Monday, August 8, 2016

Chicago Bulls (so far)

The Bulls suited up 16 players throughout the 2015-16 season: Jimmy Butler, Gasol (GONE), Rose (GONE), Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic, Tony Snell, Moore (GONE), Brooks (GONE), Bobby Portis, Dunleavy (GONE), Noah (GONE), Hinrich (GONE), Holiday (GONE), Cristiano Felicio, Bairstow (GONE). I haven't seen a purge like this since Purge 3!

Lost: Pau Gasol (Spurs), Derrick Rose (Knicks), Joakim Noah (Knicks), Cameron Bairstow (Pistons), Mike Dunleavy (Cavs), Aaron Brooks (Pacers), E'Twaun Moore (Pelicans), Justin Holiday (Knicks)

Signed Dwyane Wade (2yrs/$47m), Rajon Rondo (2yrs/$28m) and Isiah Canaan (2yrs/$2.2m). Traded for Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant. And they drafted Denzel Valentine (#14), Paul Zipser (#48).

For the last few years I've been a Bulls apologist. They had so much talent, such depth and yet they underachieved because none of the pieces fit together. Moving on from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah signaled a shift away from aging veterans who were too expensive for their production...and then they signed Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade...wtf? Jimmy Butler must wake up screaming every night. Coach Hoiberg, too, must be wondering what he's gotten himself into. And as much as I've been an apologist for them recently, I'm going hard in the opposite direction now: I think the Bulls will be absolutely awful next year! Awful. I don't see how any of this fits together.

Starting five....I dunno...I guess: PG Rondo, SG Wade, SF Butler, PF Mirotic, C Lopez with Snell, Grant, Valentine, Canaan, McDermott, Portis, Felicio and Gibson off the bench. I could live with either Rondo or Wade but the two of them together is a mystery: 1) they'll suck together and 2) they're just interrupting the youth movement. You're training the youngsters in entirely the wrong way and you're not going to win in the meantime. Grease fire, just nothing but terrible. The only hope is Rondo and Wade both get hurt and sit out for long stretches of time. The Bulls would still be sub-standard but at least they'd be moving in some direction.

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