The playoffs are a pretty harsh spotlight, and Tyrus still seemed a bit lost out there. I couldn't fathom that he still hadn't learned to get the ball to a guard ASAP on fast breaks. I loved his blocks, but Antoine Walker was positively schooling him getting to the hoop.

Okay, he's a rook and we have to understand that...I suppose we can knock Skiles for not playing him more during the regular season. I blame part of it on chemistry with Wallace. That was a big, expensive acquisition for the team that wasn't looking well under scrutiny early in the season. When your new addition is a moody talent whose ability rests partly on hustle and attitude, it's not good when he's constantly phoning home about being unhappy. This is also probably why Noce at the 4 didn't happen even more often...weren't there a couple of sources that said Big Ben didn't feel as comfortable out there as the only big? Now he has to front the post, now he doesn't have an experienced big (Sheed) alongside him...PJ starting in the frontline probably was the best thing for Big Ben (though maybe not, you'd argue, for the team or for the fans). Tyrus wasn't going to do it. He was raw, uncoordinated, he had no strength. He probably beat out Ben Gordon's per-minute stats on the All-Falling-Down team.

I don't know if any of these are valid reasons and it may sound negative, but it's actually my reason for optimism. I'm hoping Tyrus gets a little stronger, more fundamentally sound, and more offensively polished around the basket and from 12 feet out. But he's not entirely at the mercy of Skiles' whims. He needed to be at least as impressive & productive, (or less embarrassing) than PJ Brown, Malik Allen, etc. last year, and this year it's Joe Smith. If he can do that, I'm thinking (maybe naively) that he'll get more minutes.

A few interesting things that may also be obvious. One, dumb starting lineup. Two, don't play Duhon and Hinrich together. Three, good success having Wallace/Deng/Noc/Gordon on the floor at the same time (Duhon and Hinrich were interchangable when placed with these 4).  

Isn't that the idea?

"We are very happy to have Andrés remain a member of our organization. During his three seasons with us, he has played a key role to help change the culture of our team," said Bulls EVP of Basketball Operations John Paxson. "His passion and energy for the game of basketball are second to none, and he has been a key member of our team because of that."

I know Matt loves that.

I assume this is up on Bulls.com as well.

Not saying that was really the motivation but it bugged me. And it was an important game too.

Joe Smith has only averaged 50 games in each of the last two seasons, and has played in less than 75 in all but one of the last 7.  Wallace has issues with his back and is getting up there in age so we can probably expect less than 75 games from him as well.  Noah has the shoulder issue, and although I hope it amounts to nothing, there's at least a chance that he'll require surgery or miss some games regardless.  Noc has the foot problems, plus the way he plays probably makes him likely to miss a few games for injuries.

One positive of the depth in the frontcourt is that it gives us the depth to overcome these things.  I think the season will shake out with plenty of minutes to go around.  hopefully if one or two guys go down the Bulls can weather it without that significant of a drop off, helping us to lock up a high seed.  I really think we have the possibility with this team to get the number one seed in the east, and a big reason is that we'll be able to bring it night in and night out.  Also if there are injuries, the depth allows us to get well rested for when the playoffs start.  

I guess all in all if everyone stays healthy all year there are some valid concerns about the minutes for the 4 and 5 spots, but I just think everyone staying healthy is unrealistic.

Gordon would almost certainly be part of any such trade but his salary is only $4.9 Mil and Thomas, Noah & Thabo are $3.5 Mil,$1.8 Mil, & $1.8 Mil respectively.
Add all four of those up and you  total $12 Mil, and you probably already feel you are giving too much. Remember a lot of times you can't get a top talent without taking some teams bad contract with him.

I'm not a big fan of Noc's but he is a productive NBA player who would have gotten $30+ Mil for 5 years from someone, and Joe Smith isn't way overvalued at $5 Mil.

I'm not saying Pax signed them just to have the trade flexibility but I'm sure that entered into his thinking. If an offer does come along the Bulls are in a much better position to match salaries without gutting the team.    

Voila!