Shockingly, Hughes not happy

Hughes needs to keep his comments to himself in this matter.

He has no leverage and is lucky that the Bulls aren't pulling a Stephon Marbury on him and just keep him inactive. And any team that he would be traded to would do the same thing to Larry, basically just berry him in the bench. Larry has been done for 5 years. He was lucky to sign that mega deal, which he'll be feasting on for the rest of his nearly done career.

I'm sure Larry will get plenty of burn playing on Jalen Rose' rec team.

When you trade away malcontents (Wallace) you tend to get malcontents in return.

What a train wreck this team (save for the their best player since Jordan) has become...

I like RogersPark Kris' idea of using the Marbury plan on Hughes. Hughes is a Marbury type player, me first. Similar to Ben Gordon also. With Gordon scoring well now is the time to trade him. The Bulls will not be a winner with Gordon the starting 2. He is a bad matchup against most playoff teams' 2. Rose looks awesome!!!! It's too bad Thomas and Noah look like such duds. What do they do in the off season, practice dunking? Neither has developed any type of offense at all.

Yes, well I'm not happy with Hughes either, I've been watching him play since he was at St. Louis. He is not a star in this league but was able to get an idiot GM to pay him like one on potential only. Now he is on a Bulls team with a clear Star on it (Rose) and is not able to accept his role, just like in Cleveland. Fact of the matter is we will have to deal with him until next year when his contract expires and he becomes valauable else where. Time for Paxson to blow this team up now, we have someone to build around, and he needs a post player to play with package anybody and get a deal done, then bild around what we have. I'm tired of watching Tyrus play like a out of control 7th grader, Noah totally self-checked, and Deng still unable to finish with his left-hand, although Gordon is strickly a scorer at least he does that well, still time for the bomb to drop in Chicago or Paxson will be the next G to lose his job in the league.

Now this is a guy that really really really needs to shut up! He wants minutes and thats good, but I think he wants them for selfish reasons. I wish we could Erob him.

While I was watching the pathetic performance by the Bulls in the 1st half last night, I noticed exactly why Hughes isn't getting that many minutes. On one particular play Hughes was being backed down in the post by Brandon Roy. As soon as Roy got deep enough in the paint, he made an average move to the center of the cup and made a lay-up. Sounds innocent enough right? Wrong....just as Roy went up for the shot Hughes moved completely out the way not even bothering to distract the shot. He could have put a body on Roy or attempt to block the shot. He also could have fouled Roy and make him earn the two points at the charity stripe. Instead his lackluster effort led to the easiest two points you will ever see. True the entire team played without passion and emotion for almost the whole game. But Hughes does that consistently, especially when his shots aren't falling.

NBA fever - catch it! Why would anyone waste their time, let alone money, watching this garbagolo. So now the bulls have one good player, showing how bad all the other old young bulls really are, and he is what 19 and a point guard. Now that is what I call a rebuilding project. Should only take about 3 more solid players and 4 or 5 more years. If, you can avoid any mis steps like signing Ben Wallace, which brings you players like Hughes when you have to dump them. Hard to rebuild a team when you are building around Eddie Robinson, Jalen Rose, Ben Wallace and Larry Hughes.

Rocco - thats called O-LAY Defense! And I agree 100%.

Garth - that last sentence is just jaw-dropping and humbling.

I guess I am just another typical die-hard Bulls fan. Jordan has hooked us all on Chicago-Crack.

Hughes for Curry....

I'd do the trade of Hughes for Curry in a second. Let's get Eddy back at least he won't cry about his minutes, and he can shoot better than 38%. I'll take a quiet thug over Hughes any day.

I watched that bull last night made me sick, O'lay larry's sorry ass straight to the bench and that goes for any player involved in 1
pass nshoot , no defense,playing and you upset about playing time?

Who does he thinks he is? He better not be taking minutes from Rose or Gordon.

The Bulls management needs to Marbury him, but instead of letting him sit on the bench, I'd send him home and let him think about some things. I personally see Hughes being a distraction this season and Rose and the team doesn't need that right now.

NY wouldn't do that trade, but I would sweeten the deal and move Huges in a heartbeat. I think he would love to go back to Washington for someone on their front line. Would be a GREAT time to send him back too. I would take any functional 7ftr for him, and be willing to eat some salary if need be.

Pax needs to move him...FAST. Play THABO. Don't be a fool Pax. Thabo is the future.

If Hughes for Curry is a reality...WTF? that shoulda been done last night.

We would go from The "Over-Guard-a-Bulls" to the "Make-a-Run-a-Bulls" in 2 seconds.

Garth did nail it. What a sad sad sad list of Characters...those 4 names could be on NBA Celebrity Personality Rehab w/ Dr.Drew.

You couldnt pick 4 bigger 'pouters, cry babys, snarly, bitter, piss poor communicators out of a Pool of Laid of Truck Drivers.

I hate Chicago Sports Management Today.

I really really Hate them.

I knew we shoulda cleared any Knicks trades with Keith....Obviously he is the heartbeat of NY, all trades must go through him first.

Well I refrained from any comment yesterday after being so disgusted the night before that I turned the game off about 4 minutes into the 3rd quarter. I could have accepted a 40 point blow-out by the Lakers or Boston or Cleveland but Portland??? Then last night they beat GS who beat Portland. There's no need for me to say anything else about Hughes cause it's pretty much all been said already. Also I'd much rather point out how impressed I've been with Derrick Rose. For all those that said he lacked a jump shot, he has been rather impressive with it to this point. What impresses me most though is he doesn't ever seem to get rattled. He's like an assasin with ice water in his veins. Looks like there's a new Batman in town, now to locate a Robin and a Rodman!

Culzie I'm actually a bit suprised Keith hasn't commented on the Knick's trading Crawford to GS. But maybe he's a bit subdued about the Knicks cause Zeke has faded into obscurity.

YOU FORGOT ABOUT ZACH RANDOLPH...
Zach Randolph Traded to L.A. for ... (Crickets) - NBA FanHouse
Nov 21, 2008 ... NBA FanHouse has the internet's top basketball bloggers providing the latest news and analysis on the day's hottest happenings on the ...
nba.fanhouse.com/2008/11/21/zach-randolph-sent-to-l-a-for-crickets/ - 72k

My bad culzie you're right I forgot about Keith's love affair with Randolph last season. But ya still got to love him cause he's always passionate with his posts regardless of how mis-guided that passion is, after all he is a Sox fan!

Crackin up Tim...crackin upp! NY is playing better ball, just like the Bulls. They are clearing cap space and that is just smart. They are going after LaBron and Bosh who are rumored to join force and seek a championship. Pax needs to get his antenna up!

Zeke has failed as a Coach and GM. I just have to admit that. I still support the home town guy. I have no problem admitting that I was just wrong. I stick to my guns win or lose.

Vinny needs to listen to Johnny Gill's Boys to Men because "growing up can be a pain". They let that game slip away last night. They had it in their hands. Gray need to play with Rose more. We are going to have to put him and Tyrus and Thabo out there on the floor and let them grow together. Hughes was quite serviceable, but he is not the future.

Bosh/King James/Santa/Elvis and Fairy Princess

Culzie the Easter Bunny is replacing Fairy Princess because of a much better vertical leap and Fairy Princess will perform during time outs.
Keith my man I give you all the credit it the world for stickin to your guns. you're like the captian that goes down with his ship, Davy Crockett goin down with the Alamo, which makes me wonder why you're not a Cub fan LMAO.
I agree Keith Gray needs a little more time on the floor and I"m still wondering what happened the last 5 minutes of Sunday's game. On th e bright side they bounced back last nighteven in the face of all the steals Utah came up with and Rose is quickly proving worthy of the first overall pick. Although Hughes did hit the buzzer beater I think he's still taking too many early long shots and Gordon is still on occassion dribbling too much. Noah and Noce need to quit complaining about fouls called and play the game. I can see Noah replacing Rasheed Wallace as the Tech foul king if he doesn't chill out a bit.

Was that a Chicago Bulls' playing shooting one in as the clock showed zero's across the board last night? Derrick Rose, my apologies man. I thought we should have taken the big guy, but your playmaking skills and energy has made other players ratched up their game.

Even the big men, was running the court, blocking shots, rebounding and actually scoring points. Pretty good game last night. Was that really Larry Hughes who hit the game-winning last second shot? I guess at least ONE BIG MOUTHED POSTER around here will quit whining for a few games about the man wanting to play!

Notice your whiny butt didn't give him any props today, you crybaby!

Bulls Fan - Glad you are big enough to admit you were WRONG about Rose. NICE of you to give HIM some "props". I wonder what changed your mind??? lol.

Larry Hughes is still capable of hitting a big shot. And at 6'8 he is the right size and should be flourishing with the Bulls - but he is not. And the reason is ATTITUDE. The reality is he is simply not the future with this team. Sure he is wide open, especially with Rose and Gordon on the floor (sucking in the defense trying to get to the basket). But this guy is not going to take a back seat on offense simply because he believes HE should be the number one option. He is a legend in his own mind. At least Gordon, who draws double and triple teams - has EARNED the right to shoot. Out of the 3, I wonder which one drives to the rim the most??? The 6'2 guy, the 6'3 guy, or the 6'8 guy??? Larry could shut up and be a professional like Lindsy Hunter, but he won't. And he will continue to look for his SHOT's - (not DUNKs). Until he, Deng, Thomas, and Thabo all figure that out...they will be of little use - unless they play stellar defense. And only Thomas and Thabo are willing to do that (even though the other two have the height advantage).

And while I am at it - TIM you are absolutely right about Gordon. Teams have scouted him well and that dribbling at the top of the key has been his kryptonite. He has to learn to stop trying to outshine ROSE and actually support the man. ROSE is a bonefide star that compliments his game. They both actually compliment eachother. And I know it can work. Gordon has to recognize Rose as the MAN and get in position to shoot. In this respect all he needs to really do is watch Hughes who has lived off the likes of Arenas, Labron and Rose like a cancerous tumor. CANCER to all until he changes that attitude. I HOPE I am wrong about Hughes. He could put the Bulls in the playoffs, if he could check himself.

Keith - Hughes is not 6'8"...6'4 or 5 I would guess.

I do agree with you on Gordon who seems to want to dribble more when paired with Rose. They have to trade Gordon since he's their most marketable guy. Stick it out with Hughes and trade him during his out year with the hope of overpaying for Bosh maybe. Rose is even better than I'd thought he'd be...pair him up in 2 years with Bosh as the #2 and Deng as the #3 guy and who knows.

Finally...I really don't get this NY is the mecca of basketball thing regarding Lebron. I know their crowds are probably the most knowledgeable about the game having been to a handful at MSG, but we're talking about the Knicks.

Larry Hughes isn’t the problem with this team. The team is doing just fine right now as they “rebuild” under the leadership of Derrick Rose, something that the Bulls’ management and coaching staff refuse to admit to the media and to the fans. This is pretty much what I expected, an up and down season. The only real surprise is how Rose’s outside mid-range shot has developed much quicker than I expected. You can’t trade Hughes because no one will take his contract. It seems to me that a 3-guard attack of Hughes, Gordon and Rose is working for now. The problem is and will always be until they can draft one, is a legitimate low post scorer and rebounder. Eventually this will all go back to John Paxson soon enough for missing out on many good recent draft picks. Outside of Derrick Rose, who was the product of extremely lucky ping pong lottery balls, Paxson’s other recent draft picks and free agent acquisitions have not taken this team over the hump.

This time, I won’t even bother with Deng’s overpaid contract and Ben Gordon’s size and defense deficiencies. Let’s turn the page back with John Paxson’s misses since 2006:

1. Tyrus Thomas – no need to go into details as most Bulls fans already know that Aldridge is the better NBA player right now while TT is still trying figure out the NBA game.

2. Thabo Sefalosha – development continues to go slowly with this guy. Paxson even traded UP in the first round to draft Thabo and missed out on better defensive guards drafted after Thabo who are now key starters with their teams, Ronnie Brewer and Rajon Rondo.

3. Pau Gasol non-trade – yeah, I’ve heard it before, he’s soft, he’s thin, he’s overrated, he can’t play D… well, he sure can play the high and low post and he helped the Lakers reach the NBA Finals last year WITHOUT Andrew Bynum. He was the perfect fit for our outside jump shooting team but Paxson wouldn’t trade Luol Deng for him. We didn’t exactly miss Deng in the Golden St. and Utah road victories, did we?

4. Joakim Noah – had a nice rookie season, but has appeared to regress this season. Is he even 100% healthy? Why is his conditioning still a problem 1 month into the season? Spencer Hawes of the Kings, selected in the 2007 draft right after Noah, is already playing and scoring in the post better than Noah.

5. Aaron Gray – the forever 2nd string NBA Center. Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies is already a full time starter and was selected in the 2007 draft 1 pick ahead of Gray, but there were no indications that the Bulls were interested in Pau’s little brother. Also, Ramon Sessions of the Bucks, starting PG, was selected after Gray in this draft.

6. Ben Wallace – the cancer of the team last year who lost his passion to play once he received his big contract. Enough said.

7. Firing Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve – justified or not whether fans liked him or not, this set the tone for the Bulls’ core players last year to tank the rest of the regular season.

8. Vinny Del Negro – the jury is still out on Vinny, but the new coaching staff is promising, I'll give Paxson that. However, Paxson showed his true colors as Reinsdorf’s obvious lap dog in the entire coach searching process involving D’Antoni and Doug Collins. That was a mess and was embarrassing.

For the record, I was a Paxson fan the first few years as GM when he was hired by the Bulls, but the last 2 years of blunder decisions or non-decisions have made me put him on the hot seat. In less than 2 years, the team has gone from playoff contenders to an average mediocre team afraid to admit that they’re rebuilding; are still not developing their youngest draft picks properly; and are now trying to rush Rose’s development to get them back into the playoffs again and cover up their recent mistakes. To me, that’s not progress. I actually like Hughes and Gooden on the team right now, but there is no long term future for them here so what’s the point? If they’re a rebuilding team, then act like it and throw Noah and TT into the fire for more playing minutes until they can fully conclude that they cannot get better on this team. My 10 cents worth…

Roman responds: I like the fact you didn't say it was your two cents worth. Wow is that long.

Larry Hughes is a 10 yr vet, if he hasn't learned his role by now, he never will. He has talent but he is a bullhog who thinks too much off himself and would rather shoot off balance contested 20 footers than drive to the basket.

I wanted Hawes over Noah too, Hawes has a solid game. Noah is nothing more than a glorified energy player like Varejao but at least Varejao stays in shape and doesn't get pushed around.

Tyrus is still an enigma. He needs 25-30 a game even if he's struggling just to see what we have. Gooden shouldn't be in the long term plans. A 6'10 250 PF who plays super subpar defense and would rather shoots 20 footers than bang in the post....no thanks. There's a reason why he has been on over 4 teams in 6 years.

Hughes's contract will be super valuable in 2010 when it expires so there's no need to trade him. Ben should go because he obviously refuses to play second fiddle to Rose. Notice how he wants to bring it up the floor and do all the And1 crossover one on one stuff until he runs into a double team and falls down or dribbles the clock away until it's at 2 seconds and he's forced to shoot a terrible shot. He has value as a scorer so we need to move him now before we lose him for nothing.

Noce needs to go. He is scrappy but not tough. We need a real tough guy enforcer like a Charles Oakley, not some scrappy annoying dude that chucks ill-advised 3s and he is so slow that everyone he guards blows right by him. People really build that guy up too much.

I'm not even gonna start with Deng, he isn't a 3rd option for a championship caliber team. No killer instinct.

Also I hope we go for Bosh or Stoudamire instead of Wade. Both of them are younger and bigger. Plus Wade and Rose's game are too similar, it would be redundant to have both.

Edgar good stuff. Paxson has made some bad moves, but he is new to the game. No one is hoops thought the pickup of Ben Wallace was a bad move. I am just happy that he had the head and shoulders to pick ROSE instead of Beasley. Think about how many sleepless nights went into that decision especially considering the Bulls record and how badly we have needed a post player. Bulls were stockpiled with guards but Paxson made the RIGHT choice. Pax is to be commended for that.

I agree about Hughes. If we are going to be competitive in the playoffs we need veterans and NOCH. DENG was actually the trade bait, but no longer. Couldn't get a McCain/Palin tee-shirt for him now. I like Bosh and Stoudamire, but if we ever get close to having Dwayne Wade without losing Rose, we should move whoever we need to to get that done. Wade and Rose would be the 1-2 punch that would put us in the conference finals for the next 10 years.

Rose is only going to make the rest of the Bulls team better. Those that are willing to WORK with the man. Word is spreading quickly across the league and soon teams are going to devise defensive schemes to attack him. It will all depend on who is willing to be in position to benefit. So far - only Noch, Gordon and the allways opportunistic Hughes have put themselves in position as a floor option. They are somehow always in a comfortable place to receive the ball and Rose is finding them. Everyone can benefit, especially Thomas and Gray.

Wade will be 28 in 2010, not terribly old but considering his injury history...kinda risky. Both Bosh and Stoudamire will only be 26 and we don't need more backcourt help, we need help inside. I like Wade but his game is identical to Rose's. So why have two of the same player. Wouldn't a Rose/Bosh or Rose/Stoudamire pick and roll combo be unstoppable?

Plus Wade needs the ball at all times in his hands so I don't know if him and Rose would work well together.

C Smoove, I see your point about similar games, but Wade is a natural 2 guard and Rose is a one. I would welcome any other star in the league except another point guard. But make no bones about it - WADE is a SUPER star that outshines mere stars on the big stage. You only take Labron over Wade. In fact, there are not many I would take over Wade. Might be about 4 people.

Hey Roman, sorry my man, but you HAVE to get another Bulls post up. Not my fault - blame Derrick Rose for what I am calling the Block, Rock and Drop game! He BLOCKED Miller's shot like Scottie (hunted him down like a cheetah), ROCKED Miller with a crossover so wicked I know he went to northwestern for a broken ankle, and closed out the trifecta by DROPping off the Sixers by catching a one-handed alley-oop in Vincelike fashion from Ben Gordon on the break! Miller has been all over ESPN and YouTube. Rose is rookie of the week.

Block Rock and Drop....Sounds like a hiphop song!

Roman responds: Keith, it's been up since 9 a.m.