My 6 Most Intriguing FA's, and Why I Don't Want Any of Them
by T-Boogie on May 4, 2009 4:45 PM CDT
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PrintAdmittedly, that title makes this sound like a very anti-climactic post. And it is. However, I'm going to try to spark a free agent discussion by trying to prove that this current crop of free agents has nothing to solve our problems, and that we need to look elsewhere for reinforcements. The draft should provide us with a new rotation player, but we still need more than that.
Before I continue on to the 6 free agents (in no particular order) that I think have something to offer the Bulls and then proceed to shoot down any logic for bringing them in, I would like to do some quick, shameful self-promotion and direct anyone who cares to read more of my thoughts about our current crew at this link.
Now, on to the free agents. ESPN, Basketball-Reference, and 82games are my sources for any stats.
Chris Andersen (PF-Denver), 30 yrs old, $797K for 08-09
I really like this guy, but he's not the solution to all of the Bulls' problems. Birdman offers high energy play off the bench, with a good rebound rate (10.9 per 36 minutes) and superb block rate (4.3 per 36 minutes). That 18.1 PER also suggest some very efficient play, but I still have some doubts. For one, he's 30, which suggests that he is probably at his peak. I also don't think he's the guy who will turn this team into a contender, as he basically combines a chunk of Tyrus' athleticism with some of Noah's rebounding without adding anything we don't have already. I expect him to re-sign with the Nuggets since they gave him a second chance to resurrect his career (not to mention that they've had a great season).
Paul Millsap (PF-Utah), 24 yrs old, $797K for 08-09
A solid player with plenty of positive traits, but I expect him to re-sign with Utah. Millsap posted an efficient PER of 18.6 this year while filling in for Boozer, and his 16 and 10 per 36 minutes is nothing to shrug off, but the price tag of luring him away from Utah after such an unexpectedly good season could be high (I predict that he'll want a long-term commitment and at least $6mil per year). He's a very good offensive rebounder, but he commits fouls like crazy, and I think his numbers were inflated by the fact that the Jazz we're depending on him heavily after the loss of Boozer. Playing about 30 minutes per game in February, Millsap averaged 10.6 points and 8.6 boards per game, which are respectable numbers (and the numbers I would expect him to produce for 28-32 minutes per game). However, Noah can post those numbers for a fraction of the price, and we really need more offense from any big man we may bring in, so I'm not sold on Millsap as our savior.
Ron Artest (SF-Houston), 29 yrs old, $7.4 mil for 08-09
Ron-Ron is staying in Houston, so I really shouldn't even bother to continue talking about him, but I'll go through the motions of listing what he has to offer and why we shouldn't sign him if we could. Artest is known for his outstanding D, and his PER vs. his opponents' counterparts' PER averages to a 5.3 advantage in Artest's favor, suggesting that he forces his opponent into inefficiency. Artest can also score fairly well, but he takes a lot of bad shots and doesn't shoot for a high percentage. Bottom line, though, is that we have Deng and Salmons already, Artest costs too much, and he's insane.
Zaza Pachulia (PF/C-Atlanta), 25 yrs old, $4 mil for 08-09
Yet another player I expect to re-sign with his current team. Pachulia plays with some energy, and he's decent on the boards. He plays solid D, and he's a decent backup center for a bargain rate. However, he's definitely not good enough to oust Noah or Thomas from the starting lineup, and he's not an upgrade over Miller, so he's not the answer we're looking for at this point.
Trevor Ariza (SF-LA Lakers), 23 yrs old, $3.1 mil for 08-09
I'm a big Ariza fan, but I see no reason why he wouldn't want to stay with the Lakers, who will continue to contend for at least a couple more years. Ariza has always been known for his defense, but his jumper has also improved greatly (46% from the field this season). However, if we're going for a small forward, that player better be a superstar, which Ariza is not.
Steve Novak (SF-LA Clippers), 25 yrs old, $797K for 08-09
Novak is a very good 3 point shooter (41.9% in his short career) who is tall enough at 6-10 to shoot over most SF's, but that's pretty much all he has to offer. He could be a good bargain shooter off the bench, but he's just not good enough to make a serious impact on this team.
So does anyone see anything about these guys that I missed? Any other free agents worth looking into this summer? Share your thoughts below.
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Haha
Bottom line, though, is that we have Deng and Salmons already, Artest costs too much, and he’s insane.
Good post though…I too am a huge fan of the Birdman and think Ariza is also a very underrated player. Unfortunately, we’ll go after someone retarded like Chris Kaman.
"The Zen philosopher Basho once wrote: 'A flute with no holes is not a flute, And a doughnut with no hole is a Danish.' He was a funny guy."
I would much rather have Artest than those two
and I’d have some money left over…but not to use to sign BG.
What about Childress, Bass, or McCants?
I don’t think any of them are amazing, but I think they are underrated.
Anyways, I don’t think we can afford to add any players to the mix. We’ll likely be about $1.3 million under the tax after we sign our picks.
Funny you mention Bass,
because I almost added him to the list, but I decided to cut it down to six players. McCants can score, but he shoots for a poor percentage and does little else, and I’ve just never been sold on Childress. That stat you bring up is enlightening, and it definitely proves that the free agent market is not our solution. I probably should have looked into that cap situation before posting this, but you had me covered, so we’re good. But that brings me to my next question: with the 17th or 18th pick, who do we draft?
I suspect several Bulls fans would consider Ben Gordon to be an intriguing free agent.
Why didn’t he make your list? His general one-dimensional play or that is past contract demands indicate he will want more money than the Bulls are willing to offer?
" I've looked at these numbers and decided the #1 problem
is that Ben Gordon is selfish..." -your friendly bulls blogger
I meant FA's outside of our current squad
We definitely need to try and re-sign BG, you can’t beat that kind of clutch scoring that he brings. The link I have for my other blog has my analysis of BG, where I praise what he did last season and mention the need to make a new offer. I probably should have said “FA’s outside of our own,” but oh well.
Yeah he is clutch...
I remember in Game 7, Bulls down 3, BG runs to the 3pt. line early in the clock, fires an airball…What I like more than his clutchness is his willingness to put the team’s goals ahead of his own.
" I've looked at these numbers and decided the #1 problem
is that Ben Gordon is selfish..." -your friendly bulls blogger
ha!
whatever D2…there wouldn’t have even been a Game 7 if it weren’t for BG…remember that…mmk pumkin?
http://awsomepeoplesearch.com/
That's not the point
If his roster spot, salary, and minutes went to someone else with lesser offense but better defense, would we still be playing? Hard to say, but you can’t simply turn the issue into a “we’re better off with Gordon than an empty roster spot” because that is not what anyone is arguing.
Theoretically if we let him walk, we’re going to pick up someone else to take his spot.
true
someone else may be picked up…but that doesn’t necessarily mean that player will provide as much offense as Ben has. In fact, I can say that said player won’t.
So uuuh…that kinda IS the point.
http://awsomepeoplesearch.com/
Clearly.
There would not have been a game 7 without Ben Gordon…or without any of the 12 active guys on that roster…its a team game.
That singular moment in game 7 is symbolic of the flaw of Ben Gordon…rather than make the smart play, the one that would help the team the most, he made the selfish play, trying to get it all back once, and failed.
" I've looked at these numbers and decided the #1 problem
is that Ben Gordon is selfish..." -your friendly bulls blogger
team game...sheam game
If Ben doesn’t hit the big 3 in game 4, the Bulls are kaput…spin it however you want.
I’m not going to go back and forth with you about the good things Ben does vs. his so-called “selfish” moments, because we would both have valid points.
Truth is, he’s an important part of the team and meshed well with Rose. If/when he goes, I guarantee the Bulls will not be able to magically produce another 20 ppg scorer to take his spot. I’m not sure why people think this will be so easy to do.
http://awsomepeoplesearch.com/
You are a complete dumbass.
"Vinny continues to act like a crazed arsonist pouring gasoline on our season while running around carrying a torch yelling 'I’m in charge. Don’t any of you foolish knaves try to second guess me. I know gasoline is a liquid but I’m pretty sure it isn’t flammable and the odor gives me a natural high.'" - Tyrusmancrush
Thanks for the insightful rebuttal...
Clearly you watch games closely and have a deeper understanding of basketball than I…
" I've looked at these numbers and decided the #1 problem
is that Ben Gordon is selfish..." -your friendly bulls blogger
I'm pretty sick of hearing
about how Gordon forces so many bad shots. I would argue that most of the time he was forced by his team to force bad shots. I don’t think Ben would have actually complained about getting open looks within the rhythm of the offense, but when a team’s offense has no rhythm, what the hell do you want him to do? He was called upon time and time again to bail out his team. Also, I don’t know if there’s anyone in the game who is better at MAKING crazy ass bad shots.
I remember in Game 2
He pulled up in the exact same context to put the Bulls up 109-104.
The Earth won’t shatter if Gordon doesn’t re-sign, but I’m pretty cynical about the franchise going forward because of how horrible the negotiations went.
At any rate, John Salmons will gladly take all the stupid shots and clock wasting possessions up without any hint of remorse.
That Steve Nash is exactly the same as Kirk Hinrich, but worse.
by NBA Observer on Apr 8, 2009 12:23 PM CDT
by Ozzie Montana on May 5, 2009 12:13 AM CDT up reply actions
BG's clutch number are phenomenal
56.9 eFG% and 36.3 ppg in clutch situations (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left,
neither team ahead by more than 5 points, according to 82games).
My other post that I promote (which I’ve already recommended so I wouldn’t have to keep making this point) highlights BG’s instant offense and the fact that, in many clutch situations, VDN’s lack of a system makes the Bulls say “Oh f***!” and forces BG to run isolation and basically attempt to save games by himself. That’s not selfish, that’s playing the role he’s asked to fill (and Salmons has been asked to do the same).
im really not interested in any FA
all i want is to keep the team intake by resigning BG. Then if possible look to trade for a post scorer. What about a double sign and trade of BG and Carlos Boozer. we send them TT BG and the 26th pick for Boozer. i wouldnt mind this but would rather go after bosh/amare and still keep BG.
FIRE VDN
A different "gocubs"?
Lack of grammar skills rings of the original…
"The Zen philosopher Basho once wrote: 'A flute with no holes is not a flute, And a doughnut with no hole is a Danish.' He was a funny guy."
by Ugh It Live! on May 4, 2009 10:10 PM CDT up reply actions
sorre dude fo all dem mistake
i aint got no time to be doin all of dat fancy proof reading and such. than i hadda go out to da walmarts cuz i had sum cuopuns! i got 43 bags of cheetos for 10 $. I EVEN gOt 1 of my younins to steal sum of dem vcr tapes.
FIRE VDN
Thanks again Yahoo.
"The Zen philosopher Basho once wrote: 'A flute with no holes is not a flute, And a doughnut with no hole is a Danish.' He was a funny guy."
by Ugh It Live! on May 4, 2009 10:41 PM CDT up reply actions
No Boozer or Odom mentions?
People should remember that while they have the right to their opinion, they are not entitled to be taken seriously. --Bruce Bartlett
Boozer is in the same boat as Kobe.
They could opt out…
I agree with OP in that Odom is not an intriguing F.A.
" I've looked at these numbers and decided the #1 problem
is that Ben Gordon is selfish..." -your friendly bulls blogger
Boozer's interesting, but I think he'll stay with Utah.
And he costs way more money than the Bulls can offer, so I didn’t think that they have any chance there whatsoever. If he leaves Utah, he’s going to want huge money somewhere else, and I’m not sold on the idea of giving him a massive contract (Utah inflates his stats a bit, even though he is pretty damn good). As for Odom, sure, he doesn’t start, but he’s at the “I want rings” stage of his career (and he should be there, quite frankly), so I am confident that he’ll be a Laker next year. LA has contender quality right now, so why would he want to leave?
I thought
Reports were going on around game 5 of our Celtics series that Boozer made it known he was opting out.
Still Boozer might be nice, but we’d have to trade, and I don’t know who we trade….cuz I like Tyrus long term over Boozer and Boozer’s lack of D, means for us to get a bang for the buck I think BG would have to be gone…..in favor of the D minded Kirk at a 2 spot….
So I don’t know if he’ll pass….plus he’s an injury waiting to happen.
4/30/2009 GAME 6: Joakim Noah is God.
Woops, you're right, my bad.
I shouldn’t drink and comment (that sounds like a public service announcement). You’re right, word on the street is Boozer’s booking it out of Utah, and that they’ll use the money to keep Millsap. The original point of him costing too much (and your mention of his proneness to injury) still stands though.
I like Childress if we can get him for a decent price. He can play the 2 and 3 and can even guard some 4s. Pretty decent offensive player. Would be an excellent backup SF and 6th man.
Boozer is injury prone and plays no D. Is basically a more talented rew Gooen. No thanks.
None of these FAs are team changers at all. Odom is over 30 and still inconsistent, no thanks.
I am also an Ariza fan.
If things don’t work out with Gordon, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Bulls uni. I expect Toronto to make a push for him, though, which will jack up the price (and potentially make it unworkable).
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