NBA Rumors: Why Signing Rip Hamilton Won't Be Enough for Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls need help in the backcourt if they are going to compete for and win an NBA championship. That starts at the shooting guard position, which was the only real weak link in the starting lineup last season.

According to Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago, they are on their way towards filling that gap. Rip Hamilton was bought out by the Pistons. He's now in the Bulls' plans.

If Friedell is in fact fact right and the Bulls go after and get Hamilton, it will be a nice start towards them becoming a championship team. But if it's the only move that they make, they will still fall short of the NBA championship. Actually, they won't even make that series.

More than anything, this team needs someone to take some of the pressure off of Derrick Rose at point guard. Rose is the clear franchise player, but his style of play will wear him down in the playoffs. It's natural. He just plays too fast and too hard to survive a long season playing that way.

The Bulls need a quality backup to come in and take between two-to-five minutes away from Rose. That may not seem like much, but it is. Over the course of 66 games (82 in future seasons), a few minutes a night will do wonders on the body. 

That's what Rose needs. That's what the Bulls need.

They are simply too dependent on him, and his body shows the results come playoff time. As long as that happens, the team is going to be consistently thwarted against the Eastern Conference's best teams when the playoffs roll around.

Hamilton is an excellent start. He's a proven winner that can still put up about 15 points a game and play good defense. On a team like the Bulls, that's all that you really need. 

But if this team is seriously going to contend for a title and win big series in the playoffs, they will need someone to come in and take the heat off of Rose. Hamilton's not that guy. 

When that guy is signed and on the Bulls, they will be at worst the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

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