Bull Market: Why Chicago Will Contend in the NBA East for Years To Come

As the dust has slowly but surely begun to settle in the aftermath of "The Decision" in all places except Cleveland, it seems as though the sports world is finally moving on.

And if it isn't, well, at least the Chicago Bulls are.

Like millions of other Americans, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf watched with interest—considerably more than the Average Joe, since he and his front office people made a sales pitch to "The King" during his chaotic courtship—as LeBron announced on national television that he was ditching dreary and desperate Cleveland for the sunshine and spice of South Beach...and to play basketball for the Miami Heat.

Before the announcement, Reinsdorf, speaking about the speculation regarding where LeBron may or may not end up, said confidently, "I think we'll be better if he comes to us, but I think we'll be a great team without him."

After the announcement, knowing that James would not be running with his Bulls anytime soon, Reinsdorf reiterated the same quiet confidence in his organization and their future as he had before, saying, "I respect his decision.  As I said before, I believe we will be better than Miami."

Now, there is certainly reason for skepticism, to think that the Bulls' owner is just saying that because that's what the fans want to hear and because it doesn't do him or his organization any good to speak negatively about the matter (right, Dan Gilbert?).

However, when looking at the roster that Bulls GM Gar Forman and the wheelin'-and-dealin' Paxson brothers have quietly assembled, there's plenty of reasons to believe that the Bulls finally have a long-term contender—the first since the Michael Jordan era.

Outside the spotlight of the ESPN-manufactured free-agent madness, the Bulls have added a tough and steady scoring power forward (Carlos Boozer) and a dead-eye shooter (Kyle Korver) to an already-playoff-tested core of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Taj Gibson. They are trying to add another marksman, J.J. Redick, to the mix, should he accept the Bulls' offer sheet.

These moves may not be nearly as spectacular as the Lebronathon, but their impact on the Bulls and their future should not be overlooked.

Particularly by Bulls fans, to whom the team being put together in their own town should serve as a reminder of a championship squad assembled by one of their old rivals.

A trip down Memory Lane—or I-94 East—should help Chicagoans recall the success that the Detroit Pistons enjoyed for most of the last decade, dominating the Eastern Conference and bringing home an NBA title with a roster, assembled by former Bulls tormentor Joe Dumars, that bears a striking resemblance to the one that will be on display at the United Center this upcoming season.

Like the 2004 NBA champion Pistons, this Bulls team as potentially constituted will be a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, a veritable smorgasbord of role players, none of whom are necessarily superstars but all of whom perform their individual duties exceedingly well and to the ultimate benefit of the team.

For both squads in question, it all starts at the point guard position, where the Bulls boast Derrick Rose. Though much younger and less accurate from the perimeter than Chauncey Billups, he possesses a similar physicality and a greater level of athleticism that allows him to get anywhere on the floor—especially right to the rim—at any given time.

Assuming Rose improves his jump shot and becomes at least a steady, if not spectacular, floor general for Chicago, he should be able to provide the Bulls with Chauncey-like leadership for years to come.

Rose's new sidekick, Carlos Boozer, should provide for him and the Bulls what Rasheed Wallace did for the Pistons when he came to the Pistons from Portland by way of Atlanta during that championship season. Boozer is a reliable power forward who can post up, hit mid-range shots, and provide some solid front-court defense and rebounding.

Of course, any mention of defense and rebounding with the 2010-2011 Bulls or the 2003-2004 Pistons begins and ends with the starting centers.  In essence, Joakim Noah does with size and a bushy pony tail what Ben Wallace did with brute force and a wicked 'fro—snatch rebounds, provide hustle and energy, body up opposing big men in the post, block shots, and pose as an intimidating presence in the paint. 

Where Noah has the decided advantage over Big Ben, aside from height (Noah is listed at 6'11" while Wallace, though listed at 6'9", is much closer to 6'7" or 6'8"), is on the offensive end, where he possesses enough in the way of offensive skills, including ball-handling, passing, and shooting, to make him as much of an asset as Ben Wallace was a liability on that end of the court.

Despite Noah's offensive abilities, much of the scoring for the Bulls is likely to come from the shooting of Kyle Korver and (if he ends up in Chicago) J.J. Redick. 

Like Rip Hamilton under the auspices of Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown, and Flip Saunders, the Bulls and their new coach, Tom Thibodeau, would do well to have Korver and Redick running off screens to get wide-open looks and wearing out chasing defenders while also providing outlets for Derrick Rose when he drives into the lane and kicks the ball out to the perimeter.

When it comes to having someone who can score off the bounce and slash to the paint for easy baskets, the Bulls need look no further than their own version of Tayshaun Prince—Luol Deng. 

While Deng doesn't possess the same defensive acumen and pure athleticism that Tayshaun contributed to those Pistons teams, he fills up the stat sheet better than Prince with higher career averages in scoring (15.8 to 12.7 points per game), rebounding (6.5 to 4.8 rebounds per game), and free throw shooting (3.9 to 2.5 attempts per game).

Chicago's bench also compares quite favorably to that of the most recent Motor City monarchs.  Like Corliss Williamson, Taj Gibson brings a decided tenacity and physicality up front to go along with a deft scoring touch around the rim. 

The steady hand of Jannero Pargo as Rose's back-up summons visions of Mike James and Chucky Atkins. James Johnson solidifies Chi-Town's bench with the size and versatility that a young Mehmet Okur once contributed to the Pistons' second unit.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, both in terms of personality and experience, is a far cry from the eccentric and cagey Larry Brown—or Rick Carlisle or Flip Saunders, for that matter. His reputation as a defensive guru should prove effective for grooming a team that butters its bread on the defensive end, just as the Pistons made mince meat of their opposition with their hard-nosed, defensive-minded style of play.

To be fair, those Pistons teams were perched atop the Eastern Conference during a time when their competition consisted of teams hovering at or below the .500 mark duking it out for supremacy in the Atlantic and Southeastern Divisions, and when LeBron's "brand" was in its infancy. 

Today's Eastern Conference is a much more rugged realm than it once was, with talent-laden and Finals-tested teams like the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics reigning over the landscape, and the Miami Heat clearly asserting themselves as being—at least on paper—worthy of consideration among that group of NBA royalty with the arrival and hasty anointment of the "Three Kings."

Despite the obstacles that lay ahead, the new-and-improved Chicago Bulls are well-equipped to not only enter into the conversation of Eastern powers, but also play a prominent part in the discussion.

First and foremost, these Bulls are young and talented, with their core players from last year all between the ages of 21 and 25, and their new additions—"Booz" and Korver—in the midst of their primes.  This portends a bright future for this bunch of Windy City ballplayers.

The age of this Bulls nucleus belies the experience and toughness that it possesses.  The cornerstones of the franchise—Rose and Noah—have led the Bulls to playoff bids each of the last two years, highlighted by their seven-game, seven-overtime slugfest of a series against the defending-champion Boston Celtics in the first round in 2009.

That being said, it was without the clutch shooting of Ben Gordon, who, ironically enough, bolted for big bucks with the Pistons last summer, that Chicago struggled mightily in their first-round matchup with the Cavaliers this past postseason.  If all goes according to plan, the addition of Korver and possibly Redick should correct that deficiency quite nicely.

The biggest unknown for this team, aside from whether Derrick Rose will show marked improvement after a stagnant sophomore season, is the competency of Thibodeau as a head coach.  Having no previous head coaching experience at the professional level doesn't necessarily bode well for this edition of the "Baby" Bulls. 

That's not to say that Thibodeau lacks experience altogether.  He's well-practiced in coaching stout defense, having worked and learned under the wing of Jeff Van Gundy in both New York and Houston before helping Doc Rivers guide the Celtics to two Finals appearances in three years, including their championship run in 2008.

Aside from having a rookie head coach in his employ, it's clear that Jerry Reinsdorf has plenty of reasons to be confident that his Chicago Bulls will compete at a high level for many years.  While the Miami Heat has stolen the offseason limelight with its influx of superstar talent, the Bulls front office has gone about its own duties in a humble yet potentially effective fashion, compiling pieces for a championship contender.

What the Bulls lack in flash and pure firepower compared to "Miami Thrice", they more than compensate for with depth and, well, an actual roster.  As Reinsdorf noted, as so many have since Thursday's bombshell, "Miami will have three great players, but no center, no point guard, and no cap room."

Meanwhile, as the Heat's Pat Riley scrambles to steal some Magic from Orlando to make six or seven players miraculously appear out of thin air (and no money), the Bulls and their hard-nosed owner can sleep comfortably, for now at least, knowing that they have in their stable the requisite parts to build a well-oiled winning machine in the Eastern Conference akin to their Central Division rivals, the Detroit Pistons.

Only time will tell if the parts truly fit, if the dust settles as Chicago sports fans certainly hope it will.