The elephant in the room is the fact that our only shot to improve the team's weakness is to land a superstar. We aren't going to get a draft pick in the teens that saves the offense. And I'm not willing to pencil Derrick Rose in for 75 games, nor am I willing to feel like he'll return to MVP form without getting to 75+ games. To be honest, I think having him as the focal point of the offense won't get us any closer to knocking off an elite team that has multiple scoring options.
This team needs shooters. It needs efficient shooters. It needs efficient shooters who move well without the ball and can help add variety to the offense. The only realistic options are to somehow pull Carmelo Anthony away from the Knicks (I'm putting those odds at 15%, still think if he leaves he's going to the Rockets or Clippers) or to give up on Butler and hope Gibson doesn't take another step forward and package them (in addition to another asset or two) and pry away Kevin Love from the Wolves. Again, any rookie we land isn't going to push us over the top, unless they come in and absolutely go on a tear -- I don't see that happening. There's still not guarantee that Mirotic is going to leave Spain, and even if he does, people who think he'll be the next Dirk Nowitzki are dreaming.
There needs to be a major addition. It absolutely has to happen. Subtle improvements can happen and Thibs will once again guide the team to the playoffs based on the team's defense. And we'll end up in the same boat getting pounded by athletic teams who love to run that have multiple scoring options. No matter how good the defense is, somebody is going to stay hot on the opposition during the playoffs, it happens every year. You aren't shutting everyone out for 48 minutes every night. This truly is a boom or bust offseason. Dump Boozer, let Hinrich walk, find a taker for Dunleavy if possible to shed his deal, and go into next season with a core of Rose (hopefully), Noah, Gibson, Butler and Snell. Add quality shooting to the bench that doesn't break the bank, try and keep the MLE to just Mirotic and throw everything else at a potent scorer. If it doesn't happen, we all had better get comfortable with watching the newest iteration of the Josh Smith-Joe Johnson era Hawks -- good enough to make the playoffs, bad enough to get erased due to some glaring roster ineptitude.
