Split up the timing. Boozer can opt out after this season. While Bosh would be optimal, EVERYONE will be going after him in 2010. Plus, if we aren’t a playoff team (or close) it makes us a less attractive FA destination. It appears that Miami is the real Boozer competition as the Heat have to build a good team fast to keep Wade interested in 2010. Plus Carlos has a house there. I say do a sign and trade w/ Utah – trade Gordo, Gooden and Thomas ($17,254,629) for a resigned Boozer at Elton Brand money $100m/6 years ($16.6M per). Utah fress up money to sign Okur and Milsap and gets a #2 pick rookie pay scale player with “tremendous upside.” Miami will look to ship Marion’s contract, but that only gets Utah salary savings.

While Boozer has his shortcomings – he is a legit 20/10 low post beast we need. He can replicate his Utah situation w/ Rose as well. Then in 2010 when Hughes comes off the books, go hard for Wade or Joe Johnson. We would then have a serious big 3 w/ Deng as the 4th option. Asik/Noah in the middle.

if Deng is going to be the 4th option (Rose + 2 big free agents), then he’s not worth the 11m he’ll be getting in 2010. I think the idea of Deng, at least from Pax’s perspective, is that he is the 3rd option, and adding one big free agent would do the trick. Can’t say I agree with that perspective, though. I’m not sold on Deng being a reliable 3rd option on a championship caliber team based on his performance so far this year. He really needs to step it up and play well for that to be considered.

Has anybody figured out the teams that are going to have cap space 2010 (without assuming any teams clearing additional room)?

the names are ridiculous. Virtually every player on the list is better than every player currently on the Bulls, with the exception of Rose, of course.

It is precisely because we lucked into Rose this year that going for 2 in 2010 is absolutely the best move going forward. We have to take the risk, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Adding 2 top tier free agents to Rose and Deng, plus maybe Noah, Thabo and our 2 upcoming draft picks plus Asik would be about 8-9 guys the perfect number for a proper rotation. Maybe we can use Deng for a sign in 2010 for one of the big FA, since he is a small forward, maybe this is how we get Lebron over New York.

If championships are again the goal there is no plan B, 2 max free agents is by far the best option, and Rose will be the biggest draw in the league for all the free agents.

Add that to the fact that Chicago is one of the few places that can compete with New York and we should be a primary destination for every free agent in 2010.

Let all the bums go and bring in either Lebron and/or Wade or Johnson, and either Bosh or Amare and let the 3 peats begin.

We’ve putzed around for 10years now, whats 2 more if we can hit a home run and get back to the Jordan years.

identify one of the 2010 free agents that we want and trade for him before 2010 so that we already have his Bird rights, and then we only have to make room to sign one of the remaining big guns. Given the players that we have available, Hinrich, Deng, Gordon, and even Nocioni we could make a very respectable offer around the trade deadline in February of 2010, or for a sign and trade in the summer of 2010.

This strategy means that we don’t have to completely strip down prior to 2010, but we run the risk of being stuck with the contracts if we can’t make a trade.

there is risk in both strategies, but we have to go for it .

To paraphrase Dennis Green

We need to start acting like who we think that we are. A world class city that wins championships.

1. There will be a new CBA in place in 2010.
2. “What he is really saying is scrap the team.” Please reread From the window to LUol’s post of several days ago—-the Bulls are not that good.
3. Get Kaman now while he is relatively cheap. Then if we only get one free agent (or none) we will be in pretty good shape.

seems so far away :(

Shaq was sitting pretty with another ring while Kobe was mired in a meh team going nowhere deep in the playoffs. The Celtics were awful, and if someone had offered us Paul Pierce for Luol Deng many would’ve scoffed. We also thought Deng was a future All-Star, whom we all just assumed would pick up a low-post game over summer, answering our team’s only major weakness. Noah was still in Florida and thought to be a #1 pick. All the experts predicted the Bulls would win the conference. Lotta people were crowing about how smart and savvy Pax was as a GM, and we took pride in the fact that Skiles had the team hustling, going all out, and playing some of the best defense in the league. A lot can change in a year and a half. Pax could do everything a 2010-salivating GM would do and still get nothing out of it. And in the meantime we’d have to keep Larry Hughes.

And who here thinks the Chicago fans would have the patience for something like this? As it is people on this board are apoplectic about the team currently: a lottery team, with a rookie coach, several key players out or gimpy, barely two months into what’s largely a developmental year, and there’s daily ranting about firing Vinny and horse-whipping Pax.

This is one of the problems that Krause experienced. Chicago is not much if the team is not in the brink of being good. Having DR and Loul is not enough to entice anyone. Basically, it is DR. Luol is not going to excite anyone. Krause broke the championship team thinking that FAs would just want to sign in Chicago but it became one of Bull’s failures. Remember how ridiculous it became when Kause would send Benny the Bull and the cheerleaders to O’hare to greet FAs. We were like a needy girlfriend that had been rejected so many times that we became desperate. Remember that Tim Thomas dissed us. Eventually we got Mercer, sort of the ugly guy that played with us for his financial gain. If we put all our hopes in FA we take a chance to left all alone and only the next Mercer holding our money bag.

with regard to the Bulls 2010 plan? Does it exist? Are they even considering it?

Rose and Hughes for Lebron?

If Cavs think he’s leaving, this is better than any deal they could possibly get. (cap space and a young superstar!) Chicago can’t pass on James either, even if it means dumping Rose.