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Posted by Sam Smith | asksam@bulls.com | 10.23.09 | 10:15 a.m. CT
I was wondering if you could give your take on Isiah Thomas. Over the years, I don't know that I've ever seen a bigger discrepancy between my impressions of a guy from watching him and the stuff others would say about him the media. I remember reading that the Detroit owner did not offer him a position within the Pistons, essentially, because Isiah suffered from a case of "you can take the child out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the child." I've read many negative statements about him, and yet when I watch him play or speak... big discrepancy. Even with MJ, I felt you could see the edge and the toughness. So anyway, what's your take on Isiah?
Alejandro Yegros
Some of my basketball friends say that the best teams don't care about the preseason. What about the Bulls with Michael Jordan? Did they play hard during the preseason? Did they win all their games?
Tony Pelc
What's going to happen lets say if Tyrus out lives our wildest expectations of him and actually blows up this year. Lets says he gets anywhere from 15-18 points and 9-11 rebounds per game with a couple of blocks thrown in. Would the Bulls be smart to do like the stock market and sell high while we still can and the going is good? Or do we go in and give him a nice deal next summer and ignore getting another quality big on the free agent market. What do you think the Bulls will do, and if you were the GM like we all wish you were, what would you do?
Paule Nowotarski
I'm not going to jump on the Tyrus Thomas bandwagon, but I don't think it's fair to label him a bust just yet. Maybe it's just me, but guys like Tyrus have been able to get buy on pure, freakish athleticism their whole lives and are simply over-matched once they get to the NBA. I've never had any personal experience in this myself, but I can't imagine the NBA is the best place to learn how to play ball, which may help explain his maddening inconsistencies. However, although his development has been much slower than everyone would have liked, I would like to think that him developing into a good help defender and improving his mid range jumper are positive signs that he can become a solid player in the league. Granted, this is extremely cautious optimism. I also think that part of the reason that the North Carolina's of the collegiate world produce more NBA-ready players is that, in addition to them obviously having more talent pass through, their players receive a much more complete basketball education. And do you think that the Bulls may have to start looking at basketball players instead of the freakish athlete with tremendous upside?
Phil Leonard
So after last night's loss (to Orlando), Tyrus gets moody, claims he's a veteran, then pouts in public. He says he knows how he can help the team, yet when his comrade, Byars, falls down with a knee-buckle, Tyrus barely glanced at him-let alone extending an arm to help him up.In the game, he started off slow, looking surly & unhappy, then came alive in the 2nd half to show more of that work on his soft-touch jumper he was hitting during the Celtics series. My question, therefore, is: does 2nd year coach Vinny have the stuff to handle 3rd year Tyrus?
Mike Lojkovic
There's been all this talk about Derrick Rose and his jump shot. People are saying if he wants to take the next big step, he needs to improve his jump shot. I find that to be ill-informed. I wonder if these people are just not watching him play or if their confusing the fact that his range has been limited thus far with the mechanics on his shot. It's obvious that he needs to improve his range, but his jumper looks good, and it seemed to me that he was deadly accurate from mid range. I was just wondering if I was going crazy or not.
Alex Tawney.
I was watching NBA TV last night, listening to Eric Snow, and I was impressed with his apparent ease behind the microphone for someone just out of the league. I wasn't surprised, as I figure any 6'5" guy with limited quickness and no jump shot who lasted as long as he did in the league at point guard had to have gotten by with his smarts. It led me to thinking. Who is the most surprising guy you've seen make the transition from player to broadcaster? With most of them, like Barkley, Kerr, Reggie Miller, Magic, even C-Webb, even an outsider like me could see they'd bring something to the table as broadcasters. Is there anyone out there who has made a living behind the mic where you said, "Wow, I never saw that coming when he was in the league"? It could be a guy you thought was a dunce, or perhaps just taciturn when dealing with the great unwashed mob of scribes.
Craig Berry
With all the talk about the free agent class coming up and everyone concerned with money I think a lot of people are overlooking the coaching situations. All great players want to play for a great coach. Look at Jordan he didn't come back because they didn't bring Phil back. My question is will any big time player want to play for Vinny? I don't think they will.My suggestion is that the Bulls go after Coach K. All the big time players loved playing for him on the Olympic team. He is a home town guy and had flirted with the Lakers a couple of times recently. I know he says he will never leave Duke but they are not the power that they used to be. He has also talked about how he hates the new rules that force a player play one year in school and how it's bad for the college game. I think that if they are really serious about getting a player like Wade or Lebron the best way to improve their chance is by going after a coach like Kyzezewski.
Ryan Spratt
I was wondering the status of Ömer Asik, the 7'0" 255 lb center the Bulls acquired in the 2008 draft from Portland for two future second-round draft picks. I know he has been injured a bit over the past few years, but he has good size, good inside shooter, great rebounder and shot blocker. I am curious if the Bulls still have his rights while he is over in Europe as well as if the Bulls are considering him at all in their future plans?
Tony Nemeth
Let's assume the Bulls can't get their hands on Amar'e or Bosh next summer. Who do you think would be the next best option for the Bulls at Power Forward, Tyrus Thomas or David Lee? I like Tyrus' energy and athleticism, but I really like Lee's grit and maturity. I think it makes for an interesting debate.
Christopher Wolff
It angers me the NBA is "now" allowing 2 steps. How can anyone respect?our league anymore and the integrity of the game? I think the Donoghy?scandal is less harmful to the game than Stern and Jackson changing?the rulebook will be. It should of never gotten to this point, its?like the steroid problem in baseball, Stern turned a blind eye just?like Selig over a serious issue and said we'll adress it next year. My?concern is players especially LeBron and Pierce will be taking three?or four steps, and take one dribble from half court on a breakaway.?What do you think of Walt Frazier's truthful comments on traveling??About players going 20 feet to the hoop without dribbling, and how?Wilt would of averaged 100 points per game if he could moonwalk, and?change his pivot foot. What I'm confused over is if we are even?watching basketball anymore? I don't believe we are we're now watching?Stern ball a game full of ticky tack fouls, blatant traveling, and?major preferential treatment. For example only in the NBA can you take?2 steps, travel every time you touch the ball, with the ref standing?right there and still get calls on the same play. Paul Pierce, and?LeBron come to mind, I am supremely confident lebron committed more?traveling violations than points scored, what a fundamentally sound? MVP.
Charles Armstrong
Do you think that starbury is done with his career after his abysmal performance with the Celtics late in the season and during the playoffs, or do you think he'll still get picked up as a backup point. Also, why has MJ never tried coaching? Most of the epic greats have tried it at one point or another after their playing days are over. Even magic tried for a chunk of the his last season. Michael seems to be all over everything else in basketball just wondering why he's never entered that aspect.
Aaron Ward
Forget about D Wade, Bosh, Lebron and Johnny Kilroy.?The only move we need to make is Deng and Hinrich for Rudy Gay.?He didn't sign an extension yet and after a year with AI and Zach he?never will. He has undeniable talent and it gives us much needed?athletic ability and a go to scorer. He also gives us a big guard (I?know he plays the 3, but we have Johnson) and he immediately picks up a ton of endorsements. It works and nobody can prove me otherwise. Did I mention he was younger?
Maceo Ellison
Last season I noticed Rose was wearing ankle braces on both ankles and in checking out the Adidas website for Rose's new shoe I found they are selling a brace. Since I didn't hear anything about an ankle injury last year and Rose never looked slow I just assumed it was a preference of his but with him currently missing time due to a sprained ankle it got me wondering, does he have a history of ankle problems? Also, does he wear the braces as a preference over getting taped? Are the braces as good as getting taped?
Dave
Would you still consider pippen to be included on the 50 greatest players list? I know that he pioneered/changed the way that his position was played creating more of a point-forward spot, which paved the way for players like melo and lebron. But he never did accomplish anything by himself, and proved in Portland that he couldn't carry a team.
Aaron Weinger
I was at the Bulls annual autograph session/open practice last Sunday, and it was really interesting watching Vinnie run them through several plays. I wondered how much NBA scoring actually comes from running a designed play, and how much comes from individual players creating their own scoring opportunities. During the Jordan/Jackson years we heard so much about the triangle offense, but it was pretty clear that the triangle worked for the Bulls because they had Jordan as a bail out, not because the triangle really created scoring opportunities. In your opinion, what percentage of an NBA teams offense results from running a designed play?
Ron Rodeghero
Everyone says pre-season games don't matter but I get worked up on every bulls possession. So far the offense has been moving smoothly but th many misses that Kirk Hinrich has when laying the ball up I feel that he needs to explode more, not dunk it but lay it up with some ferocity. For a guy in the NBA for 6 years I expect him to make lay ups. What do you think? Is the a lingering thumb problem from last year?
Brandon Buerger
I was watching NBA TV's season preview of the Bulls the other night. "The Czar" Mike Fratello made a point to say that losing Ben Gordon was not the only loss the Bulls will struggle to replace, but that losing Del Harris was also a blow to the team. I totally disagree. To me it appears that Vinny feels much more comfortable with his staff already this season. I realize this is natural as he is no longer a rookie coach, but wonder if some of it has to do with not having Del Harris around? I think Vinny is going to have a very good year as he feels so much more at ease with the job, staff and personnel.
Jeff Gochenour
LeBron will be leaving the Cavs when his contract is up and I'm sure Cleveland is well aware of it. So it's a crazy thought but will they be interested if the Bulls offer them Derrick Rose plus couple others if necessary for LJ? Don't get me wrong. I love Rose but LeBron is LeBron and Rose is not.
Jay C.
I haven't seen any discussions about trading Luol Deng. Although I like Luol, his game is programmed and repetitive; teams know his every move, which makes it difficult for him to score. Luol is limited in creativity and personally I don't think he'll return to be a potential all star.
Frank Cook
Who wins a game of horse... you, Chuck or the new guy Adam?
Billy Habibi