In the comments section of the my last post, I provided the following quick scouting report for new Bulls player Hakim Warrick: “Long and athletic…excellent leaper…a dunk waiting to happen…good shot blocker…perimeter game needs work…too skinny. Sound familiar?”
Yup. It’s a skill set eerily similar to the one belonging to Tyrus Thomas. So it would seem that, between rookie Taj Gibson and Warrick, Thomas would be, shall we say, very expendable.
According to ESPN the Magazine’s Ric Bucher: “Sources say [Thomas'] likeliest destination is Charlotte for Acie Law, Flip Murray and a protected future first-round pick. That frees Chicago to let disgruntled Jannero Pargo go and adds some off-the-bench scoring punch for Chicago. The deal for Milwaukee’s Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander for John Salmons replenishes Chicago’s front line. Warrick is only six pounds lighter than Thomas, which is probably about the weight of the chip Thomas has on his shoulder against coach Vinny del Negro.”
Well, it appears to be official. Barring something unforeseen, the Tyrus Thomas era in Chicago has come to a banner-less end.
And, in all honesty, it kind of had to happen, didn’t it?
Things simply weren’t going to work out between the Bulls and Thomas. Too much baggage. The good news is that Tyrus is going to get a fresh start, plenty of minutes and a fantastic coach in Larry Brown. The bad news is that, if things don’t go well for him in Charlotte, people might stop blaming his organization for his low basketball IQ and general lack of progress.
As for the Bulls, they lose Ty’s “limitless potential” — whatever that means at this point — and get back a couple more expiring contracts. That makes Four! Four more expiring contracts! Ah, ah, ah! All of which means Chicago will have some extra cash to play with next summer.
So…yay. I guess.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m cautiously excited about the potential of picking up a star or two next summer. But I’m not ready to start kicking dirt on this season. And, really, it doesn’t feel like the Bulls are getting any better through these trades. Maybe not any worse, but not really any better, either.
I can’t say I’m going to miss Tyrus. In another reality, and with a different attitude, he might have been able to play All-Star-level basketball in the Windy City. If that ever happens now, it will be for another team.
But I’m not all that worried about the possibility.
I just hope that in trading away Thomas we’re not losing 2012/3′s Josh Smith. We don’t need players who are good now, we need players who are gonna be good in 3/4 years, when Rose and Noah are peaking. I just hope in a few years when we’re looking for nice pieces to fit with them and A.N.Other Star we don’t go ‘hey that T.T. is blowing up this year. hang on…’
Comment by Phil — February 18, 2010 @ 7:05 pm
You cannot give up what was essentially the second pick in the NBA draft for Acie Law, Flip Murray, and a protected first-round draft pick.
If Thomas signed with another team they would automatically get the first round draft pick anyways. Likely a pick that will be equivalent to the Bobcats protected pick. Is Flip Murray appreciably better than Pargo who they will now inevitably cut?
Are the Bulls likely to get a free agent that will help that win a championship? Maybe they can sign Amare or Boozer, but it is likely they will not sign Lebron, Wade, Bosh.
Comment by David — February 18, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
Hey.. it isn’t supposed to make the team better this year. It’s suppose to free cap room to get a top notch free agent or 2 next year. DUH.
Comment by MHart — February 18, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
Was a future draft pick worth losing Tyrus. I thought we were going to give him another season to see if he improves, then see if we can sign a top free agent, and if not we could sign Tyrus and still be a solid team next year. But no, Bulls have given up on Tyrus after barely 20 games played this season. We better get that big time free agent, or next year we will end up having to settle for someone worse than Tyrus like Hakeem Warrick.
Comment by chad — February 18, 2010 @ 7:29 pm
I understand getting cap space but I was enjoying this season and looking forward to another exciting finish to THIS season. I have been a Bulls fan all my life and well I was spoiled in the 90′s I have endured this GS Warriors like last decade. Young talent sure but some bad talent as well. All that equaling a wait until next year like mentality. If nothing happens this summer FIRE the front office. No more excuses. Chicago is a GREAT market. The fans at the Madhouse on Madison are like no others. The team is 500 and the house is packed to see them play the Bucks. The media alone is more than only two other Markets and remember NY Sucks at Basketball……..Jordan killed that franchise R.I.P I would love LBJ to suit up in a Bulls uniform but we all know that won’t happen. D-wade is not coming either. So bring on Joe Johnson and a player to be named later. Just know this. In Chicago “We are all witness to this kid named Derrick Rose” The next player to bring a championship to Chicago!!
Comment by Max — February 18, 2010 @ 7:32 pm
So, it’s cool that we have some whomping cash for the upcoming FA extravaganza after this season, but what’s the plan if we don’t get any one of them? No CB4, no Wade, no LB, no Johnson, no Amare, etc. etc.
Everyone’s excited about the FA stuff, but I heard something this morning on sports radio that there’s really good chance that everyone will pretty much stay with their current teams.
Oke-dokee; well, then what??
Gar? Pax? What are our contingency plans???
Comment by Spike — February 18, 2010 @ 7:42 pm
Tyrus didn’t improve and they weren’t going to sign him so yes, a future draft pick is worth it. Getting Murray means no more Pargo and the team isn’t going to miss the playoffs because of these moves. We weren’t going to win a championship this year anyhow and can still be competitive so this all works. At least we didn’t trade our future picks away like the Knicks have done setting them up for a big disappointment if they can’t reel anyone in.
Comment by thirdsaint — February 18, 2010 @ 7:43 pm
@ Spike. I agree with you 100% I think they may be putting all the eggs in one basket. The players they brought in are garbage and are not going to do anything but come off the books at the end of the year, so I have no idea how this doesn’t hurt us this year.
Comment by Max — February 18, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
Are you kidding me? Trading Thomas was the best thing that could have happened, it would have been nicer to get better players but id prefer expiring contracts with a chance to get a big shot later on. Tyrus has zero basketball IQ(i cringe when he starts freelance dribbling), no outside jumper, and no post moves. So what is left? a guy who can jump through the roof and block the occasional shot and a huge dunk? not worth it..especially for the money he is getting paid.As much as i would like to make the playoffs a bigger picture has to be seen, which is next years free agent class. The only way i see tyrus becoming the player he was supposed to develop into is if he gets a PG like chris paul to give him alley oops every 2 seconds like tyson chandler got(which is why chandler looked like such a great player for a short time, even tho he is mediocore.
Comment by MCGotti — February 18, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
I like these trades, no we didnt get the “potential” back for tyrus but we now can maybe get to see more from one particular player and thats James Johnson. Yes he has played dumb and often looks lost on defense and lacks effort but I feel Vinny has done a bad job at keeping the kids confidence up, the 1st mistake he makes he back to the bench, we will still be the 7th or 8th seed and get ousted in the 1st round by Clevaland or Orlando. I dont like getting another bunch of 6’3″ shooting guards in Acie Law & Flip Murray but Warrick is a poor mans Tyrus with less drama and Joe Alexander was a top 10 pick maybe we can get him going and resign him for cheap as I doubt teams will be knocking on his door come free agent time, so I can’t be mad at the Bulls moves BUT if we dont get lets say a Boozer/Lee/Bosh and Joe Johnson i’ll be pissed but our 1st line of a business is we need a post presence otherwise we will continue to be a jump shooting team and may be setting ourselves up to say bye bye to D. Rose in a few years, we need a good draft and this summer is BIG for us!
Comment by big baller 86 — February 18, 2010 @ 8:21 pm
The moves are good, Salmons and Tyrus have had some high points with this team, but thier production this year was lacking. Trade em’ well we can. We freed up a lot of money and with D Rose putting up almost 30 a game the Bulls can still make a push for a good playoff seed. Im not saying were gonna win it, but those young guys will get some good experience. Then you add an all-star or two in the offseason, you have to like the Bulls going forward. Plus the extra 1st round pick gives them a lot of options.
Comment by Petelamb — February 18, 2010 @ 8:22 pm
Bosh and Johnson should be the only focus in the summer. The Cavs and the Heat are gonna do it all to keep their stars. Dont waste time going after James and Wade.
Comment by EY — February 18, 2010 @ 8:23 pm
does anyone know if it is true that if Tyrus was picked up by another team in free agency the bulls would have been given their 1st round draft pick? if so, there was no reason to trade Tyrus. i don’t remember getting any draft pick in return when gordon went to another team in free agency.
Comment by chad — February 18, 2010 @ 8:48 pm
First off the bulls wont get a Wade or James thats obvious thier best bet would def. be Chris Bosh. And the trades they have done are not bad thinking back to Warrick at Syracuse he was not bad at all. Besides his contract expires so if he does not show his full talent they can ship him off too. Plus its not like Tyrus was being a big help he was sitting the bench and him and Vinny did not get along at all. As for Pargo let him go we got Rose and Kirk.
Comment by Andy — February 18, 2010 @ 8:54 pm
from the cousin who is a freeagent who is coming to chicago bulls who wants to team with deng n rose and noah believe me great things is about to happened so many non believers those are people who dont want nothing in life i call them dream crushers.
Comment by Anonymous — February 18, 2010 @ 8:55 pm
Chad, Tyrus would have been a restricted free agent, which means that whatever offer a team made him, the Bulls could match, but they almost certainly wouldn’t have matched, so basically we would have lost him for nothing. I’m pretty sure. Can someone else confirm this?
Comment by Anonymous — February 18, 2010 @ 9:08 pm
i know we would have lost him for nothing, but atleast we would get to have him the rest of this season. he could have won them some games this season. and if he improved by the end of the season, they might have wanted to sign him again for next year if they don’t get 2 good free agents and have some money left.
Comment by chad — February 18, 2010 @ 9:46 pm
haha Gar thinks Flip Murray is gonna be good. About as good as Devon Brown has been. When Gar spoke he acted like he liked Tyrus and said he thought Tyrus was going to continue to improve. But he also said they had to trade Tyrus because they may not be able to afford his salary next year. WE DON’T KNOW THAT YET. What if we have enough money and the good free agents are gone, then it will be too late to get Tyrus back. So Gar must not really think much of Tyrus.
Comment by chad — February 18, 2010 @ 10:35 pm
Oh I loved some of the moves although sorry to see salmons go good player in my mind. I’m glad that we are freeing up money because I would loved to see d-wade in a bulls uniform. Bring the real baby jordan to the bulls.
Comment by Benny Reed — February 18, 2010 @ 11:00 pm
If they don’t get James, Wade, Bosh, Amare(if he opts out remember), Smith, or Boozer, Chicago could do one of 3 things:
1. Sign guys like Ray Allen, Shaq, T-mac to one year deals. Improve your team for the coming year, let some of the vets groom the young guns and preserve the cap room to go after Melo’, Yao, and the other top FA’s in 2011.
2. Hit the trade market, hard. They’ll be some pretty good players out there to be had for teams looking to get out from under their contracts. Igudala and Brand in philly, Al jefferson in Minnesota, Rip Hamilton in Detroit etc. You still have some salries you could match up in Deng and Hinrich to make such a move.
3. Go after restricted FA’S. You could offer next to a max contract for Rudy Gay or someone like that. Do you overpay? Perhaps, but you get a semi-star player before he hits the open market.
Comment by Jon — February 18, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
I think these were good moves – Warrick will help in the rotation at power forward where Gibson had won the starting job anyway. Hinrich moves to the 2-guard so we have a 5 of Rose, Captain Kirk, Deng, Gibson & Noah. If Joakim still needs some time, we got Miller for the next handful of games against teams with losing records, but we’re going to need Noah down the stretch when we go against memphis, Miami, Atlanta, Orlando and Cleveland.
In terms of the FA market, I want Bosh in the worst way – he’s under-rated despite his superstar status. IF you don’t get Bosh or Wade, then we go the traditional route by getting Boozer and Joe Johnson who are almost certainly leaving their respective clubs. I guess that’s my contingency, or even Big Al from Minny this summer for the #4 spot
Comment by Dahl E. Llama — February 18, 2010 @ 11:08 pm
good solid trades, not any better but not any worse either, i still say the bulls make the playoffs and i also still think they could make the second round, i don’t think they have a chance in making the finals but a competitive second round exit, the bulls got another salmons in flip murray and now lets see what they have in james johnson, they gained at the pf postion warrick is ty a few years from now and j alezander who knows but he can shoot he was pretty good wvu
Comment by bulls fan in alaska — February 19, 2010 @ 12:18 am
whats up with Chad and his man crush on tyrus, ty is a joke, classic early first round pick bust! yeah he’s young but has shown no glimpse of consistant improvement since he has been a bull, you can wait forever CHAD! it’s a win now type of league Chad i’d rather have jackie moon
Comment by BULLS FAN IN OH — February 19, 2010 @ 12:26 am
@chad This isn’t baseball so there are no Type-A or B free agents that return you supplemental pick.
Comment by Anonymous — February 19, 2010 @ 12:48 am
It’s funny but I was thinking this morning what effect Michael Jordan might have had on Thomas’s developement had they played together. I could envision him punching him out once or twice to get him to play an entire game. Would Thomas have responded to that? I wonder now if Jordan will have any input now that TT’s in Charlotte. Will he send Larry Brown to an early grave or become the player the Bulls envisioned him to be?
Comment by cleansupwell — February 19, 2010 @ 1:31 am
look i am not crazy about todays moves but some off you guys are making it sound like ty thomas was kg his best year was last year and if i remember correctly he avg 10.8 points per game last year warrick who has never avg more than 26 min per game has avg as follows 12.7 11.6 11.5 and this year 10.3 in just 20 min per game he is a better offensive player than ty thomas but still i was hoping we would get al harrington but we will see how the offseason goes
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 19, 2010 @ 1:38 am
Really? Any of you jokers that still were/are holding out that Tyrus coulda been something sound as ridiculous as the “Chicago Cubs Wait Til Next Year” fans! Thank you MCGotti for saying something intelligent. Wow!
Comment by FM — February 19, 2010 @ 2:21 am
Chad –
Your cheerleading for Thomas has really become tedious. Give it a rest.
Yes, there is a chance that under the right coach, and in the right system TT will develop further. But don’t you understand that making personnel decisions is always about playing percentages? And that the percentages are obviously against TT ever fulfilling his full potential?
The Bulls made the right move, and it won’t surprise me one bit if Warrick turns out to be more valuable to the team this season.
Comment by Tony C. — February 19, 2010 @ 3:15 am
At the end from looking at all of these trade move the Bulls made, I kind of like it. I am glad to hear that the Bulls ended up getting Warrick and Alexander from Bucks instead of getting Francisco Elson and Kurt Thomas. (Thank God!) The key player that they really got in return from the Bucks is Warrick to replace Tyrus Thomas. The Good thing about Warrick is that he is truly a bench PF player that expect his role. Another solid move the Bulls made was getting Flip Murray, Acie Law and 1st round draft pick from the Charlotte Bobcats to replace John Salmons presents. The bright side about all of these moves the Bulls made is that they all have expiring contracts.
Comment by felipe garcia — February 19, 2010 @ 4:10 am
“The Good thing about Warrick is that he is truly a bench PF player that expect his role”
That’s a good point, Felipe. And it’s a point that many of the blind TT supporters wouldn’t appreciate. Maximizing potential is obviously crucial to all teams, and finding the right chemistry is a big piece of the puzzle.
Comment by Tony C. — February 19, 2010 @ 4:22 am
Hey Chad, I know you are a TT fan, he now has an opportunity to prove that the Bulls are wrong about him. In the past I have seen quite a few players that did not re3ach their potential with their original teams get a wake up call when traded and begin to reach their potential. In 3 plus years with the Bulls he has not come close to reaching his “potential”. Maybe now he will have the motivation to develop his effort and skills to the level that was expected of him. Based on TT’s performance on and off the court I think the Bulls got the best that they could get for him.
Hopefully we will see the “Salmons effect” on one or more of the new Bulls. Salmons was not happy as a bench player and we know that TT was not happy. Maybe the new guys will accept their roles and improve the overall attitude in the lockerroom and on the court. Who knows, maybe one or more of the new guys will be so happy to be in a new place that they play over their head for the rest of this season. Lets remember that both Salmons and Thomas thought they should be starting. The Players we got in return know that they are role players. This should improve team chemistry.
I am very relieved that Capt. Kirk has not been traded. I have said here many times that it is my belief that Capt. Kirk, as a starter, is a major reason the Bulls are winning. I think he is the perfect complement for Rose.
I do not expect the Bulls to sign any of the “Big Four” FA’s in 2010. I fully expect the Bulls to go after two of the next level of FA’s like David Lee. Forget about Boozer, he can’t or won’t play defense. Any FA’s the Bulls sign should complement the defensive structure of the team. If they do not it would be substraction by addition.
Comment by Boppinbob — February 19, 2010 @ 4:45 am
I agree with Felipe That I was glad to see Warrick coming to Chicago. He is similiar to TT that he blocks shots, rebounds, makes monster dunks but is different because he is a better mid range shooter and can step out behind the three as well. If the bulls can’t get Bosh, Stoudamire, Boozer or Lee they can fall back on Warrick for a cheap price, besides I think Gibson will be much improved next year. Look what the offseason did for Rose and I think Gibson has a good head on his shoulders and will put the time in to get better. The trades also free them up to sign Rose and Noah to new contracts and keep Kirk. Kirk is not a major scorer but nobody can question his D-fence this year. Does anyone know yet if the first round pick from Charlotte is for this coming draft or the following year? If it is for this years draft I wouldn’t be opposed to the Bulls trying to use their 2 first round picks to try and trade up and get a young needed center like D. Cousin’s from Kentucky to add some bulk. Then all Chicago would need is a good SG to become a team in contention again. Wade would be great but I would settle for J. Johnson.
Comment by Bulls33 — February 19, 2010 @ 5:53 am
the pick is not this year, and it can’t be a top 10 pick
Comment by chad — February 19, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
TO ALL YOU TT HATERS IM GLAD TYRUS WENT SOMEWHERE WITH A COACH WHO CAN ACTUALLY CAN COACH. WHO CAN SEE POTENTIAL IN THE PLAYERS HE HAS RATHER THAN TRY TO MAKE PLAYERS SOMETHING THERE NOT. TYRUS WAS DRAFTED AS A PROJECT FREAK ATHELETE WITH LITTLE OFFENSIVE SKILL, HE HAD BEGUN TO HIT THAT JUMPER ON A REGULAR BASIS YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO CHECK THE STATS. MANAGEMENT WILL LEARN FROM THIS MISTAKE, ANYBODY KNOWS WHEN YOU GET A PROJECT YOU GET A TUTOR LIKE DWIGHT HOWARD GOT PATRICK EWING, HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT THE ONLY THING WE HAVE ON THE BENCH IS EX PG WHO 0 ALL STAR CREDINTIALS, AND BELOW AVERAGE NBA CAREERS (PETE MEYERS, RANDY BROWN). I MEAN YOU HAVE 2 OF THE HIGHEST LEAPERS IN THE NBA AND NOBODY TO THOW A LOB PASS. OR WHY DOES VINNY CALL PLAYS WHICH PULLS TYRUS OUT OF THE PAINT WHICH ARE MEANT FOR DRIVE AND DISH FOWARDS LIKE DIRK. NOW YOU SENT HIM AWAY WITH GARBAGE IN RETURN, A DRAFT PICK WHICH YOU DONT KNOW WHEN YOU GONNA GET IT. YOU GOT A DOWN GRADE FROM TYRUS WITH WARRICK WITH A CAREER HIGH OF .5 BLOCK PER GAME. CANT WAIT TILL THIS VDN ERA IS UP AND WE GET A REAL COACH AND NOT A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER. FEEL SORRY FOR JJ HE’S NEXT IN THE VDN I DONT KNOW WHO TO MAXIMIZE YOUR POTENTIAL SO I’LL BLAME YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND YANK YOU FOR EVERY LITTLE MISTAKE WHILE I KEEPS SUCKING KURT’S (IT’S KIRK YOU DUMB COACH) BUTT, WHO BY THE WAY SHOULD HAVE BEEN TRADED WITH THAT OVERPAID CONTRACT HE HAS. TYRUS WILL BE THE NEXT TYSON CHANDLER IS CORRECT CP3 DIDNT MAKE HIM LOOK BETTER THAN HE WAS, THEY DID WHAT AN SMART ORGANIZATION SHOULD DO AND MAXIMIZED HIS STRONG POINTS WHICH HAD THEM COMPETING FOR A TITLE.
Comment by DJ FATMACK — February 19, 2010 @ 4:46 pm
DJ Fatmack – You make some good points. The TT experiment was an abismal failure. The Bulls probably did mishandle him. Gar/Pax/VDN didn’t seem to do the best job in maximizing his potential.
That said, this is PROFESSIONAL basketball. Tyrus was also on a team possitively filled with other high draft picks that have the same level of skill (albiet different) as he does. Having every player/coach run a system that catered to Tyrus would have stunted everyone of their developments. The whole situation is unfortunate, but when handing out the blame, lets not forget that Tyrus’ personal responsibility for his actions far out-weighs any other share of the “blame” pie.
Comment by Brad S. — February 19, 2010 @ 5:14 pm
DJ FATMACK is right
Comment by chad — February 19, 2010 @ 5:45 pm
BRAD I DONT HOLD TT WITHOUT BLAME, THAT SKY HOOK HE KEPT TRYING, ITS WAS MESSY RUNNY DOO DOO, BUT YOU CAN SEE HE HAS PUT IN WORK WITH THAT JUMP SHOT AND WAS HITTING IT ON THE REGULAR. YOUR RIGHT THIS IS A PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE BUT COMMON SENSE TELLS YOU NOT TO ADOPT A BABY IF YOUR NOT PREPARED TO PROPERLY CARE FOR IT. PEOPLE LIKE TO PRAISE TAJ (NO KNOCK ON HIM) BUT HE WAS 4 YEARS UNDER A EX NBA COACH WITH A GOOD ATHLETIC PROGRAM. TYRUS HAD 1 YR, CAME OFF THE BENCH MOST OF THAT YEAR AND JUST HAPPENED TO SHINE DURING THE NCAA TOURNAMENT. BUT GIVE HIM HIS DUE HE CHANGED GAMES RUNNING DOWN PEOPLE SLAPPING THEY LAY UPS BACK IN THERE FACE ON A FAST BREAK, THE INCREDIBLE PUT BACK DUNKS, THE D HE PUT ON LEBRON WHEN HE WAS LIGHTING UP THE WHOLE TEAM AND BLOCK HIS DUNK (CHECK OUT YOU TUBE) EVERY GOOD TEAM HAS ONE, BIRDMAN-DENVER, SHANNON BROWN-LAKERS. HICKSON – CLEVELAND. THERE ALSO WENT OUR “THUG” YOU KNOW SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO PLAY THE TOUGH GUY. RIGHT NOW ALL WE HAVE IS NOAH, EVERY STAR HAS A PROTECTOR LIKE OAKLEY WAS FOR JORDAN.
NOW FA WHO ARE WE GONNA GET WHEN THE BIG 4 ARE GONE, WHATS THE BACK UP PLAN? BACK TO SQUARE ONE, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO BRING TT, EDDY CURRY, AND TYSON BACK FOR THERE PUNISHMENT AND LET DENNIS RODMAN COACH
Comment by DJ FATMACK — February 19, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
nice boppinbob i agree i think that the bench will be more productive too because they know what there roles are and bulls33 you are right about warrick he does have a better mid range jumper if you look at his numbers the last 4 or 5 years he also has avg more points per game and shoots a higher percentage from the floor go bulls i am a little scared about the offseason i hope we at least get lee from the knicks and maybe joe johnson go BULLS
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 20, 2010 @ 12:21 am
6 blocks, 12 rebounds, 9 points, and a win over the best team in the league. Who did that? Was it Warrick? Was it Flap Jack Murray, nope Tyrus of course.
Comment by chad — February 20, 2010 @ 3:14 am
Chad Who cares about Tyrus Thomas? just let him go and stop crying about him and face that fact that he did not fit in well with Chicago system. Remember Chad and all of you TT fans out their, there is a reason why the Bulls traded him away. Hint: So they can have more money to sign CHRIS BOSH or DAVID LEE, not only that Taj Gibson was putting up better number then him as a ROOKIE, he did not listen to any of the bulls coaches or players to improve his game and he was also being inconsistent like away after playing 4 YEARS in the NBA! Tell me this Chad, if Tyrus Thomas is such a great player like you say he is, why can’t he take his game to the next level and have a consistent game like: L. Deng, J. Noah and D. Rose? and don’t give me that crap about his youth because who isn’t young when they just played in the NBA for 2-3 years. Remember Chad, TT was a top 4th round draft pick with very high expectations of him having the talents of charles barkley mix with Julius Erving athletic skills put together. And who care if they bet Cleveland? that was a lucky game. I would love to see them do that again against good teams but this time at their house which they suck badly against good or bad teams on the road. Peace out
Comment by felipe garcia — February 20, 2010 @ 5:56 am
Let’s forget about Tyrus Thomas. He might well come back to haunt the Bulls, but that is no reason to keep him. He has “not” worked with three different coaches and continued to muddle along in mediocrity showing very brief flashes of his potential but absolutely no consistency. Tyrus seems to have expected his raw talent to get him playing time, instead of putting in the effort to do what his coaches asked of him. He needed a wake-up call and got one. Maybe now he will apply himself to becoming a professional basketball/team player. I remember the gloom and doom forecasts for the Bulls when Gordon was allowed to move on in free agency. I think that the results have been positive for the Bulls. Their record is better now and we are talking about what seed the Bulls will get not “if they will make the post season”. Forman and Paxson have overseen the transition from an offensive oriented team to a defensive oriented team and in so doing that they have positioned the Bulls to become contenders in the East and potentially contenders in the league. The next step is finding the right FA’s to go after in the potential 2010/2011 off-seasons. They need to continue to improve the defense while adding offense and not disrupting the team chemistry. This is a tall order. While it might be heresey to say that D Wade would not be a good fit I will say that. I strongly feel that the only FA’s that should interest the Bulls are Bosh and D. Lee (or another solid defensive/offensive PF or C). Then look to upgrade the bench with talent and depth with role players. I am very pleased that the Bulls seem committed to Capt. Kirk. Right now the Buylls have two leaders, D. Rose on offense and Capt. Kirk on defense. That spreads the burden of leadership and doubles the pleasure for the players and fans (one man’s opinion).
Comment by Boppinbob — February 20, 2010 @ 6:27 pm
I like the trades, not only does it free up money to go after some serious FA’s (Wade, Bosh) next season but the guys we got in return aren’t that bad. Warrick is every bit as good as Thomas. Flip Murray isn’t a bad option the guy can score. Salmons wasn’t doing anything special. He certainly wasn’t the guy we got that had like four 30 point games down the stretch last season. I like these deals.
As for the FA after the season..some of u people are writing off that we can’t get Wade and that he’s gonna stay in Miami..why would he seriously do that? He’s already unhappy there..he’s playing with a bunch of nobody’s. Michael Beasley isn’t anything special. He’s a depression waiting to happen. Maybe if Miami got Amar’e then Wade would have stayed but they didn’t..so why would Wade stay?? Our Bulls are better than the Heat right now and they have Wade..we have more pieces in place, Heat not so much..whats to stay for?!
Having said all that. As much as I want Wade..I’d gladly take Bosh and Johnson. David Lee..uhh, not so much..we already have him.. his name is Taj Gibson, he’s a rookie and is already good and will only improve every year. So no Mr. Lee..not hard to look great on team that sucks.
Comment by Trm3 — February 20, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
hey why dont you ask tt too marry you for crying out loud warrick had 10 points and 9 boards 6 off witch where on the offencesive end he played well too stop crying about tt he is not consistant
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 20, 2010 @ 10:33 pm
hey chad lol
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 20, 2010 @ 10:33 pm
hey chad how did you like warricks second game as a bull you tt lover 15 points 9 boards 5 offencsive and 2 blocked shots and 3 ass get over tt will you
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 21, 2010 @ 3:46 am
bullsfan76 lay off Chad. He is probably enjoying TT’s performance for the Bobcats tonight (31 min, 12 pts, 11 RBs, 2 assts, 1 stl, 4 Blks. If he keeps that up he will earn a starting spot with the Bobcats. I still glad he is gone. Who needs a whiner. He was a cancer in the locker room. But I hope he does well with the Bobcats. He has the tools, maybe now he can develop the attitude.
Comment by Boppinbob — February 21, 2010 @ 4:32 am
DJ Fatmack, what’s with the caps? TT had 3.5 years to at least show he had the necessary attitude to perform consistently in the NBA for the Bulls under 3 coaches with different coaching styles, he didn’t show the attitude and became a whiner. No team or coach needs that. He’s gone, hopefully he will get his wakeup call and begin to perform consistently for the Bobcats. In the meantime the Bulls have improved the atmosphere in the locker room and should continue to win and have a better season then they did with Ben Gordan. The Bulls have really missed Big Ben, well maybe not, their record is over .500 right now and the fans are talking about which seed the Bulls will get, not wondering if the Bulls would make the playoffs like they were this time last year. Forman, Paxson and VDN are doing a good job.
Comment by Boppinbob — February 21, 2010 @ 4:43 am
TT had a great vertical leap. Stop stroking him. He played like he was on speed and his shot everyone keeps praising was erratic. They let him go to have a shot at a Superstar “Developed player” why is that so hard to understand. Salmons and Thomas both thought they were better than they were and that is a chemistry killer. If talent alone was a lock for title runs The Trailblazers would have won multiple times when they were the Jailblazers!!
Comment by Max — February 21, 2010 @ 5:56 am
dj fitzTARD, a sky hook? ty only devloped one thing while in chi town…..a top 5 pick BUST image! honestly you and chad act like he was the second coming! there’s a ton of guys in the nba who can jump throw doo doo sky hooks (that haven’t improved honestly dj what kind of work do you think he put in?) anyway all of those guys are riding the bench the never grow into something. he’s not josh smith or amare those guys got better each year ty is still the same guy! he dosen’t want it bad enough and if did he still be a bull
Comment by BULLS FAN IN OH — February 21, 2010 @ 7:09 am
boppinbob i cant tt had a good game but so did warrick 15 and 9 and 3 asst and 2 bloked shots in just 25 min look the bulls bench last nite was very good law was solid flip murry was good all i am saying is i think the bench wiil be more productive after the trade because you dont have 2 players who think there better than what they are tt salmons think there these great players there ok players bench players but they did knot want to face it so now we have players who arent a cancer in the locker room and will listen to the coaches and players
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 21, 2010 @ 1:12 pm
i like warrick, i just dont like ronald mcdonald murray. charlotte wouldn’t have gave him to the bulls unless he was bad. getting tyrus is a risk because of his lack of consistency and attitude, so no one was willing to give anything good for him. murray has a terrible shooting percentage, i don’t think it’s worth playing him much. i liked acie law in college, but he hasn’t done anything in the nba. i don’t see the bulls giving him much of a chance to develop since rose will be playing most of the time, and pargo is playing more than he should be playing. so they will probably get rid of him at the end of the year to save a little money. i think he has more potential than pargo so i’d rather keep law next year than sign pargo or hunter or brown again. warrick is pretty good. tyrus was more fun and entertaining to watch. warrick is probably more consistent offensively, not sure about defensively though. being 4 years older than tyrus, warrick has probably reached the peek of his talent. tyrus has not reached his peek, and may never, but it’s possible he could. he is playing the same way that he did when the bulls gave him minutes, but a little better. still turning it over too much. but not afraid of getting benched, so being more aggressive and getting blocks and rebounds.
Comment by chad — February 21, 2010 @ 9:53 pm
Chad I think you should recheck Flip Murray stats again because he is a solid all round Strong Guard that can hit big shoots and attack the basket at will. If I were the Bulls GM’s and I had the chance to resign 1 of my backup guard in my roster this year, it would be Flip Murray in a heart beat over J. Pargo, D. Brown, L. Hunter and Acie Law. Did you pay any attention of what Flip did in that game against the 76ers? He scored 12 pts, 2 ast, 3 rebounds 1 steal & 1 block shot. To me that is a solid all round game he had. O0o and last time I checked I heard that coach Larry Brown did not want to give up Flip Murray at 1st but, at the end he had no choice but to let him go to take their chances on Tyrus THomas. Another thing, only time will tell if Tyrus Thomas ever reaches his high potential in become an All Star player and if he does or not who care, by that time the Bulls will have their own PF Star.
Comment by DJ — February 22, 2010 @ 3:32 am
potential in becoming an All Star player and if he does or not who care, by that time the Bulls will have their own PF Star.*
Comment by DJ — February 22, 2010 @ 3:35 am
chad you keep saying tt has not reached his pot this is his what 4th or 5th year come on he is another tysion chandler thats all he is
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 22, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
oh chad last year tt played 28 min a game and gave you 10.8 ppg thats not that good he makes allot of mistakes when he is out on the floor ty gibson a rookie has shown more poise as a rookie if tt starts making those mistakes you think an old school coach like brown isnt going to put him on the bench hell yes he will
Comment by bullsfan76 — February 22, 2010 @ 2:44 pm
Didn’t we trade the rights to L Aldridge for Ty Thomas on draft day? Thomas has been nothing but “potential”. Look at the player Aldridge developed into in the same amount of time. Also we have a very special player in T Gibson who now gets more playing time and is already showing the benefits…
Comment by Anonymous — February 22, 2010 @ 8:18 pm