Chicago Bulls Front Office Should Do Nothing During the Free-Agent Period
The lockout is over and the NBA season, in an abbreviated form, can now commence. The truncated season means a shorter offseason cycle. Teams have less time for things like training camp and free-agent shopping. Although the talent pool is considerably shallower than that of last season, there is some intriguing talent out there that last year’s close-but-not-quite contenders are eyeing.
Miami wants to add size because they can’t do much with adding depth.
Los Angeles is in the market for a point guard, sort of.
And Chicago could definitely use the services of shooting guard who could take the edge off of Derrick Rose.
With all of the buzz going around about making a move for the likes of Arron Affalo or Nick Young, waiting to see what will become of others like Monta Ellis or OJ Mayo or seeing if veterans like Jason Richardson would seriously take a pay cut, there’s another option for the Chicago front office that no one seems to be considering.
Nothing.
First and foremost, to have an entire roster of a 60-plus win team returning is never a bad thing. Considering the growth witnessed over the course of last season, there should be some patience in seeing what these guys can do with that great season and deep playoff run to build off of.
Secondly, the real management priority over the course of this year is a new deal for Derrick Rose. Chicago’s front office loves to get deals done with their players before the season’s end and they need to be focused on locking up their All-Star MVP long term in order to look appealing to potential free agents for years to come.
The only thing the Bulls have to offer to anyone right now is the mid-level exception. Most of the free-agent guards on the market are valued above the MLE (either because of past contracts or current demand). The kind of talent the Bulls need will not come that economically. And while it is important for management to at least test the market to see if anyone will bite, it should not be too much of a pressing issue to get someone signed. That mentality may lead to them just wanting anyone signed.
Some fans want rings now and that’s a bit demanding of the current Bulls roster. Real talent, real accomplishment comes with growth and chemistry, and both take time to develop. Pat Riley all but tried to buy a championship last season, and we all saw how that turned out. The team that was more developed, cohesive and synced ruled the day.
Granted, the Miami Big Three will improve this year, but so will the team that is the Chicago Bulls. Has Derrick Rose given anyone a reason to believe that he will not be back and much improved? Were there not flashes of promise last year, playoffs included, that made real students of the game think that there was some real talent with real possibilities ahead of them? Don’t forget to consider the offseason and how the lockout had the silver lining of letting some of the oft-banged up Bulls heal more.
Maybe Brewer and Bogans switch roles and we have more defensive support off the bench while the offensive flash Brewer showed in postseason proves to be the scoring support the Bulls so desperately missed.
Maybe Deng adds to his repertoire and becomes a better Robin to Rose’s Batman. Maybe Korver finds his stroke and really helps stretch out the defense. Maybe Boozer stays healthy and offers a legitimate second option.
All of those hypotheticals are more likely to immediately happen and help the Bulls than the possibility of someone coming in for cheap (relatively speaking) and getting the Bulls “over the hump.” This team has gone from .500 and a constant No. 8 seed to conference big dog in a matter of one season. Let them keep growing. Stop trying to find the quick fix.
