Game 1: Starters?

Perhaps switching Noce in for Deng.

I also have other interesting line-ups that I’d like to try, but that’s ok for starters.

( I was going to write a post about this as well if nobody else did. good job, Cj ;) )

for the reasons given

Apparently they saved the best for first. This should be our starting line-up all season long, period, at least until we trade any or all of the non starters (Hinrich, Gooden, Nocioni, Gordon) for someone worthy of starting.

The reasons for this lineup are many, beginning with the fact that this is a transition year in which we are trying to figure out how to build a team around Rose. We already know what Hinrich, Gooden, Nocioni, and Gordon are going to give us, not enough as starters in all four cases. We need to find out what our young athletes can do. Unfortunately in the NBA size, in particular, height does matter. We cannot continue to trot out undersized lineups and dig ourselves into a hole at the start of every game. We cannot have the double midget backcourt, like we did all of last season. Therefore, Hughes and Thabo are the onlly choices to start with Rose, since Hughes is nothing more than salary cap garbage and is not in the Bulls long term plans he should never start, and probably be sent home to smoke crack with Eddie Robinson until his contract runs out or we can trade him as an expiring contract. That said, Gordon should be the first guard off the bench, and Thabo can move up to the the small forward spot to give Deng a break. HInrich should be Rose’s backkup and that is it, 12 minutes a night max until he too is traded. Thabo needs consistent qualtiy minutes to play his best, as we found out at the end of last season, when injuries finally allowed him to get the time he deserves.

Gooden has never been a center and will never be, period. Noah should start, and Gray should get all the backup minutes, period. Gooden is the veteran and he might have the contract to be the starter at the 4, but we need to find out about Thomas. We have to start thinking about extending his rookie deal next summer. Thomas has to start and Gooden is his backup until we trade him also. That still leaves Nocioni to figure out what to do with.

We need to cut down on the number of average bodies by making a couple of 2 for 1 or 3 for 1 trades where the Bulls get the best player in the deal. How about Hughes and Gooden to the Knicks for Randolph and salary cap crap. We could trade Hinrich to Denver for their Camby trade exception($10million) and use the exception in a three way or later for a player we want/need, or package HInrich and Nocioni for one good player, how about Vince Carter. Then for all you Thabo haters he doesn’t have to start anymore. How does Rose, Carter, Deng, Randolph and Noah. Both not happening because of long term bad contracts, but we have to start moving our spare parts.

Gordon should be kept only as a backup at the right price. Gordon is worth no more than a Nocioni size contract, which he has already turned down twice, so unless we find a way to shrink his massive head and ego he is not here for the long term either.

Obviously it doesn’t take a genius to come up with the only starting lineup that makes sense for the short and long term future of the team, it only takes a stupidgenius.

Normally I’d be all for starting BG, but since Redd is BG but taller and BG won’t be able to really bother his shot, starting Thabo actually makes sense.

he burns a lot of cred with me. And he hasn’t earned any yet, btw.

he would probably faint.