[SourPatchKidsParticipant]

5 Reasons Why:

Re-signed Thibs to a long-tern deal

A Future 1st round Pick from the Charlotte Bobcats (Unprotected completely in 2016)

Nikola Mirotic

Cap Space

Healthy Derrick Rose

And the present isn’t so bad either, The Bulls even without Rose should be in the thick of the race in the East and could still finish with a Top Seed and then have a Healthy D-Rose in the playoffs.

[omphalosParticipant]

 That Charlotte pick could be unprotected one year too late, in four years they’ll be in the playoffs and the pick will have lost most of its value, similar to the unprotected 1st round pick the Hornets received in the Chris Paul trade, it came in a year when the Timberwolves were gearing up for a playoff run and as a consequence they only garnered a top-10 pick. Besides, in 2016 Rose will be 28 years old, unless that’s one hell of a rookie he won’t be at full effectiveness for too much of Rose’s peak years. 

I don’t think they can afford to wait until Mirotic and the 2016 pick come good if they want to take full advantage of Rose’s prime. It’s great that Thibs is winning with a relatively average lineup outside of Rose, but Mike Brown was winning heaps of regular season games with Lebron and miscellaneous role players too, and we all know how that ended up. The situations are pretty damn similar, except that Chicago is a place free agents will come to, so their best bet of getting the most out of the Rose era is clearing enough cap space to take a run at a top free agent to pair with Rose in Chicago.

So no, I wouldn’t say they have a bright future unless you’re talking purely regular season success.

[AccountCanBeDeletedParticipant]

The Charlotte pick is a good assest for the Bulls to have, but we really shouldn’t be discussing it until maybe 2-3 years down the road. What will happen in 3-4 years with the Bobcats is anyones guess. Playoff contendors or still worst team in the nba? I wouldn’t bet my money on either, as anything could happen in that time.

Yes Rose would be 28 which is suppose to be around the age when a players is at his prime, but you never know what rookie you’re going to get. If they’re lucky they can get one who can quickly establish himself or if not we can always end up trading him for a solid player to a re-builder if they wanted to win now. Really depends what they get, but like I said no point discussing it.

I do agree they shouldn’t wait till 2016, but I also don’t expect them to wait until 2016. The Bulls will always be right up there fighting to be the East Champs/Nba Champs with Tibs at the helm. Mirotic I think was 2014 when he probably would come over, when his contract has that low buyout. But in general Deng/Noah/Boozer/Rip contracts all finish before 2016 I think anyways, so they obviously are going to make key moves for the franchise before they even get that pick. Also, even with the core we have now don’t be suprised if we end up right at the top and make noise come playoff time if a healthy Rose comes back.

Ever see the Cav’s play the Bulls kind of D? Seriously though comparing what Mike Brown did to what Thibs has done makes me laugh. The reason the Cav’s won that many games is very different to why the Bulls have won as much as they have.

I agree the best bet is to get a good free agent to go with Rose. However, we saw with Lebron/Wade/Bosh anything can happen and that can leave with you players like Boozer. Hopefully though next time around we can get some free agents from the 08 draft class, who would actually wants to play with him.

So you know it’s really which way you look at it, I still think that anything is possible down the line. Bulls could get very lucky in the draft, but even if they don’t hopefully they would have done well in free agency. But trying to discuss picks in 2016 and how they’ll effect a team is a bit silly.

[eazy_peachesParticipant]

 I agree about defense being the key difference between the build of the Lebron led Cavs and the current Bulls. And it is hard to predict how valuable the Bobcats 2016 pick will be. It could go either way, or end up in the middle. Who knows.

That being said, the NBA prime years tend to be in the 24-28 year range. Not that players cannot be great into their 30’s. But some athleticism tends to slip a little by around 30.

And I agree with omphalos that the best bet is to address their current cap situation (lets be real, most of us are talking about amnestying Boozer when we say this) and make a key move to replace him sooner rather than later. But again, it’s just opinion.

I think it will be difficult for the Bulls to contend this season, even if Rose returns healthy for the playoffs. Missing most or all of a regular season will mean that Rose will likely not be at top form. Next year is another story. Particularly is Rose comes back as the same player. And until he doesn’t, there’s no need to assume that he wont.

[omphalosParticipant]

 I’m not saying that Charlotte will definitely be in the playoffs, but they have some good young pieces now, a new coach and a GM who knows what he is doing in Rich Cho.

As far as comparing Thibs to Brown, that isn’t actually what I was doing, I was comparing Lebron’s Cavs to Rose’s Bulls. But while we’re on the subject, I’ll explain the similarity further. Lebron’s Cavs teams were in fact excellent defensive teams under Mike Brown, this allowed them to get amazing regular season records despite lacklustre supporting cast members, but left them poorly prepared for a seven game series where you need to be able to score in the half-court more effectively. Similarly, the Bulls under Thibs have been amazing defensively and this has masked the lack of talent on their roster and left them poorly equipped for post-season success. Like Lebron’s Cavs, the Bulls’ only chance of improving is through free agency or a trade, because with Thibs at the helm their defensive play will keep them near the top of the standings and they only have one player on the roster who can still improve significantly and that is Derrick Rose.

As far as the Thibs and Mike Brown comparison goes, they are both coaches who preach defense as the key to winning, and obviously Thibs is a far superior coach because he was able to secure a great record with Rose missing chunks of time whereas Brown always had a healthy Lebron.

However, either way, none of the reasons listed are indicators that the Bulls have a "VERY bright future" or even a "bright future". If the Bulls have a "VERY bright future" what do the Thunder have? It’s not all doom and gloom, but if I were to look at teams which have huge upside and a big future I’d put at least half-a-dozen in front of the Bulls.

[PabloFiascoParticipant]

The Hornets getting the T-Wolves Top 10 pick was better than not having anything at all. And considering how deep draftable talent is nowadays that’s a really good pick to have. That Charlotte pick will be good for a long time. Nothing indicates they’ll be a playoff team in 4years, they’re like the Warriors of the south. Teams typically won’t decide when they’ll utilize a protected pick until they see how deep the draft will be

[capecodderParticipant]

 Agree about the Charlotte pick being good for a long time as long as Jordan is involved….great player, poor post career

[druneave3Participant]

 That is a pretty bold statment guaranteeing that the Bobcats will be in the playoffs in 4 years. Especially with their draft history (Felton, May, Augustin, Walker, Biyombo, Henderson, and Adam Morrison) and MJ at the helm. I just hope they don’t land Wiggins.

 I agree that 2016 is too late for Mirotic and the Charlotte pick to take advantage of Rose’s prime. I’ve been saying they have to move that pick, or both, to bring in assests that can help them win now. But I think Mirotic will be coming over in 2014 when they amnesty Boozer and hopefully can land a prime FA. 

Even though I wanted to move that Charlotte pick to bring in someone to help them win now, it won’t be that if they wait it out. If Charlotte continues to repeat history and suck there are possibly some really good players in the 2016 draft- Dakri Johnson, Malik Newman, Leron Black, and Carl Towns Jr. Rose will be 28, Deng, Noah, and Taj will all be 31. Despite the fact that Deng and Noah’s contracts will be up I feel like they will be Bulls for life. So adding a talented rookie to veteran team with Deng, Noah, Gibson, Mirotic, Jimmy Butler (my guy!) and Rose in his prime will be great, especially if by that time OKC (wishful thinking) and Miami are not the teams they are now. It’s too bad I can’t add Marquis Teague to that list. I was so angry when they drafted him. He won’t be in the league for long. I wanted Will Barton or Festus Ezeli. 

 Also, don’t even mention Mike Bown and Tom Thibodeau in the same sentence! And I think Deng and Noah are far from average role players like that of LeBron’s Cavs. 

[omphalosParticipant]

You can question their draft history, but Rich Cho has made good moves and he’s the man in charge now. Henderson I actually really like as a prototypical SG and if he hadn’t battled injury in his young career he would get a lot more credit, watch Gerald play or check out a few highlights and you’ll see he’s actually a very good player for where he was drafted. While I was down on Biyombo at first at the very least he has the makings of being a difference maker at the defensive end which isn’t anything to sneeze at. Walker is still a bit iffy, but with a full training camp and a new coach I think he’ll be better this season.

The Bobcats aren’t quite as futile as people are making them out to be, they made a deliberate decision to bomb and rebuild from the bottom, with MJ taking a step back and letting Rich Cho (who is almost universally well-regarded) handle it. They were in the playoffs a couple of years back, and in four years if they land another top 5 pick this season and draft well I would have no problems putting them in the playoff picture, or at the very least out of the top 10 in the draft by 2016 where the real value comes.

I agree that they whiffed taking Teague instead of Will Barton, Barton is one of my favourite players and I think he’s going to be an absolute steal for the Blazers, but as much as I love Deng and Noah, neither of them are the sort of electric scorer you need to be a second option, they are both excellent pieces but you need a running mate for Rose for their full value to become apparent.

Oh and one more time, I never said that Thibs was on a similar level to Mike Brown, because I agree with most people who think Mike Brown’s best asset is his similarity to Grimace from McDonald’s. All I said was that their teams were similar and that they both got similar results in a similar way – i.e. defense first, letting their star do his thing offensively.

[the I in winParticipant]

Im sure the protection on that pick gets smaller every year, it may be lotto protected now but by 2014 it could be only top 8 protected and the bobcats could, maybe, be the 21st best team by then.

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Re-signed Thibs to a long-tern deal

He probably needs an offensive coordinator. He coaches one side of the ball, but they looked clueless offensively in the past two postseasons when Derrick was either taken out of the game by LeBron or hurt. This preseason, their best second unit sets are coming when they run through Nazr Mohammed. Some more organization on that side of the ball is needed. Their second five looks more or less good defensively, but they are beyond lost offensively. It is easy to coach an offense with Derrick Rose, but now he needs to earn his money by coaching both ends of the court.

A Future 1st round Pick from the Charlotte Bobcats (Unprotected completely in 2016)

The Charlotte pick could be fruitful, but the theory of the pick might be greater than its real worth. Let’s assume the Bobcats have another top four pick in 2013. It is hard to be truly awful in the NBA for too long. It is easy to be 30-35 wins annually, but it is hard to lose like the Bobcats did for that long. It is likely that they go into 2013-14 with a decent chance of being better than awful. It is only top 10 protected in 2014 and top 8 in 2015. If the Bulls come away with the 11th pick in 2014 or the 9th pick in 2015, history would lean that they will not be looking at franchise players. They might be better off moving it in a package next summer to get help sooner. 

Nikola Mirotic

He is a nice shooter already, but he is on the soft side. I can see him being used comparably to Luol Deng on offense (long 2s, 3s in the corner, and the occasional drive off a curl or post up), but he won’t be near the player of Deng is defensively.

Cap Space

Please stop with "the Bulls will have cap room." No. Rose is in the first year of a $90 million contract. Noah has $48 million remaining over four years. Deng and Kirk Hinrich have deals for this year and another on their contracts. Even if they decline Richard Hamilton’s option ($1 million buyout), and if they use the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer (eating up to $32 million in the process), then they are still looking at $49 million for Rose, Deng, Noah, Hamilton’s buy out, Hinrich, Jimmy Butler, and Marquis Teague. On top of that, Taj Gibson will likely be a restricted free agent, so he will carry a $5 million+ cap hold (provided he isn’t extended prior to 10/31).  They also carry a cap hold for Nikola Mirotic of a little more than $1 million. They can’t have cap room in 2013. The only way they can have it in 2014 is if they let Taj walk, renounce Deng and Hinirch after their current deals expires, amnesty Boozer, and make no other multi-year free agent deals next summer. This means they go into the summer of 2014 with Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, (presumably they’ll pick up the rookie option) Jimmy Butler, (likewise presumably) Marquis Teague, their draft picks for this year and next, and probably north of $20 million in cap room (depends on whether the cap grows and the salaries of their picks for the next two years).

Now, this doesn’t mean they cannot improve themselves. Taj Gibson is going to get overpaid (just look at the Ibaka and Asik alabatross deals). He is a very nice defensive player, but they can’t have $20 million per wrapped up in a pair of front court players no team worries about guarding outside the paint if they want to win a title. The Bulls would be wise to look into a sign-and-trade. If they look at him as an asset, they could eventually put together a couple nice deals with the Charlotte pick, their 2013 pick, and maybe Marquis Teague can perform well when they inevitably send him to the NBDL this year so that they can get something out of him.

Healthy Derrick Rose

One can only hope he stays that way once he returns.

[HitsterParticipant]

The Bulls should hopefully have at least another decade of Derrick Rose but would hope to continue to make a run with the current line up over the next few years. So I wonder if they may look to package the pick from Charlotte sooner rather than later, some team would take a gamble it would be a plumb pick I bet and with Rip Hamilton having a $5 million team option for next year then you have the makings of a very nice trade package immediately.

[Author]

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