Chicago Bulls Need Joakim Noah, Not Carmelo Anthony Or His Ego
In the last month, the Chicago Bulls have been linked to trade talks with the Denver Nuggets to acquire Carmelo Anthony. The Nuggets are staying firm on having Joakim Noah in any package they would receive back for Melo. The Bulls have been set on not trading Noah, instead they have thrown an offer to him for 5 years, $60 million. Negotiations have been slow and steady, but work is being done to make Noah a Bulls for the future.
Melo has "said" New York and Chicago are tops on his list. The Bulls would be a championship contender if Melo was on the team with Noah, Rose, and Boozer. A team with Melo, but without Noah, they would be a playoff team, but far from a championship team.
In the next couple slides, I will say why the Bulls are better off with Noah, than getting rid of him for Melo.
Every Batman Has His Robin, Every Rose Has Its Thorn
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This IS Derrick Rose's team. He is the leader, the main scorer, and the reason why Melo wouldn't be a good fit for this team. When Lebron James was making us wait for his "Decision", a few people said he wouldn't fit in well with Rose, because the way they played were about the same. That being said, Melo is just a mirror image of Lebron and Rose. Melo is a driver. He has speed and size that his position has rarely seen except in a so called "King". Melo does not strive on spot up shooting, which will be a big part of this offense. Rose will be kicking out to guys like Luol Deng and Kyle Korver to hit spot up jumpers from all around the court. They can hit spot up shots, Melo would be a downgrade in that area.
Is Melo an amazing scorer? Yes. But he takes almost 22 shots a game and shoots only 45-47 every season. Luol Deng is a career 47% FG shooter, but he hasn't been fully healthy in a while, except for this upcoming season. If he can stay healthy, he won't put up a 28 points per game average, but he will be consistent every night and will help with making the offense run smoother.
Defense Wins Championships
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The Chicago Bulls will be a defensive team this upcoming season. The Bulls hired Tom Thibodeau to bring a championship defensive mind to this team. He will make them mentally tougher and tougher to score on during the season. The defense will center around Joakim Noah. He is this teams rock. He is not the most gifted in any one area, except defense and something that gets overlooked with him, his passing. He doesn't foul too much and he is one of the best rebounding big men in the league having averaged 11.0 rebounds last year. He has the need to win and plays with an energy that is hard to find these days.
If the Bulls lose Noah, they lose their interior defense. Carlos Boozer isn't the best defender and after Noah the Bulls have Omer Asik, Kurt Thomas, and Taj Gibson. That would leave just one guy above 6'9'' to play center. The Bulls will not be able to beat teams running a small lineup like that. This team needs as much length as it can get. The Bulls can't afford to run with a small lineup against the likes of Boston, Orlando, and Miami.
Melo has never been known for his defense in this league. He has always been known as a great scorer. But being just a great scorer doesn't get you to a championship ring. He would bring down the defensive mindset the Bulls will put in place. Melo is a "Star", not a "Superstar". If Melo wants to become a "Superstar", he needs to become a lock down defender and not a liability. The "Superstars" in the league are Lebron, D-Wade, Kobe because they can lock you down defensively and beat you on the other side of the court also.
Noah is the heart and soul of this defense and Thibodeau knows that. He will turn him into the lock down defender Kevin Garnett was in Boston a couple years ago and Noah doesn't want anything less than that.
Team Chemistry is Vital...Ask Boston and the Lakers
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The only way this Bulls team is going to play, is by being a team and using everyone to their full capabilities. Rose is going to have to hit consistent jumpers and drive to the lanes, kick it to guys like Deng and Korver to hit the open jump shots, Noah and Boozer will have to grab boards every night, Boozer needs to give them that spark for offense down low, and Noah needs to be the defensive presence he showed last year. If the Bulls add Melo, he will screw up the whole flow of this team. They will have added the pieces they did for the wrong reasons.
Melo has a big ego now. No one on the Bulls team right now has a big ego, just big game. Melo would b a great asset for any other team not named the Chicago Bulls. He isn't the type of player they need at the small forward position. The ideal small forward they would need is someone who can hit the spot up jumpers needed to succeed in this offense this year.
Thibodeau doesn't need a headcase to ruin a team that will listen to him day in and day out. Thib will make this team believers in him immediately, but probably already have.
The Chicago Bulls are a great team now and have the pieces in place to win right now and make believers out of all the doubters and have no need to trade our franchise center for just another "Star".
