Sunday, July 11, 2010

Some Offseason Recommendations For the Bulls

After striking out on the LeWade Bosh trio, the Bulls have remained busy putting their extra cap space to use. While many have been disappointed in not being able to land one of the top three free agents, the unforeseen affect of this could be that the Bulls may have one of the deepest teams in league next year.
It was no secret that the Bulls needed three point shooters that were capable of stretching the defense, and they have found just that in Kyle Korver and JJ Redick.
The Bulls signed former Jazz forward Korver to a 3 year 15 million dollar deal. He shot 53 percent from behind the arc last year, a welcome addition to a team whose top three point shooter was Luol Deng. Yeah, Luol Deng, a 38 percent shooter.
The Bulls didn't stop there, signing Magic sharp shooter JJ Redick to a 3 year 19 million dollar deal. Redick is a restricted free agent, so the Magic have seven days to match the offer. Assuming they don't, the Bulls will have two of the top three point shooters in the league next year. As of now, Redick will likely step in as the starting shooting guard.
The Bulls still have plenty of cap space left, so here's a few recommendations to make them even better.
Priority Number 1: Ronnie Brewer. Brewer would be a perfect fit for the Bulls, especially because of his defense. Let's be honest, the team needs to be constructed in order to match up with the Heat. Deng has done a decent job against James in his career, but we currently have no one who can match up with Wade. Redick did a pretty good job of defending Paul Pierce in the playoffs, but I would rather entrust the defensive stopper role to Brewer and his 1.6 steals per game.
I think it would be to the Bulls advantage to bring Redick off the bench. It would be the same role he filled so nicely last year in Orlando. He also would not be expected to expend as much energy on the defensive end, freeing him up to focus on his offense. The Bulls could probably sign Brewer to a 3 year deal somewhere in the 15 million dollar range.
Priority Number 2: Matt Barnes. Barnes is a 30 year old defensive specialist who has also shown the ability to knock down the three. His signing is contingent upon whether we sign Brewer and/or Redick. If we sign both of them then Barnes is probably not an option. If we don't get Redick however, Barnes would be a nice option off the bench as well. He already has experience going up against the best in the league (Wade, James, Bryant, Carmelo) and has held his own against all of them. While he isn't a prototypical 2, we wouldn't really have to use him in that situation unless we face a juggernaut (i.e the Heat). Barnes only made 1.6 million last year and opted out of his contract with the Magic to earn a bigger pay day. Offering him anymore than a 2 year deal in the 7 million range would probably be foolish, especially considering his age. This would probably be unlikely, as Barnes most likely opted out of his contract to receive a long term deal worth more guaranteed money.
Priority Number 3: Jordan Farmar. The Bulls need a back up point guard who can spell Derrick Rose for 10 to 15 minutes a game. I can't think of any free agent point guard I would rather have to fill that role than Farmar. He's backed up Fisher for the last four years in LA and apparently wants to move on. Farmar has shown the ability to manage the game for stretches at a time and occasionally makes some highlight reel plays on both the offensive and defensive end. The only concern here is if he thinks he'll be able to start somewhere else. Seeing as he has already won championships he may want to go to a non-contending team that he is able to start for. If not, the Bulls could probably land him for 3 years 7 million.

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