From 82games.com - for those of you who like this stat, this is a pretty cool article.

They've used the previous 5 years of statistics to help control the error rate for last year's +/- stats. For the Bulls, this results in Lu posting the highest rating and Larry the lowest, so no surprise there. The link is sorted by team so that all the Bulls players are listed together, but it's sortable by offensive, defensive, and overall +/-, and by position.

14. Chicago: Even if Derrick Rose is as advertised and Ben Gordon somehow gets re-signed, can this team still win more than 25 games? Who out of this collection of brick-layers becomes the go-to scorer? Who do you like at center, Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden?

(But hey, at least Detroit has beat writers writing about something!)

According to Basketball 24/7, his contract won't be fully insured because of that back injury that kept him out a few games last year, so the NBA won't release him to play.

Assuming this is true, I do feel bad for Lu because it seems really important to him to be able to represent GB. But there's that part of me that is also really glad he isn't out risking injury.

(Link is to the insider chat from earlier today. Anyone who has read a Thorpe chat with the usual one liner responses will be extra-appreciative of the length and complete-sentencedness of this:)

Richard (Las Vegas): Coach Thorpe, I got a chance to watch the Vegas Camp with the NBA players last week, and everyone was shocked at how great a person Tyrus Thomas was. He seemed so eager to learn and looked great on the court too. Thanks for helping such a talented player learn how to handle himself.

David Thorpe: Tyrus is one of the most loving guys I've ever taught. He's truly a blessing. And remember, he's still just 21. We must allow all young people to grow up and find themselves. That he's finding his own stride now is great news for Chicago fans.

[From the FanShots. -ed.]

Consider the source, but it includes this quote from Lu's agent:

"And his agent insists that Chicago remains his number one choice of destination.

He added: "I think part of that is Luol's determination to be part of a turnaround in Chicago.

"Part of it is feeling excited about the new coach and his team mates and, also, part of it is that he has not been exposed to any other teams.

"But there are other opportunities for Luol, it is just a question of the right fit because Lu is such a talented player and such a unique athlete and individual. It has to be the right fit.

"Part of the process is educating Luol about other situations.""

Lowlights for the Bulls:

Not a single player named to either the first or second team.

Derrick Rose named biggest disappointment (although more for his knee only allowing the two games).

And to top it off the "news" that DRose told CDR he is "frustrated in VDN's structured offense." (Shouldn't be a huge surprise, assuming it's true, given that Memphis was decidedly unstructured. And that quote is from the article, not a direct quote from DRose.)

I've been wondering if they'd settle since the experts I've been reading have said the decision was going to be a close one.

Details still to come, but I'm guessing with a settlement that OKC gets basketball next season.

Regardless of my opinions of the whole ordeal, add the Sonics to my list of teams Kirk can go to. ;)

Best part was this quote from Du's agent:

"Chris' all-around game could blossom under an offensive coach like Mike D'Antoni. No one knows what will happen at this point, and who knows where things will end up, but the Knicks are a team we would hope would be genuinely interested. Chris is only 25, so he has room to grow."

Pretty cute, from Ridiculous Upside. Only 9 of the prospects are listed, though.

This week's highlight - in describing last year as the "worst coaching in the history of the universe":

"If I pissed in a cup and put it on the bench, it would have been just as good as Jim Boylan."

As far as stuff relevant to the future, Doug says he's heard from multiple sources outside the organization that Rose is definitely the pick (although he then goes on to talk about Beasley being talented for a while anyway).

Also, he has heard Bob Hill as lead assistant and is not thrilled with that.