Chicago Bulls: What Each Player Is, Like It or Not

Those of us that have kids or even those of us who are or have been teachers may get this analogy. Evaluating your team is like evaluating your child. A good fans' natural instinct is to defend their team, right off the bat.

Those that are more objective may have some keen observations about your child or team, but a loving parent or fan is having none of it. They'll look at another child or team and say, "damn they are terrible, I sure am glad I don't have to deal with that."

Then, at some point, someone compares the behavior of the terrible team/child to that of the parents/fans. The similarities are undeniable. Even the most loving fan or parent cannot discount the information laid out in front of them.

Well loving Bulls fans, allow me, a Bulls fan to be that keen observer and remove the rose-colored glasses from your eyes in regards to each player on the roster. The player who is the biggest recipient of this biased love is Joakim Noah but more on that later.

Keep in mind, some families have really good children, who as Dennis Green would say, "are who we thought they were." This is the case with the Chicago Bulls as well, for the good and the Korver.

Some families even have a black sheep that gets blamed for much more than their actually responsible for, the Bulls have a couple of them as well.

Let's see who the Bulls really are.

CJ Watson

The Bulls picked CJ up as part of their trip to the basketball organizations equivalent of the second-hand store. After all, they were turned away at the "Big 3" mall along with 29 other shoppers.

What were fans expecting out of him? He had improved his scoring every year he'd been in the league, but this year, playing far less minutes behind Derrick Rose, his scoring average was cut by more than 50 percent.

CJ Watson is a younger, slightly better shooting Anthony Carter, like it or not. They are both backup point guards who have masqueraded as starters in spot duty.

Now, that said, Anthony Carter made just over a million dollars this season with the Knicks and Nuggets. Old CJ pulled in $3.4 million. Now, we've accounted for him being a little better shooter, and he is 10 years younger.

The younger part should speak to the length of contract, the dollar amount should be about the quality of performance on the floor. The Bulls are overpaying CJ Carter.

Kurt Thomas

Well, here is our first example of "they are who we thought they were." I think most fans realize that "Big Sexy" is Charles Oakley at the end of his career with a better mid-range jump shot.

Kurt is a little dirty, he's physical and knows how to play the game. One difference is, he probably won't be caught in Las Vegas getting his ass whooped by casino security.

I used to think Oak was a little on the slow side, but I know he could probably handle two or three security guards, even at his current age. Maybe he took that beating all the while counting dollar signs.

Brian Scalabrine

Scal is an asset, yep you read me right. He is outstanding for a locker room and bench.

He is a good shooter that understands his game and has a high basketball IQ.

You could call him Jack Haley with game and no bizarre relationship with a potentially wayward power-forward.

John Lucas III

John Lucas is, John Lucas. He isn't his father, hell the Bulls would love to have that type of player off their bench. Instead, he is the little guy in the suit on the bench.

Any thoughts to get him in the rotation, I call in to question his performance against the Denver Nuggets. The game Derrick Rose missed with a crook in his neck.

Lucas was put into the game by Tom Thibodeau in the fourth quarter to put ball-handlers on the floor. He was fouled in a key situation, he missed both free throws and looked lost doing it.

Kyle Korver

Ashton Kutcher after a rough stretch is one of the most accurate three-point specialist in the NBA. He can shoot the lights out but possesses no other basketball qualities, beyond being 6'7".

Though many Bulls fans sing his praises on an inflated level, the truth is, Kyle Korver is Jason Kapono. Both of them are horrible defenders, can't create their own shot and are about the same height.

Would you pay Jason Kapono $5 million dollars per year?

Thats what Korver was paid last year and is scheduled to make this year.

Taj Gibson

Ok, here is where I'm going to catch some flack. Taj Gibson is a very good bench player and spot starter for this current Bulls team. Comparing him to Carlos Boozer seems to be a bit of a dilemma for Bulls fans.

It is sort of like finding $5 in your old jeans compared to going to look in your bank account expecting to see $5,000 and only seeing $4,900. Gibson is the five bucks, and Boozer is the $4,900.

While Bulls fans expected big things from Boozer and some were disappointed, little was expected from Gibson, and he has exceeded his expectations.

None of this changes the fact that skill wise, Boozer is still superior and more valuable. Bulls fans, Taj Gibson is a younger Hakim Warrick with a bit more of a workman-like approach to the game.

A slenderly built power forward with good athleticism and above-average defense.

He can't play with his back to the basket, and his face up game isn't spectacular. It's amazing what two spectacular dunks can do for ones reputation.

Luol Deng

Do-it-all Luol was the second most valuable Bull in the 2010-2011 season. He scored almost 18 points per contest, took the toughest defensive matchup most nights and played an unhealthy amount of minutes.

There isn't much more that could be asked of him beyond adding a postgame, but I've touched on that before.

So is Deng a player most fans have in the proper perspective? I think so. I see Deng as a bigger Josh Howard minus the weed, injuries and outburst about Obama.

That is a pretty good player for those that may have forgotten how good Josh Howard was.

Deng is, what we saw this year, especially under Thibodeau.

Hopefully, the similarities end there as he played too many minutes last year. The Bulls don't want to see the injury pattern emulated.

Rasual Butler

Who the hell is Rasual Butler?

I sure don't know, worst of all, I don't think Tom Thibodeau knows either.

In the Heat series when the Bulls were searching for a spark, primarily from Butler's position, Thibs was content to leave him at the end of the bench.

It would be nice to at least be able to answer the question in this slide, but we were never given the chance to see.

Ronnie Brewer

Ronnie Brewer was one of my favorite Bulls this past season but don't get it twisted.

Ronnie Brewer is a more athletic Bruce Bowen, minus the corner three-ball and bow-ties.

While that has value, I laugh at the notions that he is the answer at the shooting guard.

I love his approach and competitiveness, he is an asset, but he is not the answer.

Keith Bogans

This guy took a beating in the early part of the season as most fans clamored for his replacement. It never came, and fans tended to shift their criticism towards Carlos Boozer in the postseason.

Bulls fans aren't extremely high on him, and most wouldn't bat an eye if he doesn't return whenever the Bulls do. Just so we're clear, Bogans was paid just under $2 million to be a less aggressive, less tattooed DeShawn Stevenson.

This isn't a bad investment considering Stevenson made over $4 million, and Bogans only has one more year left if he does return.

Omer Asik

The "Turkish Hammer" is big, young and decently athletic. That trio of qualities will make you a very rich man in the NBA.

Assuming he avoids injury, riches await him when he can become an un-restricted free agent in the summer of 2013.

His defensive presence in the middle is already apparent and with experience, it could anchor a defense. That said, he has shown little in the way of offensive prowess.  

He is a horrible free-throw shooter and needs to get physically stronger.

The Bulls should ask themselves this question when deciding on his future with the organization. Should we pay a younger, slightly more athletic Joel Pryzbilla $8 or $9 million per year?

I say no, maybe $5 million, but someone just may overpay for him. At that point, the Bulls need to let him walk.

Carlos Boozer

"The Big Outburst" is a yelling, neck-wagging, hard-fouling, low-jumping post scorer. He is currently the team whooping boy on the strength of his postseason performance, but Boozer can still play the game.

The Bulls brought him to Chicago to score and rebound, that is all he ever did in Cleveland or Utah. His numbers were consistent with his career totals.

He wasn't comfortable throughout most of the season due to injuries and quick substitutions from Tom Thibodeau.

One sad thing is that the Bulls had who Boozer is, former Duke Blue Devil and Chicago Bull, Elton Brand. Boozer is a shorter armed, less-athletic version, but both have had solid careers with similar numbers.

Both have had injury issues, though Brand has been hit a little harder.

Fifteen million for Boozer? Well, you can't go back to 2001, so Bulls fans should be thankful for Boozer and hope he's healthy in 2011-2012.

Joakim Noah

Noah is a fine center and the emotional leader for this young Bulls team but let us not over value him.

Any hesitation to trade him for someone the caliber of Dwight Howard is ludicrous.

It is like holding on to your 1987 Chevy Baretta that got you through a tough winter when someone is offering you a Maserati in exchange for it.

Noah is Anderson Varejao with a higher basketball IQ. That is a good player, but it isn't a star.

Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose is a gift from God to the Bulls. Where would John Paxson and the Bulls franchise be had they not gotten so lucky in the lottery in 2008?

Surely they wouldn't have been 62-20 with Michael Beasley, OJ Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon or maybe not even Russell Westbrook.

The Bulls got a major do-over in this case because Rose is really a bigger, more athletic and competitive Jay Williams, born and raised in Chicago. The franchise lucked out when they got a second chance to draft a franchise point guard in a matter of six years.

Because of him, the Bulls can seriously talk championship. He is the one person in the organization that taken away makes title talk unrealistic.