And if even hard-core fans like me, who spends a lot of time on the Bulls, are considering spending less, what's the average casual fan doing?  What's the small business doing that wanted season tickets because it wanted to be on the ground floor for a title run doing?

There's lots of choices out there for people to spend their money on.  How many people here have made comments about how unwatchable these twits have often been this year?  And we're watching for freaking free.

The point isn't that everyone is suddenly going to give up on the Bulls, but the Bulls have enjoyed a tremendous amount of loyalty and faith from their fans, and I think there's a legitimate sense this season that this loyalty and faith has been misplaced.  

And yeah, that's a big deal.  Things have been good for the Bulls, but things can go south and the Bulls can easily be just another franchise.  Here in Indiana, where people live and die basketball and the Pacers were once a hot ticket you can't find anyone with the tiniest bit of enthusiasm for these guys.  They hate the Pacers here. It's literally hard to get people to go to games for free.  Pacers gear gets scoffs of derision from people if it's offered or seen.  A couple of years of sucking ass, another bad personnel decision or two, and that's your Chicago Bulls.

I think we would have given up too much for Gasol last year.

He shoulda gone to Jerry like he did about Eddie Robinson and push to pay some outta his pockets to make our situation a little bit better

I really should have posted about it because it seemed a real slip for the GM to say he went to the owner with a trade he endorsed, only to have it rejected.  Does anyone else remember this, and if so, can they point me in the right direction about where and when it was said?  I looked around and couldn't find any obvious reference to it.

Anyone think signing Noc to an extension during last season would have yielded a 8.5 mil per contract over five years?

As much as like a guy to maintain integrity, the league is a controlled marketplace.  It isn't free at all.  There are rules to follow, hoops to jump through and stones you must cast if you want to carve out a niche for winning.  Being a big market team, with a big market profit, and an owner that won't go over the salary cap, it's one more additional constraint tax on Paxson's ability to improve the team.

The only way Reinsdorf agrees to go over the salary cap is if it is to bring in a player that will generate an ADDITIONAL 20 mil in revenue.  That could be Kobe, Lebron, Yao, or maybe even Yi, but few other players and certainly not Pau Gasol.

Jerry likes winning, but he likes money more than winning.  The luxury tax is a serious financial drain, but it's obvious that it's not doing what it was intended to do.  Small market teams still suck at breaking even even with winning records.