Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Happy New Year my Pippen Peoples!!!! 2014 is here with new beginnings and possible second chances. The Chicago Bulls have a chance to do both. We are going to take a break from all of the Luol Deng trade rumors. We are going to cast away the “Will he or won’t he sign” questions for the time being and talk about an efficient, cheap and low risk way of upgrading the roster. This move will be based on the blueprint the Bulls used last year that worked. Sign Gilbert Arenas to a unguaranteed contract for the rest of the year.
Okay everyone, if you are laughing, cursing or questioning my creditability right now. Just take a long look at your list of point guards right now. Derrick Rose is not coming through the door people, if he does he will be on crutches. He’s out. The Bulls waived Mike James who was about as old as Methusela in basketball terms. How old is he? He was on the Detroit Pistons 2003-04 championship squad. He’s 38 years old! The Bulls sent Marquis Teague to the D-league. I’ve read some of the comments on how bad he was by many of my colleagues at Fansided including Candice Connell, my esteemed co-editor. (Believe me folks, they were funny, look them up when you have time.) All of it is true but we all know Marquis should have stayed at Kentucky. He knew that all of his teammates from the National Championship squad was going to the NBA and he had to strike while the iron was hot. The Bulls plan was to develop him kind of like what the Clippers did for Eric Bledsoe in L.A. playing behind Chris Paul. Since Rose has been hurt that plan has not worked out and Teague has looked overmatched. The Bulls have Kirk Hinrich in the starting lineup who can’t guard a locked door with a Doberman Pinscher. Couple that with the fact his shooting percentage is on pace with the Chicago weather right now….dropping. To stop the bleeding, the Bulls brought in DJ Augustin basically paying the equivalent of a box of Newports and Puma sweats. Not a bright picture on the point guard front is it?
Furthermore, all of these players mentioned cannot generate easy baskets for themselves or their teammates. Here’s an example. Lebron James is known for the dunks, commercials and is basically the face of the league. Here what makes him great, he creates opportunities for his teammates. The fact that he can get his own shot makes basketball easier for EVERYONE. Derrick Rose was that guy for Chicago but he’s injured. Other teams are not concerned with this bunch.
Here’s where Gilbert Arenas comes in.
Gilbert Arenas throughout his career had been a scoring machine. He spent the past season in China playing 14 games scoring nearly 21 points a game for the Shanghai Sharks. Agent Zero has stated his desire to get back in the league so give the man a shot. He does not need the money, he’s still getting paid from that huge Wizards contract (22 million this year He’s not broke people!) and he loves basketball. Seriously, when guys say basketball is all they got, I think cliché. With Gilbert Arenas, you can believe it.
Here’s the positives. Arenas can create his own shot, penetrate and create easy baskets for Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer. After the loss to the Raptors, do you think they could use someone that could open up easy basketball opportunities? Just sayin! Also, Arenas has range out to the three point line. the Bulls are 28th in regular field goal percentage AND three point percentage. They need someone who can consistently knock down an outside shot. No, check that, the Bulls need someone that can knock down ANY shot down consistently. Here you go people, this is your guy.
Now I know what you are thinking. What about the gun charges in DC? That was years ago. He paid his debt to society, apologized and has tried to move on. Good grief! The man changed his number when he got to Orlando so he could put the past behind him. It’s not like he was Lonny Baxter who really discharged a firearm near the White House. Remember Javaris Crittenden the guy he got into it with in the locker room? He’s up on murder charges. Let’s give Gilbert a break. If the Bulls can survive Nate Robinson who was a character of his own for a year. I feel Tom Thibodeau can deal with any challenges that Gilbert Arenas will bring.
What challenges you might ask? Well, Gilbert Arenas does have bad knees and he is not as quick as he was in heyday in Washington, That being said he was not the greatest defender in the world anyway so defensively he’s a liability. However the frontline can cover for his mistakes. Also, Gilbert has an eccentric personality. He does march to the beat of his own drum. But that is what made him the player that he was in Washington. He really is a big kid that just wants to have fun and play basketball. Does this remind anyone of Nate Robinson?
Nate made Bulls lore last year in he playoffs basically beating the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. Why? he created his own shot and the attention that he drew created opportunities for his teammates. Now that he is in Denver that void was never filled. Talent or that attitude. Here is a cheaper version that is low risk that could possibly do the same thing. The Bulls are teetering on tanking the season or making the playoffs. If they want to make the postseason without dipping too deep into Mr. Reinsdorf’s pockets, Here’s your solution.