I knew I'd get a response or "a no worded response" out of you for that comment. But it is the case. Ben Gordon is one of the best 3 point shooters of the past decade and will go down as one of the best of all time. He has shot the 3 over 40% every year of his career and that's significant b/c he takes so many and b/c many of his 3's are not open looks. He has hit 40% without ever playing with a true post player. How many guys can you say that about. That's 4 years in a row. You know how many years Ray Allen has shot over 40%? 4. It wasn't until his 4th year that Ray Allen got over 40%. Reggie Miller shot over 40% in 10 seasons but never had a season where he shot 43.5% or better like Gordon has. Of the players who are true scorers in this league and not just role playing 3 point shooters like Kerr, the numbers point to Gordon being one of the most lethal of them all considering he jacks up over 300 3's a year. Only 5 players who shot at least 300 3's shot 40% from the arc last season, and 10 did it in '06-'07 & '05-06. That's pretty elite company to be in.

Steve Nash is probably the most underrated when you think about elite 3 point shooters (or at least he doesn't come to my mind) but he has shot over 40% in 11 different seasons and he shot 47% last year. (albeit he only shot 300+ 3's in 4 of those seasons)

Steve Kerr was probably the best 3 point shooter of all time but almost all of his 3's were wide open looks.

I think I've made my point. I'm done defending BG for the night.

With Rose in, BG and Thabo is a keeper they will be even better with a post presence

Better 3 pt shooters than Gordon in the last decade...

Steve Nash
Ray Allen
Peja Stojakovic
Mike Miller
Reggie Miller
Steve Kerr
Wesley Person
Mark Price
Jason Kapono
Hubert Davis
Jeff Hornacek
Dale Ellis
Chris Mullin
Boobie Gibson
Anthony Parker
Brent Barry
Allen Houston

All these guys either had much better percentages in their careers or had lower percentages with many more attempts either per season or total. WITH THAT SAID, he is one of the better 3 pt shooters currently in the NBA but I'll give him a couple more seasons before I anoint him one of the best 3 pt shooters of all-time or in the past decade. His 43.5% season was more of an outlier as his other seasons were right around .410. There were guys left off the list that had much better seasons than Gordon's 43.5 as well. Raja Bell, Jason Terry to name a couple.

Now, there is no question that Gordon is our best scorer and if he had a shred of consistency he'd be starting every day. But, the more I think about it, the more I love the offensive potential of a Rose/Gordon backcourt. There were numerous times last season that Gordon had the ball and was able to do nothing with it, many of these in game-winning situations. It seems as though he patented the dribble-at-the-top-of-the-ark-pump-fake-nine-times-and-turn-it-over-for-an-easy-layup move. But with a PG like Rose who can create shots for himself and others, he'd get a lot more open looks, which is pretty scary considering Gordon is a .416 3pt shooter for his career.

Also, let me just say, this team would be freaking SCARY if we had a legitimate post presence in there like Brand. Rose-Thabi-Deng-Brand-Noah with Gordon coming off the bench. We'd have one of the best 3 point shooters with Gordon, one of the best mid-range shooters with Deng, one of the best low post players in Brand, and one of the best young PG's the game has seen. Rose could create open shots for Deng, Gordon, Hughes, Noc, and Brand. Brand would demand the double team, opening shots for those guys as well. And we wouldn't be lacking in D because of Thabo and Noah, and Brand isn't too shabby himself. It just makes TOO much sense.

I am concerned about our roster because everyone knows we want to unload oat least one of our guards. That leaves very little bargaining power and we may not receive an impact player in return. I see a lot of posts regarding a trade of some of our players for a quality post player. Who is legitimately available? No one I can think of. If Hinrich goes and Gordon stays our best lineup IMO would be:

PG- Rose
SG- Hughes
SF- Deng
PF- Gooden
C- Noah

Our bench would be very good with Gordon, Nocioni, Thabo, etc.

This is not a championship caliber team though. We need a superstar!! Who is available?

Apparently Vince Carter is on the block but his skills are eroding. T-Mac may be made available but he is hurt a lot and shrivels in the playoffs. Unless Rose becomes an unstoppable force quickly, we will be also ran's for a long time.

Brand, Marion, Anthony/Iverson/Camby, Carter, McGrady...there are players out there, and we have the talent to put together packaged for them.

I agree, Gordon is the best guard that we have at the moment... That being said, Gordon was meant to play with Hinrich, and we have seen that that did not pan out, and we are moving to a new direction with Rose.


Lets remember that the Bulls are now rebuilding around our future superstar, Derrick Rose, who is only 19 years of age. We are not building around Gordon anymore.... Because of Gordon, the Bulls played Kirk in the 2 spot defensively, and we all know how much Kirk got into foul trouble... We also drafted Thabo because Paxson had a vision of Thabo handling the point guard duties....


Ben Gordon is asking for 10 mil a year.... The way the league pays big guys as of today, it looks like Noah and Tyrus will be asking for around the same money... Deng will prolly get around 10 mil or maybe a little bit more... Rose is going to be a superstar... So he might get somewhere around the max... Then theres the other role players such as Noc, Thabo, Gooden etc.... Are the Bulls really gonna play all those players all of that money?? Lets be realistic here, we are not keeping everyone. So we should trade Gordon and get something in return?? Another contract?? Guys, not many teams want Gordon because they have to build around him... You guys are making it sound so easy that we can get this player, or that player, or that other player....



In my opinion, i dont believe the knicks would be willing to do that... Trust me, the knicks want to get rid of contracts, not add some more... Furthermore, teams would rather have to pay a starter making 10 mil a year, not a bench player.... Its gonna be really hard finding a team that wants to pay 10 mil for a bench player, and also build around Gordon. Also, teams value their 1st round picks.



If your read it carefully, 19 minutes when the season starts.... 20+ after the all-star break... could be anywhere from 25 or even closer to around 30 mins. Eddog, Rose is still a young player who will need to learn a playbook, and needs to learn how to run a team in the pros. Rose will need to polish up quickly if he wants to get 20+ minutes. Playing the PG position in the NBA is not a peace of cake... Deron took a little bit to adjust and he had what, 3 years of college? Also, Rose has never played with any of the bulls players and needs to build some chemistry, and get a feel for everyone's game.... If kirk is here by the start of the season, he will be getting the majority of the minutes in the beginning, trust me... Lets not forget that Kirk is not that bad of a player...

Thabo & Tyrus have done nothing in the NBA to deserve big contract extensions and if they do develop before the 2010/2011 season when their new contracts would become effective then we can consider giving them big $. The same goes for Noah. All three of them have to develop significantly before we go shelling out $10 million per on any of them.

Rose on the other hand will get his $12+ million or max depending on how quickly he develops. But his future extension likely won't be until after Gordon's last year of his contract so there is a wash there. I think Nocioni only signed a 2 or 3 year deal so he'll also be coming off the books buy the start of the 2010/2011 season and there is no gaurantee that Paxson plans on keeping Gooden so that could be another $8 coming of the books after this season.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I think Paxson has positioned himself to be able to re-sign all of the players he wants to kieep. If they plan on getting rid of Kirk/Gooden future picks & something for a stud power forward that makes around $15 million and some small expiring contract then we'll have no problem signing Gordon to a $10 million deal. Especially if we let Nocioni go after 2 more seasons. Plus Paxson could structure both Gordon & Dengs deals the same way he did Hinrichs and have the initial 2 years pay out a couple million more per season so that by the time Tyrus & Thabo need extensions we have more cap space. Hughes $12.8 also comes off the books the year before the extensions and that is huge. But it will be the 1st 2 years of their deals that we really have cap room problems. But once Hughe's and Nocioni's contracts come of the board we should have enough to re-sign Noah/Tyrus & Thabo with the $20 million. And by the time Rose needs an extension Brand will likely be coming off the books or be getting a significantly lower salary.

Brand $15
Deng $10
Gordon $10
Rose $5 (up to 7 in his final season before the qualifying offer)
Nocioni $8
Thabo $2
Noah $2.3
Hughes $12.8

So, Jerry needs to open the pocket book and reallize that slighly going over the cap for 2 years is in the best interest of the team. Front loading Deng and Gordon's contracts will be the best thing for our organization. If we can pay them $12 million per for the first 2 years of their contract and then we only owe them $8 million in the final 2 years or $8.67 in the final 3 of their deals depending on if they get 4 or 5 year extensions.

I believe that we would be a championship caliber team with a move for Brand or another stud PF. Gordon is a great 2nd option and will only be that much more dangerious with a real PG and a great low post option. When we play small there would be no way to defend a Rose/Gordon/Deng/Tyrus/Brand lineup. No way. Rose could penstrate and throw the low to Tyrus like Paul does to Tyson. Or he could thow it in to Brand who can score against most players 1 on 1. If the double comes you kick it out to Rose who then either dribble drive for an easy layup or the defense callapses even more and he kicks it out to Deng for an easy 15 footer or if the defense collapses on Deng, Deng swings it to Gordon who is money in the bank from the arc.

That lineup would be sick. And you can even substitute the less athletic Noah for Tyrus and still be okay. We'd get up and down the court with the best of them.

Man I pray a deal for Brand or someone else gets done soon. The Celtics only have maybe 1 more year of dominance if that left b/c Allen is bound to go down with an injury or they'll all start to play like a year older than they are. The Pistons are getting to the point of being over the hill and unless they can steal Melo from the Nuggets they will be fading fast. The teams we'll be competing with are Orlando, Atlanta, Philly, Miami, and whoever Lebron goes too (because I don't think Cleveland can put together a team that he can will with). Toronto could be much improved but I just don't think they are a top team for years to come.

I think this is the time to act. I think the next 4 years are ours to start dominating again and I don't want to wait until the Magic figure out the puzzle that allows Dwight and company to rule the East. Miami is also cap space and a few pieces away from being serious competitors again. Now is the time to act and I hope Paxson does just that. It may take Rose a year or 2 to develop into the player we need but he needs to be out on the floor in significant minutes in order to do that. Let him learn the hard way and the reward will be that much greater in 2 years.

Excellent post. I like Brand coming into this team... But there are still questions marks....

-Clippers would probably want Hinrich and most likely Thomas... However, lately, Paxson is sounding like Thomas is a keeper because of Derrick Rose joining the team. Paxson thinks Thomas is really going to blossom, especially with his athletic capabilities. Also, Rose is going to be really good in like what... 3 years? Thomas is going to be good in like... 3 years... Brand is going to be somewhat declining in 3 years. I believe Paxson will stick with Thomas if he believes that in 3 years, Thomas will be a little bit better than Brand is when Brand is 32 or 33 years of age... I dunno, who knows what king of vision Paxson has...

The Bulls are trying to be a GREAT team.... not just a really good one. I believe that Brand will make us a really good team for the next couple of years, but the Bulls will be at their best when Rose begins to hit his peak.

-That being said, if we can get Brand for Hinrich and Gooden, then that would be great! But i doubt the Clippers would jump on that:-( As far as Noah goes, he would need to be kept because he is our only guy with size that can play consistent minutes at the C position...

-Going back to Gordon... As ive mentioned, i really like Gordon and what he brings offensively... And maybe its just me, but im just a little tired of seeing 2 undersized guards for long periods of times... There are lots of times when our defensive breaks down because of having to double team someone because our guards are too small. Not only that but then they get into foul trouble quickly. And remember, great teams have like no weaknesses. Gordon and Kirk worked somewhat... heck, it worked most of the time... But I dont see Rose being as good as a defender is as Kirk is... Plus Rose is even shorter...

Bottom line... Bulls need to unload some guards... no question Kirk will be out. But does it make a lot of sense to keep Gordon and Rose... Im not an expert, so we'll see what Paxson does. Also, i really believe that the Bulls will go as far as Thomas goes. We have a pretty good idea of how everyone games are, and what they bring... But Thomas has loads of potential, and if he turns out to be a really good player, the Bulls will be a really good team. We just gotta wait, be patient, and see what happens...