long time guy wrote:
I will grant you the fact that Paxson has evolved but he should have evolved.
I tend to want a GM who already possesses an evolved vision and not simply going along with the rest of the league.
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Rose's injuries have forced Paxson to change course. It has forced him build a team that is not Rose centered. This is difficult because Rose ties up so much of the salary cap.
Hmmm. I wonder which unknown decision maker is responsible for Rose tying up so much of the salary cap...
Which isn't to say that the deal shouldn't have been made but it seems mighty convenient to treat that contract purely as a matter of bad luck rather than something they voluntarily chose to do. I'd also point out that this year's team still seemed mighty Rose-centered and certainly not a drastic departure from the model for 2011-2012.
GarPax are going to further hamstring future cap flexibility by also signing Butler to the max this off-season, something they're being forced to do now since their initial extension deal was completely laughable. Keep that in mind if and when Butler's contract becomes another albatross.
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Paxson traded Luol Deng a move that Thibs was not in favor of doing. This move not only relieved that Bulls of a player that is on the decline, but also freed up money so that the team could sign Gasol.
Uh what? Deng's contract was up at the end of the season; at most that kept the Bulls from being in the luxury tax, but saying that move allowed them to sign Gasol is a stretch at best. Also since you were highlighting how bad the Bulls were on offense last year, I'd ask how trading away your second best offensive player and best healthy one would or should have impacted the offense with a coach more competent than Thibodeau.
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Paxson identified Rose as the best player in the draft the yr he was drafted. It seems easy now but a number of GMS were in favor of drafting Michael Beasley
Rose was still clearly the majority pick for number 1, and let's not forget that being in that position was a matter of pure luck.
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Paxson also plucked Noah with the 9th pick in the draft.
Paxson traded for Deng with the 7th pick in the draft
Paxson drafted Ben Gordon who was probably the top 6th man in the league and a very valuable player during his time with the Bulls.
Paxson drafted Taj Gibson late in the first round. Though i think he is vastly overrated he is a valuable pick if you take into account where he was drafted and also look at the guys that were taken late in that particular yrs draft.
Are any of these guys pieces of a championship team or not? Because you started your apologetic for the front office by saying they realized they needed more than very good pieces around Rose, and you've just listed a bunch of guys who would tend to fit my definition of very good. Also you can't evaluate any GM by just looking at their success in drafts, and it would be revisionist to say the least to gloss over a certain first round trade Paxson was all-in on.