In the words of Caster Troy, "I hate to see you go, but I love to watch ya leave." Goodbye Thabo, goodbye Noc. Johnny Pax delivered when no one thought he would. No, it's not the huge splash some morons out there expected. But no one improved their team at the deadline to the extent the Bulls did.
Brad Miller is back, our favorite pot-smoking, tatoo-wearing, non african american in the league. He's the ideal compliment to Tyrus Thomas. He won't clog up the paint on offense and he'll be a physical presence on defense that will allow Tyrus to roam. Although he can't block shots like Noah, he's bigger and stronger and tougher, not to mention a lot smarter. Hopefully, we'll see a little high-low action between the Miller and Thomas, with Tyrus developing some go-to post moves, including a face-up jumper and a small jump hook.
A few years ago, Krause signed a decrepid, washed up Charles Oakley to "teach" the young big men, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry. That backfired. Expect this to be different. I think Tyrus and Joachim will greatly benefit from having a veteran center on the roster, instead of just Aaron Gray and Drew Gooden. Plus his contract is up after next season, the hope being that by then Noah is ready to step in and be the full-time center. And if he isn't, we have only 3 players signed through the 2010 season: Deng, Hinrich, and now John Salmons. We'll assume they'll extend Rose, Thomas, and likely Noah and perhaps Gordon. But they should still have plenty of money left on the table to make a legitimate run at Dwayne Wade and/or Chris Bosh. And if Pax can convince D.Wade in the summer of 2010 to come home and play his prime years in his hometown, running with D. Rose, Deng, and Thomas, then he might convince his friend Chris Bosh to come back down to the states and join him in the Chi.
(Plus, if the rumors are true, and Wade, Bosh, and King James made a pact while in China this past summer that they'll all sign with the same team in 2010, then well... oops, I just got a hard-on. Could you imagine? I mean, I know everyone talks about Lebron going to New York, and yes, he can make more in that city than anywhere else... but Chicago ain't no slouch. And you've got to believe that the team Chicago will have should be better than whatever the Knicks run out there. Could you imagine a starting lineup of Derrick Rose at point, Dwaye Wade at shoot guard, Lebron James at small forward, Tyrus Thomas at power forward, and Chris Bosh at center? I know it seems impossible, but they aren't stupid. They've witnessed how a Big 3 on any team immediately makes that team a title contender. Duncan, Parker, Ginobli. Pierce, KG, Ray Ray. Kobe, Pau, Odom. And if those three ever decided to join forces, as rumors abound they agreed to, they could win 5 or 6 Chips together, minimum.)
Anyway, back to reality. John Salmons is Thabo Sefalosha with a jumper. I really like Thabo, thought he could be a Scottie Pippen-like defender. But you have to be able to at least be a threat on O. And Thabo not only couldn't score, he didn't even look to score. Salmons gives the Bulls a true shooting guard. He's got the right size and ideal game. He can shoot and slash, plus his long arms make him a pest on defense. I didn't watch Sac-town often, but when I did, Salmons usually guarded the opposition's best scorer, even when Artest was still there. D.Wade was probably overjoyed to see Thabo leave his conference. Then when he heard Salmons was coming here, that must've shut him up in a hurry. On top of that, he's cheap. And he'll give us insurance when Lil Ben walks this summer.
Last but not least, welcome back Tim Thomas. He's virtually the same player as Nocioni, only with darker skin and a darker attitude. At least he won't bitch as much as Nocioni did. He played a ton during that one season in Phoenix and had somewhat of a career revolution there. Del Negro remembers that for sure. He'll be able to spot Tyrus at the 4, while at the same time, not demand as many minutes as Noc did.
A few years ago, the Sonics, with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, went up against a high-seeded Spurs team, still with David Robinson, in the first round of the playoffs. The game that comes to mind was in Seattle, where the Sonics were defending their home court after losing two in San Antonio. The game was an especially physical one, and the Admiral, never one for enjoying the contact, was getting mauled by Jerome James. The Sonics beat the Spurs in a very close game, with James out-dueling the obviously aging Robinson. James had something like 16 points and 14 rbs and basically beat the crap out of Robinson the whole game. Jim Gray grabbed him as the team was running off the court talking shit as the time expired and tried to do an interview. James was asked a series of generic questions that he turned into a trash talking fest toward Robinson and Duncan. He was saying things like, "At my best, those two guys can't guard me," and, "No way can they come here and beat us." The last question to him was, "Do you respect the Spurs?" to which James replied, "I ain't got NO respek fo' dem!" I hate Jerome James, and if he ever puts a Bulls jersey on and steps foot onto the court in an NBA game, I will kill myself.
