BoGo-es to Detroit

"I could see myself in those colors..."

Well that was quick.

Ben Gordon is headed to Detroit for a 5 year, $55 Million deal.

Gorden and Chuck Villanueva are the first movers this offseason, both headed to Detroit for a lot of money (another ~40 Million for Chuckie V).

I had convinced myself over the past few months that the Bulls should do whatever it takes to re-sign BoGo - he's a consummate professional, and I don't know too many other top 10 draft picks who average 20+ and spend their best years as a 6th man without complaining. He's a career 20 point scorer, loves the big shots and plays hard (and hurt). He gets better down the stretch in games and over the course of the season (see: playoffs). Oh, and he is still only 26 years old.

Obviously the Bulls are better off with him on the roster.

All that being said, this is more of a financial move than anything else. The Bulls offered Gordon 50M for 5 years in 2007 and 54M for 6 years in 2008 - both rejected (although Gordon apparently tried to get that last offer back and the Bulls gave him the finger). It's not that we didn't want to keep him, it's more that we'd rather have the cash on hand to make a move in next years class (Amare, Bosh, Wade Nowitzki, Joe Johnson, King James) and put together a true contender. With Gordon, we're a really good team but not a great one.

So next year might be tough (nobody strikes fear into the hearts of defenders like BoGo with seconds left on the clock) and we don't really have a go-to scorer (sorry Derrick). We will definitely miss his offense.

This is a long-term move that creates some short-term pain. If we can use the cash to bring over Amare, then we're better in year 2 that if we had re-signed Gordon. If not, then this is going to be a tough loss for the team.

So, farewell BoGo. Congratulations on the fat contract, you definitely earned it. Thank you for providing one of the most entertaining playoff performances since MJ. You will be missed. See you in the motown showdown.

-KEG

New-look Bulls protect this house

The Bulls looked great last night, beating up on one of the best teams in the league (the Magic are 41-15) en route to a 120-102 victory at the United Center.

More importantly, I just found this awesome youtube clip that plays EVERY Bulls basket from last night in just over 5 minutes:



Some notes:

1) Joe Noah and Tyrus Thomas are getting pretty good. Noah is better running through the offense and is pure hustle on both ends of the court. Thomas still needs to take advantage of his athleticism on offense, but his defense is markedly improved this season.

2) Derrick Rose can shoot. I've hear a lot of shit about his jump shot coming out of college and even in his first few months in the NBA. If there is one thing he' learning from from Ben Gordon, it's how to shoot the lights out. Since he's so quick, defenders are giving him a lot of room off screens particularly in the long-2 range (~20 footer) and if he can hit that consistently like he did last night, guarding him is going to be a fucking nightmare.

3) I still love Kirk Hinrich. He plays with heart and he's a hustler. A lot of guys in his situation would have packed up and asked for a trade/release/etc, especially after losing the starting job to a highly paid rookie. Instead, he's rejuvenated. I love it.

4) The new guys look good. With Thomas and Miller you know what you're going to get (which is NOT a bad thing). Salmons looks surprisingly well-rounded and now I understand why we dealt Thabo (who I was starting to develop a man crush on...). Miller/Noah at center is one of those weird cases where the whole is worth more than the parts - they make a really good combo: seasoned veteran with an old-school game and fiery hustler who's completely unpredictable. I like watching both of them and I've yet to see someone defend both of them well (that includes you Dwight Howard).

We've won 3 of our last 4 and 8 of our last 12. We're starting to heat up at just the right time and the timing of the trade couldn't have been better. Sure, we'll still 19 games out of first but there are 25 games left to play and we're projected to take the 8 seed in the East in most simulations. (whatever that's worth). Most of my simulations involve breasts and a contortionist, so.... hrmm.  Nevermind.

-KEG