Anthony Parker. Arron Afflalo. Courtney Lee. J.R. Smith. O.J. Mayo.
These are some of the names bloggers, Bulls fans and various experts have mentioned as potential answers to Chicago’s problem at the shooting guard position. The “problem” being Keith Bogans.
So, even as the Bulls nip at the heels of the Celtics and Heat for the best record in the Eastern Conference, and as they eagerly await the return of Joakim Noah, the biggest question heading toward the trade deadline (February 24 at 3:00 p.m.) is: Will the team trade up at the two spot?
Bulls executive vice president John Paxson was a guest on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 Friday. Here’s what he said: “What we would be looking for as this trade deadline approaches is a little more scoring if we can find it, but we aren’t going to do anything to disrupt the chemistry of this team. We’ve made huge strides this year, and we still think our best basketball is yet to come.
“If we continue to get a guy like Keith Bogans playing well, knocking down two or three 3-pointers a game, and we bring guys like Ronnie Brewer off the bench and C.J. [Watson], we’re real comfortable with that,” Paxson said. “The bottom line is [Derrick Rose] is going to have the basketball in his hands the majority of the time.
“We’re not going to compromise our chemistry, because it’s an underrated thing in this league when you have a group that plays well together and fits together. And we’re not going to compromise what we believe we can do in the future to make us a championship team, not just for a year, but for a long period of time with Derrick Rose being just 22 years old. We’ll be cautious. We talked to a lot of teams. We listen, and throw ideas out there. And you never know, things can happen before the deadline … but we feel good where we’re at.”
I see where Paxson is coming from. At this point, the Bulls have very few tradeable assets. And by “tradeable asset” I mean something they are willing and able to give up and something other teams actually want. Because of this, it could be dangerous to make a knee-jerk move.
For instance, a lot of people are talking about Anthony Parker. Why not give up, say, Omer Asik and/or a first round draft pick or two to bring in a savvy vet who plays solid D and has shot better than 41 percent on threes over his career? Well, for starters, Parker is 35 years old and will turn 36 on June 19. So, obviously, he’s not going to be part of Chicago’s future plans. Furthermore, his Player Efficiency Rating (11.0) isn’t that much better than Bogans’ (8.1). So while he does represent an upgrade, it really is a relatively minor one.
The Bulls have limited cap space and very little to work with trade-wise. And, considering how well the season has gone so far despite the injuries to Noah and Carlos Boozer, it’s hard to imagine management making a move unless the perfect opportunity presents itself.
I see it as being prudent to see how the team performs when it’s finally healthy. It’s better to wait and see how the landscape changes with the upcoming labor negotiations. I hope the management sticks to their guns and remains patient.
Calling for the Bulls to hire Paxson is the best front office move Michael has ever thought up.
agreed. i like that he’s a chemistry type of guy. it’s definitely an under-valued aspect of sports, and especially basketball. there are a few guys that i could see being shipped out, such as johnson, scalabrine, and asik. but that’s mostly just due to their lack of time in the rotation, and not as indicative of how good they are at their jobs.
and honestly, of the names listed, i would want afflalo, mayo, lee, in that order. i would honestly put j.r. smith in the third spot above lee, as he is a fantastically talented player, but he definitely brings chemistry issues. anthony parker is an older vet, and while still good, i’d like to see the bulls get someone more young and athletic.
here’s hoping that gar/pax are able to pull one of the aforementioned shooters into the fold.
there’s no rush….the core is still young…..by season’s end, they’ll know for sure if this team needs to trade for a SG.
I know it has been a long wait for us Chicago fans, but I agree wit the approach that Gar/Pax is taking in not jeapordizing the long term to possibly cash in for the short term. In order to get one of the significant upgrades at SG the Bulls would have to give up at least 1 draft pick and either Gibson or Asik. Gibson is an established rotation player and possible starter, and Asik has exceded expectations this year, has a huge upside and is that rare commodity of an athletic center. Besides the impact on this seasons bench, the long term impact would be devastating to the front line. The only other real assets the Bulls have for trading purposes are their draft picks. When looking at the team in its current state and realizing that it has not yet established it identity and it has still managed to achieve a record of 38-16, I am personally loath to mess with the chemistry and accomplishments. Gar/Pax has done a spectacular job of finding talent that compliments each other, and Thibs has taken that talent and maximized its potential given the circumstances. The dynamics are about to change again with Noah coming back from his surgery. Thibs job will become more interesting while he tries not to disrupt the floor chemistry and maintain the edge that the Bulls have developed. While it is a nice problem/luxury to have, getting Noah back on the floor will provide some challenging opportunities that could affect te team chemistry.
The goal is to win it all, the talk of building a winner for years is great but we need to win the first one first. Does that mean you go all out to win each and every year in my view , yes you do. Gar/ Pax as optomistic as they may be like the rest of us also ,must realize there is a chance D Rose will not play on the same level he is playing now even though I feel he will always play on a high level.Now is the time to make the moves to win now is the time to strike out on a trade that will put this team in position to be a winner this year, next year will take care of itself when it gets here. lets focus more on this year if there is a player they can get this year that will help this team get over the top to win I say go for him.Why wait nothing is promised to this team next year only expectations high as they may be injuries can kill you God forbid any of our players get hurt but one must sometimes take risk to win it all sometimes, at more of a cost than you are willing to take , just saying don’t want to look back on this year next year about this time and the team is not playing record wise as good as they are, nor are in position to challenge for title, like they are now. this is what I hope that all bulls fans take note of yes our future looks bright now , but lets focus on the gift we have now and its called the present. Make the move if it is gonna help us win I would say move asik if it helps us win Gibson is too valuable, send a pick if needed if not two to get the help we need to win a more consistant scorer would not hurt but help us and that is what we need when they double down on Rose and korver is off and deng also we need another solid option lets go get er done … Peace
The bulls need to remain in tact, and DO NOT TRADE ASIK, 7 footers do not grow on trees!!
^^^^
This is what the Heat thought. And it’s why they haven’t been able to beat the good teams. Sure, they blitz through the junk of the league, but against the top 5 teams, they’re like 1-6. It takes more than cashing in everything you have to buy a few big names. NO, we shouldn’t get rid of Asik. Why do you suppose he’s in all the talks? Because other teams are secretly Bulls fans and can’t wait to give us their talented SG’s? No, it’s because he’s young and valuable and will only improve. And after we get rid of him and Kurt Thomas retires (because he’s only the second oldest player in the league) who do we have backing up Noah? That’s right, no one. You don’t get better by filling holes if you just open up holes elsewhere.
Gar/Pax have done a great job building this team. It’s one of the top teams in the league and we haven’t seen it play at full strength yet. There is no need to start trying to move major pieces around now. None, whatsoever. I’m not happy with Bogans either (although, to be fair, he’s played very well the last couple games), but that doesn’t mean we need to start selling off the bench players and draft picks just to make a move. Every move you make has to have a purpose and has to improve the team as a whole, not part of the team while significantly weakening another part.
Statistical Analysis of Keith Bogans:
Games 3pa/3pm 3pt%
Oct/Nov 15 13/48 29%
Dec-Feb17 39 51/116 44%
Keith Bogans is on the floor to do two things: Defend shooting guards and hit open jump shots. After struggling with his shot through the first 15 games of the season, he has come on strong over the past 6-weeks.
It appears Bogans was struggling with confidence issues early on. With the entire city expecting Ronnie Brewer to take over as the starting shooting guard at any moment, Keith was pressing to show his value. When he played the worst ball of his career for a full month without being benched, he probably realized he had the confidence of his coach for the long-term.
It appears Coach Thibodeau’s patience has paid off. Since December 1st, Keith Bogans has been exactly the kind of role player that coach wants in the starting 2-guard role. I would be very surprised if management hasn’t realized this, so don’t expect a minor deal this week.
Bogans has played extremely well the last month and a half. He has done what he was brought here to do, defend the SG and hit spot-up 3’s in Jan and Feb. With Noah coming back he may get more chances at the spot up shots. I agree with bully and Sam, I do not anticipate a trade. Although I might take a flier on Rip Hamilton if Detroit were torelease him.
TBF, very well put. If we can make a move without moving major pieces then go ahead. I do not think we should trade Asik. I think he has great potential and Taj is too talented and important for depth to move him either. If we can trade one or two of our current SG with a pick to get a quality SG then I say go for it. If we can’t then we need to see what are team can be at full strength. We are already amongst the best teams minus Noah and for a period Boozer. So our core should remain in tact and if we cant get a SG this year it will be the first thing addressed via draft or trade next year.
Sorry I meant ‘our’ team not ‘are’ my bad.