Storyline: Trading Rose and letting Noah go in free agency made sense. The Bulls’ other off-season moves don’t.
Courtesy: nocoastbias.com
This has certainly been an interesting offseason for the Chicago Bulls. From the Derrick Rose trade, to the draft trade rumors, and the Dwayne Wade signing–and everything in between–the Bulls have certainly made waves this offseason.
The Bulls traded Derrick Rose, which I think was smart move considering the ship had pretty much sailed on his tenure in Chicago. The Bulls also let Joakim Noah walk in free agency, a sign that they intend to get younger.
But I question every move after that.
I believe Chicago should have traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota because they could have gotten themselves good young players in exchange, players like Kris Dunn, Gorgui Dieng, and potential future 1st Round picks to help in the future. I understand that Jimmy Butler is a franchise-caliber player, but things haven’t meshed well for him under Fred Hoiberg. And I don’t expect they’ll get any better in the future with the new sigings.
Courtesy: Chicago Tribune
So what about those signings? The Bulls made a shocking move by signing Rajon Rondo. I understand Rondo led the League in assists last year, but this isn’t the same Rondo we saw in the Finals in Boston. This is a Rondo who has been known to have rifts with HOF-caliber coaches, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle. Should things not go well I think this move could eventually cost management their jobs.
Then the Bulls made the biggest move by outbidding the Heat and Nuggets for SG Dwayne Wade. Wade is coming off one of his best seasons in awhile, averaging 19 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.6 APG. And he stayed relatively healthy last season. But the reality is clear: Wade is 34 years old and has had numerous injury issues. And Wade, who’s a leader, could cause locker room conflict with Jimmy Butler, who probably looks at the Bulls as “his team.”
I predict the Bulls will quickly see–just after a month or so into the season–that this experiment isn’t working. I’ll bet that few or none of the new guys will be on the roster by season’s end. And it wouldn’t surprise me if GM Gar Forman ends up cleaning out his office, too.
