Bulls in '08

[Dave23]

.

[Phill23]

Running with the Bulls: One for the Message Boards[/b]

By Joel "Brigs" Brigham

Sep 2, 2006, 14:56


You know NBA news is slow when the prime discussions going on at Bulls message boards circle around Benny the Bull’s dropped misdemeanor charges and the rousing debate surrounding the expected productivity of Chicago newbies Viktor Khryapa and Martynas Andriuskevicius.

But that’s the beauty of this part of the offseason, the lazy eye creating a lull in the NBA media storm that will undoubtedly resurface in just a few weeks—true fans don’t miss a beat. So when headlines of the “Bulls Sign Ben Wallace” ilk simply don’t occur for months at a time, message boarders whittle away their time making delightfully unimportant things important.

Which is exactly what I’m about to do, for all those persistently loyal professional basketball fans out there.

Most of the moves have already been made this summer, and few can argue that the Bulls aren’t a better team than they were last year, at least on paper. But even after the flood of new blood brought in by Bulls GM John Paxson, only 14 of the 15 roster spots on his team have been filled.

That means we should expect one more as-of-yet-unknown guy to dress up in red and black next year.

The smart money is on Luke Schenscher, the Georgia Tech alum who played 20 games for the Bulls last year as a desperate attempt to add some midseason size to a frontline thinner than Lara Flynn Boyle. He wasn’t horrible; in 7.5 minutes per contest he put up almost two points and 1.5 rebounds on average. His per-48 minutes stats aren’t bad (12.8 points, 9.6 boards), and Paxson has gone on record as saying that he hasn’t ruled out re-signing the 7’1” center. But in facing the facts, it’s hard to believe that he was anything more than a “Shaq-Fouler” in last year’s playoffs, and Paxson has since signed more than enough size to do more than foul in defending the league’s centers.

Another option is second-year guard Aaron Miles, who played 19 games for Golden Sate last season, but who strung together some very nice games at point guard for the Bulls’ summer league team. Miles, a University of Kansas graduate and former teammate of Bulls floor general Kirk Hinrich, would be interesting in part because he may deserve the spot, but more so because of his chemistry and history with an existing team star.

But we’re talking about the 15th spot on an NBA roster, here. Who exactly should we expect to get, Toni Kukoc?

Actually…

That’s a possibility according to Chicago’s Daily Herald, which reported earlier this week that Kukoc was interested in suiting up one more year in the NBA. As to which team he wanted to play for, he’s basically limited it to the Bulls and the Bucks, neither of whom should expect big minutes or statistics from the Croatian Sensation.

Kukoc’s numbers have been on a steady decline the last three or four years, and the Bulls are pretty stacked at the forward positions, but bringing in Kukoc does two things for this team:

1. He acts as a mentor to the many, many young players still on this roster, and

2. He brings with him a little nostalgia as the last active piece from the “Golden Years” of the Chicago Bulls.

Do either of these things warrant him the roster spot over someone like Schenscher, who did show some improvement over his short tenure with the team last year, and with whom the team did invest a surprisingly affable amount of developmental playing time through the playoff push at the end of last season?

Do the Bulls go with a young, 7-foot-plus project (name one team with “too much” size), or do they run with the past, bringing smiles to the faces of nostalgic Bulls fans dying for some sort of bridge between the old glory days and the brink of what appears to be a string of new ones?

This writer can’t decide, but he’s pretty sure there’s a message board somewhere that could sure use a good discussion topic…

[Phill23]

Blazers offer Outlaw to Bulls

The Portland Trail Blazers are in an intense search to find a point guard, and they’re interested in one on the Chicago Bulls. The Blazers have offered Forward Travis Outlaw and Center Joel Przybilla to Bulls in exchange for Kirk Hinrich and possibly a future draft pick.

The Bulls are mildly interested in the deal, but are still reluctant to trade Hinrich. The Bulls are trying to see if the Blazers have any interest in Ben Gordon instead, that of course if Gordon is interested in accepting a deal to go to the Blazers. Outlaw, a five year veteran, averaged 13.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. Przybilla, an eight year veteran, averaged 4.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season.

[Phill23]

Bulls should sweep the Pacers with no problems.