The 2000-2009 Running of the Chicago Bulls
The decade began with the Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf trying to replace the championship roster he had in the 90’s. We know the story. Michael Jordan retired, then un-retired for a year or two for a season with the Washington Wizzards . Phil Jackson left for the Los Angeles Lakers, where he three-peats to start the decade. Scottie Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets and Dennis Rodman went completely over the edge.
Should younger Bulls players look to take over?
The Chicago Bulls roster is filled with young, athletic potential. Potential can only mean so much though. Since the emergence of the young team into the play-off ranks in 2004, the Bulls have continued to gather top draft picks from trades, and a little luck. These top draft picks have brought the Bulls a lot of top college players filled with potential, such as Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Thabo Sefolosha, and this year Derrick Rose.
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. (more…)
Trade Rumor: Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni for Elton Brand
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.


