Could be worse

Well, If we can't get Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire, I guess bringing back Brad Miller makes sense.

But jesus christ, what a huge disappointment by comparison.

Amare is a perennial all-star and would be a monster in the low post. Bosh is a younger Kevin Garnett. Either of those guys developing with Derrick Rose over the next 5 years makes me want to sell my house/car/child for season tickets. I don't actually have a kid but if I did, I would certainly trade it for tickets, especially if it was a girl.

The good news is that we're clearly gearing up for a move in the boner-inducing 2010 FA class. We're not going to get LeBron but Bosh and Amare will both be on the market and if we have to wait a year and change to bring in a big market player, so be it. Patience is a virtue, right?

Miller will bring some inside scoring and maturity to our big men (Thomas, Noah and Gray are all inexperienced and raw). If he can put up 15-10 with us and stick around for the rebuilding, he is a more than serviceable center.

On the way out are Gooden and the Bologna Pony. I like both of these guys a lot, so this is tough to see. Gooden was a rental, but he had a good attitude, played hard and didn't bitch.  Great quote from Gooden: "I've been traded before and the way I look at it is it means somebody wants you." Now that's an upbeat dude. Nocioni is a tough mofo who is consistently underrated because he's a foreigner. When he got minutes, he was very productive. He's going to be good on the Kings.

But just look at this goofy bastard:

He looks like he's hiding a poopie. I  think he tried dreadlocks a few years ago too. 

If we can parlay this move into Bosh in 2010, a core group of Rose, Hinrich, Deng, Bosh and Miller is sounding pretty freaking good right now.

I just got really excited writing that sentence. 

Really excited.

-KEG

P.S. The Bulls fucking dominated last night, Hinrich dropped 31 trying to keep his job (and rub it in on old coach Skiles) and Tyrus had some nice highlight reel dunks. Deng is getting healthy (21 and 8) and we beat a good Bucks team with only 8 active guys.

It's Miller Time

Home sweet home

I'm not a basketball guy. To be perfectly honest, I hate basketball for becoming a league of paid actors and whiners, and I haven't given a shit about the Bulls since Jordan. That said, I'm probably not the best guy to tell you what this latest Bulls trade means. If anything, my "brilliant insight" should at least provide the perspective of someone who doesn't know jack shit about the ramifications - hopefully it will tide you over until Keggers provides some meaningful analysis.

After my initial reaction of "Again?" in response to getting Brad Miller, I'm calling it a success. As is my understanding, this trade is amazing, fantastic, and wonderful. The Bulls have been in dire need of an effective inside presence for some time. Ben Wallace, injury-related stupidity not withstanding, was not the answer we were looking for. Miller gets boards and keeps the pressure up (something Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray struggled with). Getting Miller provides a presence up front that will hopefully set up more opportunities for Derrick Rose to dominate, and maybe even get Luol Deng into a bit of a groove (maybe).

Oh, and speaking of Deng - John Salmons also came along as part of the deal, and while he isn't likely to actually take Deng's starting job, he'll certainly put some pressure on Deng to perform. Likewise, Salmons can come off the bench to breathe a little more life into the offense - he was Sacramento's second-leading scorer, after all.

Hey Ref! Look! Phantom bullet! Call the foul!

In exchange, we part ways with Andres "Bullet To The Chest" Nocioni, and Drew Gooden. It's easy to write Gooden off as a win-win, because he's probably going to miss the rest of the season, and his contract was up anyways. As for Noch, he's likely going to be doing exactly what he did here - come off the bench, do a mediocre job, and be Argentinian. Oh, and occasionally take a phantom bullet to the chest. That's part of the routine. In reality, Noch for Salmons probably would have been an advantageous deal by itself. Getting Miller is just awesome.

The only complaint I have heard about this trade at all (aside from the complaints from our one Argentinian reader) are that we didn't get Amare Stoudamire after all. That's like complaining that you got Quentin instead of Fukudome when you were starting Rob Mackowiak. Not the guy you wanted, but it's a million times better than what you had, and it has the potential to turn out even BETTER than the deal you wanted.

Oh, and about Fukudome (I need to segue into a topic I don't hate) - he's going to rebound hardcore this year. Book it.