Do you think the Bulls are even thinking trades at all? I mean they put together this band aid roster of one year minimum wage players that, aside from Bellinelli, wouldn't even draw attention. A guy like Reddick, who I hear the Bulls have expressed interest in, is gonna cost more than the entire bench right? Who else is even out there that won't cost us our core? And with Derrick out at least another month or so, why even try? Maybe a Calderon expiring contract/back up to Rose for the season?).
Brian Logsdon
What about Carlos Boozer for Marshon Brooks and Kris Humphries?
Rocky Rosado
What's with all these trade rumors? Everyone is bagging on Booz who I think helps us out a lot. Then Kirk who hasn't been playing as good as I expected.But what I don't get is Luol Deng rumors. He's one of our best players and we talk about trading him for no bodies and Jimmy Butler is good but not a starter yet. The only player I would trade Deng for is Iggy and I don't see that happening any time soon.
Michael Thomas
What are the Bulls chances once Derrick Rose gets back? After all, the Bulls probably have essentially the same talent level that they have had the last two years. Rose could have at least 20 games under his belt by the time the playoffs come around. That should give him enough time to get his confidence and timing back, as well as giving the team enough time to gel together and get used to the new depth-chart and roster combos. Lastly, given the way athletes in recent years have been rebounding from ACL surgery, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched that Derrick will be back to his old self by the playoffs. Given these assumptions, doesn't it seem perfectly reasonable that the Bulls could be at least a somewhat legitimate contender this year?
Joe Tanner
Given the offensive limitations of the current group, I wonder if it might make sense to run a small lineup occasionally with both Hamilton and Belinelli at the 2/3. Also, Deng is a pretty fair rebounder for a stretch 4. Another helpful tweak would be to have Belinelli essentially playing point when paired with Robinson, because he sees the court better, runs pick and roll well, and moves Nate to his comfort zone as a small 2.
Len Covello
I know you've never been a fan of the Houston approach to team-building (tear it down, focus on having tradeable assets, bide your time until a star comes along), but it seems to me that's the only way to really get anywhere in the modern NBA. Look at the recent champions outside of LA: Boston tore it down before getting Garnett, Miami before getting Lebron. Even OKC in a way. Houston struck out for a few years on Howard and Gasol, but ended up with Harden. That's because their approach works eventually... or at least better than hanging onto good veterans like the Bulls do and developing internally. So the question is: why not tear the Bulls down Houston-style? What's the argument against getting rid of as many contracts as you can from the current Bulls team outside of D-Rose? Or the better question: isn't that approach proven to be a better one than what the Bulls seem to be following?
Alejandro Yegros
What’s your take on Kirk getting so many minutes? To me he clearly didn’t have anything going, on either end, yet he played 31 minutes against Memphis. Conley repeatedly torched him, even though Kirk was giving his best. I kept hoping he’d go with Marquis to slow Conley down a bit in the third, and even with Kirk healthy, I’d like to see him more into the rotation, if anything just for his defense. Kirk’s best years are clearly behind him at this point, so realistically what do you think the next couple years look like? Although I think he can be a good backup to Derrick, that’s really about it, as he’s no longer a starting-level.
Elijah Humble
Would sending back that very popular, yet useless protected first round pick from the Bobcats be a bad idea for Gerald Henderson?
Toby Nihill
We've run through a pretty rough stretch here the last few games against Atlanta and Houston. Realistically, what do you think the breaking point is with management? Should that point be reached who do you think goes? Will it be Thibs? Some combination of players? I'm really attached to the team as it is right now but I'm beginning to wonder if Thibs has enough of an offensive repertoire. The idea of Jerry Sloan keeps creeping in.
Wesley Davis
I'm writing this straight after watching the Bulls lose to Charlotte on New Year's Eve. In my mind, it was the worst performance of the Thibodeau era, bar none. I was genuinely ashamed of the way they played. Looking back over the last four games (bad losses to Atlanta and Houston, a tougher win than necessary against short-handed Washington, and a disgraceful loss to the Bobcats), I'm starting to wonder something: do you think maybe the players are struggling to play for Tom Thibodeau right now? We all know he's a demanding coach who pushes his guys extremely hard and expects a lot. But given the physical and emotional toll of playing without Derrick, not to mention the changes in personnel that have obviously messed with team chemistry, is Thibs asking too much of his guys? Are they starting to lose focus and struggling to respond to him and his system? It's strange, because (most of) the New York game was so good, and that wasn't all that long ago. But something has changed. They're just not themselves right now and haven't been properly ready to play. Surely part of that has to fall on the coach.
Geoff Robson
After surprising my Bulls-fan wife with tickets to the game and an overnight stay in a nice Indy hotel for Christmas, I spent 8 hours in the car driving from my Illinois home to Indianapolis for the Bulls/Pacers game on December 26. A quick public service announcement, Indianapolis does not view 6 inches of snow the same way Chicago does. Not only did I arrive at my hotel only to immediately find out the game was postponed, but I was also surprised to discover that almost every restaurant downtown was closed due to the weather. When is the last time the Bulls postponed a game in Chicago due to snow? It just never dawned on me that this was a possibility. Lesson learned the hard way!
Dan Michler
What do you think of Scalabrine's comments on Waddle and Silvy regarding Asik and Mirotic? He essentially said that Omer is a guy that can "move the needle" (meaning put a team into championship contention), while Mirotic is not. All White Mamba jokes aside, Scal made a lot of sense and he did work closely with Omer, so I'm inclined to believe him. The Omer saga is over and I have accepted that (hindsight yadda yadda), so my concern is more that Mirotic, despite his standing in the Euroleagues, will not live up to the hype of a poor man's Kukoc or Dirk. Perhaps he is more valuable as a trade than as a Boozer replacement.
Max Good
Whatever happened to the Birdman? I mean he sucked, but there hasn't been a lot of attention on the result of his child pornography case.
Erik Fenton
How come the Bulls get a free pass on trading Lamarcus Aldrige for Tyrus Thomas? It's clear things eventually worked out, but Aldrige for Tyrus has got to be one of the most lopsided trades in Bulls history. How do you think things would have played out had they kept him? Deng, Aldrige, Gordon, and Hinrich.
Bryan Murray
The Clippers 17 in a row is impressive no matter who they're playing. (And incredible! considering it's the Clippers.). However, I did notice tonight, that they played none of the Great Eight teams (one's with .667 winning percentage or higher), during that streak. They'll start playing those top level teams again Wednesday night when they face Golden State, then 5 of next 11 against great 8 teams plus games against rising Lakers and Rockets. Then we'll truly see where they stand against the best.
Doug Biker
If J.R. Smith opts out of his contract, is there any chance the Bulls could sign him? He's athletic, can create his own shot, and has even been playing some defense this year. He's only making $2 million this season, but what kind of money would he be offered in free agency after this season when he's averaging 16 a game off the bench?
Mark Bucior
With them not happy in their current organizations, Eric Gordon and DeMarcus Cousins, could you see a way the Bulls could work out a deal to acquire either player? Eric Gordon is the 2 guard we have been lacking since Ben left and DeMarcus has the talent to become the premier big man in the league. The Bulls have a lot of good assets that packaged together I think could be intriguing to either team. I don't like the idea of hoping for a good 2014 free agency, these players would be available given the right offer.
Patrick Boosey
I'm going to assume we're going to keep hovering around the .500 mark for the rest of the season, but if they go below, at what point would the Bulls hit the panic button? I read somewhere that there is an MIT basketball conference where they determined the best positions to have filled in the NBA is a versatile small forward who can hit the three, and a defensive center who can block shots. So are you still getting Deng/Noah trades?
Sean Page