[I combined the two Joe Smith diaries into one, Vangelis' is after the 'read more'.

I think it's time he (we) got over the #1 pick label, it was like 12 years ago. KC says 'classy veteran', heh. Not sure what to think right now in terms of rotatation and young-guy-burying. I'm just pleased it's a 2-year deal (David Aldridge reports 2yrs/$10m) which is excellently short. -Matt]

Offseason is now effectively over for the Bulls.  Though Billy King reportedly wanted to keep Joe Smith around, we signed him for likely the Mid-Level Exception.

Joe Smith, the former #1 Pick, is considered one of the bigger busts in NBA history.  He went to college in Maryland, and is generally known around the NBA as good guy, as I've heard.

Vangelis:

Excellent video (San Fransisco local TV channel, 9 minutes) with news report, analysis and interviews back from 1995

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EppuEpuYPf4

OK, this guy is not a superstar but will definitely help us a lot.

Pros

• Unselfish, blue-collar attitude
  
• Long reach, athletic
  
• Good Rebounding (career average 7, last year 6.2 Vs PJ's 4.8)
  
• He CAN score (career average 12.1, last year 8.5 Vs PJ's 6.1). OK he won't be double teamed but he is one of those players that will score against you if you ignore him
  
• This is a Skile's type of player, good influence in the locker room, good for the young players (Noah, TT etc.)
  
• Free throws (79.4% career)

• Not very strong (but who cares when we have Big Ben alongside him?)
  
• Perhaps not the great low-post player we were looking for (but watch out for Luol's and TT's development in this area)

This is a big guy that can run, score and rebound who is pretty decent on D and a genuinely good guy.

If you also add the size that Noah will provide and the improvement of TT and Luol, we could be on to something here...

Vangelis
(the biggest fan of the Bulls in Europe??)