Three Players That Could Be On The Chicago Bulls' Radar, Post-LeBron

LeBron James finally ended the suspense.

He will not be joining the Chicago Bulls next season.

Rather than wallow in my own tears, I wanted to offer up three possible free-agents the Chicago Bulls can go after.

Joe Johnson, at this point, would have been ideal.

Had the Bulls known they'd strike out on the "Big Three" of LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, my guess is they would have painted a bigger picture to Johnson.

But all that aside, the Bulls can still compete in the East and make a deep post-season run.

With an impressive core already in place, here are some moves the Bulls can make to earn a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.

Mike Miller, Forward

All you need to know about Mike Miller is this:

He's not LeBron James.

Solid, but not too flashy, Miller can help the Bulls more than he can hurt them (although not necessarily true financially speaking).

Miller could command a salary in the $10 million-range, which seems like an awful lot for a career 13.7 points-per-game scorer.

As a 6'8" forward, Miller's career 5.1 rebounds-per-game doesn't inspire much hope for Bulls fans, either.

At his best, Miller was a good scorer in the NBA.

He went for 18.5 ppg in 2006-07, and followed that up with a 16.4 campaign a year later.

There are two key problems for the Bulls in regards to Miller.

1). They already have a similar player in Luol Deng, who, at 6'9" can do many of the same things as Miller. They would be hard-pressed to fit both men on the court at the same time, and the front-court is already loaded with Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and now Carlos Boozer.

2). At 30 years of age, Miller's best days could be behind him. He only scored 10.9 ppg last season, and that was actually up from 9.9 a year earlier.

Miller is an option for the Bulls, but not a particularly good one at this point, given the high salary he'll likely come with.

Kyle Korver, Forward

Korver is a better option for the Chicago Bulls for several reasons.

He's two years younger than Miller and has much less mileage on his legs as a result.

At 28, he's been more durable than Miller (last year was his only season in which he lost significant time due to injury).

He's also a cheaper option, and could allow the Bulls to fill multiple gaps, and not just one lump-sum.

Korver's reputation is that of a dynamic three-point shooter, but his numbers last year seem to suggest a good performance without much substance to it.

His .536 three-point shooting percentage led the league last season, but it came on only 110 attempts.

He is, however, a career .410 shooter from downtown.

Korver provides another long body for the Bulls' defense, but his offensive prowess won't excite anyone, though he did score 14.4 points-per-game in 2006-07 for the Philadelphia 76ers.

He is also comfortable playing with Carlos Boozer, from their days together in Utah.

He's likely a safer, more durable option for the Chicago Bulls to consider.

His addition to the team means they can contend for 50+ wins next season.

Ronnie Brewer, Guard-Forward

Like Korver, Brewer is a former teammate of Carlos Boozer from Utah.

But unlike Korver (and Miller), Brewer can comfortably play the two-guard role in the Chicago Bulls' offense and provide some back-court scoring help for Derrick Rose.

Brewer scored in double figures in his last two full seasons in Utah (12.0 and 13.7, respectively) and is a younger player who may not have yet reached his potential.

At 24 years of age, he could team with Derrick Rose to form a solid one-two punch in Chicago's back-court.

He made less than $3 million last season, and could be acquired on the cheap for the Bulls.

No LeBron, But Also No Kirk?

At this point, many Bulls fans have to be regretting the trade that sent Kirk Hinrich to the Washington Wizards, along with a first-round draft pick.

At the time, Captain Kirk was deemed expendable, and his salary-cap-clearing trade made the Bulls a very attractive option for players named Bosh, Wade, and James.

Striking out on the Big Three only adds insult to injury for the Kirk Hinrich-less Bulls.

Kirk is gone, but no replacement is in sight.

Had Hinrich remained, the Bulls' roster would at least have a dependable two-guard and some stability in their starting-five.

Now, Bulls fans must wait to find out who will replace Hinrich.

It's a sad day in Chicago, but with some of these additions, the Bulls could find themselves the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference.

That will have to do for now.