Dwight Howard dominates the mail bag

Dwight Howard dominates the mail bag

Dwight Howard questions bombarded me over the weekend as KC Johnson reported the Bulls would pursue Howard despite not appearing on his list of teams that he would sign an extension with.

First, I'll start with the general topic of whether or not the Bulls can present the best offer for Howard. I noted on twitter that if LA goes Gasol + Bynum, the Bulls are done. Many people disagreed, so I probably won't get all of them, but here are a few of the arguments.

@bryanmparsons I mostly agree with you, but can't the Bulls offer more young assets/picks for Howard than LA?

@hazemeyer Am I the only one who sees Bynum hurt every year? He's a liability not a strength. Lakers needed two other bigs to compensate

@hazemeyer Salary relief, top 10 center, deng, + 2 young bigs on rookie deals, + bobcats pick gotta be better than pau + Bynum

@DavisKennedy311 why do you value Bynum so much? He is always hurt and grossly over rated

@TUP_Ricky: Bulls *could* trump Lakers offer for Howard, but won't. Will likely do just enough to make it look like they tried.

@sexpot77 that's ridculous Pau is 32 Bynum has Oden-broken knees and is a shell of himself already SO OVERRATED Bulls deal WAY BETTER

Okay, you get the point.

Here's the thing, you can spin Pau into Scola and Kevin Martin and keep Bynum. Martin has a few years of prime left, Bynum hasn't really even entered his prime yet [unbelievable because he was the youngest player ever to enter the NBA if I'm not mistaken].

Those three players can all create their own shot and score in volume with efficiency in the NBA. Maybe I'm crazy, but I view that as one of the most desirable traits to look for in players.

I agree that Bynum's injury history is lousy, but look at what the Bulls are offering to send.

Luol Deng - Healthy last year, but poor injury history prior to that. He's a very good player, but a system player who can't create his own shot and can't have an offense built around him in any way.

Joakim Noah - Missed two more games than Bynum over the past two seasons, and while the thumb thing was probably a fluke, he also had lower body injuries the past two seasons. While Bynum's body might not be able to support his weight properly, Noah's body may not be tough enough to play center.

Noah is also a system player who doesn't create offense and is more of a peripheral player.

As a GM, I'd feel I could build a viable team around Martin, Scola, and Bynum. Three players who play different positions but can create efficient offense. It might not be a championship team, but I can't do that with Deng or Noah either. It would be a very good team, and if Bynum / Martin stayed healthy then it might still be the third best team in the East.

I don't know what I'd do with Deng and Noah, they're two players good enough to stop me from getting lotto picks, but not good enough to lead me anywhere. I still have no one left on my team to build the offense around or create a strong offensive system with. The other players on the Chicago side are just throw ins and only have role player value that doesn't come close to matching the players named.

If I'm going to go for a package built around youth, then I'm on the phone with the Clippers instead. Eric Gordon + Wolves pick + cap savings is going to crush what I'm getting from the Lakers or Bulls in terms of rebuilding assets.

At any rate, I can see why Bulls fans might value the Bulls package more, in the right circumstances it might be better, but if I were Orlando, I'd rather have the three guys that I can build an offense around.

In reference to several tweets about Joakim's BYC status:

I was told that Joakim is not BYC at media day. I reiterated that under the previous CBA that Joakim would have been BYC [to make sure this person understood the BYC rule] and was told that his understanding was the rule changed and Noah is not BYC.

I haven't had a chance to research this, but I don't recall this being mentioned in the CBA summaries I read, so I find it a bit difficult to believe, but I'd be very surprised if the source of this information was incorrect.

@Ant_Tha_Knee Did we actually sign Rip yet? Haven't seen anything on RealGM yet.

Hamilton has not been officially waived yet. After he is officially waived it will take 48 hours for him to clear waivers and at that point the Bulls will sign him. It is highly likely that the Bulls had permission to talk to Hamilton about a contract which influenced his buyout with the Pistons.

It's likely the Bulls contacted the Pistons and told them if they waive Hamilton instead of amnesty him that they'll offer him the 2 year MLE, and then offered it to Hamilton if he would give them a hefty buyout and that caused the whole thing.

In other words, it's a mortal lock that Rip Hamilton is coming to Chicago. Etch it in stone.

@argie2333 Hey Doug whats ur thoughts on the McRobers for OJ rumors. The Bullies should be getting involved.

@Illwood why aren't the Bulls after Mayo if the Pacers are only offering a deal centered around McRoberts?

@jstnw89 if we somehow traded for oj mayo would he be RFA or UFA I don't get how it works really,

@NBATradeIdeas Plz explain why IND is about to get Mayo 4 McRoberts, while CHI sit on their hands when they have better/cheaper PF in Taj?

I wish the Bulls would get involved, but they clearly don't value Mayo all that much. Part of it might be the player. He's had a number of character issues in the NBA [drugs, problems with management, etc..], or it could be a fear of his cost to extend in another season.

In my discussions with the team, they were pretty specific about targeting veteran players, and I think they believe in the adage that you win with men and that they have enough youth.

It could also simply be that the Bulls don't want to give up Omer or Taj for him and value their big man depth more than adding a perimeter player to the mix.

Also, the desire to add Mayo leads into the fan desire to have a huge set of guys who will be young and stick around forever, but this doesn't really fit with how teams really build. They commit to a few of their top end players and then cycle the role players around them.

The Bulls likely don't have a lot of room to try and get a young mainstay SG to stay with them the next five years and will instead look to cycle the position similar to what Miami will do with the PG/C positions on their team.

If we did trade for OJ Mayo, then he would be an RFA after this season. The old rule [and I believe it has not changed] is that a player with three years or less in the NBA or coming off a 1st round rookie scale contract is an RFA. Everyone else is a UFA. Mayo will be coming off his rookie contract.

In terms of Taj being better and cheaper, beauty might be in the eye of the beholder. Look at McRoberts per 36 stats last year, he's developed as a legit scorer and is the coveted stretch three. I can see why a team might take McRoberts over Taj even if we're more attached to Taj.

@lottomavado Can you be a doll Doug and please request GarPax to go ahead already & make any move what so ever in free agency? Just any move!

@ReyAlmighty looks like the Pacers made themselves better... Maybe not so easy to win the central after all...

Really? Let's not get emotional here. I know it's easy to get swept up in the idea that other teams are making moves, but a team making a move doesn't necessarily make them a whole ton better nor does it mean the Bulls should make one just to ease our addiction. The Bulls will have an extremely deep 11 man roster after signing Hamilton.

@1901Madison with Rip signed, do Bulls make any more moves?

@DanOClock Really see any chance of a big trade though?

@AntreasX hey doug,u got the feeling or info art berto that bulls have a move close to do?

The only potential move left is a consolidation trade where the Bulls package several pieces to get a better piece. It's hard to imagine what trade that might be though. They'll quietly make a bid on Dwight Howard, but as explained above, I doubt such a bid will be successful.

Kevin Martin could be a target, but we see with Houston they're trying to package him and Scola up to get an even better player, so they're unlikely to trade him for a package of lesser pieces as they have too many C type players already.

As such, I think it's most likely the Bulls will be done after adding Hamilton.

@regimeofterror doug, can you clarify something, are bulls not allowed to spend under current rules or could they and just pay tax?

The Bulls are allowed to use the MLE [which is up to 5 million per year and will be used on Rip Hamilton], the LLE [two years at around two million per year] and the veteran's exception [minimum contract] to add players. They can't do anything else financially.

Complaints about spending are focused more on the Bulls looking for short term contracts of players people feel are inferior in order to avoid the luxury tax in 2-3 seasons.

@pinkizdead Is giblert arenas for the vet min a bad idea? What salary will be counted against our cap? the new salary or 20mil ?

I can't see why Arenas would choose to come here or why the Bulls would want him if he did. First, he's been terrible for quite some time now. Second, the Bulls have absolutely no minutes to play him.

The Bulls will not add another player who expects playing time to this roster unless it involves a trade which sends other guys who need minutes out. Look at the roster crunch as is:

PG: Rose 36 / Watson 12
SG: Hamilton 24 / Brewer 24
SF: Deng 36 / Korver 12
PF: Boozer 30 / Gibson 18
C: Noah 30 / Omer 18

Butler on the bench with no minutes

You've already got Watson, Korver, and Gibson playing less than you'd like and Boozer, Noah, Deng, and Rose playing less than you might otherwise because of the compressed schedule. Butler's on the bench with no playing time at all. Where do you fit another player into this thing?

@jefflibman I'd still like Bulls to sign backup C (Pryz?) and a scoring pg off the bench.

They will definitely get a 5th big man as an emergency guy and possibly a 6th as well to fill out roster spots 12 and/or 13.

@regimeofterror so they cant just a tax snd go over that?

Correct. There are ways they can spend more by being willing to take on longer term deals or trade for players on big deals. Both of which I feel they are unlikely to do out of fear of the tax.

However, one of the ways they can't spend more is by bidding on free agents. Assuming Hamilton signs and uses the MLE, the most they can pay a free agent out right is the LLE (around 2 million per year with a max of 2 years).

@kentdward How bout Reggie Williams? He can be an instant offense for the 2nd unit.

That ship sailed when the Bulls decided to pursue Hamilton. There are enough perimeter players on the roster that no young perimeter player would want to sign here, nor would the Bulls likely pursue one due to lack of minutes.

@joshlos So are you then done whining about J-Rich?

While RIP wouldn't have been my choice, my primary complaint isn't that they added him vs someone else, it's that I believe they choose to take a player they felt was inferior because his contract was cheaper.

If they simply felt RIP was the best, then I'm good with trusting management.


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  • I pretty much agree with your points, but have a couple of thoughts.

    First, with regard to the minutes (once Rip is on board), don't you think that the division in minutes will be more evenly divided between the starters and primary bench players with this compressed schedule? I see you've mostly got the starters at about 2 minutes less per game than last year, but I think as the season wears on their minutes per game will come down a bit due to fatigue.

    Second, with regard to Rip @ 2 years vs JRich (or other full MLE) @ 4 years, I can see your point that with all the money Reinsdorf has made off of the Bulls that he owes the fans to spend into the Tax while Rose is around making them contenders, but with a 2 year deal (plus Brewer & Korver's short deals) that this puts the Bulls in much better position to be players next summer when the FA crop is much better than this year. I'm not saying that this is definitely their thinking - could just be Reinsdorf not allowing them to spend - but with the Rose era really still just ramping up, doesn't it make sense to take the long view here instead of focusing so much on this season? Because none of this year's available FA SGs are going to get any better, and most of them will start or continue their decline.

  • In reply to kozzer:

    We might trim the starters some additional amount more, but I doubt it will be too much more.

    I don't see how Rip vs JRich changes flexibility going forward, if a trade is made it's made with the non guaranteed contracts matching salaries.

    I also don't see who is all that appealing next year.

  • CP3 is about to go to the Clippers for the Minn pick, Bledsoe, Kaman, and Aminu. This probably helps the Clippers out more (Paul to Griffen alley oops all day), but NO gets some nice pieces to rebuild, especially with this year's draft class. I think it's almost a certainty that Howard goes to the Lakers.

  • In reply to bpmueller:


    I don't know if its a good or bad thing with these rumors always rising and dying, but damn does it add drama to this league.

  • ESPN is saying Gordon is part of that deal but the Clippers are denying to avoid a Lamar Odom situation. Wojnarowski vs. Broussard! Battle of NBA Sources!

  • I think Rip was signed with an eye on the finances (everybody who is signed ought to be, just a little bit) but I don't feel like getting him was a penny pinching move. I actually think if you asked the front office and they were honestly able to answer, they'd say they had Rip higher on their board than most of the guys who were realistic targets for the two guard spot.

    The only guy on the market who would be undeniably better, in my view, was Arron Afflalo, but as an RFA from a team with major cap room and no SGs, I'm not sure you could pry him away or that you'd want to pay the price, in future assets and players, it would take to bring him in.

    Caron Butler got 8 mill a year and isn't a true SG as-is.

    J-Rich is one guy you can debate the merits of, but even he got more than MLE. I think Rip is a better fit (better defender, better from more spots on the floor offensively) and for 2 years versus 4 sells me as well. There are real ramifications now to going over the 4+ million tax line (no MLE, restricted trade options) and I wouldn't want to have that flexibility in jeopardy over a declining J-Rich. For players that matter, with bright futures, like Taj and Asik, yeah, you cross that line, but not for a stopgap 2. Best to treat it like it is (a stopgap measure) don't make huge commitments, and in the meantime try to find the next Arron Afflalo by drafting well or winning a trade.

  • In reply to BenjaminBalskus:

    Not really sold on Rip being a better defender at this stage of his career, but we'll see. I will hope for the best.

  • 1. Reading about how Howard wants to have more say in the moves a GM make gives me a pause. He has not even been in the league for a long time. Does he understand everything which goes into a GM's job(scouting, fit, finances, future, coach's feel, background etc..). I wonder that's why he didn't even put the Bulls in the list of his choices knowing Reinsdorf who didn't listen to even MJ.

    2. Doug...Can you do a ball-handling/able to create a shot for himself or team-mates analysis of the SGs who are available now. I am guessing Mayo, Rudy F are the best bets. CJ Watson was under-whelming in his passing and shot-making at crucial times. Rudy F will be a good player to keep on the bench but I doubt he will agree to that and will whine his way out.

  • In reply to schaumburgfan:

    I read that ESPN article too. It’s funny how arrogant Dwight comes off as. I’d put up with it as a Bulls fan. The fit with Rose is too perfect. The article also talks about giving up Bynum and two first round picks for Howard.


    Can’t the Bulls demolish that offer?

    Jerry's answer to point number 1 is: STFU Dwight, you're playing with Derrick Rose, we'll fill in the rest.

  • In reply to Jmax:

    +1 Dwight will just have to learn what his services are as a player and not a gm. Supposedly he was mad that Rashard was traded to the wizards and that arenas was getting amnestied. wow.

  • In reply to waitwhat:

    Basically Howard is upset the Magic have gotten worse over the past couple of years and is taking an "if only they would listen to me we wouldn't be in this situation" approach as a way that he thinks makes him not look like the bad guy for wanting out.

    Does anyone think Dwight Howard is upset at his moves not being made if the Magic were contending for titles right now? Of course he wouldn't be, he's upset the team has made bad moves, if they made good moves then he'd re-sign there and not complain about whether he had input into them. Likewise if they made his moves and they didn't work out do you think Dwight would be talking to the media saying "My bad, I said we should get those guys and it didn't work, I guess I have to stick around to clean up this mess!" Hahaha yeah right, he'd be blaming the GM and denying all responsibility.

    You keep your star players happy by making moves that put you closer to a title, not by listening to the moves they want to make. When they come to you with moves you just smile and nod your head and say you'll look into it, then throw that note in the bin as soon as they're out the door.

  • In reply to schaumburgfan:

    1: Eh, if you get Howard you don't worry about it.

    2: The Bulls are not pursuing another guard right now [after Hamilton], so I'm not sure it matters. I'd say Crawford/Mayo are the only two creation oriented guards really left.

  • Korver plays LESS minutes than you would like? Geez, I don't know which games you were watching last year, but Korver was a disaster. Defensively, he's non existent. He's not quick enough to defend against any guard or strong enough (and also again usually not quick enough) to defend against any forward.

    His shooting was hot and cold (mostly cold last year), but even if he shoots better this year, he's a liability on offense as well. He has absolutely no ball handling skills. I think he spent his youth playing horse, but no one on one. He is the worst dribbling 6'5 guy I have ever seen. And he always seems to be a split second behind everyone else on the court. His reactions to passing to open men is like that of a 55 year old man. Korver throws away passes every game that no one else would. He plays like his entire body was just shot up with novacaine.

    I'd rather see a 50 year old Craig Hodges suit up as the Bulls spot up shooter this season. His defense and ball handling stink too, but at least he'd hit most of his wide open shots. I can't say the same about Korver after last year.

  • In reply to ohwow:

    Yes, Korver is nothing but a low volume spot-up shooter. Thibs attempts to run Korver off screens ala Ray Allen were not very succesful. Korver looked rushed and uncomfortable coming off those screens. He was jacking his shot up SO QUICK it was like he was throwing the ball at the basket.

    And as you say the defense, Ugh!

  • In reply to ohwow:

    The only point Korver was a disaster was the ECF, otherwise the Bulls played radically better when he was on the floor pretty consistently all season long.

  • In reply to DougThonus:

    Which is kind of a big problem. Basically Korver plays well against teams we'd probably be able to beat even if he wasn't on the roster, and isn't usable against the only team (in the East) we need help to beat.

  • In reply to ohwow:

    For the record, the only thing a 55 year old man can do is throw a mean pass...

    Or hit the 18 ft set shot.

  • Did Prokhorov tell Howard he plans to be the next President of Russia when he met with him last week? Brook Lopez and two first round draft picks? That's it?

    Clippers are dishing out a good amount of their roster (including Gordon) for Paul. They've signed Butler. No way they have enough assets left for Howard.

    The Lakers don't want to trade both Gasol and Bynum for Howard. They've dealt Odom. Bynum, the trade exceptions acquired in a Lamar Odom trade to Dallas, and two draft picks? That's it?

    What am I missing here? It seems the Bulls can walk into the room and lay down the best offer in fornt of Otis Smith.

  • In reply to Jmax:

    I think I am missing something:

    Nets' Deron Williams has a personal relationship with Howard. They talked last week about playing with each other.

    Lakers' Matt Barnes has a personal relationship with Howard.
    They talked last week about playing with each other.

    If the Bulls receive the go ahead to speak with Howard, Derrick better pick up the damn phone.

    Gar didn't want to comment on the Bulls' interest in Howard. I respect his professionalism, but let's go "all in" as Jerry would like to say. This is an opportunity the Bulls can't pass up.

  • I wasn't getting emotional Doug, just stating a fact... Will we win the central division? More than likely... But the Pacers adding both David West and possibly OJ Mayo makes them quite a bit better... Rose is obviously the best player between the 2 rosters, but one could argue that they would be just as deep with guys like Hansborough coming off the bench... Just saying we've got some competition now..

  • In reply to RC360:

    1. I think the Bulls took the Pacers a little bit lightly in the playoffs last season. A lot of people were picking the Bulls to win it all after their 62 win reg season and this was their real "1st Playoffs' where they were favored.
    2. The Pacers might close the gap in terms of wins/losses but I doubt they will challenge the Bulls for the division. But that said, OJ Mayo might make them pretty good if given the keys. He played pretty well in the playoffs.

  • In reply to schaumburgfan:

    Thibs was also out-coached against Pacers. We simply had more talent on our roster.

  • In reply to schaumburgfan:

    The Pacers are the only team that can/will challenge the Bulls... If you look at a potential lineup of Collison/Mayo/Granger/West/Hibbert and then George Hill and Hansborough coming off of the bench, and since they amnestied Posey they add some cap space... They'll be better than we think...

  • In reply to RC360:

    What's better than we think? slightly above .500?

    Rose >>>> Collison
    Hamilton ?? Mayo
    Deng < Granger
    Boozer >> West
    Noah >> Hibbert

    Watson, Brewer, Omer, Taj, Korver >>>> their bench

  • In reply to RC360:

    No we don't.

    The only way we don't win the central is if the roster is decimated with injury. We are head and shoulders better than the Pacers. we have a better player at every position on the floor save perhaps Granger vs Deng and have more depth as well.

  • In reply to DougThonus:

    I'd prefer Mayo to Hamilton... And of course Granger over Deng... I don't know that I put Boozer over West given the fact that Hansborough gave him fits... And Hibbert is no slouch either... Not saying we aren't better, just saying there's some competition...

  • The one thing that intrigues me about Hamilton is his passing ability. He can make plays for our bigs coming off the screens, something Korver didn't do that well. In this way, Hamilton becomes our second playmaker, getting Boozer and Noah involved down in the low post. He also has a decent post up game for a guard.

  • Hey Doug,

    Do you have any idea what kind of shape Hamilton is in?
    If he already is great, but if he is going to play himself into shape should we expect to see Butler early in the season with Brewer/Korver playing more minutes at the 2G?
    Based on Thibs last season, I also think that Brewer will be the starter, but I expect to see Rip in most of the 4Q minutes in close games.
    Any thoughts on who our 5th Big Might be, I was unrealistically hoping for a Kurt Thomas return this year and hadn't really put much thought into it or who is available?

  • In reply to Wojo7:

    Hamilton is said to be a fitness fanatic who runs 10 miles/day in the offseason. It ties directly into his game of exhausting opponents by running them off screen after screen.

    Anything can happen, but I would'nt worry about his conditioning.

  • In reply to Tyler Soze:

    Sounds great, I appreciate the information.

  • In reply to Wojo7:

    Hamilton will play immediately, there's no way that Butler is ahead of him on the depth chart unless he simply is amazing.

  • The issue Doug raised about Noah's contract and BYC is huge, and I can't believe no one knows the real answer to this. It's important because if Noah is not BYC, then he's worth $12m (rather than $6m) for trade purposes, which means Orlando would not have to take back another major contract in a trade for Howard.

    That means we could offer a slew of different combinations. The Magic could pick one expensive piece (Noah, Deng, or Boozer); three or four less expensive pieces (most likely Gibson, Asik, and Korver); and some combination of Charlotte's pick, one of our picks, and/or Mirotic. Obviously, not every combination would be palatable to the Bulls, but the key is that Orlando only needs to take back one contract with large salary and more than 2 years on it.

    Of course, according to ESPN Howard is now considering staying in Orlando, but that seems like a a negotiating tactic.

  • In reply to bzoooty:

    I agree with your analysis of what to offer for Howard.
    Noah, Taj or Asik (just 1 and preferably Taj if Asik agrees to a reasonable extension), Korver, the Charlotte pick, the Bulls pick.

    That's more than enough, as Lakers will not trade both Bynum and Gasol.

  • In reply to Edward:

    What you offer is whatever it takes to get the deal done that doesn't include Derrick Rose.

  • In reply to DougThonus:

    abosolutely, you worry about everything else later.

  • "They chose to take an inferior player because his contract was cheaper." I.e won't pay the f-ing tax.

    Jerry Reinsdorf rakes in the profits, and spends loyal Bulls fans money on his real interest/hobby the White Sox. Rios, Peavey risky moves to be sure. But that's OK I've been comped by sap/loyal Bulls fans. Yeah, those suckers subsidize my fun. And I'll never spend those obscene profits on those assholes.

    Howard will never resign with the Bulls. So sending major assets would be a gutting for no purpose. And I wonder how long it will be before Billups sails through waivers due to his "warning" and he then signs with Miami for relative peanuts for the ring. Hopefully that will not happen.

    I see the karma from cheapness and disengenuousness during the Mayo "talks" offering Ronnie Brewer as coming back to haunt the Bulls. Gar/Pax have drafted decently, but in trade relations and hiring coaches they been Jerry's patsies to look like fools around the league. Similar to the fiasco that ocurred before the Vinster was signed. Reinsdorf really is a maniacle meddler especially if you don't have the sack to stand up to him. Again, I hope Thibs and Joakim prove me wrong this year or else the Bulls are in for an implosion at some point now that they've added relatively squat offensively/in talent.

  • In reply to RoadWarrior:

    J/C Roadwarrior do you always have to be doom and gloom? I would bet my year's salary that Dwight would resign with Chicago. How could he criticize Otis Smith for not acquiring the "right players" and then pass up playing four years with DRose?

  • Hamilton vs Richardson to me was about years(2 vs 4) and flexibility not money. As you stated short contracts are better than long. Pretty much every long term (big money) deal that we have signed has become an instant handicap if not albatross, you shouldn't be signing role players to long term deals, that is why the NBA wanted to shorten and shrink the MLE. I hope in the future that it is limited to 3 years.

    As for Howard, I still believe that the Lakers will do whatever it takes to end up with Howard, because they are the Lakers and that is what they do, it is all about star power in LA.

    Your thoughts on Gasol are interesting, i.e. trading him to Houston for Scola and Martin, heck that might even make sense for LA directly, or in a 3 way with Orlando that mirrors the Chris Paul trade.

    Bynum, Scola and Martin to Orlando with picks from LA and Houston, Gasol to Houston and Howard to LA. Maybe LA gets a point guard(dragic) from somebody.

    I've heard that the Bulls have told Orlando that they can have any 3 Bulls other than Rose as the starting point for a discussion. As I have said many times, it starts with Deng, Noah or Asik(Orlando's choice) and Boozer, plus picks, cap filler and taking back TurkeyGlue. That is the best that the Bulls can do, is that the best that Orlando can do, I don't know, and at this point neither do they.

    As for BYC, I've read that the base year was not necessarily elimanated, but greatly weakened to make it easier to move those guys, and that Noah's situation was directly affected.

    Finally, as for Hamilton himself, as a full time starter I don't see that much of a difference, (and PER will probably prove my point) between Rip and Deng, similar PPG & shooting percentages, probably similar defensive effectiveness at their respective positions.

    To me Rip is like an older, taller, more proven version of Courtney Lee on a 2 year rental, not necessarily a bad move at this juncture.

  • Re: Bynum + Martin + Scola

    Scola is nearly 32 and a 32 year old with 3 years left on his deal is hardly what a rebuilding team needs either. And Martin may be more injury prone than Bynum. Personally I don't think the deal makes a lot more sense than the Bulls deal. I wouldn't take either if I was the Magic, I'd be trying to get that Wolves pick from the Clippers. Should be top 5, goes along with the now depleted Magic's top 5 pick and if the lottery balls fall your way then you have an instant rebuild next year.

    However I'm also not responsiblefor what happens this year so who knows, maybe the Magic would rather stay semi-competitive instead of doing the sensible thing and blowing it up. I think it's a stupid and short sighted view: take the pain of one bad season and you could have the Magic fans saying "Dwight Who?" but I guess as GMs one bad season can end your career so the incentives to do stupid things are always there.

  • Any chance of us trading for Fernandez from Dallas? Last year we offered a first round pick for him. With Dallas wanting to clear cap space maybe Bogans non-guaranteed contract could grab him for us. The problem though is we may not be able to give him any minutes but depth is never a bad problem to have

  • I think non-guaranteeds are what Dallas wants for Fernandez, they basically just want his salary off their books.

    But I'm not sure Bulls have interest in Fernandez anymore. And with his desire to return to Spain he's kind of a headache.

  • What no Doug Today??

  • Doug,
    Did you see the Nuggets Mavericks trade? Clearly a salary dumb. Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer for a future second round pick. WOuld that deal have worked for the Bulls salary wise? Could they have taken those contracts on? Because if so, I'd have a hard time not getting rid of a second rounder for at least Rudy. Probably have to get rid of ronnie brewer cause their arent enough mintues for Rip, Rudy and ronnie. But Rudy can sure stretch the floor. You know if they were involved in those talks at all?

  • nope you have to be under the salary cap to take back salary for draft picks. Denver is way under, because they barely have any players left(everbody is in China or a free agent). Dallas gets another trade exception or 2.

    great value pickup for Denver, I wouldn't mind either of those guys one the Bulls. Doubt it, but maybe Denver is thinking about letting Afflalo go.

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