i dunno, this season has been incredibly entertaining thus far. aside from a handful (san antonio, boston and arguably last night's in toronto), every game has been way close and thrilling, win or loss. they're passing + playing great defense. i would agree that i'd like a little more O production, but lets face it, the bulls do not have their wade/lebron/kobe/cp3 yet (rose will be one day)

i'd agree that we're a bit thinner right now than i'd like to be. we have way too many small 1-2 guards (rose, hinrich, pargo, hunter, sorta salmons) and absolutely no-one to back up deng at the 3. despite the incredible season he's having thus far, i'm scared he may get hurt down the line w/ the amount of minutes he's clocking, esp. given his lanky frame and pseudo-predisposition to injury. still, hats off to the man for his tremendous play.

same goes for noah who has just been a monstrous delight to watch this season. rose hasn't been a disappointment to me at all either thus far. i loved his closing play against the bucks showing that not only is this dude scarily talented, he has what it takes to fill in ben gordon's role and close games (which gordon wasn't necessarily brilliant at either).

the biggest bummer of the season to me thus far is tyrus. i've been his apologist for a long time, but after this arm thing i want him gone. dunno what we'll actually get for him, but he's a clown that has taken too long to still not have any clue what he's doing on the court. way too inconsistent, way too many bad decisions for a 4 year veteran on top of a crappy attitude and a seemingly single digit IQ. i would love to see him go great in the NBA and even have a great year this year (if only in part b/c it will help bump his value), but we need a answer at the 4 stat, if not for this season then definitely for the long term.

quite looking forward to a long recoup against the kings and 76ers before we take on the lakers on the road next week (on national TV taboot!)

salmons can play SF when deng is out just like he did last year. probably his more natural position anyway

mmh, he's too small and he was doing it last year in part b/c BG was still on the team. not to mention he's been pretty shite this year.

Salmons has a career .444 FG% and happens to be shooting .306 over 8 games, it's quite likely just a bad stretch.

i just want to take back all the negative things i said about noah on draft night. the dude's easily been the bulls best player this year. his improvement is the #1 reason we have a winning record so far.

the next four are gonna be TUFF....


ugh....


also, the central division looks to be a grade or two better than i imagined they would be this year.

just think if he had away-from-the-rim offensive skills

Still laughing over Noah not knowing the "circus trip" was literal. "What's so circus about it?"

i just watched the morrissey video for the first time after having a number of friends recount it in detail to me, but,

NOW WE EATIN' THE SALSA! NOW THE GOOD PART!

. god noah rules. what a goofball (in the most awesome way, of course). love the little JJ + noah bromance that seems to be developing (they were high fiving a lot last night in addition to the morrissey video)

nope best pg in the central will be brandon jennings for a long time. i hope everyone can see the difference in the way they approach the game. derrick plays like a robot while brandon carves up what the defense gives him. i know derrick is not at 100% right now but i know what i see in him, and he doesn't want the ball in his hands all the time like the best ballers out there.

utah toyed with us last night. we stink.

what do you think about lebron, d-wade, and bosh playing together since they all enjoyed playing with each other on Team USA. it's a pretty legit thought and maybe that's what lebron is so sure about....going down in history to be the best player on the best team ever assembled.

bench would suck big balls

The Bulls suck ass. They are a disgrace and I am having a hard time cheering for this awful team with their awful coach. Half this roster should be shot - Hinrich, Pargo, Gray (WHY DID THEY GIVE THIS GUY MORE MONEY) should all be taken out back and shot. Hunter should be forced to retire (as long as Pargo is shot first). Salmons should be released into the wild. Tyrus Thomas and Taj Gibson should fight to the death. Derrick Rose needs shock treatment because he plays with his head up his ass and is absolutely frustrating. The only players I can really respect on this team at this point are Noah, Deng, Brad Miller, and I guess James Johnson.

On another NBA note - man, I feel bad for Greg Oden. He seems like a genuinely good guy and I have been rooting hard for him but that injury looks downright NASTY.

Rumor has it that the Bulls want to trade Tyrus for Al Harrington.

Also, the Bulls suck ass.

Well, the remaining two games against my Cavs, in Chicago, might be interesting.

I didn't see the game tonight, but yeah.. It's pretty hard to watch a team with Pargo, Gray, Hunter and Hinrich getting huge minutes/being relied on. If 2010 doesn't pan out in some way, the thought that this is all for naught is pretty killer. They could be using expirings, etc to be building a very nice team right now. I understand why they don't (you have to go for the homerun, imo).. but man, Salmons being the main scorer on an NBA team? It's pretty harsh.

Hey, remember when management chose Hinrich over BG? That's a pretty sickening thought. Great white hype motherfucker.

Best case scenario- A max contract an a nice player or two signed with cap space, useful players not needed (fucking Hinrich) traded for something useful, Rose manning up, and if they keep playing awfully...fuck it, a good draft pick. Fuck playoffs if it's gonna be watching this garbage.

And re: Oden.. that's sad. He could be a great player, but it's not gonna happen. Meanwhile Durant is turning OKC around before our very eyes. I never thought he'd resign there, but Presti is doing a brilliant job building around him.

Regarding 2010...my understanding is that we will not have enough money to sign a max player unless Salmons opts out of a player option year he has next year. The only way that happens is that if he really has a good year and thinks he can get more money. So we as Bulls fans really need to cheer for Salmons this year...although I doubt we get a big player next year anyways because this team is too awful.

Yeah, I think for it to go down means no Gray, Pargo, Salmons, Thomas or Miller. And then the only players to sign as filler would be vet minimum players and draft picks, so no bringing over Asik from overseas as previously planned(I guess this was the plan, at least).

Or they could trade Hinrich or Deng(not so hot on trading Deng) for an expiring and give themselves more flexibility. Doubtful, though. It's probably gonna be a long couple of years. The cap is shrinking. Fortunately The Bulls aren't strapped with bad contracts like the Clippers.

Holy fuck am I glad I didn't watch this game tonight

http://www.faniq.com/blog/Jarrett-Jack-Tie...Game-Blog-33478

Haha, I wonder what would Artest do?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu1zMV5j0fo

i was at the toronto game last night. this team and the management disgust me.

I feel your pain. I went to the Toronto game last year (last of the season, I believe) where they coulda moved up a seed in the playoffs had they won. Had nice seats to view the ass-kicking at least. Chris Bosh is a really good player.

Hope you didn't drop too much $$ on those tickets. Games like last night give me pause of going to another game for a while, even at discounted eBay rates.

we only spent $10 per ticket but i'm still sore after watching that debacle.

thought about how great it'd be if we could sign bosh next year, but then realized that either a) salmons may not opt out of his deal or b ) bosh will probably join wade in miami.

Hire George Karl this offseason. His contract is up. Promote Bickersstaff to coach for the rest of the year.

This season is unbearable so far. Only positive would be if it pisses Rose off enough to start being aggressive.

Salmons firing that 3 made me wanna jump through the TV. That guy stinks as a 1st or 2nd option and will not opt out this offseason. Goddamnit.

Yeah, this team sucks.

Or just wait till next year and get Wade or Bosh. What did you guys expect this year?

not to lose to the NETS lolol

Can't happen if they don't have the space to get a max contract. With the way Salmons is playing right now, no way he opts out to try to find another team in 2010. He's taking guaranteed money.

Anyway--with the way Bulls ownership works, 2010 is soon going to turn into 2011 or 2012 for Durant and Paul. It's like a never ending half-handjob followed by a punch in the balls.

Right on. They just don't care about winning and won't as long as the Bulls continue to be one of the most profitable teams in the NBA without having to do so.

Feed this whole organization to the pigs like in Snatch and start anew.

I'm going to the Lakers game next week and have tickets to the Blazers game as well...I don't really care to go to either.

nice to see all that length in the backcourt pay off

i mean, look at all this ball movement and renewed focus on defense!

2nd most profitable team in the league as it stands.

I'd love to be proven wrong this offseason, but this stinks of the Duncan/Tmac/Hill offseason(although thay may have been more of a dodged bullet than anything).

Would actually watch a bad team if it seemed like they were trying/put together well enough to win. This is reminding me of the Boylan year.

This team is doomed. We lack a single means of efficient scoring. We don't have a post player, we don't get to the free throw line, and we don't have 3-point scoring. Counting on your defense to be perfect every single night to even have a chance at winning is a fucking shit strategy and this goddamn management should have known this. Even if for some miracle Salmons opts out, I doubt that any big name free agent will want to come to this fucked up team.

So does anyone want to talk about this colossal disappointment of a season? That 35 point lead that results in a loss. Every player basically sucking except Noah...kind of. Now espn is reporting that the Bulls have decided to fire Del Negro but have no replacement lined up. They asked Doug Collins if he'd like to coach again and he turned them down again. What should this team do at this juncture? I'm curious for some input. If they don't have a coach to replace Vinnie, but everyone knows he's getting fired, how does he keep coaching this team?

I doubt we'll do this, but with McGrady being openly shopped, I hope that the Bulls will be able to throw some kind of package for him. He's a huge expiring contract, and at this point, our only hope is really to sign a star in the summer. I really don't want to leave it up to Salmons to decide whether we can go after someone or not.

I'm not sure what to think about the coaching situation. Vinny's a bad coach, we all know, but I don't think he's the main reason for the Bulls' struggles. This team just doesn't fit, and that lies entirely on the management. That said, the coach is always the easiest to replace, so we'll see. I don't know who I like or how much difference a new coach will make. Lawrence Frank?? Sam Mitchell? I rather have either of those guys than Avery Johnson, that's for sure.

Will never, ever happen since it would be Reinsdorf and co admitting a mistake, but Hinrich, Salmons and Jerome James for Tmac would be awesome and works under the salary cap, I believe. It would guarantee the ability to sign at least one player and almost definitely place the Bulls in the lottery(which kinda sucks, but it's a good draft).

My fingers are crossed that George Karl doesn't sign an extension and wants a challenge next season for some reason.

i don't see why they wouldn't do that

Bulls management <3s Hinrich. Houston may not want a longterm contract like Kirk's, but I think he'd be better with Yao anyway.

can't imagine they do as much now that he's coming off the bench. and i think they'd love a superstar more anyway. maybe it would take some sort of interest shown by one of those guys, though. and unless the bulls show a bit more on the court that might not happen. so making a trade that actually worsens the team might not be in the cards for that reason

don't underestimate how much they fucking adore this guy. one of my worst nightmares is hinrich retiring as a chicago bull.

ha. at age 46

Damn, Gar!

Ha, awesome article. Scathing. I love it.

Not Bulls related but I couldn't find an NBA thread...


After earning nearly $22 million in the NBA last season, Stephon Marbury has taken a substantial pay cut to play in the Chinese Basketball Association: $25,000 per a month, a source familiar with the deal told Yahoo! Sports.

Before agreeing to the deal with Shanxi Zhongyu, Marbury had turned down a few European overtures during the summer, a source said, including bids by two Greek teams. Maccabi Tel Aviv had interest but never made a formal offer. The Boston Celtics were willing to bring Marbury back in the spring, but Marbury believed offers of $8 million to $10 million annually would eventually come over the summer.

Top teams in Europe had the same fears the NBA did: After Marbury spent the summer live-streaming his bizarre behavior on the Internet, teams feared he had lost his mind. Nevertheless, most believe Marbury’s talents haven’t entirely eroded after 13 seasons.

Shanxi has lost 10 of 13 games and sits in 12th place in the 17-team CBA. The team insisted the 32-year-old Marbury was willing to play the rest of the season for a chance to market his Starbury shoe and clothing apparel line.

“Marbury’s salary is not an astronomical figure because by coming here he also hopes to open up the Chinese market and sell his shoes,” Shanxi executive Wang Xingjiang said.

Isn't there an NBA thread for this season? I can't find it at all.
But I have to shout it out somewhere...

Fuck yeah....

Man, he's gonna get so many triple doubles on the Knicks next year.

Every time i see the Cavs they're wearing a different jersey.

i'm an idiot. i take back what i said. derrick is unstoppable when you give him some room to run and his pull up J is becoming one of the Bulls best scoring weapons. derrick rose became the team leader somewhere down the stretch and i don't miss ben gordon anymore cause he would be fucking up the offense by taking the ball out our young leader's hands.

Future top pgs in 5 years:

chris paul>john wall (kentucky)>derrick rose>deron williams>rajon rando>brandon jennings

Derrick Rose is incredible. Dude is finally healthy and putting up the numbers we fully expected he'd be putting up. I wish he'd get more assists every game, but I'll be fine with him as long as he keeps dropping these 30 point performances. Plus that dunk last night against the Suns was fucking awesome.

You should have posted the Comcast edition. It had a classic Stacy "Burger" King call.