The Bulls had Tracy McGrady in a Popeye cartoon with Jerry Krause as the Hamburger guy. It could have been worse.

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I LOVE that challenge too. Lets see what you got. If you scurred take yo ass to chuch

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"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."

Wimpy
I will gladly pay you in 2020 for basketball services today.

They had a 3 hour meeting and no one said a word after the meeting. Hopefully John Paxson came up clutch again.

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3 hours?? What in the world do they do in these meetings???

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

Don't get blinded by LeBron spotlight
Bulls should put on breaks, focus on Anthony next year as better fit for Rose

By Scoop Jackson
Now that the Bulls are next up, it's time to finally speak truth to power moves. Saturday is the day the team meets with Mr. LeBron Raymone James. After that, let the panic game begin. Which is a game the Bulls don't need to play.

So here's a message to Jerry Reinsdorf & Co.: Pull out of the LeBron Sweepstakes now!

Don't get me wrong: Do the meeting as a formality. Be courteous, be sincere. Then afterward, after you shake LBJ's hand and tell him how much you'd love-love to see him in a Bulls uniform for the next six to seven years, get on the plane and immediately start working on the new Plan A.

Carmelo Anthony
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty ImagesCarmelo Anthony becomes a free agent next year, and he would be a perfect fit for the Bulls.

Don't get me wrong II: I love LeBron probably more than the next man.

But the basketball part of me knows the Bulls need something different. The basketball part of me that understands that true success comes in balance, not stardom, wants to see someone else and not LeBron (or Dwyane Wade) in a Bulls uniform. The basketball part of me knows that all of the effort the organization has expended (dumping contracts and trading players to free up cap space) and all it continues to do to attract James, needs to be saved for another player who (although not necessarily a better player) is a better fit for the Bulls than any other player in the 2010 free-agency madness.

Carmelo Anthony.

***

Now, before you think I have been drinking too much Jim Beam, ask yourself this question, then answer it: Outside of size, what is the difference in the games of LeBron James and Derrick Rose?

(Note: The same theory applies to Rose and D-Wade.)

Not much. And therein lies the problem. Rose is basically just a smaller version of LeBron. Same style, same explosiveness -- basically they are two prodigious (with Bron probably being the more prodigious of the two) point guards stuck in non-point guard bodies. They both, in order to be who they are and to be as good as they can be on the court, need the ball in their hands. It is an essential part of both of their games, and in truth it's their best quality.

Now, once LeBron gets here, we all know he -- not Rose -- becomes the man. No team is going to invest this deeply into LeBron James to not have him be LeBron James. And that means running the offense through him; that means having him control the flow of an offense; that means him being this generation's Magic Johnson the same way Kobe Bryant has been the Y2K generation's Jordan.

And once/if that happens, we lose a major part of Derrick Rose. It'll be like putting Chris Paul on the same squad with Rajon Rondo. By default, getting James will force Rose to become a fraction of the player he is right now. And a 100 percent LeBron James with a 50 percent Derrick Rose is not going to win multiple rings. Maybe one, but that'll be all.

ESPNChicago.com Bulls blog

Bulls blog The latest news from Bulls reporter Nick Friedell. Blog

No disrespect to LeBron, but for the Bulls -- and only for the Bulls -- he's not worth it. Getting him is not worth figuratively losing Derrick Rose in the process.

Not when there's a way to possibly make something even greater happen.

***

Recent history in the NBA will tell you that it's not defense or depth that necessarily wins championships, it's diversity. The perfect blend of skills placed on the floor, skills that complement one another. Especially when it comes to the two or three superstars on one team that it takes to win multiple rings, or to challenge for them.

Teams that build dynasties are constructed on the platform and premise of finding players who complement each other -- cover for the other superstar's weaknesses. This is how balance is created.

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol? Find the similarities. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? Try to do the same. Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan? Hell, Kobe and Shaq?

Go further back: Magic and Worthy? (Magic, Worthy and Kareem, for that matter.) Bird and McHale? (Bird, McHale and Parrish, for the same matter.) Stockton and Malone? Jordan and Pippen?

Each player was fundamentally almost the opposite of the other. What one couldn't do, the other could. Together they'd lock like a Taijitu. A symmetrical pattern of completeness. The undefendable force with the unstoppable object.

In theory, LeBron James and Derrick Rose do not yin and yang like that. Their styles and games are too close to one another. Their symmetry is Siamese. But Rose and Melo, that's "supreme ultimate" contrast. The type of contrast that with the right supporting cast can collect chips. Their games complement each other in a way that doesn't mean one loses what he does best. It's perfect as Outkast. Perfect as QTip and Phife, as Treach and Vinnie. Perfect as Run DMC.

Which is why the Bulls, beginning Saturday night (after meeting with the King), need to follow this script:

• Put a deal that's very close to max money in front of either Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer or Chris Bosh. And make sure one of them is signed on July 8th.

• Then with the millions left over under the cap -- the money designated for LeBron -- hold off until this time next year and put that same offer in front of Anthony on July 1, 2011 at 12:01 a.m.

• Or, if the most recent information is true about Denver actually looking for a trade of Anthony because the Nuggets are afraid they may lose him for nothing -- the same way the Bulls lost Ben Gordon -- then use that "LeBron money" to sign one of the aforementioned players, and then use a combination of, say, Luol Deng and Taj Gibson's contracts to get Melo in red and black via trade.

Even if the Bulls have to get Bernie Madoff creative with contracts, salaries and incentives to make it happen, that's what they need to do. Because -- if you really think about it -- a lineup that consists of Rose; Stoudemire or Bosh or Boozer; Joakim Noah; James Johnson (or Deng or Gibson if no trade is involved); and Melo is one that could rule the East -- if not the league -- for at least half a decade, regardless of where LeBron signs.

***

It's just an exercise in extreme patience. Does the Bulls organization or the fan base have the patience to possibly have to wait an extra year for this to happen?

Does anyone have the foresight? Can anyone see past the hysteria? Realize that the game's best player might not be the best player for you?

For two years, everyone has been waiting for this moment to happen. Waiting for the chance to be the winner of The Summer of LeBron. And walk away with the grandest prize. The Bulls have positioned themselves lovely to be major players in this summer's activities. They have as good a chance -- if not better -- as anyone.

But there's a better scenario out there. One that could prove in the end to be smarter and produce better results. It's just a matter of the Bulls recognizing history as opposed to chasing the hype.

Scoop Jackson is a columnist for ESPN.com.

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Here we go!!!!


jgoff670

Sources are telling me Wade-Bosh package imminent in Chicago.

Stupid. You don't pass up really good players now who are FA with the hopes of waiting on a guy next year who maybe a FA.

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

fucking awesome. if lebron is scared off by the jordan legacy then fuck him. i know hes not though. he thinks hes better then jordan. the bulls know it, thats why they are flappin their chicken wings at him. purely awesome.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Couldn't agree more. I read that article this morning and wanted to drive over to his house and throw a brick at his window.

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hey lets pass on the best free agent of all time who has interest in chicago for a guy thats not as good, doesnt have nearly the winning character and might not even be available or have interest in chicago next year!

Melo is a winner and the numbers say he has the best percentage when it comes to game winning shots.

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I used to run into him damn near everyday.

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1) Melo hasn't won anything.

2) For these stats "Clutch" is defined as: 4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points.

1. LeBron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dirk Nowitzki
4. Carmelo Anthony
5. Steve Nash



Not exactly game winning shots, but would love to see that stat if you have it somewhere.

I saw it during a couple games but I haven't been able to find it. He was at 50%. Wade had the worst of the star players. Not sure if you've forgotten but Melo has won more titles since HS than LeBron. I want him taking the game winning shot before anyone but Kobe and that's only because I'm a Kobe ass licker.

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Martin Luther King sat right here in this chair. I said Dr. King...

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If Wade announces he's coming here in a few days does that make it less likely we will get James? It seems like if Wade comes people think Bosh will be the second.

Stalker.

I've also heard that LBJ & Wade might want to play together.

Ok cool. Then I guess that would leave Bosh on the outside looking in unless Deng gets traded and then work a sign and trade for Bosh right? This whole thing has been a lot of fun to just follow, it even got me to sign on to Twitter and start using it. For things like this Twitter is just great.

It has been fun following this. I know Stern has to love it too.

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I'm really curious how disgruntled Dwight Howard is. He demanded that the Magic goes after Chris Paul. Could he create enough stench for Orlando to try to move him?

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

No chance.

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It's been great following this whole scene. The Wade thing has completely thrown me. It's like a movie. Perhaps that is on purpose.

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I haven't listened to 1 second of sports radio during this time either. That could be one of the reasons I'm enjoying this.

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I heard Hub say today "I'm not a LeBron guy." I immediately turned the radio off. Also, I just found out Wade is filming a documentary about the process. I knew about Bosh, but not Wade. It makes my comments above more interesting. Are the Bulls getting worked?

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Like a $30 hooker.

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Won't be the first $30 hooker at the corner of Damen and Madison. Express BJ's in the alley behind the Bulls sponsored Mabel Manning branch of CPL.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

Celts mega deal: Wasn't McHale running the show in Minneapolis when they moved KG? I can't remember.

Gasol deal was a no brainer. Pax could have him if it wasn't for untouchables in his dumbass mind.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.