reflections
September 27th, 2007 Chicago’s Offseason Recap

By: Kevin Cheng

Although there were a few rumors involving Kobe, KG, and Pau Gasol coming to the Bulls, it has been, for the most part, quiet in Chicago. KG is happily settled in Boston, Pau Gasol seems to be a lock in Memphis especially after Juan Carlos Navarro his teammate and best friend from Spain has joined their team, and Kobe coming to Chicago was just a dream. But even through this all, John Paxson has done a great job.

One move that had to be done was to resign Andres Nocioni and was done so at $37.5 million over five years. With the amount players are getting paid these days, that is one hell of a deal for Chicago. Plus, they have the team option after the 5th year of the contract is up. His impact for this team goes unnoticed but after he went down with the foot injury, the Chicago bench averaged only 22.1 points a game. Nocioni, alone, averaged 15 poiMe and Joakim Noah at the NBA 07 Draftnts and 6 rebounds per game.

(Pictured on left: Andres Nocioni after hitting a buzzer beater)
Moreover, the Bulls have added depth to the power forward position with rookie Joakim Noah and veteran Joe Smith. I predict Joe Smith to get around 15-20 minutes a night and he should be able to contribute some efficient inside scoring. The Joakim Noah pick seems to be criticized often because he doesn’t score much, but what these people who are criticizing fail to see is that he also won back-to-back national championships in his junior and senior year in college. I expect him to be an explosive player off the bench providing Chicago with defense, rebounds, and energy (aka the complimentary player to Tyrus Thomas). Speaking of which- perhaps Chicago is not ready to start Tyrus Thomas full time with the addition of these players.

 (Pictured on right: Me with Joakim Noah at the NBA 07 Draft in NY)
A player I consider a steal in the draft is Aaron Gray. What he lacks the most is obviously quickness but I think he will be a very good backup center to Ben Wallace. People frown upon him because he has a hard time getting position under the basket but he has very good hands. He has a very soft touch when he shoots the basketball and can make the 12 footer. Furthermore, he is an above-average passer for a big man and that will open up shots for other players.

The next step: re-sign Luol Deng, and do it asap!

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