Lest we Forget

"CHICAGO: F-infinity-minus
When the media guide for the No Balls Association is released, I demand that John Paxson appears on the cover. At some point, you have to roll the dice, right? Not landing Gasol was inexcusable; the Bulls could have made the Finals with him (and if it meant sacrificing Luol Deng, Ty Thomas and the Knicks' pick, so be it). Instead, they did nothing ... which means they overpaid Ben Wallace when they already had a younger version of him for two-thirds the money (Tyson Chandler), gave away Chandler AND J.R. Smith for an expiring contract (P.J. Brown) because they wanted a trading piece for the deadline, then never ended up making a freaking trade.

I mean ...

Where does that rank among the most bizarre/inexplicable/head-scratching game plans in recent NBA history? Near the top, right? And if that's not bad enough, Paxson should have sold high on the Knicks' pick in December -- once the Celtics, Bucks, Hawks and Nets started getting crushed by injuries and the Iverson/Philly situation fell apart, everyone and their brother could see a 35-win season for the Knicks coming. What was the purpose of holding on to that pick? Are we even sure Paxson is alive? Has anyone seen him in the past three months? If he's missing or dead, I apologize for the last three paragraphs."

Can Paxson be fired yesterday?

about 3 years ago silentpete 12 comments 0 recs |

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Comments

I agree

Fire Paxson!!!!

by Bullsfanla on Jan 27, 2009 1:40 PM CST reply actions

The Gasol trade wouldn’t have gotten us to the Finals. Not a fan of PAx but the statement is way offbase. Gasol needs to be a second or third option, he’s not very effective as a franchise player.

by C Smoove on Jan 27, 2009 2:45 PM CST reply actions

especially if we had given up deng, thomas, and what would turn into noah

it really is ridiculous to think we would have made the finals.

"They should. They better. I'm Vinny Del Negro!"

by Jaina on Jan 27, 2009 3:03 PM CST up reply actions

Don't you remember how close they were that year?

Bulls swept the heat and took a couple games from the Pistons. Then the Pistons lost in 7 games to a poorly coached Cleaveland team that didn’t have any good players except Lebron. The Cavs then lost to the Spurs in a finals match up so boring I stopped watching after the first game. Bulls were right there and thats why so many predicted them to do well the next year when everything fell appart.

Kirk Hinrich hadn’t fallen off yet. Ben Wallace and Scott Skiles hadn’t quit on the team yet.

take that iteration of Ben Wallace and put him next to a legit big man who can take offensive pressure off him and let Ben focus on boards and defense and good things happen (see Wallace, Rasheed).

Not to mention you finally have the low post presence that everyone knew was the achilles heel of Skile’s bulls. Shoot we still haven’t seen how Ben Gordon might look on a team with an actual post player.

by silentpete on Jan 27, 2009 5:00 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah

I agree, Pau would have given us the championship trek with Gasol-Kirk-Ben-Noc-Wallace…..before Wallace and Skiles quit, we would have been fantastic.

Folks totally still underestimate Pau. He can lead a team. He got injured, and Memphis traded its glue guy for a youth movement.

He lead Spain to the Olympics and is leading the Lakers more than the public Kobe personal love would have you imagine.

He’s just a smart, smart player. I know the Grizz went like 0-12 in the playoffs with him, but they were never the favorites and faced a Mavs team that was on th eup and up before the Miami series deflated their confidence….I mean did you see the roster that Memphis had? It was very weak and yet they won 45 or so games and got a playoff nod in the very tough West. THey would have at least made it to the 2nd or 3rd round in the East those years.

Pau getting injured turned him from budding star to can’t do it without Kobe. Watch the games, his skill level is what drives that team. He can rebound, he can score inside and outside, he can pass, he can shoot. He’s a perfect player for the triangle offense too, and is as skilled as they come. Why do you think the day the trade ocurred why Kobe Bryant was glowing even before they played together…..Pau is a much better player than his rep, still. It’s rare that a guy can come into a team like the Lakers with the very complex triangle offense, and step right in as if it was second nature and cause a middling 40-45 win team into the WCF….having a training camp to learn more with the teammates, is making Kobe-Pau and Bynum into really the team to beat.

by majoyenrac on Jan 27, 2009 7:10 PM CST up reply actions

I'd trade Deng, Tyrus, and Noah for Pau

right now

by YaoPau on Jan 27, 2009 7:58 PM CST up reply actions

i still don't think we would have made the finals

part of why we dominated the heat so much was deng.

"They should. They better. I'm Vinny Del Negro!"

by Jaina on Jan 27, 2009 8:55 PM CST up reply actions

otoh

they might have won a few more games in the regular season, and then would have gotten the cavs’ easy road to at least the ECF.

not saying he wouldn’t improve the team, i just don’t know that he would have made our team finals caliber.

"They should. They better. I'm Vinny Del Negro!"

by Jaina on Jan 27, 2009 9:01 PM CST up reply actions

Um, Deng had a big part in that.

And thomas helped, too.

Viva la nuance! Reading comprehension rules!!!

by tyger1147 on Jan 28, 2009 10:12 AM CST up reply actions

Paxson is really a Ben Laden like personality ...

we only see him on film, and he says the same thing. He could have pre-recorded all of his last 100 filming sessions all at once 2 years ago.

“Our guys need to pass the ball”, “Our guys need to hustle” , “Our guys…”, “Our guys…”

man up!

by exult463 on Jan 27, 2009 5:33 PM CST reply actions

lol

when are we going to add a 7th championship?

by broseleay301 on Jan 27, 2009 7:40 PM CST up reply actions

I dunno

I’ve never been sold on Gasol totally. He is obviously skilled. Very high basketball IQ which is why he is such a perfect fit in the Triangle. I still think he is way too soft for an interior player. Also all his post offense are those ridiculous flip shots. He needs to take it stronger. He does sometimes but he shoots those little flippy type shots…hate that.

He is a great #2 option for sure…but for sure Kobe being there takes pressure off of him so he can pitch in without feeling too worried about being “that guy”

by C Smoove on Jan 28, 2009 12:01 AM CST reply actions