LeBron Interested In The Bulls?, "That's the one team no one talks about" Options

[AtHomeBoy_2000]

Cross Nets, Clippers & Heat off LeBron James' list of potential NBA homes

As if there hasn't already been enough speculation about LeBron James' plans for the future, the next five months are going to be off the charts.

But go ahead and cross off the Clippers, Nets and Heat from the list of potential destinations for James, even though they've all got salary cap space to attract the NBA's top free agent this summer.

James isn't playing second fiddle to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, even if Clippers GM Mike Dunleavy traded off Marcus Camby, Al Thornton, Sebastian Telfair and got rid of Ricky Davis to create a maximum salary slot for the express purpose of landing James.

James might be tight with Net minority owner Jay-Z, but he's not coming to play in Newark for two years, which could turn into three or four seasons, depending on what happens to the Nets' Atlantic Yards project.

James isn't moving down to South Beach to team with Dwyane Wade. They both need to dominate the ball and the Heat wants to import a big man to pair with Wade. Chris Bosh tops the list, although the Heat were in trade talks this past week with Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire and Utah for Carlos Boozer, each of whom could become a free agent in July.

If James wants to win a title, his best chance, obviously, is to stay in Cleveland, where he can also sign for the most money.

While the Knicks were scrambling to get rid of Jared Jeffries' contract, which was the key to picking up enough cap space for two "maximum-salary" players, their brass was livid when it learned that the Cavaliers had stolen Antawn Jamison from the Wizards. The feeling inside the Two Penn Plaza offices is that Washington president Ernie Grunfeld stuck it to his old team by giving James the missing piece to the Cavs' championship puzzle. Winning it all is seen as the best way for Cleveland to keep its franchise player.

"It was as if the Wizards said, "You want Antawn Jamison? Well, here he is, take him,'" said one Knick executive. "They handed him over, just like the Timberwolves gave Kevin Garnett to the Celtics."

If James wants to go to a bigger market and join what would be a strong supporting cast, in Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Joakim Noah, he could go to the Bulls. Like the Clippers, the Bulls engineered a deal to get them far enough under the salary cap to give them a "max-salary" slot. They were so intent on clearing cap space, they were willing to give Hinrich away. But in the end, they swung the deal with the Bucks that removed John Salmons from their cap and gave them the necessary space to make a run at James.

"That's the one team no one talks about," said a person with close ties to James.

But Bosh, the top big man in the free-agent pool, is considered the Bulls' primary target.

[ZoomSlowik]

You're strange Edwin. You freak out about how Gibson can't be our answer at PF in the other thread, but suddenly you'd rather have him starting than Chris Bosh? You don't think that just maybe playing in a frontcourt where Andrea Bargnani isn't the "power" forward or center makes a pretty sizeable difference? Over the last three years his PER allowed is around 5 points lower when he's playing PF instead of center. Some, "career year" too, he's averaged 22-10 twice before this and 22-9 twice as well. He's been one of the best big men out there for several years.

PF is easily a bigger concern than SG. You're not winning a title with a frontcourt of Noah and Gibson unless you get Lebron. You need someone like Bosh that can convert at a solid clip inside and get to the line with regularity. It's also far easier to find a serviceable shooting guard than a big man that can score. Johnson is a solid player, but you're basically right back where you were last season if you sign him instead of Bosh.

[eddog2]

You're strange Edwin. You freak out about how Gibson can't be our answer at PF in the other thread, but suddenly you'd rather have him starting than Chris Bosh? You don't think that just maybe playing in a frontcourt where Andrea Bargnani isn't the "power" forward or center makes a pretty sizeable difference? Over the last three years his PER allowed is around 5 points lower when he's playing PF instead of center. Some, "career year" too, he's averaged 22-10 twice before this and 22-9 twice as well. He's been one of the best big men out there for several years.

PF is easily a bigger concern than SG. You're not winning a title with a frontcourt of Noah and Gibson unless you get Lebron. You need someone like Bosh that can convert at a solid clip inside and get to the line with regularity. It's also far easier to find a serviceable shooting guard than a big man that can score. Johnson is a solid player, but you're basically right back where you were last season if you sign him instead of Bosh.

All I'm saying is that if we pay Bosh a max deal we won't win any titles. If we can get Bosh for a few million a year under a max then sure sign the guy. Maybe playing next to Noah I'd like him more but he just doesn't come across as a winner in my eyes. But I could just be crazy.

I'm not saying that I want Joe Johnson more than a great big man but I'm just saying that I don't think Bosh is the big man we need. I would rather have had Gasol. I guess if we have a chance to sign him we have to make a move b/c we don't get a chance to sign a PF like him that often. I know the Bulls will be going after him with a max contract. That's what scares me. Overpaying for him leaves us with no money to sign anyone else. And then Noah needs an extension and then Rose. How does that play out for Noah?

Anyway,

Noah
Bosh
Deng
Kirk
Rose

That's a very good lineup but would it win a title?

[ZoomSlowik]

All I'm saying is that if we pay Bosh a max deal we won't win any titles. If we can get Bosh for a few million a year under a max then sure sign the guy. Maybe playing next to Noah I'd like him more but he just doesn't come across as a winner in my eyes. But I could just be crazy.

I'm not saying that I want Joe Johnson more than a great big man but I'm just saying that I don't think Bosh is the big man we need. I would rather have had Gasol. I guess if we have a chance to sign him we have to make a move b/c we don't get a chance to sign a PF like him that often. I know the Bulls will be going after him with a max contract. That's what scares me. Overpaying for him leaves us with no money to sign anyone else. And then Noah needs an extension and then Rose. How does that play out for Noah?

Anyway,

Noah
Bosh
Deng
Kirk
Rose

That's a very good lineup but would it win a title?

People said the same thing about Gasol when he was playing in Memphis. If I felt like digging through the archives, I bet I could find a bunch of posts about how Gasol isn't a winner, is a guy that puts up stats on bad teams and doesn't really make a difference, is too soft and is a mediocre defender. Now he has a ring and has a shot at a few more.

It's amazing what an upgrade of your teammates can do, Bosh has had a mediocre supporting cast since he hit his peak. Rose is quite a bit better than anyone he's played with in Toronto, Noah is definitely the best rebounder/defender he would be paired with up front, and you can make a case that Deng is better than any of the wing players Bosh has played with as well (especially since Bargnani has only been an 18 PPG type for about a season total and is officially a big man).

I'm also not sure how "paying him a few mil under a max deal" makes a difference. Seriously, I have no idea where you're going with that. Giving him a deal at an average of $16 or 17 mil a year makes a big difference over $19 mil or so? We'd still be over the cap either way and $2 or 3 mil isn't going to make any kind of difference in a luxury tax situation. They're not going to be adding anyone over the mid level exception if they sign anyone for more than like $14 mil, and they might not even have that in the next CBA. Besides, Kirk comes off the books before Rose is ever due an extension and they'd be nowhere close to the current luxury tax.

No acquisition makes them a lock for a title, not even Lebron. However, Rose/Bosh/Noah is a nice start that probably would make them a top-4 seed every year, and you could have worse guys as a #3 scorer than Deng. They'd still need to find one or two guys that can hit three's, but that's what draft picks and the MLE are for. It's a lot easier to find a wing player or two in the mid-first and in the bargain bin in free agency than it is to find a big man that can score. If they were so inclined, they could also try to use Kirk's expiring deal to get someone in 2011/2012.