Boozer and the Bulls: a good fit?

The Bulls certainly need it, but I agree, he will be in and out all season with injuries - Same as Shaq.

http://www.polladium.com/poll_results.php?poll_id=176&location_id=1

He is like Drew Gooden minus the Zacharias Mousaui Chinny!

We already HAVE an injury prone under-achieving Duke player! Giving away a healthy Kirk and Tyrus for him is too much. I don't like it. And you all know how much I want to get rid of Kirk. If Boozer was healthy I could get on board, but the words "injury prone" turn me off. How come we just couldn't send them Deng???? Tyrus was going to give us those numbers this year - I guarantee it plus 3 blocks a game. But I bet the Bulls are looking at NOT being able to sign him or praying that one of those rookies can replace him. Bad move.

This trade would mean - Gordon, Tyrus and Kirk for Boozer.

Who's going to play guard, the Bulls will have all forwards.

Why are we giving up Hinrich also? Boozer for Tyrus and Tim Thomas is right money wise. I think if he works out, sign up Boozer for 3 or 4 years and run with it. Something about a bird in hand rather than two in the bush.....

Look, I don't know much about basketball, but I do know this much:

There are only two guard positions and the Bulls had just four prior to this proposed trade. Then, they would give up one of those four in Hinrich who also, I believe, is their best defending guard who can score some off the bench with leadership qualities. Hmmm....

On top of that, he seems to have a little Milton Bradley in him in that he's proven to be injury-prone.

On top of that, how would this move help to set them up for the vaunted 2010 free agent class?

On top of that, another one would bite the dust (i.e. TT-Tyrus Thomas--does he have a middle name that starts with N?) Boy, we really know how to pick 'em, don't we?

I found this interesting. And I agree!!!

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=llhbvc

Bulls don't improve with this trade but we do get rid of Kirk's contract and send him out of the conference. All of our eggs are in the basket for next year and I can't see us signing anyone worthwhile, but its a great teaser for those season ticket holders.

Blazers get Kirk, Jazz gets Blake and Tyrus. Blazers and Jazz just improved greatly without really loosing much. KIRK was greatly needed and Tyrus and Deron Williams are a natural fit (like Tyson and CP3). Tyrus is going to be terrific and he is out of the east. Bulls will not want to see him or Kirk but they won't have to because neither of those teams are going to the finals for a long time including the Bulls. Bulls were not going to sign Thomas either, but I think he had more value than Boozer.

I will be interested to see what Edgar has to say about this one.

Now I don't know what to think. This is Sam Smith:

http://blogs.bulls. com/chicago_bulls_bl og/2009/07/johnson-a nd-gibson-look-bette r-than-bad-boozer-ru mor.html

At first I thought it was a good idea ... but then I considered this:

If Boozer gets hurt and/or leaves after next season, yes, the cap space is cleared-up ... BUT ... you've just given away two trading chips for NOTHING!

Keep Tyrus and Kirk unless you get one of the guys you want to sign as a free agent next year - like Bosh!

sounds like the Bulls are pretty much locked out of being anything to anticipate this year...

watch Hockey...

Kirk needs to go for us to have any chance at a Wade or Bosh.

Tyrus is done with the Bulls...the team showed lack of confidence in him during the Boston series. And they don't want to have to re-sign him next year when he could need to be paid 8 million a year.

Boozer is a more talented _rew Goo_en. Great offensively, great rebounder, but injury prone and a sieve defensively. Wouldn't be bad for a year but he's gonna walk in 2010.

I don't really care

Instead of shopping Hinrich and Tyrus the Bulls should be tryimg to dump deng's contract on someone. Like Keith said we don't need another underacheiving overpaid Duke player. As far as Tyrus going into a contract year, he won't command the kind of money Boozer will be asking for either and i still hate to give up on him just yet.

Ah, just as predictable as can be… here come the trade rumors again! What a coincidence after the Shawn Marion 4-team trade was finalized do we now hear about the Bulls being involved in a blockbuster-type deal involving a top tier NBA player (and no, I don’t consider Brad Miller and Salmons top tier NBA players), although I don’t consider Boozer all that great and reliable, but that will be a separate discussion later on. The Bulls were also rumored to be involved in that Marion trade as a 4th trade partner, but not surprisingly, they were never a player in the end.

First of all, I’ll believe this trade happens only when I see it finalized in the newspapers or online. Second, this is the type of deal that should have happened while we still had Ben Gordon to either use him as part of a sign & trade or to just re-sign him anyway knowing that they could have stayed within their precious salary cap boundaries by trading other players on roster away. Third, now there is this possibility that the Bulls can basically lose Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas all in one Summer for basically just the one-year service of Carlos Boozer? WTF??!!! It sure doesn’t make sense to me, but in the Bulls realm of cheap money thinking, this is their way of telling us that they’re REBUILDING through free agency now. Didn't I say last year in FCP that the Bulls should have admitted that they were rebuilding when they announced Vinny and his no-experience as head coach? As far as I’m concerned, this is another play on their part to show fans that they’re trying to do something instead of making themselves look foolish from reacting like silent mimes after BG signed with the Pistons. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but the Bulls are NOTORIOUS for these type of trade rumors that never happen. They dug themselves in this hole so whether this is all true or not, they deserve the PR beating they get out of this.

Now that all being said, however, because nothing is impossible even with old goat RDorf, let’s just say this deal happens… of course it makes sense that Tyrus and Tim Thomas are on the chopping block because the drafting of James Johnson and Taj Gibson already dictated that. So what happened to the so-called commitment to defense if you now let go of Hinrich and Tyrus’ defensive stat numbers? You got this far with Tyrus Thomas, why not give him yet another last chance to develop and play smarter instead of letting him go like this for Boozer? I’m tired of the Bulls giving up on their draft picks too quickly (Chandler, Brand, Curry, Artest, etc.). I have no faith in Del Negro as a viable head coach yet and I don’t buy that the Bulls could not have beaten the Celtics if they just played Tyrus and Tim Thomas more because Vinny did NOT give them a chance to excel on the court at all in that series. To me, Vinny got desperate and went for the playoff wins (but no Championship) over the proper development of Tyrus Thomas. I know many fans have given up on Tyrus and continually badger him on his poor basketball IQ, but it makes no sense to just let him go for Boozer under these circumstances. For Bosh, yes, but not Boozer. Boozer plays no defense whatsoever and say what you will about his low post scoring prowess, but even Boozer will not overpower a much tougher Eastern conference with the bigger bodies. Almost everyone who’s an NBA fan and most of the NBA Execs know Boozer is unreliable not only in contract negotiations but also in playing a full season healthy. It’s just too risky and this type of risk is NOT in the Bulls’ vocabulary. Sorry, but for me, even if it meant that the Bulls are “trying” and will make themselves more respectable in the PR department, Boozer does nothing for me and there is still no guarantee that the team lands the 2 bonafide superstars (not 1 but TWO) next season. Too many teams are clearing up cap space and I don’t trust the Bulls and their Benny The Bull and high school band team of recruiters to win over Bosh and Wade.

Hey Keith... as for Sam Smith, him and I go waaay back in the emails and Q and A sessions before the blogs were invented. His old school thinking just like Reinsdorf and he'll always defend JR's cheap ways of business profit over marketing sense. I've ripped on Sam so many times over JR that he doesn't even post anymore emails from me in his columns. Up to you if you enjoy his articles, but I stay away from most of his writings and basketball rumors.

We can't give up Tyrus and Kirk for an injury prone player. Fans may talk about Tyrus head not being in the game and ONLY KLS - I gotta pick on you man - disdain for Kirk (and a few others), but let Boozer come here and get hurt. We will be screaming for the GM's head!

That is too much to give up. We got to package a deal to get Bosch! Just that simple. If we give up two players for Bosh and acquire another free agent or make another trade we will be okay. NOT CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER OKAY, but still okay.

I can live with that, it will show the upcoming 2010 free agents we are willing to spend a little money on acquiring playes. Just a thought.

To all you middle age guys, quit watching the Hot Girls Gone Wild Videos. Always remember, if you are going to be a Sugar Daddy, it is going to cost you. BIG TIME $$$$$$!!

-- I judge no one!

R.I.P. Steve McNair.

Very well put Edgar, I could not have sized up the situation witn Tyrus and Kirk any better. And to give both of them up for anything less than a Bosh caliber player would drive me beyond Keith's level of pissity (just had to use that word lol).

I think it's okay to tradt Ty Thomas and Hinrick for Boozer this yr and still be able to go after a big name player in 2010. The bulls need to show that that can contend in the playoffs this yr in order to lure a primetime player here next yr. also that should d. rose another yr of playoff expirence.

Not!!!

I don't see this as a good move.
At least I don't understand it.
I mean... what the hell are they trying to do here?
If this deal was for Chris Bosh then that is a different story.

Boozer is not a great player, he has a history of being injured and he will probably walk after the season anyway so he is not the key.
So what do you get in return for Thomas and Hinrich?
One year of Carlos Boozer?
These two were both first round picks and you are just going to dump them for nothing?
Not even a draft pick?
You just did that with Ben Gordon.
Why did they not ship him out when they had the chance?

Package a deal for Bosh and lock him up.
THEN you worry about signing any big time Free agents after the season.
Unless Pax is going to shock the world this just looks like more of the same cheep and clueless direction for the Bulls.

How is this supposed to lure a marquee player?

I think we all agree about this trade and that is that we don't want it. I appreciate everyone weighing in. And Phil was the icing on the cake indicating not even a draft pick for us. And I also agree with Phil about trying to get someone THIS year. A lot of teams that KNOW better are making their moves this year. Next year is a big ole crap shoot. And lets revisit the results of the last BIG free agent sweepstakes. Kobe - signed back with LA. Duncan - signed back with SA. Tmack - signed with Houston (because they had the biggest center in the game). Shaq - signed with Miami (because they had a top 5 guard and Pat Riley). Even Michael Redd resigned with Milwaukee of all places. And those fools had Richard Jefferson.

Who did the BULLS end up with???? Ben Wallace and ONLY because we overpaid. He wanted to resign back with the Pistons. Joe remembered that one.

As a Jazz fan I want this deal to happen badly....D-Will with Thomas would be fantastic to watch. DO IT. DO IT. Cmon Baby Bulls DO IT!

Listen Folks I know you guys may not agree but honestly the bulls have no choice but to trade kirk hinric and tyrus thomas. Eventhough Boozer isn't the best powerforward in the league is is ment to be a quick manuver finacially allowing the bulls to somewhat contend this comming season and still allow the the cap space to get a big name in 2010-2011. Tyrus thomas is not a better player than james johnson, and taj Gibson may suprise allot of people. the bulls will sign them for rookie exception contracts wich is less money combined than tyruses contract. I hate the thought of getting rid of kirk but the bulls would get boozer from the Jazz and steve Blake from the blazers. steve is a promissing young gaurd and his contract is also lower than hinrich thus helping the cap even further. My thought are that the bulls are going for not one but two big name players in 2010-2011, such as chrisbosh and joe johnson or wade and amarie staudemire. either way they must loose to gain in the future.

Steve Blake is like 28/29...he is a ok backup but neither young or promising. A nice backup, but pretty much he's a slightly better shooting Chris Duhon.

The 2010 plan is super risky. I doubt we will get or even be able to afford to max contract free agents. I think we'll end up just getting Wade or Joe Johnson(who isn't really a max player IMO)

We'll see, I don't expect much from our crappy front office

Yeah all your guys are right, lets just watch us shoot jumpshots all year again. How long have we been waiting on Tyrus Thomas to blossom already???? Every year you all say the same thing, this is the year Tyrus Thomas becomes an allstar and the same result, a guy with not 1 post up move and an inconsistent jumpshot. Its sorta like you guys are in a bad relationship but u dont wanna let go because the girl looks hot but its really not going to get any better. The longer we wait to trade Tyrus Thomas the less his value will be. Either you all are related to Jerry Reinsdork or you all are some part of a cult that is trying to ruin the Bulls organization. Kobe(dropped the ball), Gasol(dropped the ball), Boozer(dropped the ball), head coach(dropped the ball), the Bulls got worst hands than Rashied Davis. I like Hinrich but that 10 million a year contract gotta go. The Bears realized it, the Blackhawks realized it, now its time for the Bulls to realize that its time to make a move if there are any plans to get better.

Jaybrone, Anonymous... look, the bottom line is that we can't do the trade just to do a trade to get rid of the guys you don't like. Yeah ok, so you're not a fan of Hinrich and Tyrus. Fine, I get it and I understand their flaws and the fact that Hinrich was overpaid, but all I'm saying is that if you're gonna trade them away, be SMART about it. Why get Boozer now and risk losing him after 1 season? And Steve Blake was not mentioned anywhere in the deal and he's not cheap either. He's due to make $5 million next season. Don't you understand if the Bulls did this Boozer deal, we would have potentially lost Ben Gordon, Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas all in one Summer for a 1-year rental player with PROVEN baggage? Boozer is beyond "rolling the dice" and hoping he stays healthy. He's a big risk and too big a risk for the Bulls' sake. Not only that, the Bulls would now potentially have only a guard rotation of Salmons, Pargo and Hunter... not good. Besides, all that being said, it looks nothing will happen anyway if the rumors are true. The Jazz have their own salary problems to deal with regarding Milsap and Boozer. Their problem, not ours.

You are right Keith.
Waiting to get in the bidding wars over the 2010 free agents is not the way to go.
Toronto has to know that Bosh is going to be gone and they will want something... anything in return.
Bosh may be more than willing to come here for the big bucks right now and not risk his value going down due to injury or any other reason.

Then see if you can actually pick up Wade as a free agent.
Rose, Bosh and Wade sounds pretty damn good to me and Thomas and Hinrich would become nothing more than the answer to a trivia question.
Make a bold move now Pax.
With Bosh on the team the Bulls can actually make the playoffs and have a real future.
That goes a long way towards signing another star player after the season is over.

What I really don't understand is why they aren't going after Paul Milsap, He's going to be a star, along the lines of Karl Malone, and he's available. Exactly the type of player the Bulls have needed for as long as I can remember.
Personally, I was a big fan of Ben Gordon, and don't know how they are going to make up for his points, but Rose, Milsap & D-Wade in 2010 is a scary lineup, and just as tough as any in the league.

The Bulls don't need to trade both Thomas and Hinrich to get Boozer.

Especially now that Portland has put the squeeze on Utah by signing Milsap to an offer sheet.

If Utah wants to keep Milsap by matching the offer sheet, they have to trade Boozer and take back less than Boozers salary because they are deep into the luxury tax. So they have to use Portlands salary cap space to make a deal.

Assuming that Portland wants Hinrich and the Bulls want Boozer. the trade is simple. The Bulls send Hinrich to Portland, get Boozer from the Jazz, and Utah gets Outlaw from Portland. The Bulls have to send a small contract(Roberson,or Nelson)to Portland to make it work.

Utah has to give up Boozer for little or no value if they want to keep Milsap. The Bulls and the Blazers are smart to wait Utah out.

They could go to Utah and Portland with this deal ahead of time to allow Utah to retain Milsap assuming that Portland covets HInrich more than Milsap.

The Bulls main goal is to dump Hinrichs contract, more than Hinrich himself(although it does leave us very short at guard, especially if we have an injury, or Salmons is indeed a 3 and not a 2), which is the main reason to make this deal even if it is a one year rental of Boozer. We are assured of being one of the major players for 2010 free agency no matter what happens to the cap.

Keeping Tyrus while adding Boozer is not ideal for Tyrus, but it gives us one more year to decide between the 2. In a year, the Bulls have the option to keep or release both Boozer and Tyrus. So a Hinrich for Boozer swap using Utah is just about the best option available to the Bulls for the 2010 plan, and it just happens to meet the needs of both Portland and Utah also.

jazz would do boozer for deng straight up

Ok guys look, Edgar is right and once I hit the Power Ball jackpot for 350 mil I'm sending Luca Brassi to see JR and make him an offer he can't refuse and Edgar is going to be the new VP of basketball operations, Phil is the new GM,Navarro is asst. GM, Keith will be the press spokesperson ( I would have said press secretary but I like my secretaries in a skirt and I doubt Keith would look good in one LOL) in charge of working words like pissivity into press releases and culzie's in charge of keeping the balls inflated with hot air LOL. Sorry but I don't hire anyone named Anonymous, I find they are unreliable and tend to try to place blame on others and not except responsibilty.

Edgar:

Chandler and Curry were given all the chances in the world, but letting go of Brand and Artest were bone headed moves.

Curry was slow, and out of shspe most of the time, and Chandler refused to spend the time he needed to in the weight room as it appeard Noah is willing to do.

I saw the changes in Pippen over his first two years, as he added strength and stamina to his already lengthy frame, and I thought I would see the same progress from Chandler. Tyson seemed a bit more fragile than Scottie, but they both had very similar skill sets.

I believe a little more effort on Chandler's part would have made him a top tier player, but it didn't happen.

You're correct, Villano. However, as you notice, role players like Chandler get better in the league with experience, why? Because they have teammates who are born leaders that push them to their limits. Chandler now has Chris Paul and Pippen would never have improved like that if it wasn't for Jordan. As uaual, the Bulls lacked leadership at the time when they gave away guys like Brand and then put all their eggs in 1 basket for 2 high school draft picks in the top 4?? Never mind the fact that we drafted softie Deng at #7, a one-dimensional scoring midget in BG #3 overall and an overpaid Hinrich at #7 also thinking he was the next Steve Nash. All those lottery picks and the guys we kept never became all-stars. Terrible management. Everyone in that front office is responsible for this mess, albeit a "mediocre" mess if you're satisfied with this current team as it is today.

haha, that's pretty funny, Tim... although I think in these days, even winning a $350 million Powerball jackpot will not be enough to own the Bulls. I think you just have to infiltrate the Reinsdorf cartel like GarPax and befriend him as the ultimate 'yes' man and then hope that he likes you enough to hand over a seat in the Board of Directors. ;)

Forget about Boozer, We need to replace Gordon's 20 points. Lamar Odom is not signed, LA's is way into luxury tax and may want relief using Jerome James money. Odom is 6 10,rebounds, plays defense, commands a double, can pass and will probably sign for 9 or 10 million. Throw in Tim Thomas and Linton Johnson. Bulls will pay luxury tax this year. Would Wade or Bosch come in 2010 after seeing this lineup play, I think so.

Tim,

Obviously, you were kidding. Or, do you know something I don't? Anyway, I am absolutely certain that your team would turn the Bulls in a much more positive direction. I would immediately begin watching every Bulls game. Not only that, I'd make sure that I read every single press release.

Do the deal. All that matters next yr is that ROSE improves enough to attract a high talent player. Boozer improves those odds better than Kirk & Tyrus. It's that simple.

Realistically, the Bulls are likely to lose more games next yr because they don't have Gordon to prevent blowouts. It remains to be seen whether Kirk, Salmons, & Deng can score consistently against the traps & double teams they are sure to face. Likewise, while I expect the Raptors to improve, I don't think it will be enough to stop them from trading Bosh before the deadline. Boozer has more value to the Raptors than Kirk + Tyrus. Whether it's Deng or Boozer, the Bulls need just one of the two to improve their play & durability to swing the Bosh deal.

NEVER GAMBLE ON A PLAYER FROM DUKE... DUKE PLAYERS ARE SOFT AND GET HURT AND NONE OF THEM PAN OUT IN THE NBA!!!

no freaking way should the bulls make this trade boozer is another undersized player like gordon bulls need to defend better , thomas and hinrick are the bulls best defenders and if del negro didnt stick with miller the slowest man in the league late in the games against the celtics the bulls would have won that series because thomas would not have gotten burned time after time in the pick and roll the way slow man miller did plus wade loves hinrick and if the bulls trade him that might prevent wade from coming to the bulls and a chitown back court of wade & rose with thomas noah salmons deng and hinrick that would be a strong 8 man rotation
so no way do i make that trade it serves no purpose especially since thomas and noah have finally started to play like beasts

Gig, it was more like fantasizing than kidding but what the heck and Edgar I'd only need 51% to put JR to pasture and who knows how cheap I could get that if JR woke up to find several Sox dolls in his bed missing their bobble heads. LMAO In the mean time how bout we grab a beer and go watch the Luvabull tryouts because if we're gonna fantasize the Luvabulls might be the way to go LOL.

Tim - I was crackin UPPP!!!! You had me at Luca Brassi!!!! We could sell the team meetings alone on DVD. Edgar, Phil, Navarro, and Little would be enough to git the job done! Blackhawks would have to move over. Gig would be the face of the organization. Culzie on the bench and I would assist him. The next Phil n Tex baby!

I am really enjoying the posts on this thread. Some very salient and intriguing points all around. Juan, Mike23 and Bullwatcher. Very interesting. Especially the Lamar Odom suggestion. I think he is a solid forward that will help, but not lead.

Bulls are in a tough spot. They want to be a player and they only have one playing card and that's Rose. That's our only attraction. And Rose is still not an Allstar. LA, Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, SA, and Denver are the best places to play at - PERIOD. And these teams are going to move anything and everyone humanly possible to make sure they get the best players. Even if that means going OVER the luxury cap.

Chicago is nowhere near the atmosphere of a desired destination for the top-notch talent. After selecting the BEST team (and coach), you go with the best weather and situation for your family and last but not least - which sucker is willing to overpay. And that is where the Bulls will be. Stuck - paying too much for the last and only joker willing to sign with us. And when they get here, their heart and talent will not be with them. They will be here like a prisoner doing "time". I quite frankly cannot see anyone coming here. And it was my early recommendation to go after guys like ARTEST, IVERSON, RASHEED, MCDYSE. These are the kinds of players that the other talent might consider playing with. Nobody cares about the likes of Boozer and Gooden or these marginal talents. PROVEN VETS/STARS. DeRon Williams is better than Rose is right now and they are getting rid of Boozer.

KLTSS,

I just saw your last post. Thats hilarious.

You know we are running the Tri-Angle too!!

i dont like this one bit...2 yrs ago, i woulda said yeah lets do it...but now i dont like it...first of all u need kirk hinrich....why? cuz he provides intangibles for this team u just arent gonna get from anyone else...remember when he got hurt last season, man did the bulls go thru a slump...when he came back tho, its like things began to get a little better automatically...they played harder it seems, and they fed off his energy...

secondly, u dont wanna trade tyrus either..trading his for boozer will definitely give u low post scoring but we will sorely miss his athleticism and that to me is just as valuable as low post scoring...i mean the man can make an alley oop play anytime he wants...and he had begun to assert himself as a feared shot blocker...boozer is looking more and more like he is on the down spiral of his career..i just have a feeling its gonna be the same thing like when we got ben wallace and thought he would be the answer and then he began to slump...

i say keep the team that got u to the playoffs last year...keep the chemistry..bad enough u got rid of ben gordon...if u gonna trade anyone trade luol deng...he has been having health issues, and still hasnt lived up to the hype fully...2 yrs ago, he was predicted to be an all-star by now...here we are 2 yrs later, no all-star games, in fact, barely even a factor on the team...plus with john salmons, u damn near dont need him as much as u used to...