With the departure of Ben Gordon, the Bulls are trying to appease frustrated fans who feel that the Bulls let Gordon walk for nothing without any backup plan in place.  Even fans who hate Gordon (and there’s a lot of you), Gordon leaving obviously hurts the team without anyone to really replace him.  In general, most people feel like the 2009-2010 season is kind of a wash and it doesn’t matter what happens in 2009.  The most important thing is not to lock the team into any huge long-term deals that would handicap their ability to pursue the big 2010 free agents.  It would be nice, however, to get some help in the backcourt for Rose in the interim, and possibly try to solve the neverending problem of getting a legitimate post scorer.

Unfortunately, the Bulls seem to be a little lost on what they are doing.  If Gar Paxdorf just did nothing and waited for 2010, that would be better than some of these rumors we are hearing.  Let’s look at the three main ones and discuss exactly why they are retarded:

Allen Iverson: Supposedly, with Gordon about to sign on to the Pistons, the Bulls are looking at possibly sign and trading for AI.  Don’t get me wrong, I love AI.  No one plays with more heart, every single game.  The problem with AI is that he needs to have the ball in his hands, and he needs to be the focal point of an offense.  Although he will probably be looking for a multi-year deal, it won’t be too expensive, but that’s not the problem.  The problem is our one most important goal this upcoming season is the development and growth of Derrick Rose.  How will bringing in essentially a ballhog help the Bulls towards that goal?  It won’t.

Jannero Pargo: Seriously?  I mean Rose needs some backcourt help, but Ben Gordon lite?  He is like the really really poor man’s Gordon.  Why not bring in a young cheap guy that has something to prove, instead of a 30 year old defensive liability?  We already had this guy and I remember calling him a garbage-time all-star.  Just because he had one mediocre season in New Orleans two years ago doesn’t mean that nickname doesn’t still apply.

Carlos Boozer: Most of you are probably saying, “I understand why you don’t want the other guys, but come on, Boozer is a legit post presence that we’ve been looking for since, well, since forever”.  While this is the best rumor that I’ve heard out there, there are a number of problems with it.  First off, the character issues are rampant with Boozer.  It’s tough to forget how badly he screwed the Cleveland organization a few summers ago, when they let him out of his deal (which they didn’t have to do) to resign him to a bigger deal and essentially give him a raise, but instead he took the “opportunity” to sign a huge deal with the Jazz.  Loyalty means nothing to a guy like this.  What about talent, you say?  No one will argue that Boozer can score and rebound, but the guy is a terrible defender.  Not only that, but more importantly, anyone we bring in must be compatible with Rose.  Can Boozer run with Rose?  I don’t think so, he is lazy getting back on transition defense and getting out in transition offense.  This is the best option obviously, but it just doesn’t seem like he would be a good pair with Rose.  The one main thing that really makes this guy attractive is that his deal expires at the end of the season, so it could be a one-and-done deal, if the Bulls weren’t inclined to offer him an extension.  Regardless, he just seems all wrong for the Bulls new up-tempo offense led by Rose.

So overall none of these moves really makes much sense, especially in light of the fact that the Bulls are legitimate contenders in the 2010 free agent sweepstakes.  Rumors also have the Bulls looking at Nate Robinson, although he would probably put them into the luxury tax this year and command a deal that extended past next summer.  Instead, go out and get a young Rashard McCants type.  Someone cheap with something to prove to play next to Rose.  Then sit on your hands and see if a good trade can get done before the deadline or just wait out next summer.

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Tags: Allen Iverson, Ben Gordon, Carlos Boozer, Free Agents, Jannero Pargo, Trade Rumors