| 09 September 2010
I know I know. It's been like over a month since I've put up an entry. Truth is, things have been quiet around here since the final piece known as C.J. Watson aka Mr. Vegas aka Clutch Three was added.
Sure, the Bulls rounded out their coaching staff. Thibs added ex-Bulls Adrian Griffin and Rick Brunson to the staff. Meanwhile other former Bulls were demoted. Randy Brown is now special assistant to the Gar Forman and Pete Myers is now a scout I guess?
Other than that...I've been patiently waiting for pre-season to start.
UNTIL NOW.
Apparently, the Bulls are considering trading Joakim Noah for Carmelo Anthony. News about this deal surfaced on Yahoo! Sports last night. Up until today, I have heard nothing about this. I always assumed that Melo would either be a Nugget or a Knick. Then again, people made that same assumption about LeBron...and we all know how that fiasco ended up. Turns out, Melo is pushing for a trade to the Knicks OR the Bulls and the Bulls are having discussions internally as I type this about whether to offer up Joakim for Melo.
There are a lot of "ifs" right now about this happening. First off, Melo has to reject the 3 year $65 million extension that was offered to him by the Nuggets. If that happens, the Nuggets will pretty much have no choice to trade him, and it's just a matter of them finding the right deal that helps them out the most. Getting Joakim Noah would be solid for them...but him alone doesn't seem like enough for Melo. I mean Melo averages 25 points a game. That's a lot of points you're giving up in that trade.
That being said, I'm not implying that the Bulls would be getting a steal in Carmelo Anthony if they traded Joakim Noah for him. To me, Joakim Noah brings as much value to a squad as Carmelo Anthony...and more specifically, for the Bulls he might even be more valuable. He's a double-double guy who plays with incredibly intensity, especially on the defensive end. That's huge, especially when your head coach stresses defense as heavily as Thibodeau does. Melo, on the other hand, is more of a me-first player who has a history of playing selfish ball and being complacent on the defensive end. Yet, a big start 2-guard is exactly what the Bulls have been missing for the longest time. That's why they flirted with the idea of signing the ghost of Tracy McGrady. That's how desperate they are for a player like that. Melo gives them that illusive go-to guy and takes massive amounts of pressure off of Derrick Rose's shoulders. But to lose a player like Joakim Noah, a floor leader, probably the best locker room guy in the league, a guy who plays with such passion that it is most definitely infectious...it's tough. It's just tough to let a guy like that go. He's also one of the best defensive big-men in the league, and a top 3 rebounder. Sure Melo gives you 25 points a game, but he's more one dimensional. He doesn't bring all the other stuff to the table.
Plus, we all remember the hit and run incident with Mardy Collins. That wasn't a good look for Melo. See below.
It's an energy thing. The thing about Joakim is that when he's on your squad, you know you're going to get a certain level of energy EVERY GAME. And you know because of him, the rest of the team is going to bring that energy as well. With Melo, that's just not the case. I don't see that passion, all I see is talent. But as we've seen so far in Melo's career, talent just isn't enough.
The most ideal situation would be to convince the Nuggets to take Deng in that trade instead of Joakim. Now picture that squad....Derrick, Brewer, Melo, Boozer, and Joakim. See you in the finals LeBron.
But that's obviously not going to happen. Now it's up to the Gar and company to decide whether or not you're willing to give up defense, chemistry, and passion for an elite go-to shooting guard/small forward combo who scores 25 points a game. It's one or the other. I can't even really make up mind because the opportunity to get players like Melo doesn't really come around very often. But Joakim is pretty unique in his own right and I was looking forward to this season and watching him play alongside Boozer. Plus, I'm just a big Joakim fan. What Bulls fan isn't?
I'll be monitoring this situation closely, and look for more and more entries as the season inches closer.
