Saturday, December 09, 2006

Garnett is good

I was really excited to flip on WGN Saturday night. The offense has been gelling, Deng is developing into a stud, and the Bulls finally were showing some life. But I also realized that it was the second leg of back-to-back games, a death wish for the Bulls of late. Which Bulls team would show up?

It was clear early that we were getting the team without any legs. The Bulls' sets looked decent, but they just couldn't hit much of anything in open space. Even with the push in the third with the small lineup (which I loved by the way; it reminded me of Nova last year), they didn't have enough gas to finish.

A few thoughts.

1) Malik Allen is a pair of sweat pants away from the Men's 40 and over league. Maybe it's the mid-calf level socks, but he looks older and older all the time. That doesn't mean he can't still be an asset -I think he can be for short stints - but he just looks hilariously ancient.

2) Deng is really coming into his own, making the 3 by far the Bulls' deepest posistion. If we're not going to use him, can't we unload Griffin for a pick? I'm not sure of his contract status, but he started on a playoff team last year, so there's value there.

3) At one point, Wayne and Johnny Red screwed up where Craig Smith went to college. Come on guys, he was the ACC player of the year last year. I know you've been at it a while, but a little preparation is all I'm asking for.

4) Garnett didn't shoot it well at all tonight, but still made a huge impact, including 11 rebounds and 8 dimes. This just shows us how valuable Big Ticket can be, and why a possible trade is so intriguing. The whole Iverson fiasco may screw up a possible deal, as Sam Smith points out, but what if that doesn't go down? Should the Bulls make a run at KG?

The Toros definitely have all of the parts the T-Wolves desire: young talent, draft picks, and expiring contracts. With Deng developing so quickly, it brings up an interesting logjam on the wing. Noce is going to demand a lot more cash come 2007 and isn't really cut out to play the four (at least with Ben's lack of size/offense). I love the makeup of the team, but I'm not sure if they have the tools to make the jump.

A couple of ideas I've heard floating around look similar to John Jackson's. By giving up Tyrus, an expiring contract like Sweetney, Noce (who I think is going to be a stud), and the first round draft pick, you run the risk of losing out on a dominating front line (Oden could fill the 5). But KG is only 30, is still ridiculously good and driven, and would give the Bulls quite a starting five of Captain Kirk, Ben, Lu, KG and Wallace. They would have to be the favorites in the East.

The other options don't seem as appetizing for the price (Ray Allen, Paul Pierce). But KG could bring the Bulls back to the promised land, while leaving in place the major building blocks for the future.

1 Comments:

Blogger BenGo07 said...

Nice post, Sweet. I've got some thoughts of my own on this that I'm thinking about working into a longer post, hopefully today, if the workload eases up.

12:59 PM  

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