Sam Smith mailbag - Dumb questions!

[charity stripe]

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/asksam_090522.html

Its sad, these questions. Even more sad is that these questions are included and answered.

Click for Sam Smith's answers, if you really want to.

Is there any reason the Bulls don't try to lure Jamal Crawford back to the Bulls via a sign or trade to play alongside Derrick Rose? As far as I can remember he put up pretty good numbers while in Chicago and each team he was traded to. At his current state Don Nelson looks like there is no room for him in Golden State. Any chance they bring back Crawford to replace the guy they initially got rid of him for being Ben Gordon?

Nik

I'm a fan of Ben Gordon, and I think he brings a truly unique element to this Bulls team. We all know what we're going to get from him at this point, and we saw it all, good and bad, in the Celtics series. However, I now wonder if what truly condemns Ben is this Celtics - Magic series. Ray Allen has been fed a steady diet of JJ Reddick and he can't score. It's been six games now and he's failed to ever really be decent, whereas he torched Gordon just about every single game of the other series. I know in general the Magic are a better defensive team than the Bulls, but a big part of that is Howard protecting the basket, and Ray doesn't get his points in the paint. So, I don't see Howard being a big effect, as to how much Ray scores. If Ben is being severely outplayed on the defensive end by JJ Reddick, then I think I have to lean towards letting him walk.

Adam

I have been a Bulls fan for a long time, my father was a Bulls fan growing up and I sort of inherited it. My question is: Why do people keep suggesting to trade Kirk Hinrich? He's the best overall player on the team. He has hustle, he has heart, he plays defense (like someone in the NBA should), he can score at will. Plus, he is consistently good. Ben Gordon can hit 3's all he wants but when it comes down to it, he does not have consecutive good games and he can't play defense. I think that the Bulls should sign-and-trade Gordon and the 26th pick, and look for a big man. They should start Hinrich and Rose. It's puts pressure off of Rose and allows him to become a scorer, which he can be. Plus, it can mess with other teams. Two point guards that can also score? Match up nightmare. Plus on D, Hinrich can take the scorer (which he usually does) and Rose can still manage the team. Please do not get rid of Hinrich. He is too valuable.

Vinny

What do you think of these possible trades:

1. Bulls send John Salmons, Tyrus Thomas, Jerome James, and Tim Thomas to the Hornets for Peja Stojakovic and David West. The salaries match up nicely with this trade. Both teams take on about 21 million, but the Hornets gain some cap flexibility with James and Tim Thomas' expiring contracts in 2010. It seems that both teams would get what they want in this trade. The Hornets would achieve some salary space and still be in a position to compete, while the Bulls greatly improve the quality of their team. A starting five of Rose, Hinrich, Deng, West, and Noah, plus Miller and Stojakovic off the bench, would be able to compete with the Cavs, Celtics, and Magic. The Bulls could also sign and trade Ben Gordon. This other trade also seems to be a possibility:

2. Bulls sign and trade Ben Gordon to the Thunder for Nick Collison and Chucky Atkins. This trade would round out the Bulls bench. Collison and Atkins are both serviceable players. A nine man rotation of Rose, Hinrich, Deng, West, Noah, Miller, Stojakovic, Collison, and Atkins would work nicely for the Bulls. Stojakovic and Deng can both play the 2 position if necessary, and it would work out so that the team is never short of scoring options. Most importantly, this team is bigger and would play better defense then the Bulls have played in the past two years.

Tom

 

[houheffna]

I don't think all of the questions/statements listed were that dumb. Some had some insight and were a matter of opinion.

 

[RPK]

Woah,

Let's not forget this gem:

The Bulls need a post presence and have 2 point guards. I haven't seen this discussed before, but instead of dealing Kirk in hopes of landing an established PF who may leave in a year or 2 anyway, wouldn't it make sense for the Bulls to trade Rose for the #1 pick and draft Blake Griffin? Both project to be superstars and the trade would lock up a solid PF & PG at a reasonable rate for at least 3 years as opposed to dealing for an established PF like Bosh, Amare or West (who is more of a jump shooter than post presence) that will be able to opt out in a year or 2 for max deals. Aside from the Thunder, do you think whichever team lands the #1 pick would be up for this deal?

Chris

At least Sammy had a nice comeback:

Sam: My guess is this hasn't been discussed before because it probably would have resulted in an arrest.

 

[TheStig]

If there is anyone who deserves dumb question its Sam Smith, the Peter Vecesy of the midwest.

 

[Diddy1122]

TheStig wrote:

If there is anyone who deserves dumb question its Sam Smith, the Peter Vecesy of the midwest.

I forget, wasn't it Vecesy who broke the story about Pax relinquishing his GM duties after the season? Hmmm... I think it was. Not saying he's a great sportwriter, but he certainly knows his stuff.

Sam gets some dumb questions, granted, but have you seen some of the ones K.C. Johnson gets? They're equally as idiotic, if not more so. I don't really read the Q&A's for either Sam or KC because most of the questions are dumb. I try to stick mainly to the articles, since that's what they are better at anyway.

The majority of us who post on here are die-hard fans, who live and breathe the game of basketball. We're not drones, which unfortunately is a vast majority of all sports fans, and probably a good percentage of the people who write to Sam and KC. Perhaps some of you guys should write into Sam and see if he answers you back. I know you can think of more intelligent questions other than "Should we trade Rose?" And I really want to find Chris, and tell him that chronic acid use is not good for you.

 

[TheStig]

Diddy1122 wrote:

TheStig wrote:

If there is anyone who deserves dumb question its Sam Smith, the Peter Vecesy of the midwest.

I forget, wasn't it Vecesy who broke the story about Pax relinquishing his GM duties after the season? Hmmm... I think it was. Not saying he's a great sportwriter, but he certainly knows his stuff.

Sam gets some dumb questions, granted, but have you seen some of the ones K.C. Johnson gets? They're equally as idiotic, if not more so. I don't really read the Q&A's for either Sam or KC because most of the questions are dumb. I try to stick mainly to the articles, since that's what they are better at anyway.

The majority of us who post on here are die-hard fans, who live and breathe the game of basketball. We're not drones, which unfortunately is a vast majority of all sports fans, and probably a good percentage of the people who write to Sam and KC. Perhaps some of you guys should write into Sam and see if he answers you back. I know you can think of more intelligent questions other than "Should we trade Rose?" And I really want to find Chris, and tell him that chronic acid use is not good for you.

He was only about 6 months late because Gar was already handling a lot of the duties and he said that the offical transfer would happen after the deadline and just now happened a couple of days ago. Lastly and most importantly, Paxson hasn't resigned. Peter Vecesy's news was so off that I can't believe you find him credible, Paxson is still with the bulls in his current title and Gar was just promoted, and Collins was never approached for a position with the bulls since his interview, Vecesy got a small part right but most of it wrong.