[Thanks to MPG for today's preview -ed.]

It's getting pretty tough to talk or write about these Bulls without imagining a trade.  At this point it's almost reflexive.  Rose makes a nice play...you wonder how well he'd run the pick & roll with with somebody who rolled.  BG drops thirty...you wish they had an interior to balance the scoring load.  112 games of ineptitude have hardwired us to scour draft-boards (draftexpress) and seedy trade-shysters (hoopsworld) for a lonely tittle of hope.  It simultaneously sucks and blows - which isn't just a description of Noah's conditioning.

So we look for scapegoats.  Not that there's a lack of genuine goats around.  Nocioni (rotate!), VDN (coach!), and Deng (bark!) have all taken their fair share of flak, and it's understandable.  Better to have a single, encapsulated problem than a metastatic mess.  That's the reason for scapegoats - it makes a complicated problem seem simple.  Or even solvable.

Lucky for us, tonight (6:30) we get to see a team that offers hope - the New Jersey Nets.

Hope to get a win?  Probably not.  The Nets, along with the Lakers, Celtics and Blazers, are uniquely suited to kicking our ass.  Derrick Rose struggles to contain penetration and Devin Harris (24.7, 6.4)  is the best pg in the East.  We're small at shooting guard and Vince Carter isn't just big - he actually has post moves.  And we all know the issues we have inside, where our centers are alternately too slow and weak to match up with Brook Lopez, to say nothing of the ersatz all-star, Yi Jianlian, who brings height, athleticism, and perimeter skill.  These Bulls seem hell-bent on giving career nights to every middling NBA grunt who's ever had a delusion of grandeur, so look for Yi to light it up.  Complicating matters is the fact that we beat New Jersey just a few weeks ago.  They're hungry; we're demoralized and divided.  Not good.

I mentioned hope up there somewhere.  I meant it.  Here's a team (New Jersey) that should be the model for the Bulls moving forward.  Just two years ago they were saddled with an over-the-hill Jason Kidd, the bloated contract of Vince Carter, and the somewhat redundant Richard Jefferson. A few trades later and they've assembled complementary young players to which that they've committed themselves.  Complementary: as in not redundant.

New Jersey, not coincidentally, is set up to be a major player in 2010. 

And after all, it's not as if the Bulls don't have talent, however misdistributed it might be. Rose has gone from viewed as "unready" to a player with an all-star floor and top-5 ceiling.  Gordon is having his best season. Thabo and Tyrus are showing signs.  Hinrich, Gooden and Deng have all had success in the past.  It'll give themselves something to talk about tonight - they're all are out with injuries. 

Let's hope Paxson isn't asleep at the wheel tonight when he watches what he should've constructed play what he has.  He can see what a few judicous trades can do. 

And there you go: you start to talk Bulls, you end up talking trades.

Alternative viewpoints at Nuthin'butNets, and Netsdaily.                     

[Thanks to MPG for today's preview -ed.]

Two days have passed since Vinny del Negro put his foot down with regard to the lack of professionalism exhibited by certain Bulls, which means that I fully expect Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah to log major minutes tonight.

If that sounds nonsensical, consider the man in charge.  VDN's modus operandi, thus far, is to play good-cop/bad-cop all by himself, delivering positivity with one hand and smackdowns with the other.   Neither does the quality of play seem to impact his lineups.  Noc has struggled this year; he's regularly in the game at crunch time.  Tyrus's had a two-game stretch of 21 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks; it was followed by 5 minutes against Washington and zilch against the Knicks.  Gray didn't have a steal, block or point against Washington (though he did have 9 boards); VDN started him against the run-run Knicks, a game for which Aaron was particularly ill-suited.   Now it's completely plausible, and consistent with pre-VDN incidents, that practice-performance is the reason for these otherwise baffling moves.  It's also totally plausible that VDN is over his head, completely lost, and he's just flailing away, both with lineups and his treatment of players.  In either case I fully expect to see both Joakim and T2 play and play well. 

So about Memphis (7-15 overall, 5-5 at home, two-game winning streak).

In most years, O.J. Mayo would be the Rookie of the Year by a wide margin, and deservedly so.  The guy is legit.  Strong defender, terrific spot-up shooter, can draw fouls taking it to the rack, though he doesn't have the quickness to beat his man cleanly off the dribble.  The stuff about him being a point- or combo-guard is wrong for exactly that reason.  He also shoots a terrific percentage for a rookie guard (47%) and rebounds fairly well (4.2 RPG).  Expect him to be aggressive early and throughout.  Rose is popular in Memphis, and gets the vast majority of the pub for ROY, which can't sit well with a player of Mayo's ability.        

Rapidly becoming the second wheel is Rudy Gay, a slasher whose numbers have declined slightly month to month.  He's got a beautiful pull-up jumper and his athleticism has given Luol problems in the past, so tonight should be a good litmus test regarding Deng's progress.  They get steady post-play from Marc Gasol, Aaron's kindred in size and draft position, but are weak at both point and power forward.  Gnashing of teeth is provided by Mike Iavaroni whereas Darko handles the rending of garments.  

We should win this game.  Gasol is the kind of player Gray (who practiced despite knee bursitis) can neutralize, though a better tact might be to take Noah and run Gasol out of the gym. Conley, an awful defender, couldn't stay in front of Rose if his life depended on it, and look for Gordon to bounce back after a lackluster game against the Knicks.  In fact, that could be said for the entire Bulls team.  The Knicks game left a bad taste in our mouths (by which I mean, us the fans), and the Bulls have had a few games to practice.  There's no reason to come out flat tonight.  .500 is within reach. 

More importantly, so are these. 

For a Memphis point of view check out Beyond the Arc.  The other sites I checked out haven't been updated for awhile [ed. note: Forgot 3ShadesofBlue]...which either means the people of Memphis are too high minded for sports blogging, or the Grizzlies stink.       

teams are gameplanning him.  For three nights now - at Portland, Golden State and Denver - the singular goal of their defenses was to stop Derrick.  The strategy thus far is simple: double team hard, and as far from the hoop as necessary.  Do what you have to get the ball out of his hands.  And while it's cool that teams have decided, this early in his career, that Rose is a player worth gameplanning (you don't see, for instance, teams worrying in the same way about Mayo or Beasley), it also provides a unique challenge.   He never saw this at Memphis, and in high school the talent divide was such that it didn't matter what defenses did.  This is a new thing he's facing - elite athletes, several, who are bent on getting the ball out of his hands.   He's getting the star treatment, and it's kinda cool.

But now it's time to for VDN to adjust.  That's right - I'm asking him to "coach".    

The reason is simple - it's a risky, bad defense to double that hard and that far from the basket.  One play demonstrates what I'm talking about.   Rose was doubled in no-man's land, Nocioni cuts to the top of the key.  Easy pass to Noc.  Noc, in the middle of the floor, has easy passes to one of three players spaced around the perimeter.  There are only two players remaining to defend.  Simple pass to wide open Hunter; and the three pointer is good. 

Easy passes made easy by one cut.  One.  Every person who played high school basketball on this forum has made that cut, and seen those options open up literally hundreds times.  For most of us, that cut and those passes are muscular memory by now.  It's why teams don't try that b.s. with Nash, Parker, or CP3 - they know that they'll get torched.   

The other option, of course, is this. 

Noah's a superb player to make that cut.  He's a big target, got good hands, good vision, and if the perimeter is well spaced he just has to beat one man for the dunk.  Surrounded by good perimeter shooters like Gordon, Noc, Deng, and even Gooden, teams would have no choice but to go back to a soft-double, or no double at all, in which case Derrick can go back to killing them. 

It's on VDN.  He's at the helm, manning the wheel.  Teams have adjusted to his offense, the famed GDG (go Derrick go), and now it's up to him to adjust in turn. 

It's a simple play, too.  Any experienced coach would know that. 

Superstars want three things: money, a market, and a chance to win it all.  I'd like to suggest that, in the summer of 2010, no team in the NBA will be able to offer more of what's good than your Chicago Bulls. 

Let's look at the competition.  New York will spend money, as always, and it's the best city in the world if money is never an issue.  But the Knicks stink.  There's not one star on that team, unless you count Starbury, and nobody except Starbury does.  The Lakers will be capped out with their own formidable big three.  And New Jersey: good God just go to New Jersey.  Go to the Izod center.  That stadium and those fans are awful.  Unless the Nets move to Brooklyn, which is looking increasingly doubtful, they can't offer nearly the package of place and players that the Bulls can.  Which is this:

Max money, enormous marketing opportunities, and the opportunity to play with one of the best young players in the game.  Excellent role players - Deng and Gordon - entering their prime.  An amazing city to live in. 

Hello, Chris Bosh. 

The Bulls need to position themselves now.  The best part is, they can do so while still winning.  Trade Hinrich for Brad Miller.  Trade Nocioni and Sefolosha for Al Harrington.  Take Gooden's expiring deal and use it to sign Gordon.   The tandem of Noah and Miller up front would be better than anything we have now, and playing with a credible big man will only accelerate Rose's growth.  That team would be a rising playoff team in the improved East, making the Bulls even more attractive to the likes of Bosh, Wade, Dirk...you know the drill. 

Then, in 2010, you'd have Harrington, Hughes and Miller coming off the books.  That's thirty million dollars.   That's a prime free agent and, to my way of thinking, a championship-caliber team.   

Free-agency was never an option for the Bulls before.  They didn't have a star to play alongside - Derrick Rose is in the process of changing that.  They had a meddling, slightly creepy GM - Pax changed that.  They had an egomaniacal coach with a reputation for being a hardass - now VDN's in town.  Almost completely by accident, the Bulls have stumbled into being the most attractive destination for the marquee players that, to the best of my knowledge, they've never considered.

Thank you, ping-pong-balls.  Let's hope Pax shows his gratitude by turning on his blue-tooth, getting off his ass, doing his job and making a deal. 

Hello all,

Long time Blogabull poster here, and a fan of the city of Portland.  I'm sorry to hear about Oden, but encouraged that the injury isn't serious - the kid is a future star, no doubt about it.  On to the potential trade:

The Bulls roster is a mess.  We have too many point guards, too many power forwards, and no established shooting guards or centers.  You guys have two terrific shooting guards and no established point guard.  You've also got an enormous talent in Jerryd Bayless who's riding the pine for lack of playing time.  If you saw that kid at Arizona, you know that needs to be rectified. You've also got a superb post scorer in LMA (a pox upon you, Pritchard) who doesn't rebound that much (well maybe not a pox, exactly).  The Oden plan to complement him with a strong rebounder/defender is a good one.  Unfortunately, it may not work this year due to injuries - and the lack of conditioning those injuries cause.

How about Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden for Rudy Fernandez, Raef and Steve Blake?

Here's my reasoning: a three guard rotation of Hinrich, Brandon Roy and Jerryd Bayless would be one of the best in the league.  You'd have an excellent ballhandler/defender in Kirk, an all-around star in Roy, and tons of scoring punch off the bench in Bayless.  Jerryd is a combo guard - so let him get tick playing behind both Hinrich and Roy.  Sergio could get spot minutes - which is more than he'll be getting as it is. 

In terms of down low, I think Gooden would complement LMA pretty well.  He's a great rebounder, strong, and can knock down jumpshots when teams try to double LaMarcus.  Then, when Oden comes back, he can slide into a backup role.  Best of all: next season, when Greg is ready to dominate, you don't have to pay Gooden.  His contract is up after this year. 

It helps the Bulls in two ways.  First, Kirk's gotta go - while he's a very good point, he's not a good two guard, and the Bulls' point guard for the next decade or so is Derrick Rose.  Secondly, we're probably losing Ben Gordon next year.  We need a two who can complement Derrick - and that means somebody you can run and shoot from long range.  Rudy can do both. 

Anyhow, good luck to you all.  It's easy to like the Blazers - exciting youth and a paucity of jerks.  It should be an exciting season (for both teams).       

The Bobcats are screwed in the front office and the front court.   They've got big money allocated to redundant players (Wallace and Richardson), no power forward, and two pseudo pointguards - both of whom happen to be bad.  Augustin has been physically outclassed during the preseason and will continue to be during the regular season; they view Felton as a combo guard, otherwise they wouldn't have drafted Augustin.  Confused?  So are they.

The upshot is, we're here to help.  We still love you, MJ, so we'd like to send you not only a point guard with the grittiness Larry Brown loves, but a real-life power forward and a shiny new draft pick, too. 

How about this trade?     (That's Kirk, Gooden, Gray, and a #1 for Richardson and Nazr Mohammed for those who don't want to follow the link.) 

Why it helps Charlotte from a basketball point of view

First of all, they need a power forward, and an Okafor/Gooden pairing could actually be one of the better combos in the east.  Emeka's strength is defending the basket and scoring a little from the post; Gooden is a good rebounder and jump-shooter.  

Secondly, it improves them at the point.  They've shown in numerous ways that they don't view Felton as the answer, and I don't blame them.   Augustin is going to be better served as a mighty-mouse type off the bench, somewhere between Eddie House and Ben Gordon on that spectrum.  A Hinrich and Felton backcourt wouldn't be bad because Hinrich could guard twos (as he's shown), and it would allow them to slide Felton into the slot they want him to play, anyway.  Hinrich is also a Larry Brown type player.  He's a grind-it-out-and-play-tough-D point, not a sprint-downcourt-with-your-hair-on-fire point.  In a word, he fits.           

Why it helps Charlotte from a front office of view

Money.  Filthy lucre.  The Bobcats not only have poor attendance and TV revenue, they've allocated their cap space terribly.  They're paying Nazr Mohammed six million a year to impersonate Emeka Okafor for ten minutes a game.  They're paying Richardson 12 million over the next three years to be the run-the-floor 2 they don't want, but already have (in Wallace).  This would give them a boatload of expiring deals next year (Gooden, Felton, Morrison, May) to pursue free agents, and a potential lottery pick.  

It's time to start over for the Bobcats.  They've paid big money to players who are never going to win.  Picks and capspace are the way to go because occasionally those draft picks do work out beautifully.

I'll now wipe the shit-eating grin from my face.   

Why it helps the Bulls from a basketball point of view

Richardson fits us for the same reasons he doesn't fit the Bobcats.  He is so good when he's running the floor, as he did in Golden State.  He also would give us something we don't have: some post scoring.  To the best of my knowledge there's no rule that states a big man has to be your on-the-block scorer.  Lastly, he shoots a respectable 41% from 3, so he'll be able to take advantage of those wide-open looks that Rose gets him. 

In other words, he might be the M2GWCSAD. 

In terms of the interior, Nazr could really help.  We're light inside, and so bigger, stronger dudes just kill us.  Noah can't handle them.  Nazr could.  He also brings a little nastiness to the floor, which I think we need.  No team is complete without a war daddy.

Why it helps the Bulls financially 

It doesn't, and it means we've seen the last of Gordon, which may be a mistake.  My point is this: the Bulls should go for it.  Not in 2010, now.  Get the best players you can, give Rose the ball, and run. It's expensive, yes, but only a little more so than what Hinrich was giving you to essentially back up Rose.  And six million a year isn't too bad for a backup of Nazr's quality.

* * *

Of course, there are numerous caveats.  Richardson needs to understand that he's the second wheel to Rose, the Bobcats might be loathe to acquire a point guard after they just drafted one.  And I want to see how Rose and Gordon play together before they move anybody.

The point remains, though, that the Bulls are going to have to make a move at some point, and it better be with this season, not 2010, in mind.  A guard rotation of Rose, Richardson and Gordon would be dynamic, balanced, and definitely the league's most exciting.  A center position with Noah and Nazr would provide 48 minutes of defense and rebounding.  And by moving Gooden, we're giving the pf position to Tyrus, who's been looking great, and the backup pf minutes to Nocioni, who's meshed with Rose better than any other Bull.

It's an imperfect trade.  But it would get us into the playoffs, and more importantly, the Bulls would be fun as hell to watch.  

[I'll just promote this FanPost as today's game thread. Tonight's game will be played at Assembly Hall in Champaign, a place where I had some great memories cheering on my Alma Mater. Though not so much in the Deron Williams (the man of the hour tonight in Champaign) era ... this group was more my team. Awesome memory #1 and #2. Original FanPost is after the jump -ed.]

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Does he still play for us? 

Two-a-days have concluded and there hasn't been a single peep about the ostensible future of the franchise, though we do know Noah got poked in the eye, Gray is 30 lbs slimmer, and BG doesn't like being called a greedy bastard.

We also know, courtesy of the Trib, that there's a "log jam" at guard. 

Thanks a lot.

Has anyone heard anything about how he's performed?  Knee good or not so good?