San Antonio, lets not make a trade
A recent blog post from NoBloodNoFoul.com came up with an interesting trade rumor between the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls.
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.
Interesting situations for 2008 Bulls
Heading into the 2008 season the Chicago Bulls have a lot of question marks, but they are all necessarily bad question marks.
First, lets say Ben Gordon is playing elsewhere in the upcoming season. This makes the back court a little less crowded, but even though he was not a true shooting guard, who will be the shooting guard now? This puts a lot of pressure on different players, in other roles, to step up their game. Kirk Hinrich, will fell even more pressure than he already should, to return to his form before a down season in 2007. Big men such as Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray will have pressure turned towards them to begin performing well on a daily basis. And Thabo Sefolosha may finally get his chance to show we he can do on a more regular basis.
Which leads to the question of who will get playing time in the crowded positions? During the ‘Skiles Era’ there was always players that were in the ‘doghouse.’ He seemed to prejudge players before giving them a chance, such as Tim Thomas and Dikembe Mutombo. The new coaching staff should look to give evreyone an equal chance during training camp coming up in the next couple weeks to show what they can do. Putting players in different roles during pre-season to see where they are best suited in his system. This will give players such as Thomas, Noah and Thabo a new beginning. IF everyone knows their defined roles heading into the season, they should be prepared on a night-by-night basis when and where they will be needed.
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