So Ben Gordon Is Gone

I had to work on Wednesday night so I wasn't around when it was announced that the Detroit Pistons had come to terms with now former Bulls guard Ben Gordon so I apologize that this post is a day late. Still, the fact that it's a day late also kind of describes my feelings towards the fact that Gordon is now gone.

While most of the talk surrounding this involves whether or not the Bulls ever even offered a contract to Gordon -- they did by the way, each of the last two summers -- I don't really care myself. I never had a clear opinion on whether or not I wanted him back in Chicago anyway. I could see pros and cons of having him here, and much like Ben's defense did to his offensive output, both sides seemed to even the other out.

Of course neither my opinion nor yours matters anymore. Gordon is gone, and to the Pistons of all teams.

The only thing I wonder now is how this will affect the Bulls. Are they going to miss Gordon's point production and big shots? Yes, I believe they will for at least the first month or two of the season as they try to find somebody else to step into his role.

Still, even though this will be tough on Derrick Rose as he needs to learn how to play alongside another guard next season, I think this will be better for Rose in the long run. And if it's better for Derrick Rose, then it's better for the Chicago Bulls.

I don't want to say anything bad about Gordon because during his five years as a Bull he was never anything but a professional. He showed up everyday, played through injuries, and never got into any trouble off the court. Plus from all the accounts I've heard of people meeting him in and around the city, he was a very nice and quiet guy.

That being said, his absence could be a blessing for Rose. Rose needs to run the Bulls offense and in order to do that, he needs the ball in his hands. With Gordon on the court with him there were too many times in which BG would get the ball and that would be the last anybody saw of it until he fired up a shot.

At times it seemed that while the Bulls were trying to run a play, Gordon would be running his own just to get his shot. Now while some freelancing is expected in the NBA, it's nice to actually run the play that's drawn up once in a while as well.

Plus with Gordon gone that means somebody has to make up for his point production, and hopefully that will force Derrick to be more aggressive on the offensive end which will only make him that much better in the long run.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that while Gordon leaving doesn't make the Bulls a better team by any means, I don't really think it's going to hurt all that much either.