Judging by the volume of comments in response to last week's post, I think everyone's far more excited about the coming offseason than the playoff race the Bulls have somehow found themselves in. I can see why, its hard to get excited when even ESPN.com facetiously puts quotations around the word "showdown" when talking about this week's games against the Sixers.
So I might as well put off the playoff talk one more day, especially since I found this post over at Henry Abbot's TrueHoop that kindof ties in to the Bulls and their offseason plans. There is a link to the Bobcats press release from Saturday announcing the release of Kareem Rush. In a not-so-subtle way, the reason is that Rush wasn't giving the full effort, which Henry says bodes well for the young Bobcats organization:
When just about the whole roster agrees on that, you can get some great results.
Not hard to see how the Bulls fit into this ideal, just by looking at how they handled Tim Thomas' "situation".
There is sometimes a misconception that this type of culture isn't conducive to superstar NBA talent, and that may hurt when looking for additions in the offseason. But what I think it really does is limit risk in labeling a star with a huge contract that isn't truly one. And if you look at the great players in the league, they have that inner drive and attitude that suggests the way the Bulls do things would be seen as a positive rather than a detriment. Instead of a Jalen Rose or a Zach Randolph, look for a KG or Pierce. And scout the same way when preparing for the draft. It's not worth risking what's already been built for a high-priced malcontent.
But what the Bulls (and especially the Bobcats) have to do is then win, else any posturing about the "way we do things" will ring hollow. Which is why it'd be nice for Pax and Skiles to be able to tell the current roster and prospective additions this summer that not only is this "the way we do things", but if you do your part you'll be a playoff team.