Bulls' Summer Has Been a Massive Success Thus Far

Written by Dave Pustilnik

Friday, 23 July 2010 00:24

That's right...Ronnie. Ronnie Juice said it all. And I am calling him Ronnie Juice because the man told me he needs a nickname. So there it is Ronnie. The Juice is loose. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...go rent the first season of Jersey Shore. Immediately. For G-d's sake.

It's been a hot summer. The Bulls have had a busy offseason to say the least. Yeah, son. It's an 11 man roster at this point.

As I said before...Boozer...big-time signing.

Ask yourself a question. In May...before the LeBracle started...who were the 2 most realistic targets for the Bulls. Bosh and Boozer. Then LeBron, the biggest clown and attention whore in the history of the NBA (and I've always thought this...refer to my entry back when Jo and LBJ were jawing with each other), started playing mind games with NBA fandom nationwide. But if that didn't happen, would anyone have disappointed with Boozer? They shouldn't have been...and they shouldn't be now. He was the 2nd best option at power forward behind Bosh. And in my opinion, a close 2nd. And yes, I think Amar'e is over-rated and his game will suffer tremendously without a star point guard to lead him through the lane...unless of course he gets bailed out by Chris Paul aka the NBA's biggest social climber and follower. I don't wanna go on a rant about him, but LeBron joins forces with the Superfriends and all of a sudden Paul can't sit still. Think for youself, you imbecile. On the other hand, if I were him, I supposed I'd try to abandon that dreadful organization as well. But back to Boozer. He is the inside scorer/rebounder we've been looking for since the Elton Brand trade. For a long time. And now Derrick can actually run an effective pick and roll. I can't wait.

In spite of the Chicago Jazz jokes, I'm a fan of all the jazz defections to Chicago this offseason. Kyle Korver is the type of player we have lacked for years now. When was the last time you remember the Bulls having a spot-up 3 point shooter shooter who doesn't demand the ball? A real one...not a wannabe. Judd Buechler? Well now we got Ashton Kutcher. And he's a sniper. Plus, he can spell both Deng and Brewer. It's nice to see some 2-3 and 1-2 combos on this squad for a change. And maybe somebody who knows how to disperse their minutes. Anyway...

As for Ronnie Brewer, he's considered to be somewhat of a consolation prize. Totally unfair. The Bulls wanted J.J. Redick. They didn't get him. They should be thanking their lucky stars. $19 mill for J.J. freakin' Redick? Good lord. What exactly has he done to prove that he's worth $19 mill and leaving a team in free agency limbo for a week? Nothing more than a role player...and not even a great one. Yeah, he can shoot...but is he better than Ronnie Brewer? Ummm no. Ronnie Brewer is a 6'7" slasher who is always amongst the league leaders in steals. He's also a career 52% shooter averaging double digit scoring throughout his career as well. 52%. That is high. He shot 55% from the field 2007-08...a year that he played in 76 games and averaged 12 ppg. J.J. Redick? Never averaged double digit scoring a single year. Come on, man. Ronnie was the way to go from day 1. He can guard, or at least make an attempt to guard the elite 2's in the league. J.J. cannot even make a serious attempt...I don't care how much he has "improved" defensively. Ronnie Brewer was a big signing...stability at the 2 is just what the Dr. ordered. And don't forget, he only cost us $12.5 million for 3 years. Meanwhile, his teammate Wes Matthews is getting $34 million for 5 years...the only word to describe this...hysterical. The Bulls caught a bargain, my friends.

As for the non-ex-Jazz players we signed. Mr. CJ Watson come on down. CJ aka Mr. Vegas aka clutch three. The man has already changed his Twitter avatar to the Bulls logo...clearly he's happy to be here. But should we be happy to have him? Yes. He gives us some much needed quality depth as a 1-2 combo guard. He can spell both Brewer and Rose...definitely moreso Rose...and can spark the squad with some offense off the bench. He's a career 46% shooter...pretty damn good...and he doesn't really turn the ball over and hit a 40% from three 2 years ago (although he had an off year last year at 31%). He'll be a key roleplayer and a nice addition.

Omer Asik. A true 7-footer. Don't know much about him, but I hear he's a beast. The thing is, I don't trust anything I hear about foreign players. But Asik is supposed to be a nice player who is extremely gifted when it comes to blocked shots. Don't know if that will translate to being NBA ready on the defensive end, but maybe. Either way, some depth in the frontcourt is important. Someone has to play behind Noah and Boozer.

Speaking of which, word broke tonight that the Bulls signed Kurt Thomas. Don't know the details of the deal yet. Regardless, players like Thomas are important to up and coming teams. They provide presence and stability in the locker room, which is key when you throw a new group of guys together who aren't really familiar with each other's game just yet. Thomas should have that locker room unlock, even though he won't be able to bring much to the basketball court. However, he'll spell Noah and Boozer here and there, so that's good enough for me...for now.

Sure, after "LeBrongate", there were times where I said to myself...man I wish we hadn't traded Kurt and just drafted James Anderson (he's gonna be a star in the league, I promise), but you can't do that to yourself. The concensus is the Bulls had to go all in the way they did, otherwise the fans and the media would have eaten them alive and they simply would always have wondered "what might have been." And the team they put together looks like a good one. A tough, dynamic, and versatile crew. Much more versatile than last year...although I do still think we could use OOOOONE more shooter. I wouldn't take J.J. over Brewer, but it would be nice to have them both I suppose. Regardless, I think the Bulls are set to compete in the Eastern Conference...especially if there is any truth to Derrick's claim that he has developed a consistent three-point shot.

BUUUT just wait...the summer ain't over yet. The Bulls front office is looking into signing Tracy McGrady's arthritic knees and bad back. Personally, I would love to see him give him an offer and then take it off the table as he's physically about to sign it...just to get him back for what he did 10 years ago. How the tables have turned...he's all tweeting about how he loves Chicago now. Man, get the ef out of here. I mean maybe he could give us 20 minutes a game of pure scoring a night, but I wouldn't bank on it. I see him getting injured within the first month of the season and then playing sporadically here and there. If he's cheap, I'll take him...if not...get out. Like I said, I think we're set as it is, and I'll talk about it more if the discussion gets more serious. But for now...it's been a very solid summer for Bull fandom.

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