Report: Ainge willing to break up Big Three

[Bulls Confidential does a not-so-fruitful exercise as to the Bulls options. -ed.]

4 months ago MichaelClutchtree 46 comments 0 recs |

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boozer for ray ray or KG?

ill take it

by Belize on Jan 19, 2012 11:05 AM CST reply actions

He'd actually be a good fit with Rondo,

but that move doesn’t change anything for the Celtics. Ray and KG are on expiring deals, it’d make more sense to keep them and let their contracts run out than to trade one for another old player with 3+ years left on his deal.

by dakoose on Jan 19, 2012 11:12 AM CST up reply actions

I'd rather let Korver go

and sign Ray with the mini MLE to take his minutes. Korver can be waved next season and be due only 500k I believe.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 11:36 AM CST up reply actions

i actually thought about korver

but then i thought korver + ray + hamilton would be nice around rose

by Belize on Jan 19, 2012 12:32 PM CST up reply actions

it would

but it would also make for a very crowded backcourt.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 1:37 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

i don't think garnett should be anywhere near this team.

by obnoxious american on Jan 19, 2012 11:43 AM CST up reply actions

Really?

He’s a better shooter and defender than Booz. Now that Booz is pretty much a jump shooting PF, Garnett’s likely an upgrade.

by dakoose on Jan 19, 2012 11:47 AM CST up reply actions 2 recs

KG is done.

and some of the Bulls players done like him.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 11:51 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs

They'll get along just fine.

I don’t see a scenario in which he comes here, but he’d be a good fit with what the Bulls do on offense and defense.

by dakoose on Jan 19, 2012 12:05 PM CST up reply actions

i disagree

I don’t think the other Bulls like him, but winning would fix that. But more importantly, the wheels are falling off the bus with him, and while I’m currently a critic of Boozer, I still think he has a chance of improving, maybe not in numbers and on the stat sheet, but making the team better, more so than Garrett who is only going to decline at this point.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 2:14 PM CST up reply actions

Joakim Noah.

by Doshi on Jan 19, 2012 11:56 AM CST up reply actions

Boozer can't jump, KG can't even move.

by Ozzie Montana on Jan 19, 2012 12:14 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs

Meh, he still gets around OK.

He’s still a very effective defender and a great mid-rang shooter; he’s a great fit alongside Derrick. Imagine a guy like KG getting all the open looks Carlos gets. It’d be like Carlos against Phoenix, just every night. That’s an exaggeration, but still…..

by dakoose on Jan 19, 2012 12:54 PM CST up reply actions

KG isn't exactly elite at shooting anymore.

30% from 10-15 feet, 44% from 16-23. Boozer right now is a better offensive weapon for Rose.

by Ozzie Montana on Jan 19, 2012 3:15 PM CST up reply actions

Those numbers don't look good,

but his track record and from what I’ve seen of him this year, I still like him.

by dakoose on Jan 19, 2012 3:59 PM CST up reply actions

I think everyone's point is that you can't go on his track record

because he’s a shell of his former self and won’t be returning to form. He really does look done to me.

by runningman on Jan 19, 2012 8:42 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

this is my evaluation as well.

by obnoxious american on Jan 19, 2012 1:43 PM CST up reply actions

KG is done

Ray Ray still good tho…

"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"

by T.Moore on Jan 19, 2012 1:34 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

If I could swing a Brewer/Korver for RayRay deal, I'd do it.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine

I know Ainge wouldn’t go for it. Korver’s a 30 year old 3point specialist with defensive liabilities (though those have been masked recently). Brewer’s 26 and known more for energy and athleticism than basketball skills, though he plays darn good defense. RayRay’s a possible HoFer in the midst of the greatest shooting performance in his career (.633 eFG; next highest is 08-09 with .575). He’d also make the Bulls starting 5 amongst the most talented and dangerous in the history of the NBA.

It’s not as silly as I initially thought. But it’s still a silly trade, and one I’d make happily for a championship right now.

by Doshi on Jan 19, 2012 12:08 PM CST reply actions

The lineup would look something like this...

PG: Rose – Watson – Lucas – James
SG: Ray – Rip – Watson – James
SF: Deng – Butler – Taj (?)
PF: Booz – Taj – JoNo
C: JoNo – SHEEK

by Doshi on Jan 19, 2012 12:11 PM CST up reply actions

i wouldn't do it.

Rays 10mil expires this season, we are just better off waiting and losing nothing and trying to sign him for the mini MLE next season, or a reasonable sign and trade, with korver going the other way. But i wouldn’t give up brewer today for ray allen now.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 2:07 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

I'm not sure if we're truly a Championship team right now.

We have impressive depth, and that’s incredibly important playing 66 games in roughly 120 days. But, outside of Rose, we don’t really have another Great. We’ve got a bunch of Good, some Specialists, and the rest Above Average (other than Scal). I’d like to see another Great added to this team.

Also, I’m not 100% certain about how the new CBA works. But I AM certain that RayRay would get FAR better offers than the Mini-MLE.

by Doshi on Jan 19, 2012 3:18 PM CST up reply actions

true but the situation here

is far better than anywhere else. He was big for who, the sonics and the bucks, so he may go there to retire, but i think he’s made enough money and would probably want another ring rather than a fat contract with a cap space team. Here theres a championship ready team and a guy who helped him to that championship, Thibs. at 3million thats not so bad. or maybe 5-6 million if you send korver to the celtics in a s&t. however, allen isn’t a great anymore, in my opinion. he is still really good, but even he doesn’t equal a ring.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 5:19 PM CST up reply actions

they kinda burned that pitch with Rip

don’t you think? they have to guarantee Allen starts to sign him.

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 19, 2012 10:33 PM CST up reply actions

yes and no

if rip’s nagging groin injury is truly a significant hindrance, you can push him to be the sixth man and start Allen. So if that scenario plays out, I think a sign and trade sending Korver the other way is a pretty decent offer sheet, something in the area of 5-6 million for two years. It really depends on how this season plays out and that being said, I would definitely not look to acquire him sooner than the off season.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 20, 2012 3:25 PM CST up reply actions

Most teams that win it all have an elite defender. You got Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace, Kobe and MJ were both elite defenders. Chandler brought elite D from the 5 last year. It can be from a role player or a superstar, but you need at least one elite defender to win a title.
now is Brewer that guy? And even if he is, do we have other guys that are? Deng or Asik or Noah maybe?

by metalkiwis on Jan 20, 2012 11:39 AM CST up reply actions

Deng's our elite defender

Rose decides not to go 1-on-2 and I was thinking, "what are you doing?! You've got the numbers!" -Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live

by Prevenge on Jan 20, 2012 6:01 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

And I think Asik can be and almost is. Yeah Lu Deng is on another level this year, but now he is paying for it getting dinged up. Fucking JoNo is paid to be elite.

by metalkiwis on Jan 29, 2012 11:00 PM CST up reply actions

Bulls Confidential may think Pierce and Deng can't play side-by-side but I think that's bullshit

I think Pierce could definitely play SG, and I might prefer him to Allen actually. You could also play Deng at the 4 and go small.

Pat Riley is the devil.

by Poloplaya14 on Jan 19, 2012 12:12 PM CST reply actions

What does Pierce have left?

He might still be hurt, but he has almost no lift on his jump shot or finishing at the rim. The outlook is bleak.

I can predict the future using Norm Van Lier's crystal balls.

"Sam has a tendency to denigrate reports coming from any reporter who didn’t also cover the day Naismith first put up the peach baskets." - snley

by NBA Observer on Jan 19, 2012 12:28 PM CST up reply actions

he definitely doesn't look recovered from his early-season knee injury, anyway

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"Don't nag, flag!"

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jan 19, 2012 12:53 PM CST up reply actions

I don't care if he has no lift on his jump shot if he still hits 40% of his 3s.

Pierce’s game has been based far more on craftiness than athleticism for a while. He’s still got plenty left. He put up a very efficient 24 a few days ago against OKC and a very efficient 21 2 days before that against Indiana. He’s probably not very suited for this condensed season, but come playoff time, I think he’ll be a good to go.

Pat Riley is the devil.

by Poloplaya14 on Jan 19, 2012 2:50 PM CST up reply actions

He's overweight

and has no conditioning due to missing all of training camp and the first couple weeks of the season. With the schedule the way it is, he’s going to have a hard time ever catching up this year. It’s sad because he didn’t have that many years left to be able to afford a lost one.

He’s already made the transition to a player that doesn’t rely on athleticism, so I can see him playing better over time.

by runningman on Jan 19, 2012 8:46 PM CST up reply actions

I think most people have slept on his greatness over the past decade cause he was surrounded by crap. Just playing alongside him was enough to get Antoine Walker a 20 ppg season. Yeah, my man PP was so great he got scrubs 20 a game. Jordan never even did that.

by metalkiwis on Jan 29, 2012 11:02 PM CST up reply actions

i'm not sure who looked more done, him or garnett.

by obnoxious american on Jan 19, 2012 1:44 PM CST up reply actions

i dont like the idea.

maybe as a sixth man, then the 2nd unit would have a scoring punch in Watson/Pierce. But thats a very expensive 6th man.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 1:54 PM CST up reply actions

Paul Pierce is only a few months older than Rip Hamilton and he's always been way better

I like what Hamilton’s done so far in a Bulls’ uniform, but I’ll take Pierce over him in a heartbeat. It’s hard to make the dollars work out unfortunately.

Pat Riley is the devil.

by Poloplaya14 on Jan 19, 2012 2:53 PM CST up reply actions

i like the thought of just adding him to the team

but that dollars part bothers me, I’d rather add veteran pieces, than trade for them. if we are trading away cogs, we should be going for a guy that would form a core with what we have now.

Let us cavort like the Greeks of old! You know the ones I mean.

by hedonism bot on Jan 19, 2012 5:21 PM CST up reply actions

the only guy worth having is ray allen

I dont care what the D.N.A. Says, the Guy wearing number 12 Cannot be Kirk Hinrich, he is definetly Kurt. Kirk can actually play basketball!

by piccolomair on Jan 19, 2012 12:49 PM CST reply actions 5 recs

Agreed

"Violence is not always the answer."
"Violence is the question, and the answers always YES!"

by T.Moore on Jan 19, 2012 1:35 PM CST up reply actions

I disagree

I think KG and Pierce still have a fair amount left.

Unfortunately, they both make so much that it’s hard to work out a trade for either of them.

Pat Riley is the devil.

by Poloplaya14 on Jan 19, 2012 2:54 PM CST up reply actions

id gladly take kg over boozer

He’s still got that little jumper in the post and probably is still a better defender than boozer and we’d get out boozers contract

By popular demand I am putting a moratorium on the Melo talk until the Knicks win the title in June.

by sin on Jan 19, 2012 1:04 PM CST reply actions

and with the bulls, he actually may be better off

hell ton of chances scoring in the post thanks to rose and rip spacing the floor.

by Geo4MVP on Jan 19, 2012 5:20 PM CST up reply actions

the celtics organization is a sinking ship...

and i want nothing to do with any of the rats rushing the decks.

1. kg is finished- anyone that has watched him play this year has to have noticed that he can’t play d anymore.yes he is a big who can put down shots from the outside, but last time i checked we have tons of outside shooting with 4/5 of our starters all very adept. he also no longer has any inside game. so basically, he is all bark and no bite, so no thanks.

2. ray ray – would be a SLIGHT upgrade over rip offensively. but would clearly be a down grade on the defensive side of things so don’t really see the point.

3. pierce – is held together by glue, duck tape, and string- one hard foul away from coming completely undone.

by jocrucial on Jan 19, 2012 1:37 PM CST reply actions 4 recs