Derrick Rose is playing at an MVP level, Carlos Boozer is at an all-star level and if he didn’t tear ligaments in his thumb Joakim Noah would be an all-star also.

With everything on the up and up in Chicago, it’s only going to look better as eight of the next ten games are against teams under .500.

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The best thing about this is, no one is talking about the Bulls because of all of the other drama happening in the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics are dealing with the injury to Kevin Garnett’s right leg, which was first said to be his knee but ESPN has the injury listed as his calf on Garnett’s player card. Besides the injury to one of their big three, the Celtics have been playing good ball and are at the top of the conference. If they fall off the top of the ladder or remain, there is going to be hoopla around the organization the duration of Garnett’s absence.

Miami is a circus show and as long as the team is still in existence with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat roster, they will always have more shine than Chicago.

The Orlando Magic were stagnant with their roster so they made headlines with blockbuster deals which moved Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat while receiving Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu. This deal puts them back in the elite race because they now have players who want to win instead of simply being paid.

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While all this is going on, the Bulls are staying off the radar and doing what they have to do to win games.

Mentioned before, Noah had surgery on his thumb and has missed six games which has resulted in only two loses for the Bulls. The team hasn’t technically filled the void, but they are putting in players who are producing where Noah did, defensively. Kurt Thomas, Omer Asik and James Johnson have stepped up their game and have made a difference coming off the bench.

Carlos Boozer had a couple of rough games after his return from his broken hand, but since then he has been unstoppable and has opened up the Bulls offense like never before. Chicago finally has an inside presence to draw double teams but also has great passing skills to find the open shooter.

Rose, Kyle Korver and Keith Bogans are shining as shooters because of Boozers job inside.

The only thing to worry about is becoming complaisant against lesser teams such as the New Jersey Nets (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Bobcats.

Fortunately, the Bulls have a roster full of character guys who thrive on proving the masses wrong.

The only two winning teams in the next ten games are the Celtics and the Heat. If the Bulls continue to play at their current level they could possibly win both of these games.

My early prediction is: Chicago takes nine out of the next ten games.

Leave your prediction…

How will the Bulls finish in the next ten games?

Before Chicago lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 100-99, the Bulls were on the longest winning streak of the season and impressing the basketball world because of the high level of play since the team was back to full strength.

There is only one reason why the Bulls may have a tough time achieving the same type of streak, they’re no longer healthy.

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As most of you know, Joakim Noah had surgery on Thursday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. According to Fred Tedeschi, Bulls athletic trainer. the surgery went well and Noah will be back on the court in 8-to-10 weeks.

The good thing is he’ll be back shortly before or after the NBA All-Star break to help Chicago solidify a top seed heading into the playoffs. Of course the bad part is, the Bulls have to play without their defensive anchor for at least 27 games, if he can come back in eight weeks. If he can’t return for 10 weeks, he’ll miss 33 games.

Optimistically the Bulls do have Carlos Boozer, who has stepped into the second scoring option in great stride averaging 18 points a game while grabbing eight rebounds. Since his return December 2, he has played in 10 games and has showings of 22 points or more in five of those games while finishing in double-digits in eight of his appearances.

Taj Gibson stepping in to fill the gap in center is bitter sweet because he is a reliable player on offense and will get 10 rebounds a game, but defensively he will be over sized against some divisional match ups including the Indiana Pacer’s Roy Hibbert, Cleveland Cavalier Anderson Varejao or Milwaukee Buck Andrew Bogut.

Unfortunately, Gibson might not suite up for Tuesday’s game against the 76ers because of the concussion he sustained on Saturday. Without him, the Bulls front line becomes extremely thin and is a red light to think the Bulls can win right away.

With this said, Boozer is going to have to watch his back at all times and Luol Deng, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and James Johnson have to be efficient help defenders.

Omer Asik isn’t ready to start, but his game is developing enough to come off the bench and be a factor more than he has been. During the season he is averaging three points, three rebounds and a block a game while only playing 11 minutes. Noah is gone, so the seven footer has to step up and show the Bulls they were smart when they kept his draft rights for two years before he played an NBA game.

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While the Bulls are struggling to stay healthy and have to re-write the rotation, the 76ers have won four of their last five games including a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic Saturday.

Chicago has proved countless times it can rise above the odds while Philadelphia has proven they should never be trusted for a win. We’ll find out Tuesday, which prophecy will come true.

Figuring out which team will win a basketball game is tough, but so are other sports.

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Now, a perfect situation has arose where the Bulls could get Melo without losing their star pupil.

Three-way trades are a beautiful thing if they help out all three teams in the deal; this one would do exactly that.

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The marvelous trade would help out the Bulls who need the type of scoring Anthony provides, the Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers by getting rid of unhappy players for decent bargain packages. Melo has said he wants a brighter future since the Denver line up is full of old broken down players and Andre Iguodala wants out of Philadelphia because he knows his future isn’t bright either.

CSNChicago.com’s Mark Schanowski broke down the three-way trade and how it would affect each of the teams. His trade would send Luol Deng and a number one draft pick to the 76ers. Denver would get Iguodala, Taj Gibson and the first round pick the Bulls aquired in the Tyrus Thomas deal with the Charlotte Bobcats last year. Then the Bulls would get Anthony.

How each of the teams win in the deal:

Chicago: Besides Derrick Rose and Noah, there isn’t any scoring on a consistent basis. I thank Deng for scoring 40 points against the Portland Trailblazers on Monday because it improved his trade value, but he and everyone else knows, it was probably a one, maybe two, time deal. Bring in Melo who will score 25-to-30 points a night, grab rebounds and will buy into Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau’s defensive scheme. He is known as a mediocre defender, but he did improve last season and would get even better with a defensive minded coach.

The starting lineup of  Rose, Anthony, Boozer, Noah and Ronnie Brewer would automatically put the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Championship race. Then Keith Bogans would be able to finally produce as the role player he is and Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, James Johnson and Omer Asik would come off the bench and give valuable minutes.

Denver: They don’t want to get rid of Melo, but he doesn’t want to stay. Instead of losing him next year in free agency when his contract is up, the Nuggets might as well get something in return for him. Iguodala is an above average talent in the league who can do a little bit of everything similar to Melo, not on the same level, but better than most. Denver didn’t want Deng, but have shown interest in Iguodala.

Also, Gibson is a starting forward in the league and would be a nice replacement to the aging Kenyon Martin. I don’t want Gibson to go, but if it meant Melo coming to Chicago…I’m in.

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Philadelphia: Iguodala wants out and is being vocal about it. Rookie Evan Turner is already turning heads and will be the star player outshining Iguodala. If they kept Iggy, there would be all kinds of problems when it comes to team chemistry.

Coach Doug Collins said Deng would be a good fit in his system and has been a fan of Deng’s since he played at Duke University. Plus, another top draft pick…why not?

The deal works in all directions, with Chicago being the winner. Melo has developed into an all-around player who I think is a top five player in the league.

Of course, I didn’t work out salary cap math and see if this deal would exactly work as scripted, neither did Schanowski, but add another guy or substitute a name or two and it would still work out.

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The Bulls are usually loyal to not trading their top guys unless they really want to be dealt and it is bothering the rest of the team, but I think the Bulls have to do this deal. We have seen in the first two games, the third being the exception with Deng’s help, that there isn’t much help for Rose and Noah until Boozer gets back. When he returns it will be a different story, but with Melo the starting five would be as good as anyone in the league.

Brandon Roy and the Blazers have started the 2010-11 NBA season in phenomenal fashion and look to have their first 4-0 start in 11 years against the Bulls while the Bulls have began 1-1 without their key summer acquisition, Carlos Boozer who is out with a broken hand.

Can the Bulls end the trail?

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The Bulls could win the game but they need more offensive production from Luol Deng and whoever starts at the two-guard, although I hope it’s not Keith Bogans. Through two games, Luol Deng is averaging 11 points in 31 minutes per game while Bogans is averaging 2.5 points in 29.5 minutes a game.

This is not enough for the Bulls to keep winning. If Derrick Rose has to score 28 points in a loss and 39 for a comeback win, he is going to get tired awfully soon in the season. When Boozer comes back sometime in the next five-to-six weeks, he’ll have help, but it won’t matter if he is exhausted from carrying the team. With this said, Deng and Bogans have to step up and take some of the scoring pressure off of D-Rose.

Defensively, the Bulls have to improve their help defense. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder drove right past Deng a couple of different times for dunks and easy lay-ups without any big man presence on Wednesday.

Also on defense, they have to get hands in the face of the shooters. Ex-Bull and current Detroit Piston Ben Gordon scorched the net against the Bulls on Saturday going perfect from the field, free-throw line and three-point line until the fourth quarter. He finished with 21 points, all made in his perfect streak.

The Trailblazers have multiple offensive scoring threats besides Brandon Roy. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez call all put the ball in the hoop while players such as Marcus Camby and Andre Miller will rebound, assist and do the things needed to make it hard for the Bulls to beat them.

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Camby-Noah is going to be an interesting match-up because they play similar styles since both are defense first, energy boost type of players. Noah is a little better offensively because he works hard to get offensive rebounds, which could swing the match-up in his favor.

My biggest concern is Brandon Roy of course because of Bogans lack of defensive skill. Gordon murdered Bogans every time he touched the ball and so did Durant when Bogans played him. Sure, Durant is one of the best scorers in the league and Gordon can be when he wants to but Bogans hardly makes an effort which surprises me because coach Tom Thibodeau is all about defense.

Bogans can’t stop a player with a quick first step or a step back jumper; Roy has both.

In order for the Bulls to win this game:

Rose will have to have at least 30 points.

Noah will have to have his third straight double-double while being sick because he is listed with having the flu.

Deng and Bogans need to show up on both sides of the ball.

Kyle Korver needs to get more than 16 minutes and five touches.

James Johnson will have to continue to be spark off the bench such as he was against the Pistons.

In the two games, Bogans is averaging 29 minutes, two and a half points, two assists and five rebounds a game. For a starting shooting guard, this is horrible production and the Bulls need more the position. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Derrick Rose had 28 points and Joakim Noah had a double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds, but the Bulls still lost.

Saturday against the Detroit Pistons, the Bulls won by 10-points but at one time were down by 21-points and looked down and out. Again, Rose goes bananas and drops 39 and Noah has another double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. If it wasn’t James Johnson coming off the bench and doing a little bit of everything from defense, to rebounding, to scoring…the Bulls wouldn’t have had enough to come back and get the win.

I blame this on the lack luster production of the shooting guard, Keith Bogans; he should have stayed in San Antonio.

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The man isn’t doing anything to help the Bulls win games. On defense, he doesn’t know how to position himself causing opponents to run right pass him. Offensively, he can’t hit a shot or help the Bulls out in any type of situation or get them in any rhythm. Rose is forced to play offense by himself in the back court because he has no help.

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Honestly, this isn’t a huge surprise. In his six seasons before joining the Bulls, he has been a marginal player and didn’t help except hit a three-pointer occasionally. The problem is, he isn’t hitting any shots when they’re needed and he isn’t doing anything else. What do teams do when this problem occurs, bench the guy and let him get minutes marginal players deserve.

Last year with the Spurs, he started 50 games, a career high but averaged a career low with 4.4 points.

The Bulls have other talented guys who should start ahead of Bogans such as Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Johnson.

Brewer is by far a better defender and scoring threat. In the 53 games he started with the Utah Jazz last season, he averaged 9 points, a steal and a half and two rebounds a game. He was everywhere and did the little things needed to win that Bogans isn’t doing right now.

Korver is the best shooter on the team but is being limited to 16 and 21 minutes a game with little shooting opportunities. The sharp shooter also crashes the boards and creates opportunities for the Bulls with his passing ability and court vision.

Johnson showed how he would be a better fit than Bogans with his extra help in the comeback against the Pistons. He came in the game, hit a couple clutch jumpers, grabbed a few boards and grabbed a steal to kill any momentum the Pistons wanted to steal from the Bulls as Chicago outscored them 34-to-9 in the fourth quarter.

Any one of these guys is a better option than Bogans. He is a role player off the bench who will contribute in little ways when needed, but no one should expect him to be a key piece to a winning team or play 29 valuable minutes a game. He is a 15-18 minute guy who should get three-to-four good looks a game; if he hits on them, then give him more.

Right now, he is making the Bulls look bad for picking him up and trying to make him part of their attempt to make a resurgence to the top of the Eastern Conference.

Until the Bulls two-headed of point guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah did what they needed to do to in the fourth quarter to not only get the Bulls back into the game, but walk away with a 10 point victory after being down by 21 points.

The turning point: Chicago outscored the Pistons 34-9 in the fourth quarter to get their first win and even their season record 1-1.

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At first the game started as a back and forth battle with the teams trading baskets back and forth. Then the Pistons started the second quarter with an offensive onslaught, while the Bulls couldn’t muster a point unless it was from Derrick Rose. Halfway through the second quarter the Pistons were leading by 16-points, 44-28. At one point, the Pistons went on a 16-2 run.

Most of the Piston’s early offensive performance can be accredited to ex-Bull Ben Gordon, who before he missed a shot in the fourth quarter, scorched the net with 5-of-5 shooting from the field, 10-of-10 from the free-throw line and 1-of-1 from the three-point line for 21 points. After his first miss, he went cold coming up empty on his last five attempts.

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With 1:01 left in the third, the Bulls cut the lead to 10, but the Pistons battled to regain a 15-point lead by the end of the quarter.

If there is anything the Bulls don’t lack, it’s character and dedication to getting victories. In the fourth quarter, Rose finally got scoring help with Brian Scalabrine, C.J. Watson, James Johnson and Kyle Korver all hitting jump shots, including three-pointers by Korver and Johnson.

Rose was fouled a few times to add some free points, Taj Gibson threw down a slam dunk and Noah grabbed offensive rebounds and scored on put backs.

The defense and offense came together, the turnovers were skimmed down and Rose wasn’t the only one putting points on the board.

Grand Result: WIN.

Rose went for 39-points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks and seven turnovers. Noah had his second double-double of the season (only the second game of the season) with 15 points and 17 rebounds and also helped with three blocks. Gibson was the only other Bull in double figures with 11 points.

Next up for the Bulls is a home game against the Portland Trailblazers at 7 p.m. central Nov. 1 at the United Center.

The 109-105 game against the Mavericks was a loss, but it was a mental win because of how the Bulls fought and certain players such as Derrick Rose and Luol Deng showed they truly want to prove the Bulls are for-real this season. Rose hit a three-pointer to extend the game to overtime while the big men continually battled for rebounds and the defense contested shots.

However, the next effort against the Magic proved they have to make some adjustments before the season starts.

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The main adjustment has to be effort and energy consistency. Against the Mavericks it seemed nothing the Bulls were never going to stop until the time ran out; the way a basketball game should be played. The Bulls looked as if playing the Magic was a waste of their time and they would rather be flipping burgers at McDonalds instead of earning a paycheck on the basketball court.

The Magic scored 22 points in the first quarter while the Bulls scored 23 points in the first half. The only two Bulls who scored in double-digits both came off of the bench, C.J. Watson and James Johnson. The Bulls simply looked flat and out of rhythm.

I understand it is a preseason game, but if another similar effort happens during the preseason, the Bulls will not live up to the hype of becoming a top 5 team in the eastern conference. There would be a sad look on my face because I have them finishing third in the conference.

Players say each game is a different one, but I know just as much as anyone else does, games compound. Maybe not at first, but once a team loses a few games or has blow out loses in a short time frame, the players loss confidence and some don’t care anymore. The Bulls have strong character guys, so I’m not worried about them not caring but for a young team it is extremely important the energy and effort level remains high.

Take this as a learning tool and don’t let it happen again.

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Jerry Reinsdorf, Gar Forman or John Paxson, whoever is involved, MAKE THIS DEAL HAPPEN. If the Bulls front office wants the team to return to greatness, a deal for Carmello Anthony should be a simple decision like firing Vinny Del Negro was.

The Bulls have a few players they could get rid of to sign Melo. James Johnson will never be more than a seventh or eighth man off the bench, move him. Luol Deng is consistently a big number guy for the Bulls, but he fails in comparison to Anthony on every level: scoring, rebounding and helping his team play better. The only category Deng may be better is defense, but Melo picked his defensive game up last season and looked committed to advancing his skills.

Deng and Johnson wouldn’t be enough for the Nuggets to agree on a trade. Instead of adding in Taj Gibson, who is a great back up big man behind Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, put in a first round draft pick. The Bulls will not make the lottery this year, so they’ll have a pick in the late 20′s. Sometimes a team gets lucky, but for the most part the players who will be selected at this stage of the draft are role players, sometimes minimal role players. This means the Bulls would only give up Johnson, a role player who really didn’t prove anything as a rookie, a late first round draft pick who would be a player based only off of potential, and Deng, a legit starter.

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For Melo, sign the deal already. We are talking about one of the NBA’s elite scorers who brings it every night. He takes it to the hoop, he knocks down treys, he rebounds and he is great in the open court whether he is creating for himself or others. Maybe, I understated this, not great but fantastic. Melo is hands down one of the top five players in the league. Why wouldn’t the Bulls want to get him?

Everyone saw the determination the front office had in efforts to sign LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh this past year. Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons and Tyrus Thomas were traded for expiring contracts. Hinrich had been the heart and sole of the Bulls for at least the past five seasons, while Salmons and Thomas played key roles. Salmons was usually the second or third leading scorer and Thomas was the inside stopper. If the Bulls will trade away big pieces of the team for hope, why not trade two small pieces (Johnson and draft pick) and a equal piece ( Deng) to get Melo?

The Bulls gave the three of them up in hopes of signing one of the big three players. None of them came, but they picked up players needed to play well with Rose, Noah and Deng. If Melo comes, the starting lineup will look like this:Rose, Ronnie Brewer, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, while the back up list includes names such as Kyle Korver and Taj Gibson.

The Nuggets are going to lose the entire core of their team. Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin and Carmello Anthony are all in the market after this season. Instead of simply losing Melo, the Nuggets should trade him to Chicago in order to make sure they get something in return. If Melo hasn’t signed the three year $65 million contract extention the Nuggets offered a few months ago, he is not going to stay in Denver. This is the biggest offer he is going to see.

Once again Bulls front office, make this deal HAPPEN.

If Melo is in a Bulls jersey, the United Center is sold out every game, the team never falls under .500 and a deep run in the playoffs is a certainty. I’m not saying these things might take place, they will be a reality.

This brings a lot of speculation.

First, it is a well known fact Fernandez wasn’t happy with the amount of minutes he received last season as a Portland Trailblazer.

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If Fernandez is a Bull, he will be behind Rose, Brewer, Watson and probably Kyle Korver. If he is fifth on the back court depth chart, he will get less minutes than he did in Portland when he was behind Brandon Roy, Andre Miller, Steve Blake and Martell Webster.

There is a possibility he would get around the same amount of minutes, is he going to be happy with that?

Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t need to sign players who are going to make the transition from being a consistent eight seed to an elite team in the eastern conference harder than it already is. Fernandez has talent and would fit in well with the team on the court when he does get in. But, if he has a problem sitting on the bench when he isn’t needed in the game, then don’t sign him.

The talent Fernendez has is needed, I won’t understate it. He would be an additional three point shooter. After last years poor shooting performance, the Bulls can’t possibly have enough sharp shooters. Rudy can also take it to the lane. Having another guy, besides Derrick Rose, who can cause more than one defender to drop into the paint and leave his match up would be great for the Chicago playbook.

What would the Bulls have to give up to get Rudy Fernandez?

There have been talks of trading last year’s rookies, James Johnson and Taj Gibson. Also, there have been rumors the Bulls would throw in a first round draft pick with Johnson if the Blazers wanted more.

First of all, Gibson should not be traded unless your going to get a top five player in the NBA. They’re not going to get LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul or Kevin Durant, so he shouldn’t even be on the market. In his rookie year, he was fantastic. He adds depth in the front court who can take it to the hoop or keep the opposition away from it. The Bulls are not paying him top dollar but he is putting up top numbers for where they got him in the draft.This equals a great investment.

Johnson could be traded for Fernandez, I have no problem with the idea. The Trailblazers are not going to give him up for only Johnson though, at least they wouldn’t if they’re smart.  They want to throw a draft pick in the situation. A second round pick, okay, no problem. But, there is no way the Bulls should give up a first pick and Johnson for Fernandez.

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Draft picks are a big reason why teams like the Spurs, Lakers and the Trailblazers have stayed relevant. Draft picks are how teams such as the Nuggets, Cavaliers, Bulls and the Kings have become relevant or are becoming relevant.

Rudy is a solid player, but he is not good enough to throw away an option on a future player who could help the Bulls get to or stay at an elite status. Fernandez could be the player to help instead of getting a draft pick, but if he is complaining about minutes, the better idea would to get a player out of college who just wants to show he belongs in the NBA.

Fernandez has been in the league for two years as a Portland Trailblazer. In those two seasons, he averages 9.4 points, 2.0 assists, 85% from the free throw line, 40% from the field and 39% from the three point line.

The answer is…the Miami Heat.  James is going to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a super team.  This big three is better than any other star combination in the league. I believe they can win at least four championships.  The question now is, who will Pat Riley to play with the super team.  We will find out the answer to that later this summer.

This is depressing. The Bulls traded their entire team away except for five players: Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, James Johnson and Joakim Noah.  While trading the team away they signed expiring contracts at the end of the 2009-2010 season so they would have money to spend.  They even fired their head coach.

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With James deciding to go to the Heat, the Bulls missed out on all three of the big free agents.  The only move they have made was by signing Carlos Boozer.  This move is good, but he is not a franchise player.  The Bulls still need a lot help on their roster to even be an eighth seed in the eastern conference.

The Bulls are going to be hurting for quite some time now. The elite talent is already signed.  They didn’t pick up anybody in the draft because they traded their pick away.

What are they going to do?  They need scoring, especially perimeter shooting.  Ray Allen is going to stay in Boston.  The only options in the free agency market are Mike Miller, Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick.

Rose is a on the verge of becoming a superstar.  Boozer is a legitimate all-star when he is healthy.  Joakim Noah is a scrappy garbage bucket collector who is a solid low post defender.  Taj Gibson showed a lot of potential his rookie year to be a solid front court role player. Luol Deng can do everything, but at mid-level,  he will not be an all-star.  What do the Bulls plan to do with this lineup?  This lineup is the first stage of a rebuilding process.  The Bulls wanted to immediately build an elite team, they failed.

The Bulls are by far the biggest loser of free agency.  The Bulls were the best option for Bosh, Wade and LeBron but something about Chicago’s proposal didn’t work.

Looking at this with the most optimism I can, the Bulls still have money to make some moves.  Like I said, the roster needs some shooters and some lengthy defenders.

Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf needs to seriously think about firing his front office.  General Manager Gar Forman and Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson should be forced to pack their bags and find a new career because obviously getting the best NBA talent  available is too difficult for them.