Just curious if the Bulls had tried to get Harden before he went to Houston or if they could have put together a better deal than the Rockets did? He was always one of my favorite players and I always tried to think of scenarios how we could have gotten him. Dustin Chaviano
I was a bit surprised, having read your writing over the years, to read your take on the James Harden trade. You've always said that you win with stars, especially at playoff time. This has proven true with the Bulls. Though they had some great regular seasons with the "Baby Bulls" (Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich), not having a true star to go to with the game on the line (was fatal). So what happened? We got lucky in the lottery and now we have Derrick Rose, a true star who can carry a team. Derrick, plus a quality supporting cast, has been enough to get us to the conference finals. But what happened? We could not get past Miami, a team with three stars. You've been exploring in your writing, ever since then, ways for the Bulls to pull in another star. We hope it's going to be Mirotic. I'm still very optimistic about this team and the direction we're going. But the reality is, we are still "hoping" for a 2nd star to complement Rose.OKC was in an enviable position! They had three stars, better yet, three very young stars who were sure to continue to improve! Three stars who got them to the Finals! Sure, Harden did not play great in the Finals, and that hurt his leverage in the contract talks he was having with Sam Presti.But did you happen to watch the two series before that, with the Lakers, then with the Spurs? OKC could not be stopped, especially in crunch time. Not because they had two stars in Durant and Westbrook, but because they had three stars. When Westbrook went cold, or Durant was being shut down, they could run all the offense through Harden. He could create off the dribble, get his floaters or get to the free throw line pretty much whenever he wanted, and he is lethal from three point range. He made more 4th quarter free throws last year than anyone in the league. If that's not the definition of a star, I don't know what is. Your definition of a star for years has been a guy who can score on his own and win games for you in the playoffs. Harden can do that, and Harden did do that. And he's only 23! You said Joe Johnson would've been worth the max for the Bulls now you're saying Harden's not worth the max? I challenge you to ask any NBA executive whom they'd prefer to have at max money. I understand there are economics involved, and luxury tax, but what about championships? At the very least, they had a shot to get one this year. OKC was built to win this year, and they threw that away on draft picks and an expiring contract. As tough as it is to find stars in this league, and as crucial as stars are to winning in the playoffs, I can't believe the trade is not being slammed by you and the rest of the media. Hawk Gates
I think OKC handled the James Harden situation with brilliance. If he would have became a restricted free agent it would have created such a distraction for the team like Dwight [Howard] in Orlando and Carmelo [Anthony] in Denver. That being said, do you recall any situations other than those two in years past where players essentially forced themselves to be traded to a team of their choice? John Lafoone
I noticed that the Kings let Hassan Whiteside go. Given his size (you can't teach height) and age do you think the Bulls brass might be interested in adding him to the roster? Stan Ross
Are the Bulls interested in taking Quentin Richardson or is it all rumors? Shaun Chalmer
Who could have seen this coming? Bulls are one game in and there is already talk about Deng’s and to a lesser extent Noah’s minutes. I did some checking around the league: Wednesday night Jrue Holliday played 41 minutes, Kobe played 38, Pau Gasol 40, Dwight Howard coming off a major injury on a 2nd game of a back to back played 41, and James Harden played 44. Not to mention on Tuesday Paul Pierce, and Rondo played 41 and 44 minutes, respectively. To be fair I know you have stated in the past that the minutes issue was a non-issue but why can’t people in town let this whole minutes thing go? Good players are going play a lot in close games are they not? John Swank
Who said the Bulls would not have a 20 point player? Boozer, Hamilton and Noah all went pretty close (Noah surpass it)! Maybe Noah will be that 20-10 post presence! Rui Dias
Given massive luxury tax implications next year, it appears they amnesty Boozer after this season. That is a major hit to the Bulls short term competitiveness. If they go down this road I feel they have to commit to a refresh fully and move Luol Deng in a trade as well. It pains me to say it, because I am a huge fan of his all around game. But we know the realities of the new CBA, and especially if Boozer is gone, the Bulls simply don't have enough scoring to contend. And they would still be over the salary cap with few options to bring in a big time scorer. I think the Bulls may need to get aggressive and go after a risky but dynamic offensive player like Tyreke Evans. Sacramento has a glut of scoring guards, and are desperate for a real SF and strong veteran presence. Maybe Deng for Evans and Francisco Garcia. Money works. Bring Evans out of that dysfunction into a winning organization with proven leaders and believe that you can get the best out of him. He has not proven to be great playing off the ball, nor a good shooter. He would have to improve on that playing with Rose. He is also only 23 with room to grow. I think a core of Rose/Evans/Taj/Noah is a younger, more balanced, explosive group to build around with higher potential versus holding onto Deng. Matt Maloney
I am disappointed that the Bulls haven't put Luol Deng out front and center as the leader of the team pending Rose's return. He is the other All-Star and the guy that has been here for 9 seasons. Shouldn't they have to have someone who is viewed as their "captain"? Deng was key at the end of the Sacramento game even though nothing revolved around him. If he is put in the spotlight, he might be even better. Brad Erens
So Belinelli makes his first three-point attempt of the season, we’re up by three, the first quarter is about to end, and coach substitutes Jimmy for defense? Come on! Not that Belinelli will lose confidence all of a sudden, but how about letting him feel comfortable on the floor and build continuous momentum, especially after his pre-season offensive struggles? Steve Condoretti
So teams don’t want to pay the luxury tax or pay a lot of luxury. To help me understand as a fan, where does that money go? I am assuming that money does not go to Uncle Sam (not you, but the us government). [Does it] pay part of Sterns check? Alfredo Rivas
Other than the ability to hit big shots when needed I feel like this Bulls team has a legitimate shot at Miami this year. I can't think of another team that has size, speed and has four bigs with decent post games. What do you think? Erik Fenton
Where are all the Amare Stoudemire fans this year? Do you think they all would still rather have Amare than Boozer? What if the Bulls actually signed Stoudemire instead? Now the team would be without two of their top players for the first two months of the season. Chris DeMay
It's not often I am [legitimately] happy for a pro athlete to go from a couple million dollars a year to $8-$9 million a year, but in this case, how could a Bulls fan not be? [The] guy just busts his [butt] every day to max out his talent. [He] earned it the old fashioned way. From a Bulls perspective, I think this is a very good decision, it's another fairly high salary, but if anything it's probably underrated how many winning plays Taj Gibson makes on a nightly basis. [It] makes way more sense to spend this money on him and let Asik walk then the other way around. Taj continues to get better too. I think he can get his scoring avg. over 12-13 ppg if he gets the minutes I expect him to this season. Michael Koltun
Do [you] think Oklahoma City would trade Lamb to Bulls for the Bobcats pick? Mike Kay
[I am] happy that the Bulls won the opener, but there is going to be some games were the Bulls will lose leads in the 4th due to lack of guys who can take over the game. Do [you] agree? Sergio Kalat
I was on the owners side during the lockout but in five years if players opt out of this current CBA and go on strike I will side with the players. Obviously the teams have plenty of money which was shown the past few days. When guys like Steph Curry gets $44 million, Jrue [Holiday] gets $41 million, Harden gets $80 million, Demar Derozen gets $41 million, Ty Lawson gets $44 million and owners say the NBA is hurting. Shut up. These are role players getting paid huge money. These are names that some casual NBA fans don't even know. C'mon. Only Taj's deal was normal. Harden deserved at least $50 million but $80?! C'mon. Jrue, Demar, Steph, Ty all deserved four-year $30-$34 million. Ridiculous. Mike Sutera
What do you think of Marshon Brooks and the chances the Bulls can pry him away from Brooklyn? I think he would fit great with the Bulls. I think he could be the James Harden of our team with a possibility to start games too. By the way, all the fans who want James Harden, forget it. He's not worth $15 million a year. Alfredo Rivas
I have two words: Delonte West. Tim Gossett
You think the reported four-year $32 million offer for Taj was fair enough? I thought it was. I'm sure some moronic owner would offer twice that much for Taj next summer and the fans of that team will call him a bust because he'll avg 10 and 10 as a starter, but I dont think the Bulls low-balled him. Rahul Chatterjee
After watching the Heat beat the Celtics and hearing all of the accolades for Eric Spoelstra, what's your take on his impact coaching a team like the Bulls? Can you compare and contrast Spoelstra vs. Thibs? Garry Veicht
It's never too early to make a case for Joakim Noah being an All-Star: 6-12 from the field, 11-12 from the free throw line with with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and an awesome 5 steals. When your center is getting five steals, I think he should be an All-Star. Peter John Jimenez
A few weeks ago I asked you about the Bulls needing another PG because Robinson wasn't getting the job done. Since then he has been very impresive. My question is, Should the Bulls start Robinson at the point and have Hinrich play the backup role for both guard spots? Bellineli doesn't seem to have it together yet and Hinrich would give them a quality backup at the 2. Steve Schnakenberg
I noted your comment that Thibs is still working on the rotations. There was a patch in the 4th where he had Robinson, Butler, Deng, Booz, and Taj on the floor. I know you've talked a lot about the Taj/Booz small option, but what are your thoughts on Butler at the 2 (or is Deng the 2 in that lineup?). Also looked like less Nazr; is that what we can expect going forward or was it just the matchups with the Kings? Dominic O'Donnell
For years, you've made a similar point to the one you made about Harden: why are players so willing to sacrifice winning and quality of life for 'a few extra' million a year? I don't get that critique, and it strikes me of the odd tendency in this country to often criticize players for behaviors that they then think are perfectly legitimate, or even admirable, when owners do it. Sometimes fans complain about Reinsdorf's spendthrift ways and I've read you repeatedly defend him by saying, essentially, that the NBA is a business, and if it were our money, we'd act the same as JR. Why is it different for players, or why not go after Reinsdorf more for not being willing [to spend] a few million of his enormous profits for better teams? NBA owners do everything in their power to increasingly limit a player's ability to ever earn their market value. If I were a player, when I get that rare chance, I'd think long and hard about being willing to 'sacrifice.' I happen to agree with you when you defend Reinsdorf for being so finance-oriented (I may think he could do without a few extra million, but hey, it's his money), and I'd use the same argument to defend the Hardens and Gordons. Alejandro Yegros
One thing that's been hard about being a Bulls fan as of late is how other major market teams — Clippers, Lakers, Celtics, Heat — all don't seem to use the whole luxury tax complaint when it comes to acquiring valuable pieces to their teams. They all do the requisite financial acrobatics to pick up quality players for both their starting lineups and benches, while we remain steadfast in where we are expecting our coach to perform miracles with guys like Belinelli and Radmanovic. I realize there is a financial aspect to the game (is there any other aspect with Chicago owners?) but doesn't the Bulls organization worry about the reputation of the organization with players around the league? They take their time signing one of the best coaches we've ever had, and haven't really shown any willingness to maneuver and negotiate to keep guys like Brewer and Korver who significantly contributed, and don't do much in terms of new players unless they're blue light special guys. Who's going to want to come here when the Bulls finally decide to go after free agents and high caliber players? I hope Gar/Pax are ready for a situation that smacks of dating: nobody is going to tell you why they won't go out with you, not the real reason at least. And the Bulls are going to get a lot of excuses in the future like "I'm washing my hair," or "I always wanted to be near South beach" when the real problem is they're becoming known (have been) for being cheapskates. Marcus Nikokiris