Monday, November 01, 2004

The Final 15

So the Bulls have made their final cut today, and it was the buyout of Eddie Robinson's contract. The Bulls aren't saving much here, paying E-Rob $11m out of the $14m he is owed over the next 2 years. I guess Paxson has deemed that much money to be a fair price to keep Robinson away from the team. That sure says alot about how bad things had gotten. After his high point last season, Robinson was permanently banished to Scott Skiles' doghouse, and quickly made his mark on the new season.

Its tough to say who is at fault here. On the one hand, as evidenced through his phantom injuries and needless stubbornness with his lame practice(or should I say non-practice) habits, E-Rob was one lazy dude. But he did have talent, and maybe Skiles/Pax should be at fault for not unlocking it because E-Rob didn't fit into their 'grinder' attitude. However former coaches Tim Floyd and Bill Cartwright couldn't get through to E-Rob either, so I will be very surprised if he suddenly becomes productive for whatever team picks him up (Miami is one of the rumored destinations). I will be happy to trade whatever Robinson could have brought to the table to see what Skiles can do with Deng, Gordon, et. al.

I would write about Curry and Chandler not getting extensions, and how the wolves (not the timber kind) have come back out to come with their best 'trade Eddy' scenario...maybe tommorow. Or next Monday when Sam Smith assuredly will write a similar column.

Note: Just when I thought nobody cared about the Bulls not being on TV, this message board thread reassured me that there are enough fans where something should be done soon. Like I said in my letter, if this were the Cubs there is no way Comcast would be holding out this long.

Sad News: Cezary Trybanski has retired from basketball. Finding this link was worth it if only to read the name C-Tryb. That's taking the whole 'abbreviated name' thing too far. Way too far.