With all that money the Bears are paying him, you think the Bulls could rent Julius Pepper to be a 6'7", 280 lb power forward that could give them about 15 minutes a night?

I’m not going to sugarcoat it folks. The Bulls don’t look good. Most of their average or above-average defenders are injured, and now they are allowing teams to put up point totals usually reserved for Madison Square Garden. Here’s some NBA links to ease the sting of our slide out of the 8th seed:

• Before there was Derrick Rose, there was Ronnie Fields. The clips of Farragut games on the WGN news at 9 with Ronnie and Kevin Garnett were must-see TV. The first and only time I remember being astounded by high school basketball highlights. (SLAM)
• James Johnson has caught a lot of grief for not producing right away. But hey, sometimes it just takes time. Speaking of, sounds like Jordan Hill may be in the process of shaking off his own bust label down in Houston. (Red 94)
• Taj Gibson seemed to be genuinely hobbled by his plantar fasciitis last night against the Jazz. It’s time for Julius Peppers and his creatively worded contract to suit up for the Bulls. I’m sure we can convince him it’s a civic obligation that would be appreciated more than a few bottles of champagne. (I94 Sports)
• Notice the Bulls are not on this list of NBA Title Contenders. (Docksquad Sports) Remember folks those moves were made to position us for this offseason. I’d rather see the Bulls give more playing time to James Johnson and give Taj some rest. Vinny::Plantar Fascia as Dusty Baker:Shoulder or Elbow Ligaments.

I'll show you a handchecking foul!

Despite the three most recent blowout losses at the hands of the Lakers, Nuggets, and Trailblazers, there is some good news coming from the Bulls camp. James Johnson will focus on playing small forward for the foreseeable future, rather than also attempting to digest the playbook chapters on Power Forward, Shooting Guard, and Point Forward. This means that the man, who some sites have nicknamed “Bloodsport”, may have a more direct route to the Kumite we call the NBA.

This announcement appears to be fueled by a) Johnson’s inability to secure meaningful playing time due to blown assignments, quick fouls, and turnovers; and b) the improvement of John Salmons’ shot and Jannero Pargo’s back. With a four man rotation at the guard positions, and another four man rotation lurking at the PF/C spots once Tyrus gets healthy, the only logical opportunity for Johnson to see immediate minutes is to become Luol Deng’s understudy.

We made the same arguments for rookie specialization earlier this year after seeing the Bears’ bungling of Earl Bennett last year. Bennett entered the NFL in 2008 at 21 years of age and struggled mightily to find his way as the Bears forced him to learn all three receiver spots. It is not surprising that his rookie year could be summed up by a giant goose egg.

This year the Bears reversed course on their carousel of idiocy allowing Johnny Knox to focus on one position, even going so far as to split kick returning duties with Daniel Manning.  Could Knox eventually play multiple receiver positions? Yes, but he doesn’t need to this year. He has caught 32 passes for 376 yards which is exactly 32 passes and 376 yards more than Bennett put up last year.

Can James Johnson play shooting guard or a Magic Johnson-esque point forward in the future? Maybe, but not this year. The guy oozes potential, but he can only reach that potential if he can achieve a comfort level where he is reacting to cues rather than trying to remember plays. Right now he is as raw as can be, but the Bulls giving him one position to work on affords him the best chance to succeed in both the short- and long-terms.

James, just pretend that Greg Oden is Kareem and take him down.

And fitting, since many of our first introductions to Johnson came from this piece in Sports Illustrated last January, we close with a quote from Mr. Bruce Lee, highly thought of in the Johnson household and gym.

In discussing the advantages of simplicity in Jeet Kune Do, Lee was quoted as saying “one does not accumulate, but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The more complicated and restricted the method, the less the opportunity for expression of one’s original sense of freedom. Though they play an important role in the early stage, the techniques should not be too mechanical, complex or restrictive. If we cling blindly to them, we shall eventually become bound by their limitations. Remember, you are expressing the techniques and not doing the techniques. If somebody attacks you, your response is not Technique No.1, Stance No. 2, Section 4, Paragraph 5. Instead you simply move in like sound and echo, without any deliberation. It is as though when I call you, you answer me, or when I throw you something, you catch it. It’s as simple as that – no fuss, no mess.”

Here’s hoping the Bulls and James “Bloodsport” Johnson get to the point where he can stop clinging to and start eliminating the techniques and when Derrick or Jannero throws him an alley oop, he just catches it and dunks it. No fuss, no mess, it’s as simple as that.

The Bulls rookies have been superb in the first 2 preseason games.  Taj Gibson was the player of the game against Indiana last week and now James Johnson hits this game-winning buzzer beater to cap an amazing performance by the kid.  Here’s the shot:

• Scottie Pippen HANDLES Patrick Ewing.  Boom! [Pippen Ain't Easy]
• LeBron was in Chicago promoting his new shoes, and the Chicago-styled version looks really cool.  Not like cool in the way I would ever wear them, but cool to look at from a distance. [Docksquad]
• Lou has a theory about Marmol’s wildness: He’s overthrowing.  I have a theory: stop making theories and keep him on the bench until he gets it together. [Tribune]
• So apparently the whole Patrick Kane kicked the shit out of a cabbie story is overblown.  Considering it didn’t really affect my opinion of Kane or the Hawks in the first place, I’m having trouble caring. [Deadspin]
• How come when a player makes a couple million over his market value people go nuts, but when Trib execs make 70 million over their value to run a company into the ground, no one seems to have a problem with that? [WV23]
• Will someone please tell me what is going on with Tommie Harris’s knee? [Tribune]
• Quentin Richardson may be traded a 4th time this offseason.  Do you think he actually even looks into moving to these places, or jsut assumes he’ll only be there for 11 days or so? [TonyBlogs]
• I hadn’t heard this until now, but according to some sources, James Johnson’s work ethic is not stellar.  Some even think Gibson will outshine him in their roookie seasons because of the disparity in effort.  Yikes. [ChicagoNow]
• Is D-Wade contemplating a move to Chicago?  He did buy a house here, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot since he is from these parts. [Bulls Blog]
• The story of how Urlacher almost got killed at the bare hands of Bas Rutten back in 2006.  I don’t know if I buy the story the way Rutten tells it, but still a funny little anecdote. [Chicago's MMA]
• Remember when Steve Stone was so critical of the Cubs and Dusty Baker ran him out of town?  Well Brenly is starting to run his mouth a bit, and just like Stone the fans appreciate the honesty.  Let’s just hope he doesn’t upset Lou too much though, we wouldn’t want to see another good color guy run out of town.  [Bleacher Nation]

In case you hadn’t heard, the Bulls have been playing in the Vegas Summer League this past week.  And by Bulls I mean a hodgepodge of rookies, sophomores and ex-college stars.  While Taj Gibson went down with an injury mid-week (no worries, it doesn’t appear to be serious), James Johnson has looked good at times, and terrible at others.  Kevin Arnovitz of Truehoop had this to say:

James Johnson‘s game can be disjointed at times. It’s not that he looks lost. It’s just the opposite — he’s a small forward with too many choices. Johnson couldn’t buy a shot Friday (2-for-11 from the field), but he made four or five beautiful plays for teammates — including a pinpoint interior bounce pass in traffic between two defenders to find James Augustine for a layup. Johnson finished with seven assists.

I was able to watch parts of a few games online, and I must say he looked very good.  His ballhandling skills are superb and he is long and athletic.  His jump shot is obviously a little shaky, and not just that 2-11 line from Friday.  If anything he is like a poor man’s Tyrus when it comes to freakish athleticism, yet possesses a much keener basketball IQ.  He makes good decisions with the ball and will be able to handle it in a lineup that could be lacking in good ballhandlers (Kirk may or may not be here and no one really expects Pargo to be a big factor).  He also went to the line 35 times in 5 games, which is an average of 7 free throws a game.  While a low post game would be nice, it will also be good to have another player that can attack the basket to complement Rose.  Obviously doing all these things in the Summer League does not magically translate into a great pro career, but its exciting to see that he has the tools to be an effective player.

Oh and a side note: yeah that is James Augustine’s name you saw in Arnovitz’s analysis.  He has actually looked decent so far this summer, though it seems unlikely that he will earn a spot with the Bulls.  Either way, anything to remind me of the Illini’s glory days is always a good thing.

You all saw my take on the Bulls draft yesterday night, but what are the reactions of other far more qualified bloggers than myself?  Looks like most had a slightly less optimistic take than I did, imagine that?  Here are some excerpts:

Ball Don’t Lie:  Are these really two players that you want to hand guaranteed contracts to for the next two or three years? Johnson is athletic, no doubt, but at what point do we start to expect actual, you know, “production” out of athleticism when you’re 22? Gibson? You don’t draft 24-year olds. You don’t do it. Unless they’re 24 and absolutely dominating college ball, and he wasn’t. And you hadn’t heard of Gibson, either. Both players might make the rotation, sure, but with Blair still available?

Score: 4/10

Luol’s Dong:  [James Johnson]‘s a good fit on the team, doesn’t indicate we’re shopping anyone (good news) but I was hoping we could pacakge our picks and get a better low post option. Whatever, right now everything depends on whether we re-sign BoGo and if Deng still has any skills.

Blogabull:  No trades? Pass on Dejuan Blair twice? Gar Forman looking like a zombie on national television, amazingly talking while John Paxson’s lips didn’t move?

This was far from Amare.

I suppose July 1st is just around the corner…but that brings us just as close to Ben Gordon walking as it does to any blockbuster deal (after cap figures are announced, etc.).

By The Horns:  Johnson has been criticized for inconsistency, lack of focus (scouts say he occasionally takes possessions off) and weight problems. Sounds awful Eddy Curry-ish, doesn’t it? I’m just sayin’…..Over his three-year career at USC, Gibson set the Trojans’ all-time record with 253 blocks, which also happens to be third-best in Pac-10 history. His age gives him maturity (or so the Bulls believe), and his wingspan(seven feet, four inches) gives him some serious length and shot blocking ability. However, he’s a wee bit on the skinny side — at 210, he’s almost 50 pounds lighter than the shorter Johnson — and his offensive game is pretty raw. So don’t expect him to bang bodies with the big boys or put up a lot of points.

Pippen Ain’t Easy: The Bulls instead opted for the talented James Johnson from Wake Forest. The immediate concern is that he is a tweener. He also liked to play more like a 3 at Wake Forest. Like Blair, he has a long wingspan and an NBA body, but he is much more athletic. Will he fit in at the 4? He better hope so, at least in the near future because Deng and Salmons will man the 3 for the Bulls. He’s an all-around solid player. I like the pick and he likely has more potential than Blair…Initially I was not pleased with the pick of Taj Gibson. My 2 first thoughts were: The Bulls just re-drafted Joakim Noah and then the Bulls just re-drafted Corie Blount. I take that back a bit.

Well that was an interesting draft.  A lot of big moves happened leading up to the draft and there were some minor trades during the draft.  Some guys slipped and some guys jumped, but for the most part there weren’t too many surprises once the draft began.

The Bulls:

With the 16th and 26th pick, I was hoping the Bulls would take a big man and possibly a big 2 guard to replace Hinrich and/or Gordon.  At 16, there were still a lot of big men on the table, but I was pushing mainly for DaJuan Blair.  I know he’s a bit undersized height-wise, but he is a beast on the boards.  Instead the Bulls drafted James Johnson.

Then the Bulls had another shot at Blair with the 26th pick, but they had already drafted a big man, so they wouldn’t need another one, right?  That was the wrong assumption, as Gar Forman selected Taj Gibson from USC.  Another undersized big man to compete with TT, Noah, Miller, and now Johnson in the frontcourt.

My initial reaction to the draft was “Well, I don’t hate these guys, but we needed a legit big man, or at least a 2 guard that would be serviceable if Gordon bolts”.  The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that this might work.  Both Johnson and Gibson have pretty refined offensive games for big men and are skilled enough to see time at the small forward position.  On top of that, I realized that perhaps this lends itself to the Bulls new philosophy of playing a more uptempo pace.  Perhaps they wanted big men that could run the floor, which would explain why they didn’t bat an eye as Blair tumbled down into the second round.

Overall it was a solid draft that gets a B from me as far as grades.  And at the very least, Taj Gibson “gets the blueprint”, so there’s always that.

Around The League (The Highlights of the Draft and the Days leading up to it)

Flurry of Trades:

• The Spurs moved Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas to the Bucks for Richard Jefferson.  Wow what a steal for the Spurs.  They also sent Fabricio Oberto to Detroit for Amir Johnson.
• The Cavs responded by trading away Pavlovic, Ben Wallace, a 2nd round pick in 2010 and some cash to the Suns for 1 year of Shaq’s services.
• The Magic, who reportedly have received word that Turkoglu will be opting out of his contract after making this trade, were able to acquire Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson from the Nets for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.
• The Wizards and Timberwolves made an interesting trade.  The Wolves sent Mike Miller and Randy Foye to Washington in exchange for Oleksiy Pechorov, Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, and the #5 pick in the draft.  This trade looks very good for the Wiz, but very strange for the Wolves.  It leaves them with 10 forwards on their roster, and would lead to an absurd looking draft for them.

Draft Day

• Blake Griffin went first and Hasheem Thabeet went second, so no surprises there for the most part.
• The Timberwolves, with 6 picks overall and 4 in the first round, stunned most of us by selecting three point guards with the 5th, 6th and 18th pick, respectively Rubio, Flynn, and Lawson.  Then they traded Lawson to Denver for a future first round pick.  Now there are reports Rubio may stay overseas (probably because he hates the cold).  So it looks like the Wolves may have in fact gotten just one point guard.
• The Warriors took Stephon Curry one pick before the Knicks and just like every other year, a bunch of New York jackasses at Madison Square Garden got to boo like idiots.
• Hansborough went 13th to the Pacers, and Bulls fans let out a collective sigh of relief.  It’s not that he sucks or anything, we just don’t want him.
• At the 23rd pick, the Kings selected Omri Casspi.  The guy looks like he could be a beast, and he might get some run with the Kings, which would make him the first Israeli player to ever play in the NBA.
• At the 24th pick, the Mavs selected BJ Mullens, and then turned around and traded him to the Thunder for Rodrigue Beaubois taken with the 25th pick.
• The Knicks purchased the Lakers 29th pick for about $3 million in cash considerations.
• Apparently (and this seems very strange to me), the Blazers are sending Sergio Rodriguez, Jon Brockman, and the 38th pick to the Kings for the 31st pick, where they took Jeff Pendergraph.
• Both Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, projected as mid to late first rounders, slipped well into the second round.  They were selected 36th and 37th by the Grizzlies and Spurs respectively.
• There was a lot of second round trading of picks, but none that were all that notable beyond maybe Budinger, picked 44th (yikes, thats a bit of a drop) being sent by the Pistons to the Rockets in exchange for cash considerations.