I have heard B & B ruminate recently that the Bulls better win this year because the rest of the conference is getting better. They (& others on this board) seem to believe that if the core of the team remains unchanged, they won't be in contention for a championship. I disagree. IMO, next year's team should be better than this year's without any major trade. Deng, Gordon, Hinrich & Nocioni all improved statistically from last season and don't figure to backslide. Wallace may be slipping somewhat - but his increased familiarity with his teammates and their playing style should make up for that. PJ was generally a weak spot who figures to be replaced by a more active and productive player in Tyrus Thomas. Would they have an unbeatable line-up? No. Ultimately I believe the Bulls would be best served with Sefalosha (or another big guard) starting & Gordon returning to the bench along with Nocioni to give them the best 1-2 punch in the league. Thoughts?

The soon to be chosen ping pong ball will have a big impact on their future.

when it comes to salary-cap position, the bulls are in much better position compared to the other Eastern conference contenders.

After the season, Billups can opt out of his contract to become a free agent, so you never know if Detroit can keep him (probably can, but how much are you going to invest in a 32-year-old PG?).

Plus, The Cavs and Heat have major cap issues. I think they only have the MLE available.

If the ping-pong balls don't land at one or two, they should package that pick & Gordon for a strong inside presence.

I don't know if it has to be 1 or 2. I like Wright coming out of UNC a lot.

Cleveland needs a major overhaul or Lebron will leave when he is a free agent. Larry Hughes sucks.

The Pistons are going to fall fast. I have a feeling that Billups will exit town after this season. Someone will throw him a lot of cash.

Shaq is done and therefore so are the heat. They need to find a complementary player for Wade. I personally think they'll be back quicker than Cleveland.

New Jersey is a dangerous team since Kidd and Jefferson are really good. I think Carter may be a free agent but he's not really the key to the team.

I think that the east is actually getting worse after this year.

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This off-season, we should:

1) Resign Nocioni to a new deal – he’s obviously injured right now, but he’ll come back next season healthy, and can be our 6th man off the bench.

2) Start discussions on signing Deng/Gordon to long-term deals. I don’t think Paxson will sign either until he knows what they could get on the open market. He waited until the final day to sign Hinrich before this season so I expect he’ll be patient, and eventually get them signed to a fair market deal.

3) Either resign PJ Brown or bring in a similar type player as a free agent. We can’t sign any high priced free agents, only 1 role player type.

4) Draft the best available with the #9 (assuming that’s what they get). I don’t want a big man just because – make sure he’s the best out there. If Conley is the best, and he’s available, then grab him. We have to trust Paxson on this as he’s done a great job. We also have 2 2nd round picks, and I would use those to target college juniors/seniors who were overlooked.

I would hope it's the "similar type player". Brown barely has anything left in the tank right now. I'm not sure what's available in the "veterans with 1 or 2 good years left" pool. I agree though with all the young players you should have at least one of that type player, even if he doesn't contribute much

I'm really hoping that Tyrus Thomas takes the PF spot next season, and we can get about 30 minutes a night from him. Brown isn't very good, but he at least knows the system now, and if he's agreeable to coming back for 1 season as a backup, I'd be okey with that.

I'd love to see Corey Brewer on the Bulls.
He's the shut down defender they need to D up on LeBron & Rip.
Thabo may become that guy, but Brewer may become a Pippen type.

If their pick is outside the top 5, I'd like to see them trade down & get Afflalo, Nick Young or Alando Tucker. Big guards who can handle the ball & play good D. Include Duhon in that trade and see if you can get a serviceable post player in return.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Tucker could fall into the second round.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

P.J. Brown would be 38 years old next season, no way!

Trade Ben Gordon!

I wouldn't be looking for Brown to play a major role, and I am also not opposed to using to our mid-level exemption for another big man.

If trading Gordon, and maybe the draft pick could get us a proven big man, I'm not opposed to doing that, but at this point, I think this team will only get better so I'm not really looking to break it up.

I don't see how anyone can be so enthusiastic about trading the best scorer on a young and upcoming team. When it comes to Gordon, I'm listening to offers, but I'm sure as hell not shopping a trade.

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I don't think he'll get any better unless he has an inside presence, and to get one I think the Bulls will have to trade him. He's an undersized 2 guard, that's one-dimensional and shitty handling the ball. I would rather have Gordon then Heinrich, but Heinrich has a big contract and would be tough to shop and I think Deng will be much better then Gordon.

If I'm the Bulls I have on the block...Knicks Pick, Gordon, Duhon, Noc(unless of course he is a FA)

Re-sign Noc?? What the hell are you smoking. He's the first guy I'm lookin at when I'm deciding to wave 'bye-bye' too. Don't be fooled by this blue-collar, tough-as-nails bullshit. He's a mediocre to decent player at best. Not a guy that I'm willing to sign that could put us close to or over the luxury cap. Deng and Gordon? Sign them. Noc? Nice knowin ya.

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I'm bringin Sellars back..

Nocioni is a solid player who was hurt this season, and Paxson will get him signed to a reasonable deal, something in the 5 year, 30 million range that won't put the team over the cap. If he's healthy, he can provide bench scoring, about 10-12 PPG, and play solid defense.

The only issue I have with Nocioni is that he is a player without a position. He's too slow to play the 3 consistently and too small to play the 4 consistently. He's a good bench guy but by playing him the 30 mins a night, you slow the development of one Tyrus Thomas. I'd rather have him here than beating the Bulls on some other club.

He's a 3 who's not overly athletic, and in the East you can get away with playing him at the 4 if you small for a bit. Obviously, you can't do it for long stretches.

Tyrus Thomas's development won't be altered. I think next year, the starting job is his to lose, and hopefully we can keep him in the linup for about 30 minutes a night.

Nocioni is strictly a 6th man for the Bulls in the future, and the contract he gets should reflect that. His minutes, for that role, would be in the 20-30 minute range.

Noce will get plenty of offers for the MLE (should be between $30-$35 mil on a 5 year deal), which is fair compensation for what he provides and the Bulls are 99% likely to match. The concern I have is not the salary, but the length of contract. The Bulls have another potential window for cap room following the 09-10 season (when Wallace comes off the books), the year guys like LeBron, Wade, Bosh, etc, all have opt out years. That could be a huge FA class. If this current team pans out and becomes a title contender, we’ll likely not be players in that market because we’ll have kept and extended our own. However, if the team continues to come up short over the next few seasons, Pax has the opportunity to remold the roster in 3 years, without the added headache of a complete rebuilding.

So, to make a long story short, I’d love to see Noce get a 4 year deal with the last year being a team option. You’d probably have to overpay a bit, considering other teams could offer 5 guaranteed years and likely more playing time.

Nocioni is Ed Neely with an accent

Matt Barnes will be available.

too tattooy