When the Bulls drafted Derrick Rose #1 overall in June, lost in the shuffle was the fact that Loul Deng was still the cornerstone piece to the Bulls franchise. On Thursday, July 31, he was recognized for it and rewarded with a 6 year, $71 million contract, and incentives that could bring the deal up to as much as $80 million.

This contract ends a year of speculation of where Deng would end up, after last year when he turned down a 5-year, $57.5 million extension from the Bulls in hopes that he and the team would have greater success than they had had the previous 3 years, and then be able to cash in with a bigger deal at season’s end. Instead, the Bulls performed miserably, going 33-49, missing the playoffs and costing Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan their jobs, while Deng’s game slipped a little as well.

Now that Deng is signed, the Bulls must take care of business with their other restricted free agent, Ben Gordon. Bulls GM John Paxson has said he won’t make any moves until he has certainty on Deng and Gordon. If Gordon is to get a deal at or above the 5 year, $50 million extension he rejected before last season, it would push the Bulls over the luxury tax limit, something cheapskate owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently said that he would not do for a team not contending for the title. Really, Jerry? I’m not going to get into that here, but that is funny that JR said what he said.

Congrats to the Bulls on getting this deal done, not only for an outstanding basketball player, but an even better human being. For those who don’t know, as great columnist Jay Mariotti wrote, Deng is a wonderful young man off the court, with his efforts to help save Darfur being shown throughout the NBA Cares ad campaign.

If the Bulls are serious about making a title run again, it’s time to get rid of Gordon and Hinrich, clear out some cap room for the 2010 off-season when LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade will be free agents, and find a big man who can dominate inside.

(Cue up the piano music)

(Picture of Tyrus Thomas being a bum)

Where Tyrus Thomas blows off practice because he’s mad about his playing time happens

(Picture of Larry Hughes not caring)

Where Larry Hughes not playing to win happens

(Picture of Chris Duhon at Duke-UNC game)

Where Chris Duhon blows off shoot-around and doesn’t care about his suspension happens.

(Picture of Bulls logo)

Bulls basketball: Where not caring happens

In case you haven’t heard the news, the latest Bull to blow off practice is Chris Duhon. This comes on the heels of Tyrus Thomas’ 2 game suspension for blowing off practice because he was upset over a lack of playing time, and Larry Hughes saying he doesn’t play the game to win, he plays to have fun, saying:

“I play to enjoy myself. Some people take this the wrong way, but winning a championship is not what I base everything on. I was given an opportunity to play basketball, travel around and have fun doing it, and that’s what I want to do. I wouldn’t take being unhappy and not being myself and winning. I would rather enjoy myself with 18,000-20,000 people watching the game and people sending fan mail and those things and be happy.”

After all this, Duhon went to the Duke-UNC game on Saturday without telling Bulls management. He then missed the morning shoot-around, saying he never got his wakeup call, and he didn’t care for the suspension because he wasn’t planning on playing much and he knows the Bulls don’t want him back for next year. This is ridiculous. It’s gotten out of hand.

In January after Joakim Noah blew up at assistant Ron Adams, he got suspended 1 game for it. The players didn’t feel that this was enough and decided to increase it another game. It was a unanimous vote, which means Ben Wallace, Thomas, and Duhon were in on it. Who are these players to suspend Noah, one of the few players on this team who actually cares, when they don’t care themselves? This is despicable. John Paxson is going to need to blow this whole team up if he wants to re-make the team into a title contender.

LaMarcus Aldridge. Tyson Chandler. J.R. Smith. Ben Wallace. Kevin Garnett. Pau Gasol. Shawn Marion. What do these 7 players have in common? They are either players Bulls GM John Paxson either traded away for nobodies, overpaid for in free agency, or wouldn’t make a trade for. Players who would have helped this team contend for a title, players who wouldn’t be holding back the team with their massive contracts and poor performance. It’s time to get rid of John Paxson.

A lot of people give Paxson a free pass because he cleaned up the mess left by Jerry Reinsdorf’s partner in destruction, Jerry Krause. But once he cleaned up the mess, Paxson has been on the clock.

Since cleaning up Krause’s mess, Paxson has done nothing to improve this team to contend for a title. In the 2006 draft, after drafting Aldridge, he traded him for Tyrus Thomas and Victor Khryapa. Khryapa has since been bought out and left the team, and Thomas has been inconsistent, while Aldridge has been a dominant inside force that the Bulls could use.

Following the draft, Paxson traded Chandler to the New Orleans Hornets for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith. Smith is now an integral part on the Nuggets, and Chandler has blossomed with the Hornets, helping lead them to the best record in the Western Conference (at press time), while Brown is gone.

Paxson’s stupidity did not stop there. He had chances to get Gasol and Garnett during the 2006-07 season and he balked, saying he didn’t want to give up Luol Deng. Garnett and Gasol were later traded to the Celtics and the Lakers, respectively.

However, Paxson’s worst move was the four year, $60 million contract he gave Ben Wallace. Wallace was supposed to help lift the team over the top. Instead, he was a miserable failure, not playing with any desire, breaking team rules (i.e. “headband-gate”) and lacking the passion he had with the Pistons.

Even though there are legitimate questions about whether or not cheapskate owner Reinsdorf would approve of such deals that would dent his wallet another 30-40 million in salary and luxury taxes, that does not absolve Paxson of failing to improve the team.

And even though Paxson finally dumped Wallace for Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes, he might have made the team even worse off. Gooden is nothing but a slight upgrade over Joe Smith, who was also traded away in the deal, and his six-million dollar contract will come off the books after the ‘08-09 season. Larry Hughes is just as bad as Wallace, as he performs poorly, and plays with no desire. Furthermore, his contract will expire following the ‘09-10 season, but it’s only 12 million, as opposed to 15 million with Wallace, which will hurt them that off-season, as they will have less money to spend under the cap.

Marion would have been a better solution. When Marion wanted out of Phoenix, Paxson should have gone to Steve Kerr and offered him Wallace for Marion, as this would have been a better deal for the Suns than Shaq, as Wallace can stay healthy unlike Shaq. He’s also younger, and would cost them less and would probably help them out better as Shaq’s offensive skills continue to diminish. The Bulls would have gotten someone who actually cares and would help the team, and would get big money off the books sooner.

Paxson has shown that he can’t make that final step. It’s time to fire him and bring in someone who can.

With the Celtics having started a road trip 0-3, they now have 12 losses. After the mid-season talk of them challenging the 95-96 Bulls for the best ever regular season record, you can throw that out the window. 72-10 lives on. And good riddance. The Celtics with Thug James are the last team I want to see break the record. Now for one more loss to keep the Bulls as the only 70 win team, and for the Celtics to get thrown out when they make the playoffs.

So here I am a few hours after the NBA trade deadline has passed, and Big Bum, Ben Wallace is no longer a Bull. Good riddance. The old overpaid fart, who didn’t give a dam, and thought he was better than the team, wearing a headband when team policy says no, but getting an exemption. A miserable failure who was exposed without playing with Rip, Sheed, Tayshaun, and Chauncey, which is showing since the Pistons haven’t missed a beat since he left.

One problem: John Paxson may have just set the team back even more with this deal. He got Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes in return for Wallace, but Gooden is nothing but a slight upgrade over Joe Smith, who was also traded away in the deal, and Hughes has a bloated contract just like Wallace and he plays with no desire either. Furthermore, Hughes contract is less than Wallace’s, but since the Bulls are going to be over the cap, this is going to hurt because they will have less money to spend under the cap when his deal comes off the books. DAM IT JOHN!!

What was Steve Kerr thinking, trading away a disgruntled all-star for an old, injured bum?

Last week, Phoenix Suns GM Steve Kerr made a terrible trade, sending Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat in return for Shaq. This was a bad trade. Shaq is getting old, and he is always hurt. He is not suited to play in the run-n-gun offense. Everyone talks about how Shaq will help spread the floor, but with the Suns run-n-gun offense, how is it going to be possible?

This was a knee-jerk reaction by Steve Kerr. He should have waited and let the market play out. If he really wanted to get rid of Shawn Marion that badly, he should have gone to the Bulls and tried to get Wallace. Unlike Shaq, Wallace is actually able to play. Whether or not he wants to play is another issue. Going to Phoenix would probably re-vitalize Wallace. With Amare Stoudemire at center, Wallace would be able to move to his natural position of power forward, where he could be more productive, even with the Duncan’s, and Dirk’s, and Gasol’s out West.

Steve, I love you for what you did with the Bulls, but honestly, I think you made a bad trade here. Ben Wallace would have been a better option if you really wanted to get rid of Marion.

John Paxson. Kenny Williams. Jim Hendry. Jerry Angelo.

What do these 4 men have in common? Aside from being GM’s of Chicago sports teams? I’ll tell you what. They all suck. None of them are any good. Angelo is a moron when it comes to constructing the Bears. Kenny Williams thinks he can build a team to win it all while being cheap. John Paxson thinks the team he’s built can contend for a title. Jim Hendry likes to acquire garbage, and when he has a chance to get rid of that garbage for something useful, he either hangs on to the player and lets him walk, or he waits until his value is so low that all other teams offer him in return is garbage. Why can’t we have competent GM’s around here!!??

With the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Pau Gasol, all superstars are now off the market. Kevin Garnett was taken off last year when the Celtics got him, and now the Gasol is a Laker, this takes him and Kobe Bryant off the market. And with that, Bulls GM John Paxson has lost his free pass as GM. He had a chance to get these guys and failed miserably. 2 years ago we could have had KG for Tyson Chandler, Loul Deng, and our top draft pick in 2006, which ended up being #2. We could have had Kobe. We could have had Gasol. Leave it to Paxson to continually fuck things up. Trading LeMarcus Aldrigde for Tyrus Thomas. Trading Tyson Chandler for PJ Brown and JR Smith. Trading JR Smith for nothing. Signing Ben Wallace to a 4 year/60 million contract. This team he built has imploded in his face, and now he is going to have to start over if he wants to build this team to dominate. He refused to break up the team b/c he didn’t want to ruin the chemistry. Real gay. You know Pax, as Dennis Rodman once said, “chemistry is a class you take in high school or college.”

With the 2007-08 NBA season nearing the halfway point, most people expected that the Chicago Bulls would be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Instead, at 14-22 they are much closer to the bottom, and head coach Scott Skiles has already been deposed.

What’s going on here? This team was supposed to be a contender to make the Eastern Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals. They brought back the core of their team from last year, and they improved the team by getting rid of the scrubs like marshmallow Mike Sweetney and bringing in Joakim Noah and Joe Smith.

The problems with this team go beyond the fact that they don’t have a big man who can dominate inside or a superstar with a killer instinct like Kobe Bryant, or the fact that Ben Gordon and Loul Deng turned down five-year, $50-million extensions. In fact, it may not have anything to do with their struggles. They don’t even have referees to blame this season for their poor record.

After Skiles was fired, players openly admitted that they had tuned out Skiles and implied that they weren’t caring. Their play showed that they didn’t care. Firing Scott Skiles hasn’t fixed anything, as Skiles was not the reason for the team’s poor play.

Former NBA great and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley said Skiles should not have been fired. Instead he said, “The person that didn’t trade for Kevin Garnett last year should get fired. You have a chance to get Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol, you’ve got to make that trade.” Barkley would be referring to Bulls GM John Paxson.

While I think he was going a bit too far saying Paxson should be fired, Barkley does bring up an interesting point. This is more Paxson’s fault than it is Skiles’. Paxson has not done enough to build this team into a title contender. While this team’s poor play is not due to the lack of a dominant inside force, this team still needs one.

When Joakim Noah, who now appears the most competitive and genuinely interested of all the Bulls, said back in November that other teams were basically doing whatever they wanted against the Bulls, he wasn’t lying.

These Bulls don’t seem to care at all. They don’t play the game with any desire. There is no effort or hustle. Their play is sloppy and opponents have turned the tables on the once Pamplonain-hustle of the Bulls, having their way on any offensive possession.

Interim head coach Jim Boylan won’t fix the team’s lack of effort. In fact, the one thing he might have had that Skiles didn’t - control of the players - he might not have that anymore, either. After Noah blew up at assistant coach Ron Adams at practice last week, Paxson and Boylan suspended the rookie for one game. However, his teammates didn’t feel it was enough and unanimously voted to extend it an extra game. They then went to Boylan and Paxson and the “superiors” agreed to it.

Who are these players to vote to increase his suspension?

How does it become the players’ job to shut up the most competitive player on the team- likely out of fear that he’ll out-hustle, out-shine, and even out-play guys like Big Baby Ben Wallace?

Ultimately, in the long-run, this poor play might end up being a blessing in disguise, especially if it leads to a high draft pick that puts the team in position to potentially draft Tyler Hansbrough from North Carolina, Michael Beasley from Kansas State, Eric Gordon from Indiana, O.J Mayo from USC or Kosta Koufos from Ohio State.

While the losing may bring the final piece to the puzzle to dominate the league not seen since the Jordan era, this team needs to show more effort and act like they care.

So with the recent news of the Detroit Tigers acquiring Miguel Cabrera AND the D-Train, Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signing Torii Hunter in free agency, the White Sox have laid another major dud and continue to show they are a one-and-done deal. What’s going on here on the South Side?

Just 2 years ago they won a World Series title (Though I must say, that was not legit either, as the Sox only made the playoffs because Buerhle tried to kill Pronk. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.) and now they are bumbling around, coming off a 90-loss season.

Since the White Sox like to pick apart the flip-flops of Jay Mariotti, I think it’s time to return the favor, and pick out their flip-flops:

Didn’t Kenny Williams say after the Sox won the 2005 World Series that they wanted to win “two or three world championships”, reduce the Cubs to second status and take over the town and that you can’t win 2008 in 2006?

Then how about at the trade deadline in 2006 when they could have gotten Alfonso Soriano for Brandon McCarthy? I recall them saying that McCarthy was too big a part of their future, yet while the White Sox were stumbling and bumbling following Ozzie calling Jay Mariotti a fag, they refused to put McCarthy in the rotation while it was stinking up the joint. And then what did they do that off-season? They traded him to the Texas Rangers for scrubs.

Then how about when they signed Mark Buerhle and Jermaine Dye to contract extensions during 2007? Didn’t Kenny say that the Sox had a grand plan this off-season that included Cabrera and Hunter?

And then how about after this season: “Last year did not sit well with any of us. We’ll be damned if we’re going to go through that again. We will aggressively pursue a championship. We’re trying to win the 2008 championship. We were embarrassed last year.”

If by aggressively pursuing a title you mean re-signing a Dominican murderer, trading one of your best arms for the O-Cab and signing Scott Linebrink in free agency, okay Kenny. What happened to this Spiderman like video of Torii Hunter climbing the Chicago skyline and telling the whole world how badly you wanted him? What happened was the White Sox lowballed him.

And how about Miguel Cabrera, Ozzie’s “4th son.” Wasn’t Kenny Williams bragging about how it was a done deal and all that was left was to dot the i’s and cross the t’s? And what about that Venezuelan Motherfucking fag on his 4th son who he says has lost 30 pounds: “I think he is going to bring more leadership to the ballclub.” He said that in the present tense too. What’s going on here? They were just doing their best Cubs impression during the MacFAIL era: Say they’re after someone to keep PR, but not really interested in them.

And how about these remarks following the Tigers getting Cabrera and Willis: “All this has done is put the Tigers in a better position to contend with us. We certainly are not going to shy away from the challenge, especially knowing that no matter what your roster looks like on paper, it takes well-rounded teams in major-league baseball to compete for a championship.” Okay Ken. You are right that it takes a well-rounded team to compete and with this deal, the Tigers are pretty well-rounded. They have a true modern-day version of a Murderer’s Row lineup, with Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Rentaria, Pudge, Guillen, Inge, and the Frenchman Jacque Jones. They have kick-ass rotation with Bonderman, Verlander, Willis, and Kenny Rodgers. They got Todd Jones closing out games for them, and they will get Zumaya back at mid-season.

You think the White Sox are well rounded? LMAO!! Who do they have in their rotation other than Buerhle? They are kidding themselves if they think they can win with a bunch of kids. Ask the Cubs how that turned out. And what about the lineup? I thought they wanted to add speed and some guys who could put the ball in play? Their Thome-Konerko-Dye-Crede middle of the lineup is old, and can do nothing but swing for the fences.

At the rate Ozzie and Kenny are going, they’re the leading candidates to do a remake of Abbott and Costello. The Blizzard of Oz said the Sox were interested in Andruw Jones. Very interesting. His agent turns out to be Jerry Reinsdorf’s best friend, Scott Boras. The White Sox hate him so much that it is practically the organizations policy not to deal with anyone he represents, which means Joe Crede is going to be gone by the end of the 2008 season at the latest one way or another. Later on, Kenny Williams said: “He is not on our list.”

Then who is? Are you going to bring back Aaron Rowand, or is he just going to turn into a former legend? Will you pony up the dough? What are doing with that money that was supposedly earmarked for Hunter and Cabrera? If that money isn’t going to go into Rowand, then who is it going to? Does JR have a secret plan to spend it on his other team, the Bulls and get Kobe? Doubt it.

Kosuke Fukudome anyone? Get out of here. Since when are the White Sox going to win a bidding war? He’s going to sign with the Cubs if it turns into a Cubs-Sox bidding war. What will the White Sox do then? Go and cry that the Cubs are turning into the Yankees and Red Sox? Hey, White Sox, it’s called big-market team. You got the money, spend the money. The Cubs are playing by the rules. There is nothing that says they can’t do what they’re doing. Why don’t you do it too? You guys got the money. Baseball is flush in cash. Start spending it. You aren’t a small-market team. You play in the nation’s 3rd biggest city. You put 3 million asses in the seats. Start acting like it.

The White Sox are in for a long, slow, painful re-building process. “We were embarrassed last year.”

Guess what, Ken? You’re going to be even more embarrassed in 2008.