Can the NBA Bulls Learn from LaSalle St.'s Bulls?

Republished with permission from The Chicago Sports Review

Better Assets than Chicago:

Same Level of Assets:

Lesser Assets

Team	Wins	Payroll (in millions)	ROA*	Rank
Detroit	27	65	42%	1
Orlando	23	58	40%	2
Boston	29	74	39%	3
New Orleans	23	63	37%	4
Phoenix	25	71	35%	5
Utah	20	59	34%	6
LA Lakers	23	68	34%	7
San Antonio	23	69	33%	8
Golden St.	20	65	31%	9
Portland	22	73	30%	10
Atlanta	16	54	30%	11
Toronto	18	62	29%	12
Denver	21	79	27%	13
New Jersey	18	68	26%	14
Houston	19	73	26%	15
Dallas	24	93	26%	16
Washington	17	67	25%	17
Charlotte	13	52	25%	18
Indiana	16	66	24%	19
Milwaukee	15	62	24%	20
Cleveland	18	76	24%	21
Sacramento	14	63	22%	22
Chicago	13	63	21%	23
Philadelphia	14	71	20%	24
Memphis	10	55	18%	25
LA Clippers	10	64	16%	26
Seattle	9	63	14%	27
Miami	8	72	11%	28
New York	9	88	10%	29
Minnesota	5	68	7%	30

Even if you do feel the Bulls have underachieved this season (which I do, certainly) this is still an extremely discouraging stat.  Despite having a payroll only $4 million away from the luxury tax, the Bulls have the 23^rd-worst ROA.

For each million the Bulls spend on payroll, 22 NBA teams get more wins out of the same one million spent.

Given that they are not going to have much money to spend on free agents—especially if Paxson intends to keep the current core intact by resigning Gordon and Deng—bringing in a top-level star with a new contract simply will not happen.  Furthermore, since the Bulls are just good enough to stay in the playoff hunt and maybe get the 6-8 seed or finish a few games out, they will not get a game-changing draft pick in the foreseeable future.

Basically, unless trades are made, the roster you see today is the roster you will see in the future.

While it pains me to say this…I'm sorry Mr. Reinsdorf, but that simply will not cut it.

Trades need to be made, and NOW.  The longer the Bulls' current parts stay together, the worse it will get.  Jim Boylan is not the answer.  A puppet coach controlled by GM John Paxson is not the answer.  It is beyond the time when fans can acceptably sit back and wait for Hinrich and Wallace to "get better."

So, what to do?  Trade everyone, save: Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, and Joakim Noah.  Aaron Gray and Duhon can stay, because they barely make anything and are worth more than their salaries.  Gordon could stay, though he is less of a priority than the first three.

Everyone else?  Dump 'em.  Move them right now.  Maybe a Ben Wallace trade to the LA Lakers for Kwame Brown's expiring contract?  How about Hinrich to the Heat for Jason Williams and Ricky Davis?  Both of their deals come off the cap next year.

I realize it will be difficult to move players into whom Paxson has put so much faith and effort.  The hardest thing for anyone to do is admit they have made the wrong choices in the past, realize it is time to cut their losses, and move in a different direction.

The only thing harder is continuing down that wrong path.

The Bulls still have the quality to get a lot of high draft picks and talent back in trades.  Combine that with the cap room they could acquire to use wisely on free agents, and within two or three years the Bulls could have a young championship contender in the works.

Ultimately, I think the best thing you can do when building a team is wait to start spending money until you have that one star: the Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan-type player.  Once you have that, building the rest of the team is not so hard.

Luol Deng is not and never will be that guy.  He could one day become a Scottie Pippen or Dennis Rodman type—the second- or third-best player on a championship team.  But becoming a Finals-winning MVP is just not in the cards for Luol.

Until you get a player like that, however, it's important to stay flexible enough that acquisition of such a player is possible.  That means having high draft picks and lots of cap room.  The Bulls needed to be moving that direction yesterday.

Écrit près Charlie Danoff