Feb 5, 2013; Memphis, MTN, USA; Phoenix Suns point guard Shannon Brown (26) dunks the ball while guarded by Memphis Grizzlies point guard Jerryd Bayless (7) during the game at the FedEx Forum. Phoenix Suns defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 96-90. Mandatory Credit: Spruce DerdenUSA TODAY Sports
Well Pippen Peoples, you have done it again. One of you went deep and gave me some inspiration. With all the rumors of Chicago Bulls free agency, Pippen Ain’t Easy has been very busy trying to stay ahead and try to figure out the next move and the best fit for the team going into the 2014-15 season. There have been many of you sticking with us (thanks as always) as the preseason draws nearer on October 6th.
As I was going through the comments for the Jordan Crawford piece, I noticed how some would say things such as and I’m paraphrasing here….”until these players are signed these articles are fantasy.”
Umm, nope.
These articles are necessary because one, you never know. Chris Broussard and Adrian Wojnarowski taught us that this summer. Two, if sports writers didn’t take time to write these columns, how would you know? Forget Pippen Ain’t Easy, I’m talking about all media outlets. That’s what we do.
Sometimes a comment stands out from the others and makes a lot of sense. This one came from my man Jorge. Here’s some of the comments and then I will reply.
"“Ok Ron, who do you think the Bulls should sign then, because it’s easy to say we don’t need him because of ‘all of the firepower we have’ Well let me tell you that’s all on paper, with a roster filled with guys that have injury history.”“Nobody says the roster ends at 13 players, and we can’t be naïve with our team now and not stop thinking about bringing in more guys. They are at the minimum.”"
First off Jorge, you make good points and I will answer both of them.
I’ll go backwards in answering your points. The Chicago Bulls are NOT at the minimum for a NBA roster. They only have twelve players and thirteen is the league minimum for NBA teams to be acknowledged as having a full roster. I got to know this rule very well last year as the Chicago Bulls was shedding salary like a fat man shedding weight in a sauna. To go even further, the Bulls actually used a loophole in the NBA rules concerning this situation. It seems that NBA teams have a two-week window that they can carry twelve players before getting into trouble with the league. Remember when the Bulls were SLOWLY bringing in players for the playoffs to model the warmup gear on the bench? It was during that period the Bulls were taking advantage of that loophole.
Now that the preliminary question is out-of-the-way Jorge, let’s get to the main event question shall we? Who do I think the Bulls should pick up.
It’s actually simple if you think about it…Shannon Brown.
Let’s break this down.
Shannon Brown, a Chicago native can help the Bulls at a price that the front office can offer, the skid row league minimum.
Basically throughout these rumor columns that Pippen Ain’t Easy has been concentrating on lately, I have been clear on one need of the Bulls. They need size and toughness at the two spot and move Jimmy Butler to the small forward position. Take a look a the backcourt of the Bulls…
Kirk Hinrich
I’m not going to annoy my Social Media guru, Ashley Wijangco with a comment but I’m sure people know how I feel about Hinrich. Let’s move on.
Derrick Rose
He’s the center of the squad but those knees are going to have to be monitored. There is no way the Bulls can place the responsibility of running the offense and dealing with physical guards for 82 games. For all the people thinking about slipping in a slick comment, ask yourself how he’s going to do now that D-Rose has knee soreness…already.
Aaron Brooks
Love the signing. Dude can score. But boy is he small. Teams will yell BLOCK PARTY and “Mouse in the house” when they see Brooks on defense.
As you can see from these three players, there is not a lot of size and defensive presence overall with these three. Derrick Rose is in my opinion the best of the three, but we’ll see when the season goes past the all-star break. Yes I’ve heard Tony Snell floating around. Cool that’s okay, but you still have a roster spot to fill. Why not his guy?
Shannon Brown is an eight year pro out of Michigan State who has been successful and a champion. He won two titles while playing parts of three seasons in Los Angeles from 2009-2011.
Since leaving the Lakers for the Phoenix Suns, things have kind of fell off the proverbial cliff for Brown. He looked lost after playing under the triangle offense. He is a system player, so Tom Thibodeau has to have an offensive concept for Brown to be effective on the offensive end because he struggles shooting off the dribble. Park him in the corner, he can be serviceable. He did hit an occasional three from time to time with the help of Kobe Bryant. Maybe Derrick Rose can do the same. But this move is for a strong perimeter presence on the wings for bargain basement prices.
Then you can add a little six degrees of separation to the mix and consider his past relationship with Pau Gasol. They were teammates in the glory years with the Lakers. Any familiarity between the two would not hurt.
Something does concern me that may make this a risk Jorge. Shannon Brown stayed for a cup of coffee in San Antonio with a couple of ten-day contracts while finishing out the season with the Knicks.
I’m still trying to figure out why Phil Jackson would cut a guy that was on two of his championship squads. Attitude? I don’t know, but if the Bulls wanted to do a background check, I’d start there.
Well there you have it Jorge. My selection would be Shannon Brown. He’s cheap and will take the league minimum, something that was up in the air with Jordan Crawford. He fills a need on the Bulls with perimeter defense. Finally he has experience of playing on a team that is trying to go deep in the playoffs. Thanks for the comment Jorge, very insightful, very intelligent. Thanks for the read.
To all the Pippen Peoples, Pippen Ain’t Easy welcomes comments on all of the articles. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for all basketball fans, myself included. That way we all can learn through debate. Just keep it civil and classy.
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