A year ago, the Chicago Bulls were the darlings of the Eastern Conference. Today, they are a team most predict to finish outside of the post-season for a second straight season.
They have a high-priced but unimpressive roster. They are locked in a stalemate with restricted free agent Ben Gordon over contract terms (he insists he's played his last game for Chicago). They've hired a head coach with zero previous experience and still don't have the low-post scorer they've needed since trading Eddy Curry to New York. Things could be better in the Windy City.
Last December, head coach Scott Skiles took the hit for the misdeeds of Bulls' architect John Paxson. The team had been ill-conceived and poorly managed, stocked with duplicate backcourt players and an overpaid Ben Wallace. Yet, Skiles had managed to turn the team into a playoff contender the previous three seasons.
However, when contract snafus with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon made a distraction at training camp and persistent Kobe Bryant trade rumors haunted the first part of the last regular season, the team lost its way. Skiles was then shown the door, the Bulls made a knee-jerk trade to acquire Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes and they finished the campaign nine games below .500.
Their sole consolation? Their unexpectedly lackluster season nabbed them the number one overall selection in June's NBA Draft, where they selected Memphis point guard Derrick Rose over Kansas State's Michael Beasley.
Now, empirically this is a solid pick that will begin to dividends almost immediately, but it certainly doesn't stand to improve the team's fortunes this season, nor does it ease the logjam in the backcourt for this team that already has high-ticket guards like Hughes and Kirk Hinrich. Should the team eventually come to terms with Ben Gordon, that would leave them with four players all demanding real minutes (and touches) that simply won't be there.
Their best-case scenario is to find a trading partner for Gordon, but he hasn't helped his stock much this summer with his outrageous salary demands nor with his persistent moaning about playing time. While certainly there are teams out there who would like to have him come off of their bench, his insistence on starting makes the list of teams interested in paying for his services far shorter.
Even still, if they do manage to find a new home for Gordon or not, their backcourt is still not only crowded but undersized. Rose is a virtual lock to open the season as point guard, and Paxson has insisted that he likes the idea of pairing him with Hinrich in the backcourt like the team used to do with he and Duhon. This, though, gives the team two 6' 3" guards in the backcourt, with Hughes as their 6'5" backup. When the team is tasked with facing Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant or Vince Carter they are going to have a hard time slowing them down at the shooting guard position.
This didn't used to be such a problem when defensive-minded player like Tyson Chandler, Antonio Davis, P.J. Brown and Ben Wallace used to patrol the backline of the defense, but Joakim Noah and Drew Gooden don't exactly inspire the same kind of confidence.
In fact, it's hard to say that much of this roster inspires confidence. Outside of Rose and, if he can regain his form, Luol Deng, this team is stocked full of 'so-what' players who have what it takes to be useful on various other teams but tossed together don't merit much hope for the Bulls.
If this team is going to have any success, it's going to have to be because of masterful coaching. If only they had in their employ a coach known for getting teams to overachieve. Someone like Milwaukee's Scott Skiles, perhaps. Then there might be some reason for hope. Without him? Well, perhaps they can get lucky again and nab another first overall pick.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
PG - Derrick Rose
There is a chance, slim though it may be, that Rose could have the kind of first-year impact of recent MVP runner-up Chris Paul. In Paul's first year, he got an underwhelming Hornets team within sniffing distance of the post-season in the Western Conference. He united a mish-mash of players and made them a team. However, he had head coach Byron Scott to lean on; Rose has Vinny Del Negro. What Rose does have is plenty of hype surrounding his inaugural season. To the people who are expecting him to come onto the scene and be the next great NBA point guard; prepare to have your expectations lowered. While Rose is oozing with talent, he certainly isn't surrounded by any. When this roster starts looking like it could be competitive in the Association again, then we'll get to see what Rose is really capable of. Right now, keeping this team out of the cellar will be success enough for his rookie year.
SG - Kirk Hinrich
One of the saddest reasons that Skiles was shown the door last December was that he 'got' this roster. When everyone (this writer included) was hailing Chicago's point guard of the future in Hinrich, Skiles was keeping Hinrich as a shooting guard. He knew that Hinrich wasn't ready to be an NBA point guard, just like he knew Gordon wasn't cut out to be a starting two-guard. Hinrich has some point guard skills, but he's not a playmaker. He is an undersized off-guard with better-than-average point guard abilities. Last year, though, even his shooting abilities escaped him.His scoring and efficiency plummeted and his minutes were therefore slashed. Hinrich now looks poised to become just another 'almost was'. With Rose's arrival, his point guard duties will be spot-backup minutes at best. In fact, one of the best things that could happen for him would be to wind up on a team where his backcourt mate could do more of the ball-handling and playmaking duties as a shooting guard, allowing him to be a Derrick Fisher-type point man. Portland, Atlanta, Denver and Miami would all be places he'd fit better than Chicago. Whether or not he has enough value to get a team to chase him, though, remains to be seen.
SF - Luol Deng
Deng's fall may not have been as precipitous as Hinrich's last year, but it was nonetheless unsettling. After all, Paxson avoided making a Boston-esque move of exporting his youth for a more established All-Star because of his belief in Deng. He was supposed to emerge as Chicago's main cog, their impact player. While his game was statistically in line with his breakout campaign of 2006-2007, it lost much of its edge. He looked more like a blend player than a franchise guy. Like that of draft mate Andre Iguodala, this season is there for Deng to establish himself as an impact player. He'll be given every opportunity on a struggling team to re-establish his upward momentum. Should he appear to be no more than a Josh Howard, a solid player next to a superstar, then that is all well and good, the team will look to acquire one and his salary still wouldn't be too out of whack for his statistical production. However, it would be a crushing blow to a team that lost out on Bryant, Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett in years gone by because of their insistence on developing their youth. Deng is their last hope for one of their young to justify that course of action, an unenviable situation to be in, to say the least.
PF - Drew Gooden
In Cleveland, Gooden had it made. He got to run with LeBron, didn't have to worry about post-scoring with Ilguaskus around and was an integral part of their run to the Finals two seasons ago. However, a bizarre trade (especially from the Bulls end) threw him onto a Chicago team that will expose his limitations and basically make life miserable for him until a) he is traded or b) his contract expires next summer. Gooden has always been a serviceable player, whether it be in Memphis, Orlando or Cleveland, but he's never been good enough to completely satisfy any of this former employers. In Chicago, he'll basically be tasked with being the lone low-post scorer, a role he is ill-equipped to fill, and will likely see his stock diminish going into free agency next summer. All that really means, though, is that some team is going to get a solid NBA player on the cheap twelve months from now. Hopefully Gooden hasn't lost all semblance of his passion for basketball by then.
C - Joakim Noah
Noah is a very intriguing player. As expected, he was a little bit of a fish out of water last season as he struggled to adapt to the NBA game and the NBA locker room. However, his production spiked in March and April when he averaged 10.0ppg, 7.4rpg and 1.2 blocks per game as a full-time starter after Ben Wallace was traded. Those numbers demonstratepromise for Noah in his second season with the Bulls as they hope that he can become the kind of player that Tyson Chandler developed into after he was traded to New Orleans. If he can provide the kind of hustle and intangibles that the team was looking for when they drafted him it could make a huge difference to the teams fortunes down the road. He and Rose would then make an interesting combo if Deng has a likewise resurgent year. Perhaps all hope is not lost in the house that Michael built.