Chicago Bulls Early Season Checkup
Fan Editorial by Mark Eichenlaub / Nov. 24, 2004
As a Chicago Bulls fan for the past 18 years I have
found the past 6 six years increasingly difficult to
watch. There are a lot of deficiencies preventing
this team from winning. I have identified the most
glaring ones and I have created a list of possible
solutions for GM John Paxson.
The biggest need on the Bulls is a proven scorer
capable of 20+ points a night. Yes, they have traded
a few of these players away in the past but it does no
good to look backwards. The proven scorer
preferably be a perimeter shooter. This
player would ideally be capable of addressing two
major problems at once (Overall scoring and perimeter
shooting.) Fixing these two things will help the rest
of the offense to run more efficiently as well because
the perimeter shooting will open up the middle and
allow better offensive spacing for post-ups and hard
cuts to the basket.
Trade proposals to shore up these problems: (Names
mentioned are the principal players in the trade
offer, not the entirety of the trade.)
1. Eddy Curry and Ben Gordon for Micheal Redd. Why
does Milwaukee do this? Under the teams current
construction it can make the playoffs but cannot
contend with Detroit or Miami.
Surrounding Curry and Gordon with proven players such
as Desmond Mason, Keith Van Horn and Joe Smith allows
them to potentially grow into impact players. Chicago
obviously pulls the trigger because Redd solves two of
their biggest needs, perimeter shooting and
consistent scoring as a go-to player.
2. Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni and Eddy Curry for Ray
Allen. Why does Seattle do this? A gamble for the
future. They get a young center and point guard to build with for the
future along with Lewis, Collison and Ridnour. Allen
also brings the perimeter shooting and proven scoring
that Chicago so desperately needs.
3. Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis and Ben Gordon for Jason
Richardson and Adonal Foyle. Golden State does this
to move Pietrus into the starting lineup alongside
Speedy Claxton and Mike Dunleavy Jr., and Troy Murphy.
Curry s defensive problems can be masked
somewhat playing alongside Adonal Foyle while Foyle
can defer to Curry on offense. Richardson is not the
shooter that Allen or Redd are but his slashing and
scoring ability would take some of the pressure of
Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng who would flourish
as complimentary scorers.
As Chicago's losses continue to mount, I ask that John
Paxson at least consider deals along the lines of the above. I ask this on behalf of countless Bulls fans
who will undoubtedly stop watching the team soon if
some action isn't taking to save the sinking ship.
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