Bulls get good grades for Miller, Salmons trade

I haven't commented much on the trades so far because I'm waiting until the deadline passes. As of now though, so far so good, but we still need to dump the Hinrich and Hughes salaries and then we'll be in really good position for the future. I never thought Amare was coming here because money is always a factor with Reinsdorf. I keep saying this, but the Reinsdorf supporters out there always want to defend the tool. You'll never see a $20+ million/year superstar ever play for the Bulls while JR is around. Never.

Roman responds: There's talk now that Hughes may be headed to Knicks for Tim Thomas and Jerome James.

Other than dumping Hughes' salary and the fact that Skiles is gone waht is the upside of aquiring Tim Thomas again?

Clearing cap room for something that might happen in a year and a half is just not that exciting to me and we have seen a lot of bad basketball here for some time now.
It is hard to believe that this plan will all come together when you look at the man pulling the strings.
Like the other Jerry in town, Reinsdorf likes to play us for fools and expect you to fall in love with a watered down product year after year.
Look at how he stepped in and botched the coaching hire that ended with Vinny being given the job. (I will defend Pax on that one because I believe that his hands were tied)
He got a guy on the cheap who would be gratful to him for giving him a position that he had no business getting.
That is classic Reinsdorf.
Middle of the road, luke warm dishwater, I don't like spices in my chili management.
It has been years since the Bulls were a power in the NBA and it seems that they want you to wait another 10 or until Rose plays out his contract.

Why are so many fans here complacent with the teams being just .500 and so boring to watch?

This is a "big picture" trade. You have to consider finances, the 2010 free agent explosion, etc.

It is also the kind of trade that requires a follow-up trade. It is then (hopefully there will be a "then") when we can fairly assess this trade. My sense is that is that it has the potential to become a far better move than it may seem at the moment. Certainly, there's no glamour in this trade. However, it could set up glamour later!

Pax did good. Hughes is gone and that was good. We at least got bigger. Thomas and James can play. Better than having Hughes. Got a lot of forwards and Centers now.

Edgar - that is a sad and sobering post. Say it aint so!

Tim - I think Thomas is going to help Vinny. I think it was Skiles. Lets hope I am right. lol. Thomas is a fickle player.

"The Daily Herald's Mike McGraw writes that another trade could determine Ben Gordon's future with the Bulls."

Playing better defense is #1 on the list of the things the Bulls need to do to be a contender. Getting 20 and giving up 24 at the #2 is not part of that solution. By not giving Gordon a deal like Dengs, they've already communicated to Gordon what their plans are.

I like both trades that Pax made. The Bulls are better both from a basketball perspective and financially.

Thank GAWD Hughes is gone - and he'll fit right in with the Knicks. He's in the Marburry/Jamal Crawford/Jalen Rose mold. And Keith is right- it was *all* Skiles when Thomas was here before. After the Bulls bought him out, he was a pretty good contributor for a good Suns team.

Lastly - why does everyone continue to label Reinsdorf as cheap??? Remember, Jordan made $30M+ his last 2 years as a Bull - still the highest individual season contracts in any pro sport (and deservedly so). Durring the end of the dynasty, the Bulls were consistently over the luxury tax threshold, and even in the years since, they have paid guys well (often overpaying). And the Sox have been in the top 5 in MLB salaries for the last 3-4 seasons. Plus, he's the ONLY owner in town to bring us championships in the last 23 years!

Joe Cowley ran a good column on this topic a couple weeks back:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1408639,CST-SPT-joe02.article

SoxFan Ethan - I extremely hopeful info on J.R. Ominous initials! LOL! And thanks for the link.

I believe Vinny may have had a hand in Pax bringing Thomas back. I hope Vinny can reach him. If so, the Bulls might surprise somebody in the first round and get on the map in the 2010 sweepstakes. That is when we will really need J.R. to step up.

Ethan...he paid Jordan that much because there was no other choice. MJ was the (cue the marquis) GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER IN HISTORY! You simply dont pay on the cheap if you have someone like that on your team.

One thing about being a basketball junkie is you tend to notice all the little things happening on the court, and in the past I had Tim Thomas labeled as one of the dirtiest players in basketball. Hopefully he's calmed down a bit, but ain't nothing wrong with a little mean streak in a physical, mans' game. As for James, he can battle Colon at the buffet line all he wants. What a waste of a 7 footer. This guy could be dangerous, but chooses to be the lackadaisical, where's my check, tumor that has flourished in the N.B.A. of late. An achilles putting down an achilles. How ironic. I'll take Roberson over him. Basically a Tim Thomas for Hughes trade.

Our talent level may have gotten a little more versatile, it's the chemistry I'll wait to see?

Don't put those chemotherapy machines away just yet. Hughes may just have been keeping them warm for his replacements.

SoxFan, you really should just stick to baseball because the discussion about Reinsdorf is not about how he runs the White Sox, but how he runs the Bulls. By your logic and argument about Reinsdorf paying Jordan, you’re saying that he will only reward big fat contracts to homegrown players AFTER winning 6 Championships! Is that his only criteria for paying a guy then? Besides, other than Jordan… for that matter, other than that Championship era, where has he gone out and shelled the big bucks to an NBA free agent? Ok, you can bring up Ben Wallace, but even his contract is nowhere near as big as what Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant or what Dwayne Wade will command when they file for free agency. I don’t care about the money he spends with the White Sox. It’s been no secret that he has more a passion for baseball than basketball, so I don’t wanna hear those comparisons! So sorry to say, when it comes to the Bulls, Reinsdorf will NEVER sign a top tier free agent like a Kobe, Amare, Bosh or LeBron. Maybe we’ll have luck signing Wade with a “hometown discount” + the endorsements coming from a big market city, but he’s about the only big name superstar that we may have a chance on. And if by chance, the Bulls do sign someone like Wade, then that’s about all they’ll be able to afford and just find other “John Salmon bargain pieces” to fit around Wade and Rose. Coming from a big market city like this with escalating ticket prices every year (I know, because I was a former 9-year season ticket holder), this is just not the way to construct an NBA Championship team. Either you spend big on the stars and pay a little of the luxury tax penalty or you get lucky on your homegrown draft picks. Reinsdorf got lucky with Jordan falling on his lap in the 1984 draft and successfully building a great team around a legend, but life in the NBA is not the same when you don’t have a Jordan around anymore. When I say that Reinsdorf is “cheap”, I’m saying that he’s cheap with the Bulls.

Now going back to the trades so far… overall, nice job by Pax, although I was hoping he could unload Hinrich. Getting rid of Thabo and Hughes while gaining a solid NBA pro in John Salmons was good. I would have preferred Chris Kaman over Brad Miller, but Miller will just have to do until our next Center draft project, Omer Asik, finally comes over from Turkey. We’re just going to have to hope that Noah and Thomas continue to progress nicely as they’ve done since becoming full time starters. Tim Thomas might contribute since he apparently has some good history with Vinny, but we’ll see. I’ve never been a big fan because he’s a head case, but here’s to hoping that he works out. At least his contract and James’ contract are pretty much expiring contracts…. Anthony Roberson -- was a nice College scorer at Florida, but it hasn't translated well for him in the pros yet. A late bloomer like Roger Mason perhaps? Maybe, but likely not on this Bulls team.

By the way, it’s nice that we were able to get a 1st round pick for Thabo, but considering that Thabo was a former lottery 1st round pick that the Bulls traded up for, I would say that Paxson ultimately blew that draft selection.

Go Bulls!

why would paxson trade tabo he was the bulls future shooting guard and will grow to be a defensive stopper in the league with gordon leaving after this year you have no shooting guards now.paxson does not know what he is doing also get rid of deng please

Did we effectively just trade Ben Wallace and Andres Nocioni for Brad Miller and Tim Thomas? Hmmmm...

I like the trades that were made today more than the one Pax made yesterday.
I still would have rather seen them getting Chris Kaman instead of Miller.

Getting a 1st round pick for Sefolosha makes sense because he was the odd man out after picking up Salmons.
I never thought that Sefolosha was that great and the way he was drafted was a stretch in the first place. I disagree with anyone saying that he was the Bulls shooting guard of the future. He was not and he will drift around the NBA for a while and then fade away.
Good move to admit that he was not the guy and move on.

Getting rid of Hughes was also a good move even though I don’t believe that bringing back Thomas was the right player. If he does not work out it does not really matter that much at this point. No one wanted Hughes.
They still dumped a player who was not doing them any good along with his big salary and that is a good thing.

James is just a throw in to keep a spot on the bench warm and if he never plays a single minute in a Bulls uniform it would be no big surprise.

Cutting some dead weight is a lot better than holding onto this group and hoping that they will suddenly get better. It was not happening.
Last year was the disappointment year.
This year was reality.
Maybe Pax has finally realized that and he is over running the team based on his emotions instead of the reality of the situation before him.
I hope so anyway.

No Kyle, we effectively traded Ben Wallace, Andres Nocioni and Thabo Sefalosha, etc. to dump salary and gain potential expiring contracts in Miller, Thomas and Salmons (plus a future 1st round pick) in order for the Bulls to position themselves in good position for a potential bidding war in the 2010 free agency class. Quit looking at the names alone and use your brains, bloggers.

Overall, the trades work and I'll commend Paxson this time around, despite being a harsh critic of his the last couple of years. The Bulls now have a shot at making the playoffs this season and actually performing well, while giving Rose some valuable playoff experience even though we'll likely get no further than round 1 or 2 of the playoffs. At the same time, they get to dump some bad contracts and position themselves better in offseason moves with the expiring contracts gained. Not bad at all, Pax. Not an "A" grade by any means because the Hinrich contract is still here, but not bad at all overall...

I will stop bitching about the Bulls so much and wait and see if they are really going to be a player in the free agent circus after 2010. They need more than just money to land these types of players and they have to start giving a better impression right now.

What I don't want to see them do is going out and grabbing any of the free agents that are going to be available after the 2009 season.
No.. no.. no…
That group is a bunch of busts, has beens and stiffs that are a far cry from the 2010 group.
Do not start tying up any money on these guys.

Have a good draft, work with Thomas and keep a fire lit under his butt, hope that Noah grows up and becomes a decent player off the bench for spells, accept that Deng is not Scottie Pippin and utilize what he does best and don't let ever let Rose get away.

I think both moves were decent, but I would have preferred to keep Sefolosha and got rid of Deng or Gordon. I read on a blog that Portland had interest, So why wouldn't they get rid of Deng. I read thes blogs every so often and I've seen everybody get bashed VDG to PAX to JR, but for some reason Deng continues to fly under the radar. I said this summer that he should have tried a sign and trade for Igoudala or Josh Smith either one brings a much needed upgrade in atheletic ability. For 71 mil he should at the very least be in the conversation of being one of the best 3's in the league. He soft without a handle,reliable post-up game or jumpshot. One good year and we give him 71 mil. Imagine how good he would look in charlotte for Wallace! By the way any trade that has Gordon and Deng in the starting line-up can't possibly be considered an upgrade.

MY CABLE DROPPED MY WGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEE YA LATER HUGHES

New: The Bulls acquired Tim Thomas, Jerome James and Anthony Roberson from the New York Knicks on Thursday in exchange for Larry Hughes.

In another move, Chicago traded guard Thabo Sefolosha to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2009 first-round draft pick.

Tim Thomas...is it too late to bring back Mark Landsberger?

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/1440636,pax-bulls-021909.article

Looks like Pax aint leaving!

Hey Culz, I don't think your cable dropped WGN, I think it's just running WAY BEHIND.

I found it. Different Channel...went from 18 to 3?

Pheeeewwwww...