Solid job in what respect? Saving money? I guess I'll give you that, but I'm not sure the front office even did that right since they'll be paying the luxury tax for the first time in the team's history. This of course includes the terrible contract they gave Hinrich (which hardcapped them in the process) when you could've gotten a younger, more dynamic asset like OJ Mayo or Courtney Lee for the same/cheaper deal.
From a basketball perspective, we you just broke up the most effective bench in the league. Can you really say in complete sincerity that Marco Bellinelli, Vlad Radmanovic, and Nazr Mohammed are upgrades? I understand that they are marginally better in certain areas than their predecesors, but overall the team has lost one if its biggest strenghts - depth. If you do want to go out on a limb and claim the revised "Bench Mob" has potential, you're still disrupting the continuity of the winningest team in the past 2 seasons. Would you rather go with a proven roster that knows the system or roll the dice with new variables that will undoubtedly require a transition period?
As a fan, I hope I'm proven wrong. As a realist, the Bulls could've done much better this offseason. We're treading water and maintaining a level of mediocrity that puts us in "basketball hell" (i.e. not good enough to contend, not bad enough to improve via draft) for the next few years. If you're going to downgrade the team, don't do it half-heartedly: Trade veterans for lottery picks or make the calculated risk of overhauling the roster to acquire Dwight Howard. If you're going to remain a title contender, retain the roster that if healthy, would have challenged the Heat.
Lastly, how exactly was last year's offseason worse (other than the lockout)? We just came off the Eastern Conference Finals and tried to address our one glaring need: a scoring shooting guard. Obviously, it's easy to ridicule Rip in hindsight because of his health and lack of productivity, but I remember the signing infusing a lot of optimism at the time and was certainly an upgrade over Bogans.
