I've been a NBA fan for more than 15 years. I've senn tons of young teams get built and eventually broken for whatever reason. Do you remember the old Clippers? The Elton Brand-Lamar Odom-Corey Maggete-Darius Miles-headband fisting Clippers? That was a promising team and one had the feeling that if that core sticks together, they’d be hell of a team. Remember Shaq and Penny? That Magic team had dynasty wrote all over. Zo and Larry Johnson had they chance in Charlotte, Vincesanity and TMac were going to be the next MJ and Scottie (although now you’ll wonder who was who ). The examples go on and on and every team got broken apart for different reasons but I feel a Basketball’s God true heart ache when I think that upper management could have done something different to change the destiny of this kind of teams.
The current Chicago Bulls team is actually playing better this days than last week but an idea keep playing around on my head: had this core of players give everything they, as a group, had to give? Did John Paxon miss the opportunity of building an eventual champion? I’m not only thinking this because of the current position on the standings let’s look back at the building of some of the past champions (I must get something out of the way; I’m not saying that this is a blue print to build a champion they are just examples to make my point).
- Back in 1988 the Bulls had a nice young team featuring on the best rebounders in the league, Charles Oakley. They traded him to get a defensive oriented center that was also a veteran voice in the locker room. Michael Jordan and Bill Cartwright won 3 titles together in the next 5 years.
- In 1999 the L.A. Lakers, lead by Shaquille O’neal, were coming from two nice playoffs appearances were they lost to the Utah Jazz. One could say they time was about to come but Jerry West thought different as he traded their best defensive swingman and second leader scorer, Eddie Jones, to the Charlotte Hornets for Glen Rice. The following year the L.A. Lakers won the first title in 12 years.
- In 1995 the Houston Rockets were the defending champions but they weren’t playing at a “championship level”. For some people a change was imminent and that change became Clyde Drexler. He was acquire in exchange for staring power forward Otis Thorpe. The trade didn’t exactly shoot Houston to contention but helped Hakeem get his back to back title against much better teams like Utah, San Antonio and Phoenix.
- You want a more dramatic example; look at the moves Pat Riley made 3 years ago to create a championship team in Miami. I know they are crappy now and they won thank in mayor part to the”DWade Free throw Parade” but they are the ones wearing the jewelry.
In the past two seasons almost every Bulls’ players have been involve in a trade rumor to get a player from Kevin Garnett to Pau Gasol to Kobe Bryant but John Paxson never pulled the trigger, he never saw a fair trade he never bumped into a trade that, according to him, would increase the team chances to become champions. And he stuck with this team and I think he ride this team for all it could offer. This core of players have reached a point were they are not clicking anymore they are not responding to Skiles’ screaming and mind games.
Since two seasons ago until this past off-season the Bulls and the T’wolves were talking trade. New reports, and facts, points to that Chicago never had a chance to get Garnett. McHale, on all his wisdom, rejected every package Chicago offered. Let’s say this wasn’t Paxson fault. The Kobe saga still very recent so we all know why that trade hasn’t happened and probably'll never happen. Kobe wants to play in a Bulls team that also features Luol Deng and the Lakers want’s Deng in exchange for Kobe. This wasn’t Paxson fault neither.
The leaves us with the Pau Gasol scenario. January of this current year was passing by us when the talks heated up between the Grizzlies and the Bulls, The Grizzlies were asking for a package of Tyrus Thomas, the contract of PJ Brown, New York's draft pick and someone from the Deng-Gordon-Hinrich core. You can add two more contracts in each side to make numbers match. Worst case scenario Chicago'd had to give Deng as the centerpiece of the trade.You can argue he's going to be a 25 ppg scorer in the near future but if you are paying like 17 millon dollars per year to Ben Wallace for the next 4 years ( 2 of them good ) you might wanna try to win now so adquiring a actual 20/10 post presence makes sense, right?. It wasn't like the Bulls were given the entire roster for Gasol, Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, Wallace, they all'd have been there. I seriously think this is were Paxson lost it all.
There's also the Chandler vrs Wallace issue. I supported Paxton because of:
- PJ Brown contract was adquired to be part of a trade package to get either Garnett or Gasol.
- Chandler wasn't goint to develop under Skiles tenure. Someone had to go and they needed point A, besides Skiles approach was still working. I don't think Paxson is savyy enought to see this coming
- I thought that the Ben Wallace signinng was a good thing. I know he's way older and I don't know how many times more expensive than Chandler but he brings experience and a championship ring to the table. This is where things get bad, Wallace hasn't been the leader on the court at least not regularly and he hasn't been that veteran voice in the locker room neither.
When the last trade deadline came and went I knew Paxson blew it. Fine, they didn't get Garnett nor Gasol but he needed to so something with PJ Brown contract. Something! Anything! As everything come out Chicago traded Chandler ( a defensive monster ) for anything and that's no way to build a champion
