Sammy Sofa

Yeah, I know. I would be willing to take him, probably gives you a better shot this season, if Rose comes back, then take my chances he stays. Worst case scenario is he leaves and you're probably not much more than a .500ish team for a year, then it's 2014 anyway. And you've got the same situation, minus the option of keeping or trading Noah. I don't think there's even a chance; if they did it it would basically be with the idea he's only here a year. If Rose was healthy I'd be all for that.

I don't care how much of a homer he is; the man gets a lifetime pass a billion times over for FJM.com and P&R and for being Mose.

I was genuinely baffled for a solid minute as to why Melky was getting the ovation he did until I remembered he played there. I was very amused by the idea of a random contingent of rabid Melky Cabrera fans in KC.

Any trade idea for Howard no idea hinges more on Howard's opinions as opposed to what Orlando actually wants. He just doesn't want to be here.

Excellent points.

Pretty much. He's got a .262 BABIP working so far and his ERA is still 4.20 (FIP 4.43). And that is to go along with a 4.7 BB/9 rate. Not been that good. Aw, that's too bad. I hadn't been keeping track of how he was doing, but I remember seeing an update around the start of June where he had been doing pretty well.

OK, meph jr..

dexter has some weird notes or something. I mean, WEIRD NOTES.

Package them together and get nice value in return. It makes 100% sense. Depends on what's available; the odds of a player being available who is worth packaging both of them together sooner rather than later that the Bulls will have long term are very, very slim.

No kidding; this idea of bottoming out is beyond ridiculous and acts like Rose is crippled and everyone else on the team is useless.

My point is that back in 2002 when they were 6th in the Central division, 2003 when they finished 8th in the Central division, 2004/2005 they were first round exits, They made it to the second round of the playoffs in 2006, but DNQ in 2007. Then it was known that they lacked an inside presence but they sign Ben Wallace who everyone knew couldn't score and was undersized on the decline. My point is that this team in fact DID need a major shakeup and rebuilding phase because this team had been toiling for years in mediocrity without much in terms of trades and quality FA additions. No, stop, backtrack; you still haven't explained how you know they're worried about losing ticket sales due to rebuilding. Their ticket sales were great all of the years you listed, so why would they suddenly go south if they decided to "rebuild?" They were selling out when they sucked. I never thought nor said that they were 'worried about ticket sales.' My thought is that they WERE being overly conservative because they don't want to rock the boat and to disrupt their business from profiting. Fans have been selling out the stadium with some medicore middle of the pack teams. Now with the arrival of Rose, perhaps the pressure will finally rise. I'm going over the history of this franchise in the last 10 years and none of it really inspires confidence that they will do what is needed to field a powerhouse title contender to rival OKC or the Heat. Well, a team like the Heat didn't exist before, so looking for examples in the past of how they should or shouldn't approach such a team is faulty. Secondly, you don't have to be a "powerhouse;" trying be a "powerhouse" all but guarantees a very short shelf-life for your team with the way the finances are currently constructed in the NBA. Hell, I don't even know what you think a "powerhouse" is. Is OKC a powerhouse? Gonna have to disagree with that. Are the Heat a powerhouse? If so, how can you possibly expect them to model that type of team construction?

Because he only just recently started producing and there's zero reason to rush him.

My point is that back in 2002 when they were 6th in the Central division, 2003 when they finished 8th in the Central division, 2004/2005 they were first round exits, They made it to the second round of the playoffs in 2006, but DNQ in 2007. Then it was known that they lacked an inside presence but they sign Ben Wallace who everyone knew couldn't score and was undersized on the decline. My point is that this team in fact DID need a major shakeup and rebuilding phase because this team had been toiling for years in mediocrity without much in terms of trades and quality FA additions. No, stop, backtrack; you still haven't explained how you know they're worried about losing ticket sales due to rebuilding. Their ticket sales were great all of the years you listed, so why would they suddenly go south if they decided to "rebuild?" They were selling out when they sucked.

Two years. I'm just assuming at least one of Gibson or Deng will be gone.

Man, I really need to be grading papers.

I don't understand what your point is. They can sell the place out without putting much money or even effort into a competitive team, yet they do. They haven't needed major shakeups and changes because they've done a good job of putting out a competitive team the last few years, not because of some made-up concern about losing ticket sales.

I disagree with that and I think part of the reason that they've stood pat is because fans are filling the stadium and that we're still high over the MJ title runs. Business is good for Reinsdorf. What? They were still selling out even when the team sucked.

They refuse to completely rebuild because they haven't needed to completely rebuild. This is obviously circular, but "basketball hell" isn't the thing you think it is. The Bulls are in a good position in that they've constructed a well-rounded, competitive team that's one of the best in the NBA. There's a primo FA period coming up. Mirotic will probably be here in a couple years. Talking like they should or need to "rebuild" is an unrealistic expectation.

Yikes, 32k posts of elitist junk like this? It's not "elitist" to point out how obviously flawed your reasoning is. Not but it is to post a mock quotation of somebody else in a fake courtroom setting, straying off-topic to show the internets how you're the almighty king of all Chicago sports. It's not off topic. Stop complaining just because everyone disagrees with you.

I never said the last two seasons they have been 'toiling fruitlessly.' Read better plz. So what does this mean? That only applied to every year except the last two? Yes. Our discussion/debate was centered around their Bulls drafting in years past. My point is that they've played it too conservative for too long. ... You just said that the post that broke down how you're wrong was "the best one here." What players do you think they missed out on with their conservative drafting? Do you really expect them to regularly "tear down the team" to trade up their picks?

Yikes, 32k posts of elitist junk like this? It's not "elitist" to point out how obviously flawed your reasoning is.

I never said the last two seasons they have been 'toiling fruitlessly.' Read better plz. So what does this mean? That only applied to every year except the last two?

"So you're telling me that role player valued for his defense made the team a whole lot better OFFENSIVELY?!? CASE DISMISSED."

The results of the last two season are not "toiling fruitlessly." By your standards everyone except two teams every year "toil fruitlessly."

So they weren't actually a good team...only Rose was good and they tricked everyone to make it where they did? This is damn near gibberish. Wait...what? Don't get it twisted. Paxson did very little to make that team better in 2010. They still had the players in place before that season started and Rose covered up the huge hole of deficiencies on that team. *If this team was so great in 2011, the bulls should have gotten past the first round. With or without Rose they should have anyways. Yes, because the only issue was Rose going down. It's not like Noah and Deng were dealing with injuries, too. Noah went down at the end. I don't know about Deng, because every quote I read from him it goes along the lines of 'the injury didn't affect me because I got used to playing with it.' Despite, y'know, his numbers saying otherwise. Noah didn't just go down "at the end;" you're making it sound like he was injured in the final minutes of the last game.