History lesson

If you have a subscription to ESPN insider, or know of...other ways to read this, Chad Ford spent his Thursday detailing how the Bulls got in this post-dynasty mess. Not only that, he offered some advice to Pax on how to get out of it. How nice of him.

The first part isn't bad, but my main complaint makes the gigantic leap of faith when discussing the Bulls' second round picks. Sure they could've drafted Gilbert Arenas or Michael Redd. But nearly every other team in the league can say that as well. I'm not denying things have gone wrong in these past drafts, far from it. But I will not pretend failure to get a second-round steal is a massive oversight by Bulls management. I mean....drafting Mario Austin over Zaza Pachulia? Aren't there bigger fish to fry here?   Well unfortunately, there are plenty, and while Ford does gloss over some important things (most notably the Jalen Rose deal), the piece is a nice read. Nothing new though if you've been visiting here for a while.

As far as the way to fix the Bulls, it basically boils down to trading Curry, Chandler, and Gordon for Nene, Chris Wilcox, Mickael Pietrus, and Andres Biedrins. Oh and don't forget the bizarre scenario of getting Toni(!) Kukoc back in town. And then of course to close things out he stresses the importance of stability, if that makes any sense after trading away half the team. I'll give Ford the fact that Curry will be traded, but lets wait awhile before giving up on our #3 pick. And that also goes for the guy who had 18 rebounds last night.

Hm....maybe even stay the course on Curry too?

What if Jerry Krause was right?

Nah.

But it's these kind of nights--the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 92-84 on Wednesday at the United Center-- that make you wonder

Could Curry and Chandler still turn out be as good as we were told instead of what we have seen? Could they be an inside/outside tandem worth the loss of Elton Brand? Could they be the next coming of Shaquille O'Neal and Bill Russell instead of Benoit Benjamin and Brad Sellers?

In any case, the Bulls must play them a lot to maintain their value ina trade--if there is one. The Bulls can't afford to keep giving away players with little in return. But what if they could do this with some consistency? The NBA would be back in Chicago.
 

Even though you can't help but feel the smirk this article was written with, Sam Smith is saying what Bulls fans have been struggling with forever. See...he may be a half-crazy, crotchety old man, but My Man Sam(tm) can still write.

But then again, on Monday morning we'll be seeing Sam's new "Eddy Curry trade scenario of the week"

Both Smith and Ford have been trying forever to write ways for the Bulls to get back to prominence. I am more inclined to give GM John Paxson some time, and see where the chips fall. He knows more about his personnel than anyone, as well as their market value. But heed this warning Pax, the fact that you've gotten so much attention just goes to show how we're all waiting for a rebuilding plan to work for once.