Forget the Rest of the Team, the Bulls Only Need to Worry About Drafting the Best Player

I am having a Network moment, and wanted to share it with all of you. First, read this spot-on assessment of the Bulls’ predicament from the Chicago Tribune:↵↵⇥“I know we’re loaded in the backcourt, but true point guards like Rose … I can make the argument that position is the most difficult position to fill consistently,” Paxson said. “And Beasley is just a true scorer who does it so easily. They’re two sides of the spectrum. We’ll be able to look at which way to go.”↵⇥
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↵⇥Even if the Bulls make the pick, trades would come into play because Beasley would create a logjam with Drew Gooden and Tyrus Thomas and Rose would flood a backcourt that’s already crowded.↵↵Maybe I’m blinded by some vague anti-Bulls bias, or am just sick of hearing about how much talent is pent-up on this roster. But I refuse to accept the proposition that this team isn’t back at rebuilding square zero, or at best, one. While Ben Gordon may score, he’s a constant thorn in the side of anyone trying to set up a rotation. Hinrich has regressed, but he was also probably over-achieving before. Deng, well, he should’ve taken the money this summer, because he’s suddenly crossed the potential threshold. Now, he is what he is.↵
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↵Who else is around? Larry Hughes will destroy this team if you let him shine, like a cult leader and corrupt guidance counselor rolled up in one. Drew Gooden is okay, but hardly worth orienting your long-term goals around.↵
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↵Chicago really isn’t anywhere right about now, so it annoys me to hear them say that they’ve got to consider today’s roster. The only givens here are Noah and the need to develop Thomas. And presumably, Deng will agree to some sort of extension. Beyond that, either Rose or Beasley could anchor this next crack at functionality. Of course, taking Beasley means keeping Hinrich, but there are worse things in this world, just as Rose’s arrival would place more pressure on Thomas/warrant re-signing Gooden. All of this is true.↵
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↵What galls me is that, in a sense, flexibility is freedom, and the Bulls have the freedom to tell half their roster to go to hell if they want. All in the interest of the future. Sheepishly speaking of a “loaded backcourt”, or having journalists write that there’s a “logjam” brewing down low. . . that’s the kind of plodding, conservative thinking that keeps teams from getting out of the late lottery spin cycle. Which, if there were a God above, is where Chicago should’ve been this year.↵