Bulls fans who want to see Tyrus Thomas back in the starting lineup may get their wish pretty soon…but not necessarily on his own merits. Taj Gibson is suffering from a case of plantar fasciitis.
And here we all thought the Bulls were finally healthy.
After Taj sat out of practice yesterday, Vinny Del Negro said: “He going to go see the doctor today and get some therapy. He’s feeling a little bit better, but that plantar fasciitis is bothering him a little bit, and he’ll get some treatment on it.”
There’s no word yet as to whether Taj will miss any time.
Said Del Negro: “Let’s see how he feels [Wednesday]. I’d like to get him some practice in [Wednesday] before we get up to Boston.”
That would be nice.
Perhaps sensing the need to fluff Tyrus in case he’s called on to start, Vinny also said: “Tyrus played well (Monday against the Pistons) and had a good practice (Tuesday) too. He was under control. I loved his activity.”
Just say “No-ah” to “Knee-Mac”:
Regarding the rumors about a possible tradethat would bring Tracy McGrady to Chicago for Joakim Noah and some expiring contracts: No, no, no, a thousand times no. There are plenty of reasonsnot to make a deal for “Knee-Mac,” but the biggest and most glaring reason is that (based on this rumor) it would cost the Bulls their second-best player (or third-best, if you believe Luol Deng is superior to Noah).
Fortunately, there are also rumors that McGrady could end up in Washington or Philadelphia, so there’s probably no need to panic just yet. About Noah, anyway. But if you’re a Kirk Hinrich fan, there’s always reason to worry. According to ESPN the Magazine’s Chris Broussard: “Kirk Hinrich is ahead of even Tyrus Thomas on their list of players they’d love to trade. In fact, Thomas is being offered around the league as a sweetener in any Hinrich deal. But with two years, $17 million left on his contract after this season, there’s not a great market for Hinrich.”
Seriously, has anyone in NBA history been involved in more trade rumors than Captain Kirk? I think ESPN should rename its famous “what-if engine”to The Kirk Hinrich Memorial Trade Machine.
Who wants a guard that can’t get to the basket?
As some of you may have noticed, I have been pretty quiet since the season started. The reason is that, not living in Chicago, I don’t get to see very many of the Bulls games first hand. Of course that made the Bulls/Pistons game “appointment television” at my house. …And what a great game to tune into!
One thing that I noticed in particular was Taj Gibson’s comfort level playing within the offense. I especially noticed it when he was handling the ball. Not one time sticks out in my mind when the play ground to a halt because the ball went through Taj. I don’t know if that is a trend or an annomaly, but many big men look awkward and slow just dribbling and walking. Just on the Bulls you can point to Brad Miller, and Aaron Grey as being examples of this. The Pistons have those examples as well, but not Taj. …or at least not in that game.
I don’t know exactly what to make of this and I would like to hear some feed-back concerning wether this has been the case recently or just an isolated incedent. I know people say his ceiling is not as high as some prospects. I guess what I am trying to say is that most starting bigs can rebound and defend and block. All-Star bigs can do all that and score lots of points. Taj may never get enough points to be considered “Elite”. But maybe he has more innate ability than what would be considered “Average”. I feel there is real value in a steady big man that does not cough up turnovers and can keep ball movement flowing either with a nice pass or a fluid cut. Some recent players that come to mind are Marcus Camby or PJ Brown. Those guys have had nice long careers (mostly as starters) and were considered an asset to any team they played on. I feel like that kind of production is well within Taj’s reach and if so, congrats to the Bulls management for picking him. Any thoughts?
One of the most attractive reasons for acquiring McGrady is the salary cap flexibility that his massive contract provides after this season. The Bulls would be absolutely stupid to trade Luol + expiring contracts for McGrady unless they feel that Deng’s contract is burdensome (which IMO is not). The only upside to the deal would be that the Bulls would only have 20 million in salary next year (if they resind their rights on Tyrus Thomas) and would be one small deal away from being able to offer two max free agent deals.
However I feel, even with Deng’s large contract, that he has considerable value especially given his strong year so far. If I wanted to maximize my space for next year, I would offer:
Luol Deng + Kirk Hinrich + Tyrus Thomas
for
Tracy McGrady
NOTE: In a deal like this, you are not looking at the talent recieved/given up, you are trying to position yourself to be able to attract 2 max free agents in the summer and retool into a championship contender on the fly.
I think there is enough talent in there for the Rockets to eliminate their salary cap flexibility. Deng has become a proven producer on a reasonable contract and is still young, and Houston can audition Thomas for the rest of the year and see if they like him. Hinrich is the salary cap ballast of the deal, but could provide some value to the rockets as a backup point guard.
This would be a fantastic move salary cap wise for the bulls. They would only have 17 million commited in salary in a year where there are superstar free agents in the market. Additionally, this is no Knicks situation where there is no talent, the Bulls can offer the max free agent a star point guard in Rose and an excellent big man in Noah. The Bulls would be in a prime position to become a contender overnight.
Taj plays that way every game. He gets better every game. He is going to end up being a gem out of last year’s draft class. You can just look at him and tell he is going to work hard year in year out. Further reason to trade Tyrus and whoever (Kirk) for a top notch young big man.
The deal is freaking obvious.
Bulls send Kirk to the Wizards and Tyrus to the Rockets for Tracy McGrady (get over it blogger, it’s for half a damn season and mega cap relief).
The Wizards send Caron Butler to the Rockets and get Kirk Hinrich (and probably void Arenas’ contract).
The Rockets send McGrady to the Bulls and net two starters in Caron Butler and Tyrus Thomas.
DUH.
Andy W. — You’ll note that I am against the proposed McGrady deal if it involves Joakim Noah.
To my knowledge, no other trade possibilities with the Rockets have been discussed. Trade speculation is fun, but it’s ultimately meaningless because deals that seem like no-brainers to fans and experts rarely ever happen in the NBA. So while I’m all for cap relief, until I get even a whiff that the Rockets would be interested in a three-way trade like that, I’m only going to comment on the actual rumor going around.
And I stand by my original opinion: I would NOT give up Joakim Noah for McGrady’s expiring contract. No way, no how.
To be honest, I am against any T- Mac deal. I just don’t want him.
How does this trade sound?
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yh5ukfe
I know it’s not the best, but it’s my first try at the Trade Machine.
i agree matt there are not many players i would not trade drose and noah dont go anywhere deng yes ty thomas yes captin kirk yes salmons yes but please do not trad noah or d rose
Taj is a tough dude, he’ll make it through this.
I dnt wnt them to trade anyone for Tmac…..I luv all the bulls who are currently there. I think Tmac would mess up th lil bit of chemistry that the bulls have and will make them worst of then they already are!!!! So just leave Tmac alone plz!!!!
Taj has come out his rookie year and opened eyes all around the league with his play. He may be the bulls best on ball defender and with what he has shown already this year offensively, he may be a bull for a long time.
As for trade rumors, maybe i’m an idiot but i can’t help but laugh when i see things that trade away key components of our team, cross your fingers and MAYBE get one of the big free agents to come. As it is right now the bulls only have 38 million locked up for next year with contracts ending brad miller, jerome james, pargo, gray, hunter, thomas, and a player option for salmons. Saying that, there is 20 million approx. for spending in the offseason to go after somebody.
pargo, gray, and james(yet to play) are easily replaceable and salmons would be a fool to try the market for more money with his play so far. Miller should be able to be locked up for a small amount, especially because his minutes are down to just under 20 min/game. Hunter has been great for the locker room and doesn’t cost more than a million, leaving thomas which the bulls will know if they want to resign or not, if not trade him before the deadline for cap space and benchwarmers which then would give you the cushion for a push at the free agents and still protect yourself for next year if we don’t land anyone.
The bulls will be a very dangerous team if they play their cards right but you can’t dismantle the team and pray.
Finally, people keep thinking that mcgrady is the same guy he was 6 years ago…no proof. contracts alone makes a deal with any team almost impossible, let him finish off the contract and hit the free agent market. Seems like the rockets expect to get top talent for someone who hasn’t played much in how long.
let me know what you think.
All da Bulls gotta do is make the playoffs with their current team, do well and that should attract some good free agents.I think Lebron could land here if they don’t go to the championship.He would fit right in to our future dynasty.He has already petitioned for the retirement of ol’#23 around the league so he would have no prob changin #’s.The bulls need lebron , lebron needs the bulls!!