What about Wade and Rondo?
MP: Let’s continue with the “how’s he been” discussion, this time, with Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. What are your thoughts on those two thus far?
AK: Buckle up for a too-soon hot take: D-Wade is the best Bulls free agent acquisition of all-time (ALL TIME). Rondo is… not. Seriously though, think of all our big money free agent acquisitions. Pau Gasol? Carlos Boozer? Ben Wallace? Ron Mercer? If we can get 65+ games and playoff health from D-Wade for at least this season and the next, and we can get a competent starting point guard, this team could do some serious damage again. In GarPax we trust?
MW: Dwyane Wade’s addition runs deeper than just box score and advanced numbers. It may be an overreaction, but I think Wade being in Chicago has done wonders for Jimmy Butler’s flaming-hot start. It appears the two really share a good bond that’s benefiting the rest of the roster. His game will probably take a drop at times throughout a long season (and he’ll probably have scheduled rest days), but he’s been a positive on and off the court for the Bulls.
Hoops Habit
I think I speak for a lot of Bulls fans, writers, bloggers, critics, etc. when I say that Rajon Rondo isn’t very good. He’s not. You have to do more than just hand out a bunch of assists to be an effective point guard in the NBA and outside of dribbling the air out of the ball in sets and making a few nice passes a night, what does Rondo really give you? He’s not a good shooter, teams are sagging very hard off of him in the half-court, and his defensive effort at times is downright horrendous.
HK: I’ll be perfectly candid: I was in no way on board with these signings when news broke about them over the summer. I thought the offense was going to be a train wreck with so many ball dominant guards and so little shooting, and at best Jimmy and Wade would settle into a “your turn, my turn” iso-ball offense that would catch teams off guard every now and then.
At this point, I’m willing to admit that I was wrong…about Dwyane Wade. I should have known that Wade was capable of adapting his game after watching the Lebron Heat teams. He’s settling in nicely to a #2 or at least #1A role and he’s even shooting 38.5 percent from 3. Rondo, however, seems to be continuing his recent trend of making his teams better when he’s off the court. If the Bulls want to maximize their chances of success this season, that means minimizing Rondo’s role
RP: I was, like many other Bulls fans, not thrilled at the prospect of signing an aged superstar in Dwyane Wade and two years beyond being washed Rajon Rondo. After trading Derrick Rose, it seemed the Bulls were looking to reboot and build around Jimmy Butler with younger talent, and if there is one thing that both Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade aren’t, it’s young.
Through the first few games, Bulls fans were pleasantly surprised with the two guards’ play. The lack of spacing, especially in the starting lineup, was a concern, but the Bulls made up for it with transition offense and unexpected burst of 3-point shooting from Wade.
Since then, the means have been regressed to, and the true impact of both players have been realized. While Rondo can lure you in with his brilliant passing, he still hunts for assists and struggles to play good defense. Dwyane continues to be an awesome basketball player despite his age and seems to be the perfect mentor for Jimmy Butler as he enters his prime.