastern Conference with a 16-9 record, including a seven game win streak.
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New Orleans stays undefeated
Saturday NBA action didn’t have many story lines as the great teams destroyed bad or mediocre teams. The New Orleans Hornets stayed undefeated, the San Antonio Spurs continue to impress and Indiana Pacer Danny Granger led the NBA in scoring with 34 points while defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Other than that, nothing too exciting except I did well on my NBA picks, almost undefeated if it wasn’t for Granger.
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Here is my personal cheerleader, well…
Chicago gets above .500 to help me stay above .500
Wednesday’s 4-6 showing on NBA game picks had to get better somehow and it did with the Chicago Bulls dominating the Golden State Warriors to help confirm an above .500 record for Thursday.
Luol Deng led the way with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double-digits and had at least one steal and block. In general, the Bulls bone stomped the Warriors in every aspect of the game.
In other games around the NBA on Thursday, the Boston Celtics manhandled the Miami Heat once again. The final score was 112-107, but it only became close in the late minutes with a Heat run, but other than that, the Celtics owned the Heat from the time the ball was jumped. Boston’s Ray Allen scored 35 points including his gift to hit seven three-pointers , while Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists as he continues to lead the league in assists per game with 14.9.
Boston’s record doesn’t matter, but the Heat who put together a superstar threesome in Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh fell to 5-4 to have all my co-workers, Facebook pals and other bloggers laughing at Miami.
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Maybe Deng should stay in Chicago
After the first two or three games of the season, I was ready to ship Luol Deng to the Philadelphia 76ers for Andre Iguodala whether the potential for the three-way trade for Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony was an option or not.
Deng was zombie-like on the court producing minimal with body language asking “what should I do” ?
In the last three to four games he has been playing as if he wants to be part of this team by producing big numbers and coming to the court with some energy letting Bulls fans know he still knows how to play basketball. For a week, I thought he forgot.
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