The Tyrus Thomas pick will be controversal but get ready for the arguments about putting BG ahead of Rose for player of the year. I agree with your pick of BG for all those reasons. He was their more most consistent player. Period. He was their leading scorer. Also he was the most depended on in the clutch. Remember it wasn’t until mid season, maybe after the Dallas game, that Vinnie took away the last second shot duties away from Rose and gave them back to Gordon. I also don’t think enough has been said about Rose’s progress being helped by the fact that he had a backcourt mate that demanded a double team. Ben had possibly his best year as a pro and his numbers got better in the playoffs. Not an easy feat. Great post.

Bulls Player of the year: Ben Gordon
Runner Up Derrick Rose

Ben pulled another solid year for us, this time finally getting a bit more of the just respect though still oddly having many questions for us in the future. He was as consistent as ever this year, except this year he didn’t have his what seemed to be customary November shooting slump, so that helped his overall numbers. His defense improved, though at times down the stretch he reverted back to his “instant offense ways”. Ben’s ball handling also improved, though he still has an annoying tendency to get too flashy in key moments and be involved in unforced turnovers. I was most impressed with the way Ben finally displayed some on the court leadership this year, instead of being a quiet guy who plays his role, Ben was a motivator and that’s a nice thing to have going forward. Ben will be missed if he leaves, though at least with Salmons we could possibly weather it to a degree (presuming Deng gets back to himself). The Honorable mention of course was to Derrick, who was just absolutely fantastic for any player, let alone a rookie. This will be Derrick’s team going forward, and I think Ben is fine with that (which shows you how good Derrick is and how easy he is to work with….).

Offensive Player of the year Ben Gordon again followed by Derrick Rose. Ben was again sensational with the clutch shooting down the stretch and the fairly consistent 20+ PPG on a very good pts per FGA margin of 1.3…..putting him in an elite caliber of offensive player. Derrick was sensational as a rookie and seemed to be getting better at finding “his time” as the season progressed. A bit too tentative at times, but then again he’s 20 years old playing in his hometown…..the future is very bright for Rose and if we could keep BG, for the Bulls backcourt….

Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah
Honorable Mention Kirk Hinrich. Noah ain’t strong enough yet, but his rebounding and positioning were fantastic. Rarely does he seem to fall in the wrong place on D and his shot blocking presence really helps control the paint. Bulk Noah up and the Bulls will be solid. Kirk Hinrich played overall better D when he played, but the injury and the two-three weeks to get back to his normal shape, kind of lessened his impact. Kirk’s a great defender and moved back into that all D consideration….had he not been injured who knows. Tyrus THomas was still often out of position on D when he was on the help side or away from the ball. He’s got all the tools and has shown all the ability to be a lockdown defender on the best of them (Lebron for instance) but like eveyrthing else, Tyrus needs a bit more consistency.

6th Man Award Kirk Hinrich. Miller won a game for us with key shooting in the playoffs, but Kirk was “the stabilizer” all the 2nd half of the season for us and thus to me is an easier pick, no doubt also helped by the fact that Brad seemed to turn a good game after a perplexingly rough game the night before, or a good 2nd half after a terrible, turnover first half. But those 2 were pretty close, and I loved Miller’s big man leadership and tutoring.

Most Improved John Salmons. Sure Salmons improved from day 1 this year, but wow did he improve. Guys’ll say well he did score 17-18 ppg in a 15 game stretch or whatever the year before when Artest was out….that’s nice, but doing that for an entire year and then stepping into a new system and instantly being a leader….
Runners UpJoakim Noah and TYrus Thomas. Took a few months, but both had their wow moments. Tyrus was sensational in Feb and March and seemed he would lock this in, before he took a mini about face there at the end of the year and the playoffs (perhaps he got hurt against Golden State), still the future is bright, needs to work on timing mostly, but getting stronger wouldn’t hurt. Jo needs to hit the gym Both are going to dictate our future success….

Sad to see Go Andres Nocioni
Look I know everyone here (or a lot here) were frustrated wtih Noc, but I think if he can get himself healthy, he’s a good player. I think he was hurt all year after the Olympics last year, and injuries are a concern. Salmons is the better player both in pure talent and in game play, but Nocioni was a sad casualty of the Ben Wallace deal (And of Paxson’s HUGE contract foible).

Most Glad to See Go Drew Gooden. Larry really was not a major part of our team, and while he was a cancer, he was sitting the bench and really not playing too much in a role that greatly impacted our future. Drew Gooden now has a somewhat unfair bad rap, he’s not a bad player, but just a horrible fit to our team. What was frustrating though is that Drew would kill the offense and the defense and also that his minutes were stealing more time from Tyrus and Joakim.

Have to hope never comes back, aka the Chris Duhon award Aaron Gray. Why Aaron got so many minutes when he would essentially kill any mojo we had with his slow arm flailing non foot moving D and his “wow that was a quick move but an even quicker and wilder shot” was beyond me. Look he might be a nice guy, but he’s making too much money to hurt our team. Sayonara Aaron, good luck though in Europe where you could be effective cuz you can camp in the lane….

don’t get me wrong, the block-streak he had going was plenty impressive, but his man-to-man defense is still shoddy. If you need proof, go back and watch Big Baby tear him up for 7 games.

I’d suggest Rose for Player of the Year, however, and I don’t think it’s close. While BG had a wonderul playoffs and a career year, the entire team was built around Rose. He was the focal point from the beginning. When I look back on this season in years to come, I’ll think of it as Rose’s amazing rookie year where we took Boston to seven, not Gordon’s career year where we took Boston to seven.

Newcomer of the year: Derrick Rose
Honorable Mention: John Salmons

I just thought it was unfortunate that Rose didn’t win one fan award, so I thought I’d give him a category especially suited for him. For the first time since MJ retired, the Bulls have a player who is capable of being among one of the very best in the NBA. Rose’s combination of athleticism and skill should have him in contention for the all star game next season. He certainly can improve in some areas, but overall, he had a great season.

Salmons was the trigger that turned the Bulls mediocre offense into a good offense at the end of the season. His combination of 3pt shooting and efficient drives helped up the Bulls overall efficiency and make the Bulls less reliant on big games from Gordon and Rose. He was better than I thought he was going to be on offense, but a bit disappointing on defense. Overall, a very nice pick up by Pax.

Most Disappointing: Luol Deng
Dishonorable Mentions: Drew Gooden and Nocioni

Lu Deng had a horrible year. There is simply no disputing that. He played up to his abilities for about 2 weeks this season, sulked at times, didn’t expand his game, and was injured throughout the season again. Deng played so badly, he was literally forgotten come playoff time. No one even mentioned that we were missing the $12 million dollar man. Next season is make or break time for Deng. I hope he realizes that.

Drew Gooden and Nocioni.. wow. The Bulls had 2 trigger happy, defensive albatrosses on the team for 2/3’s of the season, and it was like a weight off all our shoulders when they left. Drew Gooden is the best definition of an unleader in basketball. Nocioni needs structure and only about 10 minutes a game to be effective. Goodbye and good riddance. I would have been disappointed with Larry Hughes’ play, but I had no expectations.

Joakim Noah and Brad Miller. Is there any other Bulls players that smoke pot?