Stoudemire is a five time all-star and is revered as an explosive low post scorer.  By signing him, the Knicks have a little more leverage to get guys such as LeBron James or Dwyane Wade.

Before they sign Stoudemire, the Knicks have one of the worst lineups in the NBA.  Even the New Jersey Nets, who only won 12 games, have a better roster.  They just had more injuries and trouble in the locker room.

With Stoudemire on the roster, James and Wade know there is a guy there who wants to win a championship and has the skill set to do so.  I haven’t heard anything about James or Wade wanting to specifically play with Stoudemire, but having a low post threat on one of the teams who are putting a large number in front of them, never hurts.

What would happen if Wade or James did go to New York?  Would Chris Bosh and the other one sign with the Bulls?  The Knicks have Stoudemire, so, there is no room for Bosh on their roster.  If they sign LeBron, they wouldn’t necessarily need Wade and might not have the finances to do so.

Wade could then come to his home, Chicago, and bring Bosh with him.  Bosh is not going to resign with the Toronto Raptors.  He is just waiting to see where Wade and James go, so he can play with another elite talent.  Wade has met with the Chicago Bulls front office twice and has said the offer they presented was intriguing.

All signs are saying Wade to the Bulls and then whoever wants to win some games will join him whether it is Bosh, David Lee or Carlos Boozer.

On the other hand, LeBron met with the Bulls for three hours.  Both parties left the meeting in high spirits.  A Chicago marketing company brought a great campaign in his direction.

They sent him a pair of Michael Jordan’s Nike Airs to him and said “Do you think you can fill these shoes?”  Then they sent him the famous MJ poster of him floating in the air during a slam dunk contest.  They then asked Lebron if he could fill the shadow. James is extremely competitive and has an ego larger than huge bank roll.  He wants to prove he is as good as MJ, why not do it in the building he built?

Maybe, LeBron and Bosh are the future of Chicago.

Steve Kerr at a press conference

What if, he only did this for a year and decided he wanted an office job in the NBA once again?  Honestly,  he won’t jump back into it in the 2010-2011 season, because most guys like a break, but maybe he would want to come back the following year.  This  happens all the time in every sport.

Chicago could be a destination for him to go to.  Lets think about it.  John Paxson has been stuck in a rut for the last few years.  The Bulls finish the regular season right around .500, or, for the last two seasons, exactly at the average level with 41-41 records.

He has been the GM since 2003 and has only been past the first round once.  The only way he has got players who fans or management want to stay on the team is via draft.  He can’t make a deal to bring in players who will take the team to the next level.  If he fails to bring in Dwyane Wade, Lebron James or Chris Bosh during free agency, he needs to be fired.

There isn’t a single reason why they shouldn’t want to play in Chicago.  Money for their big contracts, Chicago has it.  Solid basketball players to play with,  Chicago has them in Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and possibly Kirk Hinrich.  Plus, who knows what other role players will be coming off of the bench next year.  Hopefully, someone who can shoot the ball. Only Paxson and the front office will.

Plus, the other teams with money to spend are not appealing.  New York has been in a tailspin for the past ten years.   There is nobody to help the big named free agents get an eighth seed, let alone an NBA championship.  Miami, has Wade, but if he leaves, nothing.  The Los Angeles Clippers seem to have some kind of lineup, but they always seem to do and always tank.

The New Jersey Nets are awkwardly enough the second best place to go besides Chicago.  They just hired Avery Johnson, great move, and have two solid players in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez. After them,  anyone can tell why they were the worst team in the league this past season.

Steve Kerr’s resume in Phoenix is impressive.  The Suns were just in the western conference finals, although some people had them being eliminated in the first round by the Portland Trailblazers.  Brandon Roy’s injury might of had something to do with the Sun’s dominance, but they won it sure handily.

Kerr did make a bad trade, sending Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal.  To his defense, their problem the previous year was they didn’t have a big man.  Kerr made an executive decision to make a change, Shaq simply couldn’t play with the run and gun Suns.

He made up for his blemish by trading him away to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ben Wallace, who will retire and be free money, Sasha Pavlovic, who can hit the trey, a draft pick and cash.  He got more than enough value out of the decaying O’Neal.

Kerr would be a good general manager for the Bulls.  I think Paxson deserves a final chance, but if he fails to make this roster look spectacular on paper, then fire him and pursue Steve Kerr.

Lets face it, no one thought Jackson was going to come back to Chicago.  It would have been a great story line and a moment to celebrate at the local pub for all Bulls fans of age, but it wasn’t going to happen.

He has a dream job for NBA head coaches.  Los Angeles is sunny all year long, he has a superstar (Kobe Bryant) with two or three years left in his prime, a strong supporting cast and he gets to mingle with celebrities.  He loves it in LA, why come back to the windy city with a young team in the development stage?

He does have great strengths.  Calipari is known as a master recruiter.  In each of his three college coaching jobs (UMASS, Memphis, Kentucky), he recruited great talent and changed the programs around.  

UMASS was an NIT team before he got there.  He took them to the sweet sixteen and the final four.  Without Calipari, no one knew Memphis had a basketball program; he took them to the championship game.  He recruited Derrick Rose, who the Bulls selected number one overall in the 2008 draft.  Does the name John Wall ring any bells?  Enough said. 

The Bulls need one of these guys if they hope to get to the “elite” level in the NBA.  Calipari could have brought one of them to Chicago.  Although I thought he could be a bust,  I would have loved him to be on the sideline, if that meant Bosh, Wade or Lebron would be in a Bull’s jersey.

Chicago doesn’t need another young, up and coming coach.  The young roster needs someone who is a proven winner and can mold five individual talents into one cohesive unit.

However, his 96-99 brief stop in the NBA was miserable.  He took the New Jersey Nets to the playoffs once in his three years.  They got swept by the Bulls, who won their sixth and final (currently) championship.

But, would his system work in the NBA.  It didn’t the first time.  I don’t think we can blame the players he had on the Nets.  Keith Van Horn didn’t live up to his hype but when he was healthy he was a decent spot up shooter.  Sam Cassel was a well thought of floor general and Kerry Kittles was an above average scorer.  He could definitley shoot the trey.

They need a guy who will come in and get in done.  They don’t need a guy who be easy and treat the players like they’re still in college.  This is the biggest brightest stage a basketball player can reach.  It’s time to get physical, aggressive and demand respect.  Players and coaches earn respect in the NBA by winning. 

Chicago’s time to test the market is over, they need a guy who can come in and win immediately.  They have all the pieces there, they just need the right coach.

If GM Gar Foreman and owner Jerry Reinsdorf feel he is the guy, I’ll ride with the decision.  If he joins the team and wins, I’ll say I under estimated his ability, however, once he turns into a bust,  I’ll write, I told you so.

This is great.  the bad part is, the Bulls now have to rely on the Raptors to lose their last two games against the bad Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.  The Raptors are not a good team, but it is going to be hard for them to lose both of these games even if their star, Chris Bosh, isn’t in the lineup.

Chicago has two tough opponents in the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Bobcats.  Both teams have clenched a playoff spot.  We beat Charlotte a week ago, so it is possible. Boston is always in consideration to win the championship.  The Celtics are old, so, Head Coach Doc Rivers may sit Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.  If they do play, hopefully it will limited minutes, this would give Chicago a win,  I think.

I’m also the guy who said Chicago had a give me win against the New Jersey Nets.  We all saw what happened, awful.

The win against Toronto is definitely a momentum boost the Bulls need.  They looked like a playoff team instead of terrible that they tend to do.  They didn’t settle for tough shots and they had good ball movement.  This style of basketball is the only chance the Bulls have of beating Boston and Charlotte.

Derrick Rose had 26 points and 7 assists.  Joakim Noah recorded another double-double with 18 points and 19 rebounds.  Hakim Warrick and Ronald Murray came off the bench to score 10 points a piece.

This win is huge for the Bulls. They need all the momentum they could get, a win against a Cavs team without Lebron is a great place to start. LBJ sat out for playoff precautionary reasons. This worked out great for the Bulls.

Luol Deng and Derrick Rose both recorded double-doubles. Deng had 22 points and 10 rebounds while Rose scored 24 points and had 10 assists. Kirk Hinrich added 23.

Mo Williams had a double-double of his own with 35 points and 10 assists and Antwan Jamison had 23 points.

Tonight they face the awful New Jersey Nets while the Raptors play the eastern conference third seeded Atlanta Hawks. Oh, this could be a big deal, Bosh is out with a facial fracture. The Bulls could move into the playoff bracket with the win. All they have to do is show up like literally, step out of the airplane and they could get the victory.

Usually, most teams quit when they ship players away for expiring contracts showing the world they’re more focused on next year than this year.

The nucleus of the Bulls are still showing up on the court in attempts to come away with victories not stats.

They have won five of their last eight. It isn’t great, but it is an improvement from their 10 game losing streak.

Chicago beat the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Bobcats, Houston Rockets and the New Jersey Nets.  The only team worth mentioning is the Bobcats, who are currently in seventh place in the eastern conference’s playoff race.

The Bulls are winning the games we know they can. This is a good sign.

Players are coming back from injuries with only a handful of games left instead of mailing in the season. This is also a good sign.

The Bulls have tough games coming up. They have to continue playing at the level they are at and maybe a little beyond because Cleveland and Boston are playing at serious high levels.

I agree the Bulls fell apart in the second half of the season.  Trades, injuries and a head coach who should have never got the job justify their losing ways. Joakim  Noah was hurt for almost two months, Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng have all missed games.  John Salmons, one of the Bulls top scorers, was traded; same as a key defensive player in Tyrus Thomas.  Enough said,  I get Redmond’s point.

But to blame the NBA and the playoff structure for the Bulls having a chance to get in is crazy.  Eight teams on each conference is perfect.  Some of the most memorable series have been 1 against 8.  Remember the Utah Jazz against the Sacramento Kings, the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks and more recently, the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.

The playoff structure works well.  There is no need for tampering.  The games are exciting to watch.  Even if they are blowouts, we get to see the real dominant teams.  No one thought the Orlando Magic were going to make it to the finals last year until they dismantled Philadelphia in the first round and successfully challenged the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics.

I think those series are needed.  One, it prepares the young guys for the harder seven game series they will face later in the playoffs.  The earlier series help gain confidence and exposure to the bigger stage.  This isn’t the regular season anymore, nerves grow.

Plus, why blame the Bulls, or the NBA for that matter, when it is the team’s owner and the general manager who build the roster and the basketball program.  When the Bulls have a horrible team,  I blame Jerry Reinsdorf for spending his money on bad players and John Paxson for making the decision.  Each team can be held accountable for their own actions.

The Bulls shouldn’t get blamed because the Pacers, 76ers, Knicks, Pistons, Wizards and the awful Nets can’t win games.  Shouldn’t it be the 76ers for making the trade for Elton Brand who has been a huge bust.  Washington went through a fire sale. The Pacers have done nothing to help Danny Granger.  Joe Dumars traded their glue player, Chauncey Billups, for the don’t know what is going on Allen Iverson.  The Knicks put Isiah Thomas in charge,  we all know what happened with the situation in New York and the Nets,  no one knows where to start with their problems.

Each team has the same salary cap.  Each team has the opportunity to draft players out of college.  The bad teams have a better chance of landing a better player.  It isn’t the NBA’s fault when a team drafts a bust.

The number eight seed isn’t going to be playing for the NBA Championship anyway but they should be given some props for beating out the other eight teams.  If the eight only wins one game in the first series, oh well, they got things to work on for the future.

None of this is the Bull’s fault.  Does it suck for the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets, who have better records than the Bulls but won’t make the playoffs in the Western Conference?  Of course it does.  They could have won more games.  They knew the strength of other teams in the west and didn’t exceed it.

If the Bulls get in, it is because they won more games then the teams below them.  Sure, they didn’t have a great year, but they did what they needed to do to survive.  Sometimes the cookie crumbles in your mouth and sometimes all over your favorite shirt.  This is how the world works, sports included.

Chicago led the entire game. They went on a scoring streak in the second quarter, braking the game open with a 34-22 advantage. The Pistons cut the lead to seven in the fourth quarter but could not handle Derrick Rose and Ronald Murray in the final minutes.

Murray scored 23 points while Rose added 21 and 9 assists. Brad Miller added 17 points and Taj Gibson was one point shy of a double-double with 9 points and 10 rebounds.

This is great for the Bulls since they’re fighting for a playoff spot. With this victory they are only a half game back of the Toronto Raptors for 8th place.

They won four of their last five games. Of course, the one loss was a 29 point blow out from Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat but they did win the games they should win. The Bulls beat the awful New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, Pistons and the down and out Houston Rockets.

Wins like this will help them pass the Raptors. If they keep winning they could possibly find themselves in 7th place, but lets take it one seed at a time.

Since then, they have 4 wins in their last 20 games and find themselves with an 8-15 record. In the past week and a half, they have lost to the New Jersey Nets, who had only one victory before the Bulls, and have lost by 25 or more points to the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics.

The beginning of the woeful play was originally blamed to injuries. A few players had to sit out here and there but it wasn’t any worse than some of the other teams who have defeated them. Besides Tyrus Thomas’s present forearm fracture, the team has been healthy.

The real story behind the possible firing is how the team is playing. The Bulls are not competing. The scoreboard is a reflection of sluggish sloppy basketball. Players faces do not have the look of confidence needed to win in the NBA . Offensive sets are not crisp. Defensive rotations are slow if not missed.

Blaming the players can only go so far. At some point, the target has to be aimed at the guy who is supposed to make his team gel together. Instead they look confused and seem to get in the way of each others game plan. In certain games it looks like the team has quit playing. This always comes back to the coach.

Has Del Negro lost the team? Are they playing horrible basketball because they don’t like the game plan?
John Salmons has said in countless interviews that it is not his fault. In an ESPN interview, he also said the players came into the season with Del Negro and nothing has happened to separate them.
On the other side of the story, there was an anonymous Bull quoted to say “If we were losing close games, you could blame the injuries, but this?”

ESPN, Sports Illustrated and any other sports media on any medium keeps bringing this point up. Last year the Bulls went to the playoffs with a 41-41 record and played a second round 7 game series against the Boston Celtics no one will ever forget. A lot of sports writers say it was one of the best series in play-off history.

Like mentioned before, the Bulls should be a decent team. Championship is a word not coming to mind, but a 5th or 6th seed who will compete and give opponents a tough entrance to the next round is what they should be.

Del Negro has to find 5 guys in the lineup who will play a huge block of the game with dedication. He needs to do this in a timely manner if he plans to get through this season.