Chicago Bulls: Why Jason Kidd Is More Realistic Fit Than Steve Nash

The Chicago Bulls would love to fill Derrick Rose's point guard spot with Steve Nash, but since Rose is only out for (at least part of) the coming regular season, Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller are all more realistic fits for the Bulls.

Rose is the Chicago Bulls' point guard of the future but the Bulls desperately need to find a new point guard of the present this off-season.  

With Rose out for most of the 2012 regular season with his ACL tear, the Bulls need a starting-caliber point guard who can lead the team to a playoff spot until Rose is healthy to take the reins again in the playoffs.  C.J. Watson, Chicago's longtime backup, simply won't cut it as a full-time starter and the Bulls will need to look at other free agents. 

Steve Nash is the Bulls' pipe dream. Chicago would be replacing a former NBA MVP with a former two-time MVP in Nash.  

The long-time Phoenix point guard is still playing at a very high level and is old enough at 38 that offering a one-year deal would not be an insult.  However, Nash would probably like a multi-year deal and is not likely to head to a team that will trade him at the deadline or bench him for the playoffs when Rose returns from injury.  Instead, he will likely head to Dallas (if they strike out on Deron Williams) or a young, rising Indiana Pacers team.

As an alternative, the Bulls should consider Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups or a combination of all two as a more realistic solution.

Kidd is definitely over the hill and probably not a starter on an elite team but he could combine with Watson to provide 15-20 quality minutes per game.  

Most of Kidd's game is gone but he can still pass well enough to quarterback an offense and combined with the rest of the Bulls' talent, that might be enough to earn a playoff spot.  For his part, Billups is old and coming off a debilitating injury but, combined with Kidd, the two could tide the Bulls over for a few months.

Ultimately, Chicago's best solution may be to sign these two venerable free agents on veteran's minimum deals and pair them with a late round point guard from the 2012 NBA draft.  

The point guard class is weak at the top but there are some underrated passers who may fall to the Bulls' pick at No. 29 or to the second round, where Chicago could buy a pick and acquire them.

Washington's Tony Wroten Jr. and Kentucky's Marquis Teague both have lottery talent but concerns over rawness and immaturity could push them to where Chicago could snap one up and pair them with Kidd or Billups.

Even deeper in the draft, Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor and Iona's Scott Machado could also make for underrated additions.

So, it's clear that the Bulls likely won't be adding a two-time former NBA MVP to replace Derrick Rose. But Chicago fans should not despair: Rose will be back and in the meantime, the team has an interesting mix of options to replace him.