Saturday, July 26, 2003

Well, Robinson did get fined. This is a pretty funny quote by his agent:
"I'll just say Eddie's healthy--he's all right, he didn't get hurt,'' Collier said. "He's been pretty busy and he's on his way to Las Vegas now for some personal business. We have no comment about the fine. We will comment later.''
Vegas on personal business huh? I really try to like E-Rob, but he sure makes it hard on me. He sure seems to have the attitude that he got his one big contract, so he's pretty much taken care of.

Theres other stuff in that article about Jalen and Pippen if you wanna take a look.

Friday, July 25, 2003

Pax wants to know: where's Eddie Robinson???, and it says here E-Rob may be getting a hefty fine soon if he doesn't stop looking at his million dollar bracelet and answer his phone.
The Summer league has turned into the Lonny Baxter experieince:
Nobody expected Baxter to end up being one of the league's leading scorers and pacing the Bulls to a 5-0 record, but that's exactly where the Bulls were Thursday night after their 82-81 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Baxter is the primary reason for the Bulls' success. He is averaging 20 points and 7.0 rebounds, and is shooting 66 percent from the field. "Lonny's a guy who just knows how to score and he knows how to play,'' said assistant coach Bob Thornton, who is coaching the summer team. "His experience over the last year has really helped him a lot this summer. His defense is improving. His position play in improving. Defenders can't sleep on him because he'll jump up and scare them with some stuff. He's pretty active and, for his size, finds ways to get things done.'' More and more, Baxter is looking like the second coming of Elton Brand, whom the Bulls picked No. 1 in the 1999 draft and who averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds his first two seasons. Then he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and became an All-Star. Baxter plants his big body hard, solid and deep in the paint to consistently post up for easy inside baskets. Plus, that baby hook and running bank shots are valuable weapons. "Yeah, Elton Brand is a good comparison, because Lonny just plays so hard,'' Thornton said. "He battles and gets good position on you, puts that little jump hook on you, and there's very little anybody can do about it.''
I think that says more about Elton Brand than it does Baxter. Baxter will be a good "insurance policy" if Fizer's not ready for camp (even though he says he will be). But as good as he's playing now, just remember it's still the summer league, and Lonny is a nice 9th or 10th guy off the bench for ya, nothing more.

That Bulls game last night was supposed to be on ESPN, but the bigwigs there must've thought we'd rather watch the WNBA. Thanks a lot. Anyway their game today is at 5 and its on NBATV if anyone actually has that.

Thursday, July 24, 2003

Nothing really on the Bulls front today, so I'll provide my take on the Huge deal completed yesterday:

I think everybody helped themselves here except the Knicks. If I were them, I would've just made a straight up deal with Minnesota: Sprewell for Brandon and Marc Jackson. Instead they get Keith Van Horn (and his monster contract), another PF on a team full of them. Supposedly they have another deal in the works moving Kurt Thomas out of town, but they are still crowded in the frontcourt. Marc Jackson is a legit Center, and could do well in the smaller East. And Brandon's contract would've really helped the Knicks try and avoid the luxury tax in the near future.

I think the Sixers helped themselves out especially with Jackson (as explained earlier). but now their rookie coach has to deal with Iverson AND the Big Dog. Fun.

The Wolves have assembled a pretty good fantasy team, I'll have to see it work on the court before I have them challenging for the West title. But on paper, its nice just because of the nicknames:

Sam I Am Spree Wally World Big Ticket Kandi Man
The Hawks are a mess with or without Robinson....Theres also a rumoured sign and trade in the works with Brad Miller going to the Kings, Turkoglu and "merciless" Ron Mercer to the Spurs, with Danny Ferry and Scott Pollard to the Pacers. Just more and more talent going to the Western Conference (Mercer notwithstanding). Thank god the Bulls are in the East. Before the season starts i'll run-down the East and list the teams the Bulls have to be better than to make the playoffs. Its not an impressive list.

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Jay Mariotti - Asswipe:
"Nostalgia works in the movies and at high school class gatherings where hair dye is involved, but not in a major market where a once-magnificent basketball franchise still isn't remotely close to a championship mode. By now, approaching Year Six A.D. (After Dynasty), the Bulls should be far beyond the stage of bringing back an aging, knee-ravaged Pippen to help a bunch of hoops kids grow up. If this is Chicago and banners hang in the rafters, where's the $100million superstar and his glittering supporting cast? Shouldn't the realistic goal be an Eastern Conference title, not a mere berth in the playoffs? It's a nice thought by Paxson to build a bridge from an increasingly distant past and let Pippen walk over it, especially after Scottie tried to burn it down so many times"
This is the same guy who was begging Michael to come back and be GM!!! Now he says nostalgia shouldn't be important. And the plan to get the $100 million superstar failed a few years ago, in case he wasn't paying attention. Instead you get a couple frontcourt superstars in training. And you know what Jay? its fun to watch them get better. Maybe not fun for you, but that's fine you can spend your time writing love letters to Jordan. Nostalgia indeed.
Mike Downey likes the Pippen move, but eventually goes into a typical history lesson about the Bulls dynasty breakup. But that doesn't bother me, this quote does:
"the Bulls have no stars. If you think Jalen Rose is a marquee name, you are sadly mistaken. Neither is this kid from Kansas they just drafted. Jay Williams had the potential to be one, before he cracked up his bike."
Um...what about Curry, Chandler, and Crawford? I can't stand how these writers don't even bother watching the Bulls play. If Downey saw a game at the end of last year, he'd see that Curry is ready to be a star right now. well, offensively at least...

Monday, July 21, 2003

In case you weren't following the summer league:
"Second-year forward Lonny Baxter scored 25 points to lead the Bulls to a 71-68 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday in the Rocky Mountain Review summer league in Salt Lake City. Center Dalibor Bagaric added 10 points. He will leave to join the Croatian National team, for whom he will tour and play the next two months. The Bulls are 2-0 in summer-league play."
Because I know everyone is wondering about Dali's whereabouts.

Sunday, July 20, 2003

So Pippen looks around, sees offers from only the Bulls and Griz, and is now a Bull again. I've said earlier that I wasn't against bringing him back, but I just felt that Paxson wasn't going to get him and wind up losing out on other free agents. But Pax did it, he got the guy he wanted. And how long has it been since the Bulls did that? (oh wait, E-Rob). But from this quote, it seems like Paxson gets it:
"A lot of people think we're trying to relive the past," Paxson said, insisting he'd talk only in general terms about Pippen. "I'm looking at this as the best move for our future. What Scottie can give us on the floor is immeasurable."
I don't want to hear how this means the Bulls are a desireable organization again, and now they're repenting for mistreating players. They've ALWAYS treated players well. Pippen was brought back because he's a good fit for the team, filling their #1 offseason priority. I think where Pippen will help the most is at the end of games, where the Bulls let a lot of wins slip away last year. Maybe now we can look forward to the offense running an actual play, instead of giving the ball to Jalen and standing around. Sam Smith says it better than I can:
Forget all the distractions and baggage that come with Pippen. That's just Scottie. There are guys like that. Charles Barkley, too. There were arrests and controversies all the time. They march to a different drummer. But they're players. Real players. The Bulls don't have many of those. Pippen's a winner. Like him or not. Say he rode in Michael Jordan's wake. But he has been in big games making big plays virtually all his career. It's time for the Bulls to have players like that, to get serious. Pippen is not any long-term answer. But he'll have plenty of questions. When Jamal Crawford is pulling up for a three-pointer after dribbling between his legs eight times. When Eddy Curry is turning into a triple-team and shooting...If Jalen Rose takes a bad shot or six, Pippen will let him know. When Tyson Chandler is running around like a mad turkey, who better than Pippen to set him straight. There's some sentimental value to all this. And some credibility for the organization. It further distances the Bulls from the lingering notion they resented the players who won for the organization. It's a nice tool to have for future free agents. Maybe the Bulls even retire Pippen's jersey while he's with the organization. But, more important, they put a player on the floor who is a winner, who has performed under pressure and succeeded and who has the credibility to lead others and demand better of them.
::wipes away tear:: Stuff like that makes me forget all the possible problems with this move. I just hope that the Bulls start out hot, or else angry whiny Pip will be back. Anyway heres a look at the ole' depth chart:
Starting Lineup: PG: Crawford SG: Rose SF: Pippen PF: Chandler C: Curry Bench: Frontcourt: Marshall, Fizer, E-Rob, Dali, Baxter Backcourt: Hinrich, Hassell, Mason
I didn't bother giving depth positions for the bench, since Marshall can play the 3 or 4, Chandler can play center, Hinrich can play 1 or 2, etc. That's 13 players, so there are 2 more roster spots. I imagine one will go to a backup center, and its looking like Corie Blount will be back to fill that role. That's a playoff team though, especially in the East. And the expectations should be no lower than that.