Del Negro

[TRIMAN]

Paxson more right more than wrong? I beg to differ.

-Pax got the Scott Skiles hire right, as he took an undersized, undertalented team and got them to defend and play probably better than the sum of their parts. However, JPax wronged that right by firing him prematurely.

-Pax got the trade of Tyson Chandler wrong. Chandler is better than any post player the Bulls have had since he was traded.

-The picks of Gordon and Deng could have been 'right' if they'd have turned into all-stars or been traded for an all-star (something the Bulls haven't had since 1998 ). Instead they're undersized, unathletic, and unprofessional (as evidenced by their admitted quitting on coach Jim Boylan this year).

-Pax couldn't pull the trigger with these undersized, unathletic players when Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol, and Kobe Bryant were available. All 3 are playing in the NBA Finals right now.

-Pax passed on LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy (NBA All-Star) for Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefalosha.

-Pax got it wrong when he signed Ben Wallace to a maximum contract in one of the worst free agent signings in Chicago sports history.

Now, Reinsdorf had documented involvement in the Ben Wallace signing, the non-trades for Garnett, Gasol, and Bryant (its documented that Reinsdorf vetoed the trade for Gasol because he didn't want to go over the luxury tax threshold), the Mike D'Antoni fiasco, and Doug Collins fiasco. The Bulls are on record of saying that they were drafting Sam Bowie if he wasn't picked by Portland. If you want to give Reinsdorf credit for Rod Thorn's draft pick of Michael Jordan, fine. However, if Reinsdorf was committed to winning and not turning a profit, the Bulls wouldn't have been the laughing stock of the NBA for the better part of the last 10 years, which further validates that the current GM of the Bobcats had a lot more to do with 6 Bulls titles than the current owner of the team. He's old, he's arrogant, and he's continuing to make Chicago's NBA team a league-wide joke. The last decade's results speak for themselves.

I dont think that the Bryant trade existed. From everything I've seen, the Bulls would have to give up too much of their roster to get KG or Gasol, which would turn the Bulls into the T-wolves or Griz (both worse franchises than the Bulls). Gasol is the #2 in LA, but he would be expected to be the #1 in Chicago-a position he clearly is not comfortable with. Please don't try to make the argument that KG would bring the Bulls to the finals (MAYBE if they could have gotten KG and Gasol). The Bulls still don't have a star so trading for those players wouldn't help.

4 other teams missed on Roy. The Bulls wanted Thomas and they forced portland to trade for him. It's far to early to call Thomas a bust and Aldridge a better player. I agree that Aldridge appears better at this point.

Do you have this "documented involvement" because I would love to see it.

Chicago is not a league-wide joke. I have no idea where you got that from. New York is a league-wide joke.

Collins didn't want to coach.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080607-chicago-bulls-doug-collins-morrissey,1,7616940.column

Chandler had to be traded. He was a bad fit with Wallace on the team, and he had no value on the Bulls. I think his success on the hornets has far more to do with him being a good fit on that team than him being a good player (like Wallace with Det). It's easy to rip a trade like that. Same thing happened with Tim Thomas when he left the Bulls and had "success" on PHX. You could argue that the Bulls should have gotten more for Chandler, but I don't think teams were lining up to take him.

From what I've read, many teams don't think Gordon would be good on other teams than he is on the Bulls. Deng could still be good-he needs to stay healthy.

Did someone on the Bulls beat you up when you were a kid or poop in your cereal? You really seem personally offended by the Bulls.

[Lakeview Brave]

Did someone on the Bulls beat you up when you were a kid or poop in your cereal? You really seem personally offended by the Bulls.

Ill let Bradley Brave respond to most of your post. However this type of sentence is so dumb, it goes right along with "did they steal your girlfriend". As if harsh criticism of the Bulls is so unwarranted. How dumb would it sound the other way "Are the Bulls your best friends, is Reinsdorf your dad"

Are you or have you been a season ticket holder of the Bulls for the last several years? I have been and so has Bradley Brave and as season ticket holders I think we have the right to be upset by the large turd we invested in this past season.

[BradleyBrave]

I dont think that the Bryant trade existed. From everything I've seen, the Bulls would have to give up too much of their roster to get KG or Gasol, which would turn the Bulls into the T-wolves or Griz (both worse franchises than the Bulls). Gasol is the #2 in LA, but he would be expected to be the #1 in Chicago-a position he clearly is not comfortable with. Please don't try to make the argument that KG would bring the Bulls to the finals (MAYBE if they could have gotten KG and Gasol). The Bulls still don't have a star so trading for those players wouldn't help.

4 other teams missed on Roy. The Bulls wanted Thomas and they forced portland to trade for him. It's far to early to call Thomas a bust and Aldridge a better player. I agree that Aldridge appears better at this point.

Do you have this "documented involvement" because I would love to see it.

Chicago is not a league-wide joke. I have no idea where you got that from. New York is a league-wide joke.

Collins didn't want to coach.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080607-chicago-bulls-doug-collins-morrissey,1,7616940.column

Chandler had to be traded. He was a bad fit with Wallace on the team, and he had no value on the Bulls. I think his success on the hornets has far more to do with him being a good fit on that team than him being a good player (like Wallace with Det). It's easy to rip a trade like that. Same thing happened with Tim Thomas when he left the Bulls and had "success" on PHX. You could argue that the Bulls should have gotten more for Chandler, but I don't think teams were lining up to take him.

From what I've read, many teams don't think Gordon would be good on other teams than he is on the Bulls. Deng could still be good-he needs to stay healthy.

Did someone on the Bulls beat you up when you were a kid or poop in your cereal? You really seem personally offended by the Bulls.

Did someone on the Bulls beat you up when you were a kid or poop in your cereal? You really seem personally offended by the Bulls.

If this were the case, why would I be mad about the Bulls being a laughing stock? Wouldn't I be happy about it?

As far as the Knicks being a league-wide joke, that's incorrect. They WERE. They've hired a veteran GM with a winning reputation and league-wide respect in Donnie Walsh, and hired Mike D'Antoni as the Bulls twidled their thumbs. Then the Bulls practically announced the hiring of Doug Collins, only to have Jerry Reinsdorf wait long enough for Doug Collins to not feel wanted anymore. The Bulls and their coaching fiasco is a league-wide joke, there's no two ways around it. Even the usually-tame Carol Slezak has identified this most recent coaching hire as a joke based solely on the bottom line.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/slezak/996762,CST-SPT-carol10.article

Regarding 'documented involvement', I don't have time to find all of the links regarding Reinsdorf's personal meetings with Ben Wallace, his trumping of the Gasol deal, and everything else he's screwed up. But they're there. You're familiar with the Tribune and Sun-Times websites, you can look them up in their archives. I've already read them.

Personally offended by the Bulls? Perhaps. Maybe this will help illustrate why -

WINS LOSSES
2007-08 33 49
2006-07 49 33
2005-06 41 41
2004-05 47 35
2003-04 23 59
2002-03 30 52
2001-02 21 61
2000-01 15 67
1999-00 17 65
1998-99 13 37

Since 1998 - 289 wins, 499 losses

210 games UNDER .500 since 1998. I would think that a fan of any team, let alone a team in the 3rd largest market in the league, would be furious. But, if you're content with the status quo, that's your problem. Personally, I am not. It's inexcusable.

[Chico]

Hope you're not a Cub fan then.

[BradleyBrave]

I am, which is why I am good at identifying teams that aren't committed to or even attempting to win.

FWIW, the Cubs have made the playoffs as many times as the Bulls have since 1998. Pretty sad considering how many teams make the playoffs in the NBA.

[Darrin Chiaverini]

i hope they trade for dennis northcutt. that guy's got skillz.

[Chico]

Maybe the NBA should help the Bulls win an NBA title again, like MLB has been trying to help the Cubs win a World Series the last several years. Pittburgh gave them Ramirez for nobody. Florida gave them Lee for nobody and Matt Clement, when he was good, for nobody. Now this year they play the American League East in inter-league play, but they don't have to play the Red Sox or Yankees. Maybe this year they can pull it off and baseball will be happy.

[BradleyBrave]

Maybe the NBA should help the Bulls win an NBA title again, like MLB has been trying to help the Cubs win a World Series the last several years. Pittburgh gave them Ramirez for nobody. Florida gave them Lee for nobody and Matt Clement, when he was good, for nobody. Now this year they play the American League East in inter-league play, but they don't have to play the Red Sox or Yankees. Maybe this year they can pull it off and baseball will be happy.

Not sure what the Cubs have to do with this discussion, but whatever makes you happy.

[Beninator]

Maybe the NBA should help the Bulls win an NBA title again, like MLB has been trying to help the Cubs win a World Series the last several years. Pittburgh gave them Ramirez for nobody. Florida gave them Lee for nobody and Matt Clement, when he was good, for nobody. Now this year they play the American League East in inter-league play, but they don't have to play the Red Sox or Yankees. Maybe this year they can pull it off and baseball will be happy.

You forgot to enter Dusty in this equation and how he over-used Wood and Prior who ended up blowing out their arms.

[Chico]

Sorry BradleyBrave, but I guess one thing just led to another, as happens in many threads.

[BradleyBrave]

A nice take on the hiring of Del Negro from the Sun-Times. Note the reference to the Gasol non-trade because of the luxury tax.

Though the Bulls bring in whopping revenues, don't surpass luxury-tax levels (why they didn't push for Pau Gasol) and charge the league's fourth-highest average ticket price, the chairman won't spend the extra buck.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/998674,mariotti061108.article