I think Deng could be the 3rd best player on a championship caliber team and Gordon could be a bench scorer. Hinrich can hit the bricks walkin'. I don't know what Thomas and Noah are yet but I suspect Thomas is a bum and Noah could be a serviceable role player at least and, if the Bulls are lucky, better than that.

Take those pieces and find an interior scorer via free agency or if you can work a trade somehow involving Hughes, Gooden, some kind of contract swap deal for a guy that suits the team better, you never know.

I guess I just haven't given up on this team that looked pretty damn good, with some good players, like they were on the verge of something less than two years ago. I don't know where that team went.

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You know me like that.

I don't share your optimism about Deng. While he's a very good mid-range jump shooter (but bad from the 3-point line) , that aspect of his game is easily negated (as Tayshaun Prince demonstrated in the playoffs two years ago), and his subpar ballhandling prevents him from creating his own shot most of the time. He's just not the kind of player whose perimeter skills put pressure on a team defensively, a quality I like in my small forwards. And while he's a good rebounder, he's just average on defense. To me, he's too limited for me to keep. Since Paxson apparently shares your view on Deng, though, we'll see soon enough if he's good enough to be a key player on a championship team.

As for Gordon, I agree that he could be a good role player. But as I've already said, his contract demands and public comments suggest he believes he's verging on All-Star status and thus wants to be paid like an elite player. If he maintains this attitude, the Bulls have to dump him.

Regarding your faith in signing an elite, low-post scoring free agent, I think it is misplaced. In the past few years, how many elite players have changed teams via free agency? Some calculate the mobility rate for elite players to be as low as 1%. Even if that number is higher, we're still talking about a major longshot. Further, when you analyze contract situations for low-post players, won't the discussion be limited to Elton Brand and Imare Stoudamire (or maybe a couple others)? While Stoudamire would obviously be a really good acquisition, he has a player option through 2011, and he seems likely to exercise it. As for Brand, he's never demonstrated that he's good enough to be a #2 guy on a championship team--and his skills are likely to be diminishing when Rose gets really, really good.

Maybe the Bulls could make a trade to acquire a really good low-post player, but Paxson's poor record on trades leaves me skeptical about this possibility. The apparent foreclosure of this option along with the dubious probability of a major free agent signing thus lead us back to a discussion of how the Bulls should approach their relationship to the draft in the coming years.

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I think last year left a bad taste in our collective mouth regarding the Bulls players and their skills. I think Deng is better than TM is giving him credit for. Remember that he was injured to some degree all season long last year. I dont think its fair to evaluate him just based on last season when the organization was a mess, he was hurt, and he had been showing significant improvement every year leading up to last. I think he is certainly better than an average defender. He's a good rebounder, and while he cant necessarily create his own shot against longer defenders, he can take it to the rim when he wants to and knows how to finish. Add that to a good jump shot inside 20 feet, and he can be a 20-10 guy. Using Prince as an example is a bit extreme, I would consider Prince the best individual defender in the NBA.

We've already had the discussion on Noah. I think he's worth keeping.

Ben Gordon may want to get paid like a star, but nobody is going to pay him like one. Word is that the Hornets are the only team significantly interested in acquiring him, so we'll see what they offer him. If his best offer is in the 5 year/$40 million range, I would match that, and keep him as the poor man's Andrew Toney.

I disagree with TM that we know what Thomas's limitations are. He still has shown flashes of brilliance, and out of everyone on our roster, has the best chance to turn into a superstar. Obviously his immaturity on and off the court is tiresome, but we need to play him alot this upcoming season. This needs to be his "show me" season. Remember, Portland gave up on an immature Jermaine Oneal too soon and for awhile he was a game changing player.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

FF, very good example in J. O'Neil. I agree with you, it is not time to give up on Thomas or Deng yet. We need to see what they can do along side of Rose.

I think many folks are judging this team prematurely. Let's see what Pax does the rest of this offseason and how they respond with Del Negro and with Rose.

I think Rose, Deng, Noah and Thomas can be a really good core group to build a solid team around.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Since we are bumping Derrick Rose drafts threads, why not this one?

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