Bulls Look As Good As Chris Paul...In Street Clothes

With Chris Paul sidelined due to a groin injury, NBA fans did not get the chance to see the #1 and #2 point guards of the future go head to head for their first time.  As expected, without Paul at the helm, the Hornets looked disinterested and looked like they threw in the towel as soon as Tyrus had three dunks to open up the game in the first quarter.  His fourth double double in a row and inspired defense sparked the Chicago Bulls to a 4-2 road trip record.  The fact that Tyrus is growing into a consistent factor in the NBA deserves its own blog, and when he scores over 20 and grabs over 15 rebounds with 3 blocks, the blog will be written.  

Aside from Luol taking a well deserved night off (6 points), most of the ingredients to a competitvie Bulls outing was there last night: Derrick Rose was aggressive, shooting early and often to the tune of 21 points, Ben Gordon put up a good amount of 3's, Noah was extremely active with 16 and 9, Hinrich did nothing and everything, Thabo did nothing and everything, Aaron Gray was limited, Hughes was inactive, Noce hit some threes and made some out of nowhere scores that he seems to have a knack for.  And although my championship intramural teams probably could've beaten the Hornets last night (I've played Peja's father at my college gym once or so it seemed), we'll take anything at this point...I do see and feel the sentiment that fans are being reminded of the playoff Bulls not a few years removed that was energetic, confident, unfazed, and had different contributions every night.  Regardless, things seem to be headed in the right path and if these Bulls can hit that stride soon, a 6th seed in the East would not be a joke.

It is important to point out one great coaching move that Vinny Del Negro executed at the end of the 3rd quarter that involved a benching of a certain Bull.  Yes, Ben Gordon.  After a Derrick Rose turnover, Ben Gordon was the last guard back and half walked half daydreamed to make an attempt to stop the fast break.  His laziness was accentuated by Tyrus Thomas sprinting back from underneath the opposite hoop to almost getting his 4th block of the game.  Now as the years have gone by, I find myself getting back on defense as often as Ben Gordon, and while I appreciate that he didn't put his efforts in anything other than shooting last night, there was something annoying about it.  Maybe it was the fact that he plays so many minutes without earning it...or isn't there some rule where if you suck at defense, at least try your best if you're the last man standing?  I may hang out my own three point line when I play defense, but if it's a fast break and I have a chance to disrupt a 2 on 1 break by myself and get all the glory for a defensive effort, I'll be going after that play as hard as Sweetney would go after Dunkin Donuts.  Thankfully, Vinny benched Ben for the longest rest of the game and hopefully suspended him from working out his arms for two days.  

Now, with all the trade desires and speculations:  Everything I have heard up to this point has been dreams like the fantasy trade offers I get every year, or don't end up helping us at all.  Hughes for Simmons--wash.  Hinrich for Channing Frye--wash.  So after thinking about it and verifying that this would work through ESPN's trade machine, I have thought of the most realistic and beneficial trade request that Paxson should pull if he had a spine.  

Bulls Get: Chris Bosh, Anthony Parker

Raptors Get: Derrick Rose, Larry Hughes

Bulls Lineup:  PG Kirk Hinrich SG Ben Gordon SF Luol Deng PF Tyrus Thomas C Chris Bosh

Bulls Bench: PG Thabo SG Anthony Parker SF Noce PF Drew Gooden C Joakim Noah

No one appreciates Rose's skills and demeanor more than myself, but you don't get anything good if you don't give anything good.  Paxson has talked about using his high picks to package and trade and consolidate.  The problem his picks before Rose didn't have much trade value, but enough value where he was not willing to get hosed in a deal.  He finally got what he wanted in Rose, but now is too afraid to follow through with his original plan--package some picks to get an inside star to team with his core.  Don't think the Raptors would do it?  They are going to lose Bosh in 2010--this is as certain as my buddy being called Yao or Yi or Ching Chong in a pick up game.  They have Bargnani who is developing nicely and sure could use a top 3 point guard to pair with the big guy.  Just like the Lakers chose Kobe over Shaq because of age and marketability, the Raptors would jump on this deal instantly.  You could have Bosh dominating the Mavericks on Saturday and coming home to Chicago for a rousing ovation for their homestand.  It would hurt to lose Rose, but these Bulls would be a top 3 eastern team for the next 5 years...and I don't see Wade not wanting to come here as a free agent to join that team in 2010.  That's a low risk high reward trade...why am I not the GM of the Bulls?  and the Coach?  and the official Blogger for Bulls.com or the Tribune?