This is painful, but it has to be done.
It’s time for a brutal assessment of the Bulls roster. Warning: Beyond Derrick Rose, there isn’t much.
Ben Gordon. He can’t create his own shot. That’s fine, except he can’t play defense and can’t handle the ball.
Luol Deng. This is called regression. No one knows what happened — used to be possibly a great player. Now he’s a role player. I think playing for the British national team killed him — too much tea during timeouts.
Tyrus Thomas — maybe, possibly, if the stars align — could be a good player. One problem: He can’t hit anything beyond 2 feet.
Joakim Noah. Can’t pass, dribble, shoot, play defense, rebound, run up and down the court, doesn’t really know the game. Beyond that, he’s fine.
Andres Nocioni. Used to be a good hustler — now, I have no idea.
Kirk Hinrich. The fact I honestly forgot about him while he was hurt says it all.
Larry Hughes. Good. Not $13 million good, though.
Aaron Gray. Solid center, knows the game, strong fundamentals. Too bad we never see him.
Drew Gooden. I think the guy’s a keeper. Looks good with Derrick Rose on the court.
Derrick Rose. We’re watching someone special here — not just a great player, but a good, solid citizen of the game. So rare in the NBA.
So there you have it — 11 or so guys who are seventh or eighth men in a typical rotation and Derrick Rose. I say trade every last one of them to get one stud to play alongside Rose. Then, fill in with draft picks and other unwanted free agents. Sounds crazy, but you would win at least 50 games.
So tear it down. That’s what the White Sox do, even when they win the division. So long, Javy Vazquez. I almost liked you, you were almost good, and you were almost tough enough to make a difference. Now, your almosts head to Atlanta. We got a bunch of almosts in return.
Speaking of almost. The NFL almost suspended the Vikings’ Williamses in time for the Bears game — but they didn’t. Oh, well — the good news is they may miss the rest of the season, and we still can win this thing.
That doesn’t make the Bears good — but it almost does.
