The Sitting of the Bulls

The trade deadline came and went in the NBA last week, and it was suprisingly quiet. Isaiah and the Knicks made their required "What the hell are you thinking!?" trade getting Steve Francis from the Rockets. This column isn't going to be another bashing Isaiah though. I kinda feel that nothing needs to be written about his GM abilities. You just have to watch to truly appreciate it anyway. I mean I want to watch the Knicks now just to see if Stephon Marbury and Francis become the first teammates to fight each other on court.

One thing that didn't happen at the trade deadline that did bother me was the lack of action by the Bulls. I don't know what GM Jim Paxson tried to do. I just know that he didn't do it. I'm sick of it too. There was a time in this town when the Bulls dominated our daily lives. Michael Jordan was God. Then MJ left, Scottie and Phil were pushed out, and basketball in Chicago died. Years of 13 win seasons killed my love for the sport. I still watched, but not like I used to. It was more to see how bad it could get. It was during this time that my love for college basketball really blossomed. Then last year happened.

The Bulls made the playoffs with nothing but a bunch of young role players. They were eliminated in the first round, but there was hope in this city again. This year that hope has been squashed. The Bulls aren't horrible, but they aren't that good either. I can't remember where I read it, or heard it but somebody said "The Bulls are a team of good complimentary players. The problem is they have nobody to compliment." and its 100% true. Then I started to hear rumors the last few weeks. Three superstar players were available through trade. They were Boston's Paul Pierce, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, and even Seattle's Ray Allen. Allen and Garnett were long shots, but Pierce wasn't. Pierce was exactly what this team needs too.

As a franchise the Bulls have everything they need to make this kind of deal too. They have a lot of young talent, and a lot of draft picks. (Thank you Isaiah.) Once again though the Bulls refused to take the "chance." Instead they opted to keep the young players and draft picks and see what happens. It's the same damn approach they've had since the Dynasty crumbled, and guess what? It hasn't worked. We had the #1 pick and took Elton Brand from Duke. He was a consistent 20 points, 10 rebound a game guy. Few years later we drafted high schooler Eddy Curry, a seven footer. We then traded Elton Brand to the Clippers for another 7 foot high schooler, Tyson Chandler. Today Brand is an All Star and MVP candidate for the Clippers, Curry is with Isaiah and the Knicks, and Chandler is getting paid millions of dollars to score 5 points a game.

The Bulls don't need Paul Pierce though.

Yes the young nucleus of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Andres Nocioni is nice. It's not a championship team though. Championship teams have that one player that can always be counted on when the team is off. The Spurs have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobli. The Pistons have Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace. The Lakers had Shaq and Kobe. The Bulls had Jordan. This Bulls team has.............

Where as I don't like the idea of trading Gordon or Deng, if it's for Paul Pierce I have no problem what so ever. I was watching the Bulls game Saturday night in Philadelphia. Currently the Bulls are 9th in the Eastern conference, a few games behind #8 Philly. This game was important for both teams in winning the final playoff berth, and right to be destroyed by Detroit. At one point in the 4th quarter the Bulls had closed the gap to 1 point. They then proceeded to turn the ball over on 5 consecutive possessions. Meanwhile Sixers star Allen Iverson took the game over, and won it for the Sixers. If the Bulls have Peirce they don't turn the ball over 5 times. It looked like nobody had any idea who was supposed to take the shots. No offense to Chris Duhon, but when the Bulls are running plays for him with the game on the line, I'm not comforted. As a result the Bulls kept throwing the ball away.

Did you see Pierce last night though? The Celtics were able to beat the Lakers in L.A. 112-111 thanks to Paul Pierce. He finished the game with 39points, 4 assists, and 7 rebounds. Along the way he also hit the game winning free throw, which is another huge benefit of Pierce. He can get to the foul line, while the Bulls are the absolute worst team in the NBA in getting to the free throw line. Also I can guarantee you no current Bull will put up that stat line in any game this season or next.

The Sixers game was a perfect microcosm of the entire season. It's been this way all along. The Bulls play well during games but they always get to that one point where they need a leader to emerge, and they just don't have one. This team needs Paul Peirce, or somebody like him. Even if they make the playoffs, they damn sure better try to get him in the offseason. Or else I fear it's gonna be the same ole same old on Madison St. for the next few seasons.

Random Thoughts

• If you haven't heard or seen what Kenny Williams said about Frank Thomas go here. Being a fan of the White Sox, and a fan of Frank growing up I kinda just wish this could have been avoided, but well, Frank does need to learn to shut up.
• Speaking of Garnett did you see what he got thrown out of Minnesota's game for yesterday? I know for a fact that Oscar votes have to be in today, but if you haven't sent in your ballots yet we have a new nominee for Best Actor. He got hit in the face by a basketball and had to leave on a stretcher.
• Vince Young apparently has bombed his Wonderlic test. The Wonderlic is a test given to all the rookies to evaluate their mental ability. Young alledgedly got a 16 while other QB's like Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler scored a 35 and 29 respectively. This may hurt his draft position cuz we all know the most important thing on the football field is being able to know that a right angle is 90 degrees.
• Speaking of the NFL draft, apparently the Houston Texans are shopping the #1 pick. It's gotta be hard to pass up on Reggie Bush, but honestly lookin at the Texans roster, it may be the best option. They have a lot more needs in other places, and Bush isn't necessary but he ain't bad to have either. Have to keep an eye on how all this develops.
• Roger Clemens pitched at Astros spring trainig today. His son took him deep. I wonder what Roger would have done if his mom took him deep?
• New NCAA rankings are out. Duke is still #1 while UConn and Nova swap #2 and #4 after UConn's victory yesterday.
• 17 people were nominated to the baseball Hall of Fame today. Somehow Minnie Minoso wasn't one of them. What a load of crap. Here are Minoso's career MLB numbers. Keep in mind these dont include his seasons in the Negro Leagues. .298AVG. 186 HR 205 SB 1951 Rookie of the Year, 7-time All Star, and 3-time Gold Glove winner. He should be in.