The Bulls are the stupidest franchise in the league if they let Thibs go.
Why? Do you think Tibs is Phil Jackson or something?
Players win.
I don't know how many times I have to tell people.. in a league with Lebron James, players like Noah, Butler, Gibson and a coach like Tibs don't matter UNLESS you have two stars above them.
You need Rose and another star of Rose's magnitude, and since Rose isn't a high FG% player, you need that other player to do that the way a DeMarcus Cousins can .... Andre Drummond, Roy Hibbert. Other players, whether you can get them or not (and I don't think you can get Hibbert) would be Lebron James, maybe a Jabari Parker. The list is usually short. I would mention other guys if Rose was say Michael Jordan and shot 53% from the field despite averaging 30 PPG. If you have one player like that or like Lebron, Shaq, etc. where they score at a very high percentage on a high PPG, THEN you have 20 guys who can be your other star.
Case in point.. Kobe Bryant... he was NOT good enough just like Rose is not good enough to pair him with ALL of the guys you could pair with Shaq, Jordan or Lebron. Kobe needed a post scorer like Shaq or two guys who could combine to do what Gasol and Bynum did. And somehow people think Rose doesn't?
Michael Jordan
Lebron James
These are your players in the entire history of the NBA to win multiple championships without a big time post scoring option. And yes, as the league changes, the type of post scorer may change.. maybe instead of ALL of the qualifying post scorers being like Hakeem, Ewing, Robinson (who was weak relative to the others in the post), and Shaq... maybe some of them are like Gasol and Duncan (4-5 tweeners who are closer to being fives but still not the size/explosive combo Hakeem was)... maybe some of them are like Bynum (09, 10) and Hibbert where they don't have even half of Hakeem or even Shaq's post skill, but they're just 280 lbs. .. just huge lumbering presences down low.
But, show me a post scorer or flat out efficient scoring superstar to pair with Rose FIRST (and to me NO.. Carmelo, Love, Aldridge DON'T qualify), then you can start talking to me about where Noah, Thibs, Gibson and Butler take you.
Until then I can guarantee you it won't be enough. When Rose comes back, even if we had Deng, we wouldn't be able to beat Miami by "trying harder and doing better." Cause that's what everyone thinks. "If they just PLAY WELL maybe they can beat Miami, Indiana and Oklahoma City." No.. they can't. And not for lack of effort, but because they aren't GOOD enough.
And thinking they are is as arrogant as a 92 Cavs or 92 Blazers fan thinking that Price, Nance and Daugherty or Drexler (who was the type of player who could be a headline act on a title team, but was not surrounded by another player like that), Buck Williams, Kersey and Porter were good enough to beat Jordan and Pippen.
Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan really weren't harder workers than the rest of the leagues headline acts. They were just better. Do you think Scottie Pippen was a better locker room guy than Buck Williams? Or was he 6'7" with elite speed and jumping ability and a wingspan over 7'.. where Buck Williams just didn't have that athletic package of traits?
Thibs isn't going to bridge this gap that currently exists between the TOP of our roster and the top of the rosters of the teams who truly will battle it out for a title. And I know Bulls fans. Many will say, "oh, so a title has NEVER been won without an elite scorer." No, exceptions exist and lesser teams win in weaker leagues. But when you look at what wins in a STRONG league and what wins the majority of the time ... we aren't it! And Love, Melo or Aldridge aren't going to make us "it." Neither is fantasy Mirotic.
Here are your top two talents on title teams in the modern era...
80 - Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson
81 - Bird, Parrish
82 - Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson
83 - M. Malone, Erving
84 - Bird, McHale
85 - Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar
86 - Bird, McHale
87 - Johnson, Worthy
88 - Johnson, Scott
89 - Thomas, Dumars
90 - Thomas, Dumars
91 - Jordan, Pippen
92 - Jordan, Pippen
93 - Jordan, Pippen
94 - Olajuwon, K. Smith
95 - Olajuwon, Drexler
96 - Jordan, Pippen
97 - Jordan, Pippen
98 - Jordan, Pippen
99 - Duncan, Robinson
00 - O'neal, Bryant
01 - O'neal, Bryant
02 - O'neal, Bryant
03 - Duncan, Parker
04 - Hamilton, R. Wallace
05 - Duncan, Parker
06 - Wade, O'neal
07 - Duncan, Parker
08 - Garnett, Pierce
09 - Bryant, Gasol
10 - Bryant, Gasol
11 - Nowitzki, Chandler
12 - James, Wade
13 - James, Wade
Now, you can debate.. "well, was Billups in that top two on the Pistons," or "despite age and decline, was Kareem's post ability, even at such an old age, enough to make him a top two option in 88."
What you can't debate is that we don't pass the laugh test to be like most of those teams. And the teams, with Rose healthy, that we could EVEN SNIFF.. won in weak or down leagues.
89 Pistons - Magic suffering Kareem's decline, Jordan waiting on Pippen to mature
90 Pistons - " "
94 Rockets - Only had one star, but only BEAT teams with one star (Pippen's Bulls, Ewing's Knicks) in a VERY weak league suffering from Jordan's absence
99 Spurs - NBA was suffering a lockout, Jordan had just left Chicago, Shaq and Kobe were still a year away and lost to the JAZZ not the SPURS!
04 Pistons - Were given Wallace for nothing (btw, Wallace was more of a head case than Cousins.. a flat out ass hole to be honest), beat an imploding Laker team
11 Mavericks - Nowitzki peaked then went to another level and became unconscious during the playoffs, Riley knew the Heat were still gelling, thus the comment, "they better get us this year"
Every OTHER title team since 1979 would beat the Bulls AT LEAST as bad as they lost in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals
But all you hear about is how awesome Noah is and how Thibs is like Red Auerbach..
