Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Would he be a perfect fit for the Bulls? Options

[eddog2]

So I was going through every teams salaries and I notice that Shareef only makes around $5.4 million this year and he has a 5 year contract that doesn't inflate very much. (In 2010 he is set to make $6.6 million). The guy is turning 30 and will have be 35 when his contract finishes. Talk about going from the youngest team to one of the most mature front lines in just one off-season.

He has a great low post game and is a decent rebounder. Sacramento has Kenny Thomas at PF and they were really impressed by the way he played last year. When Rahim came back from injury last year, Thomas remained in the starting line-up. So Thomas may get the nod over Rahim this year. Rahim used to be a 20 point scorer and with some injury problems last year he still averaged

12.3 points in just 27 minutes while shooting 52.5%.

I think he would be the perfect fit for the Bulls. They could definately use him and P.J. Brown to solidify the PF position and it would also free up P.J. to play back-up center a little more.

I think the Kings biggest need is a quality back-up point guard. The Bulls could trade Duhon to fill that need along with Sweetney (to provide Sacramento with a back-up PF who has post skills). And if that isn't enough they could add Khryapa and a second round pick. I am not sure if that is overpaying but I definately think we could use a guy like Rahim and that he would be worth trading Duhon and the above listed players for.

Rahim and Wallace together with our key 4 would have to put us in contention to be serious title contenders this year. Also Rahim would be a perfect player for Thomas to mold his game after. Then next year when Brown leaves Rahim/Nocioni and Thomas could share all of the PF minutes. Rahim has a 5 year contract and Wallace has a 4 year contract. One would expect he Bulls 4 to get better and Rahim's impact to become less important each year of his contract. By the end of his contract Thomas should be ready to step in (hopefully). Anyway, the best aspect is that we won't have to pay $10 million for a star power forward. Getting Rahim would allow us to save enough money to sign our 4 key players.

Then our line-up would be

Wallace/Brown/Allen/Schenscher
Rahim/Brown/Nocioni/Thomas
Deng/Nocioni/Griffin/Thomas
Gordon/Sefolosha/Griffin
Hinrich/Sefolosha/ (and maybe we could still sign Aaron Miles and then designate Schenscher to the D-league)(or maybe we don't get rid of Eisley just in case).

Either way I think we could afford to lose 3 players to get Rahim. This opens up more minutes for Sefolosha. But I think if we deal Duhon we still need a third point guard just in case (hopefully A. Miles)

[ZoomSlowik]

Abdur-Rahim is a cronic under-acheiver that puts up great numbers on weak teams. Kenny Thomas played over him toward the end of the year, which doesn't exactly say much about Shareef. His defense and effort have been questioned in the past. He's an okay player, but I don't really see him putting us over the top.

He would be a good fit, but I'm not sure if he's the right answer. I'd also think they'd want more talent in return, but I'm not entirely sure.

[sport1016]

I have long wanted rahim bc he is a bona fide scoring pf. Anyone who has been on this site a while knows I have many times called for a veteran scorer such as him or zach "it ain't MY weed" randolph.

However, now recently i have thought that instead of tying themselves up with a guy like rahim who is older who MIGHT put us over the top but could also just get us close might not be the right move.

Doing that, our roster is basically set for the next few years 'cept for resigning our own guys. The timberwolves did that a couple years ago, fell just short of the finals, and then were stuck with a team that just slowly declined and couldnt do much about it bc of all the long term and expensive deals.

Getting rahim might not be worth completely neutralizing our future roster flexibility, and dont forget we have a likely top 5 pick coming to us next year that could yield a better and cheaper big.

[eddog2]

I have long wanted rahim bc he is a bona fide scoring pf. Anyone who has been on this site a while knows I have many times called for a veteran scorer such as him or zach "it ain't MY weed" randolph.

However, now recently i have thought that instead of tying themselves up with a guy like rahim who is older who MIGHT put us over the top but could also just get us close might not be the right move.

Doing that, our roster is basically set for the next few years 'cept for resigning our own guys. The timberwolves did that a couple years ago, fell just short of the finals, and then were stuck with a team that just slowly declined and couldnt do much about it bc of all the long term and expensive deals.

Getting rahim might not be worth completely neutralizing our future roster flexibility, and dont forget we have a likely top 5 pick coming to us next year that could yield a better and cheaper big.

Do you want to win this year or wait till next year? I am pretty tired of everyone saying oh we can wait till next year to get a good PF. I basketball there are no guarantees. There is no guarantee that the Knicks won't be better this year. Even if they are the worst team there is no guarantee that we will have the 1, 2, 3 or 4 pick. We may end up with number 5. And then there is no guarantee that certain players will be available or that they the big we get will be an immediate impact player.

I think getting Rahim would be a very, very smart choice and a great way for Paxson to hedge his bets. If he gets Greg Oden then we could easily trade Rahim because his $5.4 million contract is by far the lowest I have seen for any power forward with his skills. Rahim would give us a legitimate chance to win this year and that is what we need to be striving for.

The Bulls need a low post scorer to go with Wallace. Wallace is not getting any younger. We can't wait until next year to draft a rookie who may not be ready to contribute enough or who may not be offensively polished. We have Wallace for 4 years. Do we win now or wait until he has only 2 years left and his skills start to decline.

[Steve9347]

I dunno... he seems to fit, but I don't think it would happen regardless... I don't think Sacramento wants to move him.

[eddog2]

I dunno... he seems to fit, but I don't think it would happen regardless... I don't think Sacramento wants to move him.

If they get the right offer they would likely trade him. Why would they keep two power forwards who both make around $6 million. Kenny Thomas is locked up for 4 years and Rahim is locked up for 5 years. I think the Bulls have the right pieces to get it done. The Bulls have 2nd round picks and Duhon who is a valuable commidity.

[ZoomSlowik]

If they get the right offer they would likely trade him. Why would they keep two power forwards who both make around $6 million. Kenny Thomas is locked up for 4 years and Rahim is locked up for 5 years. I think the Bulls have the right pieces to get it done. The Bulls have 2nd round picks and Duhon who is a valuable commidity.

It's an interesting idea. I like it a lot more than giving that much money to Gooden or Wilcox. The only question is whether or not Skiles signs off on it. He is a pretty solid scorer, I'll give him that. I'm just not 100% sold on his defense or effort (I'll admit, the former is probably a bigger concern). If they would take that package, I'd probably do it.

[eddog2]

It's an interesting idea. I like it a lot more than giving that much money to Gooden or Wilcox. The only question is whether or not Skiles signs off on it. He is a pretty solid scorer, I'll give him that. I'm just not 100% sold on his defense or effort (I'll admit, the former is probably a bigger concern). If they would take that package, I'd probably do it.

I assure you his defense is far better then either Songaila's or Sweetney's. And he makes up for his defense with his offense anyway. He is not a bad defender, he simply isn't a lock down defender.

Does anyone know of somewhere to get this idea posted so that it gets read by people with influence in the NBA? I really would love to see something like this happen.

[Serbbojo]

Paxson doesnt listen to Chicagotribune writers i doubt he'll listen to a bunch of kids on a forum

[Bullies4Life]

i think the bulls would have to give up a lot more for Shareef Abdur-Rahim.... Sacramento would prolly target some1 like Noc or something to make it happen....

Anyways, if the duhon and sweets and so on, trade did happen, i definately think it would make us better, but im not sure if the Kings would be better.... Rahim is a pretty good player and they would want some1 good in return... Some1 that can make an impact out there....

[SoxFan1]

If they get the right offer they would likely trade him. Why would they keep two power forwards who both make around $6 million. Kenny Thomas is locked up for 4 years and Rahim is locked up for 5 years. I think the Bulls have the right pieces to get it done. The Bulls have 2nd round picks and Duhon who is a valuable commidity.

You think the Kings want Duhon? They have BIbby as their starter, Kevin Martin as their back-up, and just drafted Quincy Douby.

They value Abdur-Rahim way more than Kenny Thomas.

[eddog2]

You think the Kings want Duhon? They have BIbby as their starter, Kevin Martin as their back-up, and just drafted Quincy Douby.

They value Abdur-Rahim way more than Kenny Thomas.

If they value Rahim so much more then Thomas, then why did they not play Rahim much after he came back from his injury. Shareef started only 30 games last year and played in 70. He came back from his injury and didn't get much pt. He only averaged 27 minutes. Someone as good as him should get 33+ minutes like he has for every year of his career. In the playoffs he played in all 6 games. Didn't start any. He averaged only 21 minutes. 21 minutes. 21 minutes. Are you kidding me. In 21 minutes he averaged 9.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 53.5%. In game 2 against the Spurs Rahim dominated. He got 35 minutes was 12-19 from the field, 27 points, and had 9 rebounds. But they were playing Tim Duncan and the next few games he was in foul trouble.

Meanwhile Kenny Thomas started all 6 playoff games. He only averaged 5.8 points but got in foul trouble early and often. 5.8 pts, 4.5 reb, 54.2% fg in 24.7 minutes. Without the foul trouble I think we would have seen a lot less of Shareef out there.

Either way I don't think they need both Thomas and Shareef because both will be making 6+ toward the end of their contracts and Thomas's last year has him making 8+ million. I could see them trying to unload one of them either before the season or after next year when they decide to make some changes.

I think their lineup of would be more dangerous then having no true back up point guard.

Miller/Sweetney/Potapenko
Thomas/Sweetney
Artest/Garcia/Salmons
Martin/Salmons/Douby
Bibby/Duhon/Hart

I think it would be a smart move. The kings could also get the Bulls 2 2nd rounders or could get Khryapa who is another good bench player in case they have an injury to one of their players. With the 2nd rounders and with their own first round pick the Kings could move up next year to get a good young power forward to replace Kenny Thomas down the line. Either way I just don't see the Kings winning it all next year.

The loss of Bonzi Wells is going to hurt. Kenny Thomas, Miller and Rahim are locked up until 2010. Do you think the Kings really want 3 30+ year old players in their front court next year and for 5 years down the line. I don't think so. I think they need to get younger. Duhon and Sweetney are younger and the 2nd round picks would help them to get a replacement at PF/C.

[DrunkBomber]

He seems like he could be a good fit but I see him creating problems. He isnt the team player that is gonna get all these role players to gel. He has never been on a team to display any success so he might be a distraction.

[eddog2]

He seems like he could be a good fit but I see him creating problems. He isnt the team player that is gonna get all these role players to gel. He has never been on a team to display any success so he might be a distraction.

Not a team player? The guy played on horrible teams and you never once heard him complaining in public like many other all-stars do. I never heard him complaining last year in public either even though he wasn't getting his normal minutes. Unless he is saying a lot of bad things behind closed doors, I just don't know where are this negative vibe is coming from.

The guy plays hard.

He could have easily have demanded more then the $5.4 million he is getting. Heck, Nene and Chandler both got $10 million. The guy went to Sacramento and signed a long contract and wasn't selfish about it. You can't say that about many players in the NBA. He is a great player and would be a perfect fit for the Bulls. And if it doesn't work out his contract makes it easy to trade him to another contender.

[Bullies4Life]

Not a team player? The guy played on horrible teams and you never once heard him complaining in public like many other all-stars do. I never heard him complaining last year in public either even though he wasn't getting his normal minutes. Unless he is saying a lot of bad things behind closed doors, I just don't know where are this negative vibe is coming from.

The guy plays hard.

He could have easily have demanded more then the $5.4 million he is getting. Heck, Nene and Chandler both got $10 million. The guy went to Sacramento and signed a long contract and wasn't selfish about it. You can't say that about many players in the NBA. He is a great player and would be a perfect fit for the Bulls. And if it doesn't work out his contract makes it easy to trade him to another contender.

A reason why he didnt get that much money is because teams wouldnt pay him that much money. They were still uncertain if he can even play healthy throughout the whole season. What if he ended up like Grant Hill? Comes back, gets injured... and same story over and over again....

-Ill admitt it that I didnt really follow the Kings too close this season.... But here's a thought... Was Rahim getting more minutes than thomas before he got injured? If so, why?

-As far as Rahim not really starting at the end of the season goes... maybe Rahim wasnt still 100% recorved. And maybe the Kings were on a nice flow, so the coach decided to keep things the way they were, and not lose that chemistry. Why mest up things u know? Rahim didnt '"need" to start in order for the Kings to be good.... And it never hurts to have an offensive punch come in the from the bench.