We have a good chance at Lebron.

[Anytime23]

Like i said, theres a chance he comes to Chicago but i dont think its a good chance. The guy is already on the #1 team in the NBA with plenty of depth and it is his hometown.

 

[Lex L.]

BigP, you cannot confuse ****** baggery and hard work. Hard work doesnt include dancing during games, having 10 minute handshakes with team mates, pretend picture taking, etc etc.

Back on topic

Do the Bulls have a good chance at LeBron? No, i dont think so but they do have a chance, which is good enough for me.

About the # change
1)Miami also retired Jordans 23. Thats how much respect Pat Riley had for the GOAT.
2)Could be a marketing move to try and make more money. No one wants an outdated jersey.

The Clippers are rumored to give LeBron the power to choose not only the head coach, but the GM of the team. They have some talent on their squad and we havent even seen Blake Griffen play.

The Knicks are also rumored to give LeBron ridiculous power and choose a coach and the players around him. They have the money to sign another max FA. LeBron loves the spotlight, the big market, the money and all of that stuff that NY provides.

Miami has a shot too but i dont see him going in that direction. Him, Wade and Bosh agreed to all have dinner and discuss their FA options after the season. The thing is, i dont think LeBron wants to win titles with a guy like Wade because there will always be that doubt about how much he did himself.

Hmmm what other teams are in it besides Chicago that doesnt involve a S&T???

Ok well im tired of thinking, on to Da Bulls. This isnt bias talking but Chicago presents the best situation out of any of the other teams. Money usually comes first. Chicago doesnt have the market that NY has but it is no slouch. #1 in total attendance and one of the top 5 teams in terms of merchandise sold. Rose #3 in jersey sales, imagine what LeBron would do. Not only from Chicago fans but the converted CLE fans and the rest of the world that is in love with this guy. I believe we already have a duo in Rose-Noah, that none of the other teams can provide. These guys are so young and havent come close to their peak yet. Not only are they really good at their respected positions but theyve shown that they want to win REALLY BAD! They played to win throughout the series. The only person in CLE you could say the same for was Jamison, who is on his last legs. On every other team outside of LAC, you would have to rebuild from the ground up. I know a lot of us are sour on Deng but dont tell me he doesnt make a great 4th option on this team. How we fit him and LBJ into a lineup is beyond me. I guess you put Deng at SG? IDK. Anyways, out of any of the teams Chicago seems to have a bit of everything a FA is looking for.

Also, say we do get LeBron. We could get FAs and other veterans at a much cheaper rate just because they want to win and want to play with LeBron. I could see Ray Allen coming here dirt cheap to win a couple more rings.

This may or may not be true. Yeah, NY is larger than Chicago but the Jordan era Bulls were transcendant. The league was at its absolute peak when Jordan was last with the Bulls. The last 3 years of the Jordan era Bulls were the 3 highest rated NBA finals in terms of viewership. Since Jordan retired it has never come close to that. As a matter of fact, the 08 Lakers-Celtics finals (the two winningest teams in the history of the game both representing enormous fanbases on both coasts), only did about half as well in Nielsen ratings as the Bulls-Jazz finals did in 1998.

While its true Jordan is gone and isnt walking through that door, there are a ton of people who were huge fans during and because of the Jordan era. Many people were Bulls fans and stopped watching the NBA after Jordan retired. So there are a lot of dormant NBA fans that stopped watching after Jordan retired from the Bulls. Adding the premier player in the game to the Bulls again could tap into a lot of the Jordan era Bulls fans possibly. Again, the Bulls' cachet is global.

I just think with the Chicago Bulls, you might be talking about a fan base that goes beyond Chicago or New York.

 

[ZAN]

Great post, Lex L.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

+1

its not just the city and the franchise

its also jordan

 

[payton 34ever]

Nailed it, Lex. I've only very casually followed the Bulls since the '98 title season (after being a screaming die-hard for 15 years before that), but Lebron being added to this rising young cast would be enough to get me back to watching the NBA full-time again.