It Could Be Worse, You Could Be A Bulls Fan

By: David Lister

I got the call late last night. As a sports radio junkie, I knew there were rumors the Heat were looking into trading Shaquille O’Neal and that the Suns were a possible suitor. I literally laughed off the report of a Shaq for Shawn Marion trade, though.

Then my friend called and said it was real. ESPN’s Ric Bucher was reporting the teams agreed to the trade and the only hold-up was Shaq passing a physical. I still didn’t believe it, but the television and Internet confirmed it: my team had just traded away the perfect player for their system for a washed up, fat center. Oliver Miller, anyone?

The story of my allegiance to the Phoenix Suns franchise is a bit boring, so I won’t go into too many details. But basically, I grew up in a professional sports desert (Austin, TX) and I was a huge Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers fan. When Barkley came to Phoenix in ‘92 I was hooked for life.

Until my team, the most entertaining team in the NBA, traded away the ultimate Mike D’Antoni power forward for a guy who won’t be able to run with Steve Nash or Leandro Barbosa. It’s enough to make me want to renounce my fanhood.

Living in Chicago for the last two-plus years, I realize it could be worse. Yes, I think this is an awful trade. But I also understand what the Suns are doing. They know they couldn’t beat the Spurs with their run and gun style. They knew the Lakers passed them up when they got Pau Gasol without giving up any of their rotation players not named Kwame Brown.

So, it’s a desperate attempt by my team, but it is an attempt.

I imagine the feeling I had last night is pretty similar to the feeling Bulls fans had on July 31 of last year, when they found out that not only was Kevin Garnett not being traded to Chicago, but that he was going to another Eastern Conference team - the Boston Celtics.

Or earlier this month, when Bulls fans found out they weren’t getting Gasol, a player the Bulls were rumored to be interested in going back to last season.

Before I pile on John Paxson too much, he’s not without his strengths. Paxson had a plan to build around successful, college players and he stuck with it. The result? He turned the Bulls from a 23-win team in 2003-04 into a team that has made the playoffs three years in a row.

Paxson did that almost entirely through the draft. In ‘03 he got Kirk Hinrich. In ‘04 he brought in Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Chris Duhon. In ‘06 they landed Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha and in ‘07 they drafted Joakim Noah. All safe, quality players that any team in the league would be thrilled to have.

But there are no superstars there. No Kevin Garnett, no Kobe Bryant, not even a Pau Gasol.

And that appears to be the problem with Paxson and the current Bulls management. It is clear they need a star and/or a low post threat, yet they continue to do nothing.

As good as Paxson has been at drafting, he’s shown no ability to take the Bulls to the next level through free agency or trades. His biggest signings have been bringing Scottie Pippen back to town (which failed miserably) and over-paying Ben Wallace. In four-plus years he’s traded away Jamal Crawford, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry for players that are no longer with the team. His only positive trade was stealing Luol Deng on draft day from my Phoenix Suns because our owner didn’t want to pay the luxury tax.

Now the trade deadline is two weeks away and it appears the Bulls are going to stand pat once again, hoping that if they can turn things around next year with this group of safe, low-ceiling players, they can once again be a middle-of-the-pack Eastern Conference team.

So before I get too down on my team, I just have to look to the corner of Damen and Madison.

The Suns know they weren’t going to win a championship with the personnel they had, so they did something about it. Apparently, everyone except for Bulls management know they aren’t going anywhere this year and the team continues to do nothing. At least I’m not a Bulls fan.

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David Lister is the web editor for the National Sports Review. You can reach him at chicagosportsreview@gmail.com. Go Cards.

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