Joining Chicago Is Best Move For Carmelo After Miami Heat Lose In Finals

Consider for a minute that you were Carmelo Anthony.

And you just watched the Miami Big 3 reduced to little more than the average One by a deep, well-coached San Antonio Spurs team that has a team consructed of undrafted, unselfish role players surrounding a core of aging stars (all on below max deals) on their way to a convincing 4-1 triumph for the NBA Championship.

Carmelo Anthony has the opportunity to win an NBA Championship right away with Chicago's complementary core.

And when you say that playing for NBA championships is the most important consideration for you, you were being 100% truthful.

Where else could you go in free agency than CHICAGO?

While Houston would offer you the chance to play along side James Harden and Dwight Howard, the Rockets have a huge hole at head coach. And not an insignificant factor, the Rockets play in the Western Conference.

The Miami Heat had the 5th best record in the NBA this past season, but because of them being in the Eastern Conference, they were able to get away with only facing a fractured Indiana Pacers team before playing any real competition in the NBA Finals.

With only the return of Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls may be counted as the top team in the Eastern Conference next season. The addition of Carmelo Anthony would all but assure that. 

However, the Chicago Bulls are the best destination for Melo for much greater reasons than just being in the weak Eastern Conference.

Talent:  You have to like the idea of playing along side Derrick Rose, the 2010 NBA MVP, and the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Joakim Noah, along with a group of Championship level unselfish role players.

Coach:  Tom Thibodeau is a former Coach of the Year, and he has a track record for coaching great defenses and getting the most out of his players.

Best Fans in the World: Chicago Bulls Fans love their team like every other Chicago Fans, and they would never give up on their team the way bandwagon fans of other teams will leave the stadium early, even in the NBA Finals.

And as Carmelo Anthony, you have to know that Chicago is still a big market city that will allow your brand to get worldwide exposure, just as it did the Jordan brand that you are wearing, and just as Rose jerseys consistently outsell Lebron jerseys (when DRose is playing, of course).

Also, the Chicago Bulls are in a position to be greedy, not desperate, and that will result in giving up less to acquire you, leaving a better, deeper bench. And with minimal changes, Melo, this time next year, you will be finishing up the NBA Championship run that will put you in the conversation as a great player of this era on the same level as Lebron James. 

(By the way, you can't be viewed as being on the same level as Lebron if you go to join him in Miami. I mean, as great as Dwayne Wade was in winning the NBA Championship (by himself, before Lebron), does anyone think that Wade is as great as Lebron anymore?)

And you could also be the player that took the challenge of playing in Michael Jordan's city and making it yours, rather than the way Lebron cowered from it.

So, if you were Carmelo, where do you choose to go:  Houston or CHICAGO? Tell us in the comments below!

The Off-Season Moves That Will Have The Chicago Bulls Poised To Win The NBA Championship

Three things will happen for sure this summer:

1.  Carlos Boozer will be amnestied. This will free up $15M.

2.  Luol Deng will be traded for a dominant offensive player in a high-risk, high-reward deal.

3.  The Bulls will not pick up Rip Hamilton's option. This will free up $5M.


The question is:  What subsequent moves will make the Chicago Bulls a team that has not only the will, heart, and leadership to compete with the Miami Heat, but a team that has the talent and star-power to compete?


1.  Why amnesty Boozer?
Well, the decision to amnesty Boozer is by no means an easy one. He is has been one of the most efficient Bulls players this season with a PER of 17.17 and averaging a respectable 16.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG.

However, word on the street is that the amnesty of Boozer is necessary to free up enough cap space to go after a max contract free agent this summer, with the two most intriguing frontline targets for the Chicago Bulls being Al Jefferson (UTA) and one Dwight Howard (LAL).

Either of these two players is a size upgrade over Boozer, though neither is the passer that Boozer has proven to be in the low-post along side Jaokim Noah. However, it is the size that will consistantly bother the Miami Heat when they try to force their way inside.

Could a shot at Al Jefferson or Dwight Howard be enough to amnesty Carlos Boozer?

Jefferson is solid (17.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, PER 20.99) and would be a great fit with the Bulls.

Howard seems to have discovered that the bright lights of L.A. were too bright. Despite ownerships' interest in keeping him, his desire to stay is beyond certain.

2.  Why trade Deng, and for whom?
The question of why trade Deng was partially answered by the success the Chicago Bulls continued to have after Deng went down this post-season. Much of this was due to the incredible ironman effort of Jimmy Butler. He played the role as good as and possibly better than Deng at this point in his career.

The clincher was the lock down defense Butler was able to play on Lebron James. He was able to force him into uncomfortable shots and several fouls that were awarded to Lebron were not even fouls on replay. That solid play made management have to consider what deals could be had with the Chicago Bulls leading scorer as the centerpiece.

Luol Deng is a do-it all Small Forward, and many teams could be interested in adding a solid team player like Deng to their team.

Tyreke Evans would give the Bulls a dominant offensive threat to pair with Rose.

We are going to put a trade back on the table that we suggested about a year ago that has Luol Deng going to the Sacramento Kings for Tyreke Evans, filler, and Sacramento's 2014 First Round Draft Pick. It would be a win-win for both teams with Deng bringing leadership and professionalism to the young players on Sacramento, and the Bulls get the athletic and offensive threat to keep some of the pressure and double teams off of Rose.

3.  Why let Rip Hamilton go?
While Rip was the Chicago Bulls starter for most of the season (on paper anyway), his health and the emergence of Nate Robinson and Marco Belinelli pushed Rip way down in the rotation.

We saw glimpses of what should have been, with Rip taking Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole down onto the block and scored over both with ease in Game 5 of the Chicago vs Miami series. However, the Bulls may very well need that last bit of cap space to seal the deal with Jefferson or Howard, and so you just have to live with the trade off.

Now it's your turn to play GM! What moves would you make to get the Chicago Bulls back on top? Let us know in the comments below!

No Howard Or Gasol At The Trade Deadline: Chicago Bulls Roll With The Guys That Got Them Here

CHICAGO, IL. After one of the most eventful and rumor-filled trade deadline weeks ever in the Windy City, the actual deadline came and went with no changes to the Chicago Bulls roster that has powered the team to a league leading 36-9 record.

Did bad advice or corporate interests prevent the DRoseMVP and DH12 Team-Up that everyone outside of Miami wanted to see?

Despite trade speculation since the season tipped-off, Dwight Howard opted to stay in Orlando until the end of the 2012-2013 season (which should only continue to fuel speculation where he may go for yet another season). Initially, Howard had requested that the Orlando Magic allow his representatives to talk to a short list of teams about trade possibilities; Dallas, New Jersey, and Los Angeles comprised the only teams that Howard claimed he would be willing to sign with long-term.

Chicago was one team that was conspicuously absent from Howard's list; with their depth of talent, the Bulls could put together a better package in trade for Howard while still retaining enough talent surrounding Howard and reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, to contend for an NBA Championship right now.

Eventually, it seemed as if Orlando had come around to this fact, even reportedly settling on a tentative deal that only required Howard to agree to signing a contract extension with the Bulls, however it soon emerged that the snag in the deal was that Howard's shoe sponsor, Adidas, which also sponsors Derrick Rose, did not want their two biggest stars in the same market. And so it seems that the future of basketball will once again be determined by corporate interests rather than the players on the floor... however, if Howard's people were more creative thinkers, you would have to wonder if Howard could join Chicago to win championships and get paid by another shoe company interested in competing in a huge market like Chicago.

Pau Gasol has been on the trading block since the failed trade with the NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets for CP3, but in the end, Gasol remains a Laker.

Meanwhile, the Bulls explored other options as the deadline, as well as, the Bulls' March 14th match-up with the Miami Heat, quickly approached. Following a failed trade that would have sent Los Angeles Lakers Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom and brought back Chris Paul, Gasol has been aware of his position on the trading block. The Bulls have long had interest in the Lakers' Power forward, but once again a trade deadline deal could not be swung.

On the eve of trade deadline day, the Bulls faced off with their Eastern Conference rivals, the Miami Heat, and despite 36 points from Dwayne Wade and 35 points from Dwayne Wade sidekick, Lebron James, the Bulls, without Derrick Rose, emerged victorious because of a total team effort. It reminded us that the Bulls are a team built on chemistry and a team that plays for each other. The easy win over current Eastern Conference runners-up, Miami, despite injuries to several top Bulls' rotation players, indicates that our talent is on par and deeper than our next closest rival.

So, without any major moves, the Chicago Bulls will roll with the core that fought the Heat in four very close Eastern Conference Finals games and one dominant blowout at the United Center, except, this season, the team chemistry is even better, the knowledge of Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau's system is better, and the talent additions have been perfect. And this is the group that deserves their shot at the NBA Championship, together.