NBA Rumors: Bulls Must Pursue Arenas or Redd To Bolster Poor Bench Scoring

Every Bulls fan knew the team had to address their void at the shooting guard position, and the Bulls did that adequately with Richard Hamilton. Rip was not a big splash, but an understandable move for a veteran who theoretically fits into what the Bulls like to do. Still, the Bulls need more scoring, especially from the reserves.

Yes, it has only been two games, but Hamilton has struggled defensively against Kobe Bryant and Monta Ellis. He has not found himself offensively the way he did in his lone preseason matchup. He was outmuscled by Bryant and routinely driven past by Monta Ellis. Subsequently, he spent both games on the bench in crunch time. His backups were better defensively, but they offered even less offense (the same predicament the Bulls find themselves in with the Carlos Boozer for Taj Gibson switch-off).

Could he still be gaining his legs and establishing continuity with the team? Absolutely, but the Bulls shouldn't rest their hopes on the belief that he will bring all that together. Beyond that, Tom Thibodeau is in love with platoon substitutions, which exposes the lack of scoring on his bench. This lineup is absolutely venom-less offensively: CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik.

Against the Warriors, he went back to playing Luol Deng with the second unit. It helped, but that leads you back down the road where Luol plays too many minutes. The Bench Mob can routinely get stops, but they are only able to score in transition and on scramble plays. The Bulls' bench is minus-48 collectively so far this season.

Taj Gibson continues to play solid defense, but he has made no strides offensively, as I've predicted. The same can be said for Omer Asik, but through two games, he has yet to be the defensive presence he was last year. CJ Watson has attempted to be more aggressive but he isn't able to finish or get to the line.

Right now, the free-agent market is predictably thin. At the top is Gilbert Arenas and Michael Redd. Both could provide much needed scoring for the bench, but Arenas' game (or at least, what is left of it) fits the best. Arenas has created a short list, but hasn't had any takers from that group of teams and the Pacers were said to be interested in Redd.

The Bulls need a player that can create his own shot and some offense for others. Arenas is not a starter at this point in his career, but I believe he could still score 10 points per game off the bench with say, 24 minutes a night. Is he a great defender? No. But the Bulls have made concessions for the horribly ineffective Kyle Korver, why not Arenas?

Arenas' attitude is a big sticking point, which is what makes me even mention Michael Redd. Redd's knees are the biggest concern, plus when healthy he was simply a jump-shot shooter. The Bulls have enough of those, but if nothing else he at least requires the defense to account for him.

The Bulls offense is still stagnant when Derrick Rose is out of the game, and when he's in, he's trying to prove to the world he's a "real" point guard. Carlos Boozer is headed towards an amnesty release in 2012, and that is a shame, but his defensive deficiencies are still in his head on the other end of the court.

The Bulls can sit on this squad that will have a successful season but fail in the postseason, or they can do what they can to seize the moment. As it is, this team does not have enough offense to win it all. Isn't that supposed to be the point?