Bulls finally pursuing a big man coach, Finally Options

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Big-man coach sought: The Bulls have interviewed Mike Brown to be an assistant coach who can concentrate on working with big men. A decision is expected in the next few days.

The 6-foot-10 Brown began a 10-year NBA career by playing for the Bulls from 1986-88. Recently, he was a head coach and an assistant in the D-League.

Thoughts?

[Balta1701-B]

If he can not only do a heckuva job helping New Orleans recover from Katrina, but can also hang out in the building next door to me and use that perch to destroy Pluto, perhaps he can help our guys.

In all seriousness, why not? We've got 3 young, talented big guys, who are probably key to our future unless we're stupid and trade them at low values before they develop.

[ZoomSlowik]

If he can not only do a heckuva job helping New Orleans recover from Katrina, but can also hang out in the building next door to me and use that perch to destroy Pluto, perhaps he can help our guys.

In all seriousness, why not? We've got 3 young, talented big guys, who are probably key to our future unless we're stupid and trade them at low values before they develop.

Eh, if we could get someone like Gasol for those guys I'd pack their bags, neither Noah or Tyrus exactly looks like a franchise-saving type big man. Who knows what you can really get for them, they both have more hype than their production/ability warrants at this point.

Getting a decent coach won't hurt matters, though I know basically nothing about this guy.

[Balta1701-B]

Eh, if we could get someone like Gasol for those guys I'd pack their bags, neither Noah or Tyrus exactly looks like a franchise-saving type big man. Who knows what you can really get for them, they both have more hype than their production/ability warrants at this point.

Getting a decent coach won't hurt matters, though I know basically nothing about this guy.

It's interesting that you use the phrase "franchise-saving big man", because at least for the Grizzlies, while Pau Gasol has been a good player, he has been several steps away from Franchise-saving. The fans are turning on him more and more, he's hurt right now, and his numbers are starting to dip from the last couple seasons.

[ZoomSlowik]

It's interesting that you use the phrase "franchise-saving big man", because at least for the Grizzlies, while Pau Gasol has been a good player, he has been several steps away from Franchise-saving. The fans are turning on him more and more, he's hurt right now, and his numbers are starting to dip from the last couple seasons.

Of course he's not, at least not all by himself. You're not exactly going to get a Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan for those guys, and teams don't tend to trade those guys. However, the Bulls proved the last couple of seasons that they don't need THAT good a player up front. The Bulls have a deeper roster than the Grizzlies and already have a better record with just about everything going wrong. Give them a post player that can actually score and suddenly things look quite a bit better (once Deng and Gordon get healthy of course).

I wouldn't exactly call the 19-9 he's averaging right now a "dip", and he's averaging 22.6 and 10.9 in January. I would bet an awful lot that neither Noah or Tyrus even sniffs those numbers any time soon (if ever), which is all that really matters in this case. If you can get that kind of sure-fire production from a guy that's still only 27 for a couple of maybes and a bench player like Noc as that one rumored deal suggests, that's quite a boost to your team.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

I'd put my focus on Deandre Jordan who looks an awful lot like Dwight Howard (Seriously look at their shoulders and body type!) even though he looks to be a top 5-7 pick where we won't even get close to that unless we can trade away some of our talent to move in a spot that would grab him.

[Balta1701-B]

I'd put my focus on Deandre Jordan who looks an awful lot like Dwight Howard (Seriously look at their shoulders and body type!) even though he looks to be a top 5-7 pick where we won't even get close to that unless we can trade away some of our talent to move in a spot that would grab him.

Just going off of wins, if the season ended right now, the Bulls are in a 3 way tie that would put them picking between 7 and 9.

[ZoomSlowik]

I'd put my focus on Deandre Jordan who looks an awful lot like Dwight Howard (Seriously look at their shoulders and body type!) even though he looks to be a top 5-7 pick where we won't even get close to that unless we can trade away some of our talent to move in a spot that would grab him.

1) If he comes out, he's a lock to go in the top-5 and likely in the top-3. Athletic big men rarely drop in the draft. Beasley and Rose are the only guys likely to go ahead of him, and Gordon is really the only other guy that could barring an unusual front office decision.

2) While he does have a lot of potential, he's also absurdly raw. He's a terrible shooter (as shown by his sub-40 FT%), has no reliable post moves, and needs to get a lot stronger. He's only averaging 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game in college, that should give you an idea of how far he has to go. Barring major leaps forward it's going to be around 2 full seasons before he can make an impact. At least on the topic of development, he's closer to Andrew Bynum than Dwight Howard.

3) The last thing I take right now if I'm the Bulls is a big man that's a project. The biggest one is the Bulls need someone that can come in and contribute right away the way they've been playing most of this year. Another major one is the current logjam up front. Even if you get rid of Wallace, Smith, AND Nocioni you'd still have Tyrus, Noah and Gray splitting minutes with him. That wouldn't leave a whole lot of potential playing time the way things are set up right now, and I'd guess one of the biggest things Pax is looking for in a trade is a legit post-scorer. Lastly, the backcourt looks like a spot where they're going to need more bodies, with only Hinrich and Thabo under contract for next year thus far. There are a fair number of lottery choices that fit that bill (Rose, Gordon, Mayo, Budinger, Bayliss, Batum, plus possibly a few others).

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

1) If he comes out, he's a lock to go in the top-5 and likely in the top-3. Athletic big men rarely drop in the draft. Beasley and Rose are the only guys likely to go ahead of him, and Gordon is really the only other guy that could barring an unusual front office decision.

2) While he does have a lot of potential, he's also absurdly raw. He's a terrible shooter (as shown by his sub-40 FT%), has no reliable post moves, and needs to get a lot stronger. He's only averaging 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game in college, that should give you an idea of how far he has to go. Barring major leaps forward it's going to be around 2 full seasons before he can make an impact. At least on the topic of development, he's closer to Andrew Bynum than Dwight Howard.

3) The last thing I take right now if I'm the Bulls is a big man that's a project. The biggest one is the Bulls need someone that can come in and contribute right away the way they've been playing most of this year. Another major one is the current logjam up front. Even if you get rid of Wallace, Smith, AND Nocioni you'd still have Tyrus, Noah and Gray splitting minutes with him. That wouldn't leave a whole lot of potential playing time the way things are set up right now, and I'd guess one of the biggest things Pax is looking for in a trade is a legit post-scorer. Lastly, the backcourt looks like a spot where they're going to need more bodies, with only Hinrich and Thabo under contract for next year thus far. There are a fair number of lottery choices that fit that bill (Rose, Gordon, Mayo, Budinger, Bayliss, Batum, plus possibly a few others).

So your telling me if Deandre Jordan falls to us at pick # whatever your going to pass just because we have guys like Tyrus who's a developmental player? I'm sorry but I don't think twice before I pick him. For one, he's a 7'0 and he's got the exact same frame as Dwight Howard and though young and raw, Dwight Howard was pretty much the same way coming into the draft except he had a higher cieling.

His numbers aren't spectacular but it would kill me to pass on a big man who has gobs of potential, and unlike Tyrus he is tall and strong with atleast some post moves and could probably handle the center position once he comes into the league.

[Balta1701-B]

So your telling me if Deandre Jordan falls to us at pick # whatever your going to pass just because we have guys like Tyrus who's a developmental player? I'm sorry but I don't think twice before I pick him. For one, he's a 7'0 and he's got the exact same frame as Dwight Howard and though young and raw, Dwight Howard was pretty much the same way coming into the draft except he had a higher cieling.

His numbers aren't spectacular but it would kill me to pass on a big man who has gobs of potential, and unlike Tyrus he is tall and strong with atleast some post moves and could probably handle the center position once he comes into the league.

You're gonna have to give me some more details on what my options are. Say we wind up with the 7th pick. Is this guy the best option there, or is he dropping for a reason? I mean, look at a guy like Andrew Bynum. Great talent, took 2 years to develop, but is clearly on the way. But what are my other options?

Right now, I look at this roster and see us 5 deep in the 2 big slots for the next 2 years, unless either Smith or Wallace is moved...and after that, I see us 3 deep. I see us with 2 small forwards, 2 shooting guards, and 1 point guard with the other one still on hiatus until he finds a urinal.

Basically, what I'm saying is...we're fairly deep with young guys at every single slot...but we have concerns about each of them. None of them screams "This is one of the top 10 players in the NBA" at you...even our best player (Lu) can't seem to stay healthy right now. Our 2 outside scoring threats can't score from outside. Our 2 inside presences aren't playing much and aren't developing.

I think you could make a case for a selection of pretty much any position. You draft a small forward, you try a sign and trade with Lu. You decide that Gordon/Sef can't cut it, you let Gordon go and look for a shooting Guard. A PG is available? Well, Hinrich is average right now at best, and looks to be taking steps backwards instead of forwards. There's a big man available? Well, it's not like we've turned any of the other 2 we've drafted into stars yet. A guy is too raw? Hell, we're hardly even playing the guy who was a 3 year, 2x national champion at Florida at this point, who cares if a guy is raw.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Well more than likely OJ Mayo is going to be around by the time we pick (7-10) but if it was down to him or Mayo I'd take Jordan. If Jordan is gone then I go Mayo because he would be a good combo guard that would be primarily our shooting guard after we let Gordon go in a trade for whoever..

[Steve9347]

Eh, if we could get someone like Gasol for those guys I'd pack their bags, neither Noah or Tyrus exactly looks like a franchise-saving type big man.

Dude, Zoom, that's quite the controversial statement. If Gasol were a "franchise savior" the Grizzlies would be able to win with Rudy Gay over there to help.

[ZoomSlowik]

Dude, Zoom, that's quite the controversial statement. If Gasol were a "franchise savior" the Grizzlies would be able to win with Rudy Gay over there to help.

You didn't read my response to Balta saying the EXACT same thing, did you?

Basically, I never said Gasol was, I don't expect to get a top-5 big man for Noah and/or Tyrus. However, I don't see Noah and Tyrus doing it either, so if I can get sure-fire production from a guy that's 27 instead of waiting two or three years for two guys that I really don't see being anywhere near as productive, I'd personally take it. A Hinrich-Gordon-Deng-Smith/Wallace-Gasol lineup is better and more balanced than the current Memphis lineup, and I'm a lot more confident in that crew competing than us trying to build from within. We've been doing that since Michael retired.

[ZoomSlowik]

So your telling me if Deandre Jordan falls to us at pick # whatever your going to pass just because we have guys like Tyrus who's a developmental player? I'm sorry but I don't think twice before I pick him. For one, he's a 7'0 and he's got the exact same frame as Dwight Howard and though young and raw, Dwight Howard was pretty much the same way coming into the draft except he had a higher cieling.

His numbers aren't spectacular but it would kill me to pass on a big man who has gobs of potential, and unlike Tyrus he is tall and strong with atleast some post moves and could probably handle the center position once he comes into the league.

Depends on what else is there at our pick, but he'd be my last choice out of the "elite" players, and where we'd have to pick to get him I'd take Gordon. I'd rather not sit here in mediocrity for another two or three years watching the same crap while hoping that our guys pan out. If it turned out that he was unquestionably the best prospect available at our spot, I'd probably try to trade the pick, someone should give you pretty good value for that, or barring that trade one of Tyrus or Noah, though they'll likely have less value.

Potential isn't everything, there are plenty of guys that were supposed to be really good that have underacheived. Have you even SEEN him play? I'm going to go with no since you think he's a lot stronger and has post moves. He hasn't even been able to play well against other good COLLEGE players yet. He is basically a 7-foot Tyrus though, how's that worked out so far? Oh, right, it's all because of his playing time. Actually, even Tyrus was playing better in his one year in college.

He's not even close to Howard right now. Dwight was the consensus top prospect coming out of high school and was far more dominant at the time. He averaged 12 and 10 in the NBA right out of high school. Jordan was a borderline top-10 prospect in his class and he was there mostly because of his raw physical attributes. There's a big difference between having the same general size and most of the athleticism and actually having the ability to do something with it. Maybe in three years he can be something like Andrew Bynum or Dwight Howard (quite a difference there), but that sets them back quite a bit taking a risk at a position where they already have some depth, then we get to hear everyone beach for 3 years about his playing time.

If we're totally eradicating our depth up front and starting over, or we make a trade that makes us a competitive team right now (doesn't look terribly likely), then fine, take the risk since it'll be easier to swallow. But if this pick is supposed to be the one way we bolster our mediocre team for next year, you better take Beasley/Rose/Gordon instead. There is basically ZERO chance he's there at #7, so those are the guys you're going to be looking at instead of Jordan.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Depends on what else is there at our pick, but he'd be my last choice out of the "elite" players, and where we'd have to pick to get him I'd take Gordon. I'd rather not sit here in mediocrity for another two or three years watching the same crap while hoping that our guys pan out. If it turned out that he was unquestionably the best prospect available at our spot, I'd probably try to trade the pick, someone should give you pretty good value for that, or barring that trade one of Tyrus or Noah, though they'll likely have less value.

Potential isn't everything, there are plenty of guys that were supposed to be really good that have underacheived. Have you even SEEN him play? I'm going to go with no since you think he's a lot stronger and has post moves. He hasn't even been able to play well against other good COLLEGE players yet. He is basically a 7-foot Tyrus though, how's that worked out so far? Oh, right, it's all because of his playing time. Actually, even Tyrus was playing better in his one year in college.

He's not even close to Howard right now. Dwight was the consensus top prospect coming out of high school and was far more dominant at the time. He averaged 12 and 10 in the NBA right out of high school. Jordan was a borderline top-10 prospect in his class and he was there mostly because of his raw physical attributes. There's a big difference between having the same general size and most of the athleticism and actually having the ability to do something with it. Maybe in three years he can be something like Andrew Bynum or Dwight Howard (quite a difference there), but that sets them back quite a bit taking a risk at a position where they already have some depth, then we get to hear everyone beach for 3 years about his playing time.

If we're totally eradicating our depth up front and starting over, or we make a trade that makes us a competitive team right now (doesn't look terribly likely), then fine, take the risk since it'll be easier to swallow. But if this pick is supposed to be the one way we bolster our mediocre team for next year, you better take Beasley/Rose/Gordon instead. There is basically ZERO chance he's there at #7, so those are the guys you're going to be looking at instead of Jordan.

He's 240 pounds with the frame to put on soo much muscle, and he does have a few post moves and he's going to be a great player. If we ever picked him, it probably would be because we traded away guys like Tyrus or Noah..