D'Antoni hired by the Knicks.

Well money talks thats for sure. Im wondering if the Bulls even made an offer and if they did how close it was to that.... Look for Avery Johnson to be named head coach very soon. He may actually be a better fit for the Bulls than D'Antoni anyway. How can you win a championship on pure offense?

Avery is owed 12 million that gets offset if he gets another coaching gig...

The dumbshit Bulls were too slow to get an offer ready. That is so like them.

One thing I will say is that this isn't John Paxson's fault its all on Mr. (Cheapass) Reinsdorf because he didn't want to pay big money for a good coach. I can't take much more of this cheap spiff that is going on with our idiot owner who needs to resign. We lose out on a coach that would excell here. Our players match his system WAAAAAAAY more than the Knicks.

I hope he enjoys winning 30 games a year because I promise you he won't do much better than Isaih because Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph are too fat and lazy to go up and down the floor. In fact, there aren't many Knicks who can run in his system. It came down to money and D'Antoni, like I thought he might, accepted the cash to coach a pathetic team like the Knicks.

It looks like its down to Avery Johnson or Tom Thibideau, actually it may not be either. I have heard reports that Avery may just sit out next year and collect his $ from the Mavericks and Thibideau is probably going to wind up in Phoenix. Mark Jackson anyone?

This might actually pave the way for Mark Jackson. And it might be yet another way we screw over the Knicks. The Knicks will probably be looking to trade some pieces away and this may be the time for the Bulls to jump in and make some deals. I know Eddy Curry hasn't been the greatest player since leaving the Bulls but he's still leap years ahead of any post option we have. Maybe the Knicks would be willing to trade him. How about for Tyrus Thomas? Or our pick? I'd personally be willing to bring him back. He's still a very effective post player and he still shoots a very high percentage from the field and he's very young. Adding him would round out the lineup pretty nicely and would give us another young talented big man. It could blow up in our face or it could end up being the move that takes us back to the playoffs.

Anyway, with Paxson running the team this is as likely to happen as the Bulls getting the # 1 pick.

If Memphis gets the number 1 or 2 pick and they select Derrick Rose, maybe we can get Conley over here!

I was fine thinking that Paxson had decided philisophically he couldn't mesh with D'Antoni... Or if he believed D'Antoni really wouldn't be a good coach without Nash. Or if he thought he needed a coach that would demand more accountability from the players... whatever.

But then Paxson side of the story got out:

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,1872674.story

WTF

They decided D'Antoni was their guy and they couldn't get the spiff together to send an offer in a timely manner


Did they overplay there hand thinking that the Knicks would sign Marc Jackson and they could avoid the bidding war?

I don't know and I don't care.

How is the rest of league not laughing at the Bulls. They traded away Chandler for an expiring contract they couldn't use. They couldn't get Garnette or Gasol and then saw them be traded away for spiff. They decided a coach would be great fit for their team, but becuase they were comitted to the "interview process" they let the Knicks swoop in and get him.

Maybe it isn't Pax... may it is all Reinsdorf being a crappy owner

"In a timely manner"? That just pisses me off

Dear god, please say you aren't serious. Eddy Curry is an awful player that will do nothing but make whatever team he is on worse. He's basically Michael Sweetney with playing time, the ONLY thing he can do is score in the post and he does nothing else well. He's probably the worst defender in the league, a subpar rebounder, an absolute black hole that never passes, and on top of that he turns it over at a high rate. You can't even have him on the floor in the clutch because of his porous defense and below average free throw shooting. The Knicks performed a staggering 10 points better in terms of scoring margin when he wasn't on the floor, and over 100 posessions the Knicks were 11.6 points worse with him on the floor, the second worst total in the NBA. None of that is exactly new either, I just really don't feel like searching for those stats from previous years.

For christ's sake, he's the third best post player on an awful Knicks team and a major reason that they've sucked the last several years. Adding him to the Bulls is a major step back. Maybe if he lost 30 pounds and actually played like he gave a spiff he'd be an asset, that's not terribly likely though. I'd MUCH rather see us stick with Gooden/Noah/Tyrus up front that bring than slug in, at least they can actually move. Hell, I'd rather see Tyrus play 35 minutes a game, and you know how high that is on my list.

I knew I'd get a reaction out of some people. Anyway, we obviously need a post player. I'm not to sold on Curry but I do think he's a good post option. But you are right when you say he's lazy. That's not likely to change. I know Di'Antoni has always liked players like Tyrus and Noah and that's why I brought it up. There aren't many players on that team that fit his system. I'm sure the Knicks will be trying to do anything to get rid of Randolph/Curry. I'm not sure I want either. But how about trading Tyrus for the Knicks pick? I don't want to get rid of Tyrus but if we plan on keeping Gooden it might not be a bad idea to trade for the Knicks pick and have 2 first round selections. Maybe even get Malik Rose's expiring contract if he's still on the books. I doubt the Knicks would want to trade the pick but they've been dumb enough in the past.

I don't know how much the Knicks have that I'd want. The pick would definitely be nice if they're stupid enough, but it kind of depends on where that lands. For that to make sense we have to be able to get Beasley, Rose or maybe one of Lopez, Mayo, Bayless if we really like them, or Anthony Randolph if we want another young prospect with a bit more of a skill set. Other than that not much would interest me, they all have some combination of salary/attitude/flaws in the game issues. If Randolph weren't such a head case/police magnet I might bite. Yes, he's similarly awful defensively and can coast as well, but he's also more proficient with the jumper, at the line and on the glass. When things are going well with him he can be a difference maker, that can seriously backfire too though if something comes up off the court or if he gets pissed off. Rose's expiring contract would definitely be interesting, though we'd have to spend back a big salary to make that worth it, any non-Thomas GM probably wouldn't do that.

Just a question about the coaches. What would you classify Avery Johnson as? (Balanced attack of both offense and defense?) What would you think Mark Jackson would do? I think its really important that we hire a coach before the draft (which I know we will) to get a feel for who we draft and who belongs on this team. First things first though; we desperately need a point guard! If D'Antoni was the coach I think Gordon would have been brought back to fill the Barbosa role but he's not so his future is up in the air still. What trades can we make?

We have a lot of unknowns when it comes to potential coaches for the Bulls. You have Thibideau who is a defensive guru but what is his offensive philosophy? Mark Jackson is a point guard like Avery so will he run a drive and kick offense? What is his defensive philosophy?

I just want to say one thing for now...

I hate Tyrus Thomas as a person and basketball player, and I'd still rather have him than Curry. Trading Tyrus or our 1st rounder for Curry would be mind-numbingly idiotic and I'd want Paxson fired immediately.

Agreed.

Personally, I'm glad we didn't get D'Antoni. He should do really well in New York where the problem is already defense. Sure, he'd have been exciting, but I'm more concerned with eventually winning another championship than averaging 100+ points while giving up 110+.