FavreFan wrote:
Yes I think the Bulls are clearly title contenders if healthy. I don't think they need a second star, especially not one like Marbury or Melo. Those guys never win anything for a reason.
You don't really need drawing power if you have good management. The Bulls have put together a team that is almost indisputably a top 4 team when healthy, as evidenced by the best record in the league two years in a row(the best record argument that you kept using this postseason to suggest the Thunder would beat the Spurs and Grizzlies if healthy.) So you seem to agree that best record is equivalent to being a contender. The Bulls are right there, and don't need to add or change much. There is no Super Team in the league right now like 90's Bulls or 2000ish Lakers.
As a fan, I hope you're right even though I'm going to disagree with you here. I think the gap between the Heat and Bulls was established in 2011, where the Bulls were soundly beaten 1-4 despite having the best record in the league that year. I don't think they're contenders, so as long as the Heat are still dangerous, because James neutralizes Rose and forces Deng, Noah, and Boozer to beat you, which they can't. That is why I don't think they're in the conversation until they get a guy along with Rose who can produce against elite playoff defense. Butler's emergence may change this dynamic, although not appreciably so in my opinion.
I did reference records/standings to support my contention that the Thunder would beat the Grizzlies and Spurs this year if healthy, but that's only because they substantiated the gaudy record by making it to the Finals last year. None of that was a fluke. On the other hand, the one thing we learned about the Bulls in 2011 was that their destruction at the hands of the Heat meant the road to the Finals goes through Miami, and that they won't be contenders so as long as they lack secondary, or co-primary, creators.
I agree that good management can solve problems, but the luxury of drawing power cannot hurt. It's just unfortunate that the Bulls, for whatever reason, haven't been able to harness the supposed cultural-economic cache of Chicago as a FA destination. Outside of the Spurs, I don't think there's been a championship team that hasn't benefited from the acquisition of a major star via free agency or trade in the last ten years or so.
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