Yet another chapter in this mythical quest

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Sep 12, 2007 11:36 PM CDT in News

The Bulls currently have the maximum 15 players under contract, including three (Gray, Curry, Barrett) who, depending on the source, have zero, partial, or a fully guaranteed money. I assume Barrett's job is the most tenuous, as the Bulls are stocked at the midget position, and his summer league performance was poor.

But also reportedly attending camp is Justin Cage, who I can provide zero info on, except lame 'Mortal Kombat' jokes.

Until now. I recently got an email from ESPN.com's David Thorpe*, who is well known around these parts as the guy who always pimps the Bulls (especially Deng, Thomas, and Noah) in his chat sessions, angering mouth-breathing responders with his terse answers while inducing cackling delight from myself.

Apparently Cage has been working out this summer at the training academy Thorpe participates in, and he was so impressed he had to spread the word:

I wanted to give you a heads up on Justin Cage, who should be arriving in Chicago in a week. He's been here at the Pro Training Center since May, and has quickly become one of my all-time favorite players... the fact that he went undrafted never bothered me. Justin Cage is a shooting guard who can swing to the 3 with ease due to his 225 lbs of strength combined with a 6'10 wingspan. He has learned to be an effective scorer and creator as a 2, and can really shoot. And his vertical is up about 8" since he first got here. One of Xavier's coaches came to see him last month and literally did not recognize his game. Lots of NBA 3's and monster dunks. And his defense has always been stellar, being on the all-defensive A-10 team 3 straight years. He really should just be a college senior, having just turned 22 this summer. If he indeed had another year of college, based on what we've seen in our gym and in summer league in Orlando, I think he'd be one of the top guards in America. He was Mr. Basketball in Indiana in High School, and won 2 state titles and lost in the finals in a 3rd. He was asked to play a "glue guy" role at Xavier, which he did exceptionally well. But he learned this summer to do so much more when asked. I think he is good enough to play in the rotation for Chicago, maybe 5-10 minutes a night, as a defensive specialist and a 3 pt threat. Now it is up to him to show it. He's the next Bruce Bowen, but with a better slashing and rebounding game. He is a beast.

Thorpe has had success training other unheralded prospects like Udonis Haslem (who like Cage, went undrafted) and Kevin Martin. He also understandably really likes 'his' guys and of course the reviews will be glowing, so keep that in mind.

While I'm not ready to expect Cage to make the Bulls rotation (let alone the team, although like I said I think Barrett's as good as gone) the player that's described in the email is the exact fit the Bulls need in that last roster spot.

The man who is supposed to be manning that role for the future, Thabo Sefolosha, led the Swiss national team against Deng's British team on Tuesday. (Be warned, that report has an unnecessary amount of exclamation points.) As much as I whine about international play, Thabo could use the experience leading an offense, as his play on that end of the court was abysmal this past season.

Part of the M2GwcDaS is the 'and Shoot'. Thabo needs to show dramatic improvement on offense to finally fill that hole on this team. Or at the very least keep Chris Duhon off the floor. Maybe this Justin Cage character can help in that regard as well.

*For all I can prove, this may have been an email from Justin Cage himself. Or his brother Johnny. But I'm pretty sure that the email from him was legit.

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Anything that gets Barrett of the roster

And if he can really shoot the Bulls could really use another shooter off the bench.

by Scotter on Sep 13, 2007 12:53 AM CDT reply actions

And Thorpe's love of Cage dates back to

before the draft. There's a mention in his draftexpess bio. Although I didn't see much out of him in summer league.

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1263

by Scotter on Sep 13, 2007 1:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Sorry for the multiple comments, but

Thorpe's praise has me excited enought to take a second look. I'd didn't pay much attention to Cage this summer because I assumed he wasn't going to make the team. But, he was well thought of this summer. Here are several impressions from Draft Express.

Justin Cage
8 Points, 1 Rebound, 2 Assists, 1 Block, 3 Fouls, 2-3 FG, 4-5 FT

-Cage earns mention here based on the fact that he has shown huge improvements in his perimeter game.
-Cage didn't get many touches on the perimeter in college, but had some nice drives to the basket along with some nice footwork during this contest.
-Cage gets great elevation on his jumper, but needs to continue honing his shot from deep.
-Cage's athleticism allows him to be successful even though he is still adapting to a new position, indicating that he has clearly done the work to make this transition a smooth one.

Justin Cage, 9 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3/6 FG, 1/2 3FG, 2/2 FT

Matt Kamalsky

Cage is the type of player that it is really hard not to like. He approaches the game with a great attitude, and works very hard for what he gets on the floor. Cage's jump shot has improved significantly, and he showed the type of range that will get him noticed in the future. His defense is top notch, and he doesn't give up any easy buckets. While Cage is still developing some of his other offensive skills, he has already shown the impressive ability to finish around the rim with contact. Cage has looked good throughout the Summer League, and will be interesting to see how Chicago utilizes him in their final game.
Justin Cage, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/5 FG

Mike Schmidt

To this point in the summer league, Cage has been one of the more efficient players on the offensive end of the floor, shooting somewhere in the 70-80% range for the summer. He has a fantastic shot selection, only shooting when he has a good look on the perimeter, and finishes strong inside when the opportunity presents itself. Defense is probably the strongest area of Cage's game right now, as he has great length combined with good lateral quickness on this end of the floor. The rookie from Xavier also has a good understanding of positioning in this area, and always makes the proper help rotations with good reaction time. Cage has impressed the Bulls by playing exactly how they have asked him to, and he will certainly have a shot to make their opening day roster if he keeps performing at this level.

He played alot of SF/PF in college, but his college stats indicate that he only took good shots, didn't turn the ball over, and could make the college 3 consistently. All extremely positive signs for a NBA role player. I don't if he'll be any good. But, Thorpe and these reports have me intrigued. He praises his guys, but he's usually pretty honest about their limitations.

by Scotter on Sep 13, 2007 1:27 AM CDT reply actions

Cage's undrafted unknown status

gives him a leg up on the grit-o-meter. It beats a top 20 pick from that historically neutral country.

by hscs on Sep 13, 2007 8:45 AM CDT reply actions

Me likey

I see this being duhons final year as a regular in the rotation, hopefully by the end of this season, and for sure by next season (unless massive trades take place) thabo will take duhons role in the three guard line up (which makes alot more sense)or if Cage were added, we could have a tall guard line up that would look something like this

Hinrich (pg)
Thabo (sg)
Cage(sf)
Deng(pf)
wallace or noah (c)

i suppose if you wanted to get crazy you could throw thomas into the mix, but that might be too young (noah might be too young too, but since he is probably the tallest bull with talent he might be able to add some more size to that otherwise skinny line up)

im trying hard to become the next kirk hinrich, therefore im doing nothing more than being the next chris duhon.

by piccolomair on Sep 13, 2007 8:49 AM CDT reply actions

Don't Forget

Justin Cage almost lead his team over number 1 ranked Greg Oden and Ohio State in the tourney last March. Found this breakdown of his work against Oden at Draft Express.

Playing the game of his life in what turned out to be the last game of his collegiate career, Justin Cage could not have done a better job leaving everything out on the court. Defended by Greg Oden because of his supposed lack of perimeter skills, Cage made the coach that recruited him to play college basketball pay by punishing him all game long from outside. Only having hit 10 3-pointers all season long on a 32% clip, he forced us to throw all the statistics out the window as he drained one flat-footer jumper after another, finishing 3-3 from outside. Once Oden learned that he needs to respect Cage by going outside to get a hand in his face, Cage took advantage to put the ball on the floor crudely but aggressively to blow by Oden easily and either finish at the hoop or draw fouls. The fact that Oden fouled out at the end of regulation was in large part due to Cage, who was decked to the ground intentionally with 11 seconds by Oden himself to draw his last foul.

by onlythebulls on Sep 13, 2007 10:11 AM CDT reply actions

then next bowen

Wonder if we would cut him like we did Bowen?

by haze on Sep 13, 2007 10:21 AM CDT reply actions

Nice

Sounds good to me. Let's hope he's as good as advertised. Speaking of, here is a report on Noah from way back when that I came across while looking at Cage: http://draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2053

He doesn't sound too shabby either.

Score. Or do not score. There is no clutch.

by preverbal on Sep 13, 2007 12:05 PM CDT reply actions

What bulls need

Dont the bulls need a pg who is not short and doesnt turn the ball over. I know they are hard to find. Duhon is short, gordon is too turnover prone to be manning the point guard position.

I thought Thabo could fulfill the role of tall point guard for 10-20 minutes a game, but he sort of disapointed last year when it came to running the point.

by Sambossanova on Sep 13, 2007 4:26 PM CDT reply actions

Sure that would help

but hate him or like him, we do have Duhon to run the point. At the very least, we still need a M2GwcDaS to be the third guard, minutes-wise, and to be able to score when Gordon sits down.

Score. Or do not score. There is no clutch.

by preverbal on Sep 13, 2007 5:19 PM CDT up reply actions

The need for a tall point guard

has become less significant. Gordon has reached a point where he's servicable at PG. I'd certainly rather see Gordon at PG than Duhon on this team. Gordon's improved enough that Thabo doesn't need to be a true point guard. He just needs to be able to intitate the offense and let Gordon play off the ball some when Hinrich's out of the game.

The value of Cage would be as a fourth guard and a backup SF. Making Duhon even more expendable this year, and hopefully making Noc expendable sooner rather than later. I don't have Matt's Noc hate, but in the NBA a team is better off with SG/SF backing up the SF position than a SF/PF. There are just alot less defensive liabilites when you're not playing a 3/4 tweener off the bench.

by Scotter on Sep 13, 2007 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions

heh

I don't have Noc hate. I hate Noc's 5-year contract. I think this year he'll be needed.

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Sep 13, 2007 6:14 PM CDT up reply actions

the more Hinrich can play the 1...

and defend the other teams 1 the better his year is going to be. so i do hope cage breaks in the rotation to give captain k some wiggle room to do his thing. also, i do like the idea of have two gigantic guards playing at once, a matured thabo and justin will create defensive problems for any other team in the league.

by jocrucial on Sep 14, 2007 3:34 PM CDT reply actions

Hinrich

I disagree. I think in the majority of cases, Hinrich's better guarding the 2 than the 1, and I'd rather he use his energy on defense than offense, because his defense is the more impressive part of his game.

by nas on Sep 14, 2007 10:43 PM CDT up reply actions

defense most impressive part of his game

I think you are right about Hinrich's defensive abilities, but when he defends the 2, then who guards the other team's 1? Hinrich defending the 2 causes defensive problems to ripple through all the rest of the positions, which is jocrucial's point.

by hlac on Sep 15, 2007 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Cage = The New and Improved A. Griff

From reading the descriptions they sound pretty similar, except Cage has more offensive potential. I wouldn't mind if he grabbed that last roster spot. Big 2's who can play D and hit an outside shot or two r always welcome.
The mythical search continues...

by Ceasaleo on Sep 16, 2007 2:32 AM CDT reply actions

i guess my main point was...

that kirk is a point guard, not a shooting guard. when he plays point he is an above average passer, above average play maker, and above average shooter ((as far as pg's are concerned). how ever when kirk is forced to play the two, he is average at best in terms of his shooting, lets face it's just harder for him to get his shot off against taller defenders.

on defence he is a beast at both the 1 and 2. but when it comes down to it he can be just effective defesively on the 1, allowing more energy for his offesive output, which i think will add to his fg %, assists, and overall pts.

so if we have bigger two guards that can actually d up two guards as effectively or better, let's face it, thabo plays better d on kobe than kirk, my inclination is that this improves out team. and when the bulls play with a big back court. the teams point is going to have to defend our smaller guard, whoever that is, and leaving the the two to defend our larger guard.

by jocrucial on Sep 17, 2007 12:18 PM CDT reply actions

Hinrich

I think Hinrich is very capable of defending either the 1 or the 2, but the issues arise (just like with Ben Gordon) when he has to play taller players whose shot he has a greater difficulty affecting. That's where the larger guards help. To me though, one of the largest issues for Hinrich is that he gets into foul trouble too much and that severely restricts our offensive capabilities. I remember seeing (sorry no link) that Hinrich was the sixth most foul-prone player in the league and called for more fouls than any other guard. If Hinrich can restrict all those stupid, ticky-tack fouls he gets called for--which seems to happen an inordinate number of times--than the offense and defense will both benefit.

by stevekerrsfloppyhair on Sep 17, 2007 10:53 PM CDT reply actions

and about Cage...

I'm intrigued...but I tend to be optimistic about these things, for it tis the season for optimism (despite all the back and forth Chapu hate) is it not?

by stevekerrsfloppyhair on Sep 17, 2007 10:54 PM CDT reply actions