The NBA is coming up on the halfway point of the season, one that even Miami Heat coach and President Pat Riley called a “41-game disappointment.” So what about the Bulls, who are stumbling along at 17-23, two games behind last season at this time, and currently ninth in the Eastern Conference?
What should they do? Could they make a trade and make a move in a weak Eastern Conference? Or should they just let the season ride, get the two draft lottery picks–theirs plus the one the Knicks are sure to provide from the Eddy Curry deal–and recoup with some $15 million to spend in free agency this summer?
Wait, what about this? How about adding a versatile 6-foot-10-inch veteran who would be their second-tallest player and who can hit threes, having made more than 40 percent of his attempts last season?
“The only thing I want to do is play basketball,” Tim Thomas was saying by phone from New Jersey one day last week while the kids were fussing in the van on the way to Philadelphia. “Everything that happened from Day One, I don’t really understand. I’m still confused about the whole situation. But I don’t have anything bad to say about anybody [in Chicago]. I don’t even remember how long I was there. I didn’t make any relationships with anybody. Going into Chicago, I was excited. I’ve been in situations before that were not great (as far as winning). I know I can go out and do what I want [on the court] on a consistent basis. Chicago would have been a perfect situation for me.”
Let bygones be bygones?
It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
“We agreed that Tim is at a different point in his career than the majority of our players, and it was mutually decided that he stay in N.Y. until we can get a deal done or the trade deadline passes,” general manager John Paxson, out on a scouting trip, replied by e-mail. “I am aware that him not playing and not being visible to other teams doesn’t help [our chances to trade him], but the reality is that we could possibly [still] have the opportunity to move him because of his one-year contract.”
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It remains one of the more curious stories in the NBA this season. Fans always scream for teams out of contention to play their younger players, so that’s essentially what the Bulls, who wouldn’t have signed Thomas after this season anyway, chose to do.
Could Thomas, 28, have made a difference for the Bulls, his fourth team in nine seasons?
“I came in with the mind-set to play basketball,” said Thomas, who played in three games for the Bulls. “I heard my share of stories about [coach Scott Skiles], but it didn’t bother me. When you’re on the court, there isn’t a coach in the world who can help you. You have to go out and perform on your own.
“I’ve been watching them. I know I can help that team. It’s just circumstances happened. The opportunity was not there. Nobody wants to be in that situation. My only goal is to play basketball. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be just collecting a check. I know [Skiles] liked his core guys. I had no problem with them sticking with the young guys. My thing is I knew I could help. I still have some years in this league.”
Thomas says he is working out at Villanova with his old college team.
“I’m waiting on [the Bulls] to either make a trade or release me,” he said. “They haven’t really said too much about what they’re trying to do. I don’t know exactly which direction they’re trying to go. It seems like they want to stay young and build around that. But I don’t have a clue. I really never had a clue. It’s difficult to be traded a day before camp, but me and [Michael] Sweetney came in with the mind-set of going out and doing the best we could, learn the system and play basketball. Things happened. I don’t know if it was personal. I can’t pinpoint anything. I’m just waiting for the opportunity to help someone else. Everything happens for a reason.”
So the talk around the NBA continues to focus on big men. You can get Michael Olowokandi and Eddie Griffin from Minnesota. Or you can get Mark Blount from Boston. One reason Minnesota GM Kevin McHale has told friends he’s interested in Blount is because of the weak free-agent crop this summer with the likes of Nene, Lorenzen Wright, Nazr Mohammed, Vladimir Radmanovic, Keith Van Horn, Melvin Ely and Joel Przybilla. You probably could get Cleveland’s Drew Gooden because he is seeking big money, Seattle’s Reggie Evans or Atlanta’s Al Harrington, who probably will be dealt before the Feb. 23 deadline.
Would any of those players truly make a difference for the Bulls? And even if they grab one of the last playoff spots, they would have to play Detroit or Miami in the first round.
So perhaps it’s better not to trade. Instead, ride out the season, play hard and competitively, but get the two lottery picks and–with the free-agent money–do more than just get a few extra wins and an extra week of games in the playoffs.
Artest watch
You can almost hear Mike Dunleavy screaming to be traded to Indiana for Ron Artest. Nothing is imminent, but Dunleavy seems to have had enough of Golden State teammate Baron Davis.
“We can’t just go throw the ball out there and play street ball, and that’s what we rely on,” Dunleavy said. “When the going gets tough, that’s what we rely on. You can’t just let your All-Stars, your best players, go one-on-one. As good as those guys are, the other guys are good too. I’ve been trying to explain this to everybody since the first game of the season.”
With Davis serving a suspension last week, Dunleavy had his best game in a win over the Cavs. Davis rarely throws the ball to Dunleavy, who can use his versatility with Davis out. The Golden State situation continues to spin out of control, and many believe it’s only a matter of time before assistant Mario Elie will replace Mike Montgomery.
Kazaam!
First Utah’s Greg Ostertag blocked two of his shots. The next game Lakers rookie Andrew Bynum spun by him and dunked. Yes, Shaquille O’Neal has been struggling. After all, it was Ostertag whom O’Neal once slapped and it was the teenage Bynum who said before the draft that he was like O’Neal but could make free throws.
Riley defended O’Neal by saying that his center is not slipping but instead is still bothered by a sprained ankle and a thigh bruise from last season. Riley forgot to mention a mosquito bite when O’Neal was 16. Is it the sad decline of the former most dominant player?
O’Neal assured the Miami Herald: “I’m going to get it going here soon.” O’Neal said he could still score more than 25 per game if he wanted. And then Sunday he scored 27 points in 28 minutes against the Kings.
Foul language
How’s Kirk Hinrich supposed to get foul calls? Minnesota, which averages fewer free throws per game than the Bulls, says Kevin Garnett doesn’t get calls.
Said coach Dwane Casey: “Kevin Garnett is probably the one superstar in the league who doesn’t get to the free-throw line. I’m not accusing the officials. But [it] amazes me that he gets bumped and banged and pushed around and doesn’t get calls. But that’s nothing new for Kevin. He’s mentally tough enough to play through it.” Said Garnett: “Fouls and pushing and being physical are part of the league. I push on the other end, so I’m not going to sit there and complain about it.”
Former Bull update
Corie Blount is an assistant at the University of Cincinnati. . . . Seattle’s Rick Brunson remains a strong candidate for the Temple job one day. . . . Welcome to New York: Eddy Curry was booed for the first time at home Saturday with three rebounds and four turnovers in 26 minutes in a loss to the Hornets. . . . Marcus Fizer, playing in the developmental league for the Austin Toros, told a reporter: “Quite honestly, besides me wanting to get back to the top league and the pay and all that, I’m having the best time of my life.”
Road to China (or Indiana)
Brad Miller, another former Bull, wants to go back to his Indiana home. The Kings’ center says he’d take the minimum when his contract expires in 2010 to finish his career with the Pacers. Said Miller, who can only buy so many fishing poles and six packs: “I got more money saved up now than what I can spend the rest of my life. I’d have to buy the whole state of Indiana to spend what I got.”
Miller also is a strong candidate for the 2008 Olympic team as a big man who can shoot. In addition to Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, who have been selected for the team, Elton Brand and Dwight Howard are expected to be added after the All-Star break, and Hinrich remains a strong contender in the mix for the 20-member tryout team.
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Last shots
Former Cav Dajuan Wagner had surgery in October to remove his colon. He had been battling colitis since last season and hopes to make a comeback next season. . . . This is what’s wrong with the NBA: “We’re only five or six games out of first,” Portland’s Juan Dixon said about possibly making the playoffs. They’re also 14th in the West. . . . Hurt again with back problems is the Clippers’ Shaun Livingston, who the Clippers now fear is another Jonathan Bender, the ex-prep star whose body cannot take the NBA pounding. . . . Interesting take in the Philadelphia media about declining 76ers attendance and the team near the bottom of the league. The question was raised whether the city has “Iverson Fatigue” from watching Allen Iverson’s shoot-all-the-time act. The 76ers remain in the top five in road attendance.
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