| 10 December 2011
From KC Johnson on Twitter:
After waivers. RT @ChrisMannixSI: Executive from team inquiring about Rip has been told Rip focused on Chicago. "It's a lock," exec says.
Reports are it's going to be a 2 year $10mill deal according to KC. He flew under the radar thus far as no one really knew that the Pistons planned on buying out his contract. But now that he's been bought out, it actually turns out he may be the right fit.
When I first heard about this, the first thing I thought of was Dennis Rodman. As everyone knows, Dennis played for the Pistons. Probably one of the most hated teams in Chicago sports history were the 88-89 and 89-90 Pistons. Everyone hated Rodman when he was on those teams. But they won titles. 5 years later, Dennis has pretty much a mental breakdown while playing for San Antonio and the Bulls trade Will Purdue to acquire him. The Bulls were trying to fill a void that Horace Grant left ever since defecting to Orlando in 1994. They need a rebounder and a strong defender up front. Sure enough, his career was revived and he goes on to win more championships. He did more than fill that void.
This scenario seems eerily similar. Rip won a title with Detroit. He was a proven star shooting guard who had somewhat of a mental breakdown last year under a poor excuse of a coach. Sure, that's not a reason to lead a mutiny against your head coach, but nonetheless, that's what Rip did. Enter Tom Thibodeau playing the role of Phil Jackson. Under the right system, under a disciplined system, one that Thibs runs, Rip's career very well could be revived. The Bulls have been desperately trying to get a starting 2-guard who could pour in some points when Derrick is being triple team. Bogans isn't that guy. Brewer isn't that guy. Rip has proven that he could be. He's older now, but still, only 33. He has a few years in him and he could be a very important piece that can help put the Bulls over the top.
KC is reporting that it's just a waiting game at this point to formalize as a buyout can take up to 48 hours to become official. Once that 2-yr contract is inked, things could get very interesting for the Bulls this season. Not only that, it's not a long and annoying financial commitment. J-Rich would probably be asking for a 4 year deal and that could turn out significantly worse than a 2-year deal if his body begins to break down. So a 2 year deal is more than acceptable.
I'm going to be tracking this situation closely. Look, people, it's a major upgrade regardless of what happened last season. The guy is a 6'7 wing who can score effectively. Even in his worst year last season, he averaged 14 points a game. Those 14 points take a huge amount of pressure off of Derrick. And keep in mind, he's a tough defender. Something somebody like Vince Carter can't even attempt to claim. In my next post...I'll take a closer look at Rip's stats and exactly what he'll be bringing to the table.
This is good news...not jump and down good news...but good solid news that Bulls fans have been waiting for. Even though Gar and Pax didn't make a splash, looks like they did what needed to be done for this team to attempt to take the next step.
