This team doesn’t need draft picks or middle of the way talent, we need a solid two guard (if we lose BG) or big man (assuming BG’s our off guard) to make us a playoff level team.

We know the coaching staff never had any luck developing big men.

Thanks Ali. Joe Johnson would seem to be a good fit or maybe Rudy Fernandez though both are likely unavailable.

Amare or Bosh would also be great but same story.

is somehow dumping Hughes’ contract this season, then offering a big contract to Paul Millsap this offseason. Everyone’s talking about Boozer as a free agent possibility, but Millsap is four years younger, a better defender (Boozer can’t play D), and his recent string of 16 straight double doubles and 20.3 PER makes me think he’ll soon be a bonafide star.

If we throw a six year contract at Millsap for say, $11 mil per, I doubt the Jazz match, and we’ll still have enough to extend Gordon and stay under the luxury tax.

Rose – Gordon – Deng – Millsap – Noah doesn’t seem like a championship team on paper, but I think Rose’s supporting cast would be better than Chris Paul’s supporting cast, and the Hornets were a #2 seed last year.

I should have posted Milsap or Boozer as an option Yao.

I don’t think any of these players are going to be real game changers for our team…..so for now I say unfortunately hold out….

We should try to make a play for Marion (not listed here)…..have him on our books for the rest of this year, then decide if he can change us and if not let him go for BG’s contract.

To me, while Marion hasn’t quite been playing like the Marion of old, Marion’s biggest strength is on the break, and with Rose and BG, we are best on the break…..

Marion can defend quite well too.

I think the Bulls should pursue Marion hard. Offer the Heat Gooden-Noah-Hinrich for Marion. Hinrich’s the unfortunate loss here, but with our needs he’s a goner….I like Kirk and think it a bit unfair that his rep is hurt in the league because he always did what was asked of him (tried to defend last year to overcompensate for BG and Deng not playing D early, fine with his role, hard working, guarding the 3 spot on defense despite giving up 5 inches on average and athleticism, and doing a fine job)….Kirk’s a good player, but he’s no Derrick Rose…

We lose Noah too, but Noah’s been a bit of a head case and won’t do the same things on the Heat….

But we gain Marion, a player who is perhaps overpaid and was perhaps overhyped in Phx, but he’s got a HUGE expring contract, and while he might never have been the superstar he wanted to be, he is a bonafied all star quality player, who oddly is not being utilized as well in the Heat.

I like him for the expiring nature of his contract, the athleticism, and the defense.

It would be interesting to really try a D’Antoni-ized small ball lineup that Vinny likes and play the rest of this year with a lineup of

Rose-Gordon-Deng-Marion-Tyrus.

We give up a lot of height, but that is perhaps the most athletic starting 5 in the league, and we might outrun every team out there. Tyrus and Marion give up height but make it up in leaping ability.

THis lineup is far from winning it all, but maybe if Marion works, we can resign him for a 3 yr deal for maybe $10-12M/yr.

THis offseason we work on ridding Hughes for cap relief…..as Hughes’s value will increase with the 2010 prospect class….

And they’re already trying to get rid of him. That should tell you something. He’s a decent player, but his contract is just terrible.

even Larry Hughes for contracts that expire at the end of THIS year, if we can get it. Or Hinrich for contracts and a decent player. But we need a consistent, average big man, and we need space to resign Gordon.
[And no, I don’t count Gooden as a consistent, average big man.]
[Oh, yeah, and we need a real coach. It’s really infuriating watching bad coaching, I have to say.]