In the offseason, the Chicago Bulls made a new commitment to defense. They were going to be a team that beats other teams with their defense, not their offense. However, after a dominant defensive start, the Bulls are quickly becoming one of the league’s worst defensive teams.

The Bulls are currently ranked 20th in the league in defensive rating, posting a defensive rating of 107.6. Their defensive rating is better this year, than last year, when they posted a defensive rating of 108.7. However, relative to the rest of the league, they are worse this year than last year. Last year they were ranked 18th in defensive rating.

Their actual defense is probably worse than last year’s as well. It should be taken into account that the league is worse as a whole offensively than it was last year. Teams are scoring 1.6 fewer points per 100 possessions this year than they were last year. If you adjust the Bulls defensive rating to the better offensive production of last season, than it is clear that the Bulls are probably around the same or worse defensively this year than last year.

The league wide drop in offensive production is likely a result of more team’s penny pinching. With the economy the way it is, team’s are going to be less likely to spend money to get good bench players for their teams. This problem is seen with the Bulls, who let Ben Gordon walk in free agency, did not sign Derrick Byars after training camp, and passed on signing Allen Iverson, all in efforts to avoid spending more money, and keep profits up.

But how are the Bulls worse defensively? Shouldn’t having a proper sized shooting guard in John Salmons improve the Bulls defense drastically over last year’s team, which featured the shorter Ben Gordon at shooting guard? The truth is that perimeter defense is overrated in the NBA.

Ben Gordon did everything that is needed of an NBA guard. He did a good job staying between his man and the basket, and contested shots. The difference between him, and Kirk Hinrich, who is a great defender, in what the opposing shooting guard scores and on what efficiency is going to be minimal, as ever since the rule changes before the 04-05 season, which allowed for no contact on the perimeter, good offensive guard when going up against good defensive guards usually put up their normal numbers.

Where a good defensive team is made is in the front court. Brad Miller and Joakim Noah both have negative Player Efficiency Rating differentials at the center position, where they play the majority of their minutes. Taj Gibson, who plays 42% of the team’s power forward minutes is especially bad, posting a PER differential of -9.7.

The one bright spot is Joakim Noah at the power forward position, where he plays 28.6% of his minutes. Noah has a +7.1 PER differential when playing the power forward spot.

Joakim Noah’s problem at the center position is that he is too small. He has a shorter standing reach than most centers, and because of his weight, he can have some difficulty holding position in the low post.

The Bulls should look into moving Joakim Noah to the power forward position and starting Brad Miller in order to improve their defense. If the Bulls continue to play the way they are playing, they may play themselves into a high draft pick, which could land them a real center, such as Kansas’ Cole Aldrich, who would provide a long term solution for the Bulls at the center spot.

However, the Bulls’ defensive problems are miniscule in comparison to their offensive problems. The Bulls are currently ranked 27th in the league in offensive rating, with an offensive rating of 99.5. Now there is nothing wrong with a team being a defensive focused team, but there is a problem with a team being as bad on offense as the Bulls have been.

In order for the Bulls to have an even point differential, they would need to have a defensive rating of 99.5 also. If the Bulls were to have that defensive rating, they would be the 2nd best defensive team in the league. So in order to have just an average team with an offense this bad, a team needs to be one of the league’s best defensive teams.

If the Bulls wanted to be a good team, say as good as the Atlanta Hawks of last season, they would need to have a point differential of 1.7. In order to have this point differential with this offense, the Bulls would need a defensive rating of 97.8. If the Bulls were to post that defensive rating, they would be the best defensive team since the rule changes in 04-05.

So in order to be as good as last year’s 47-35, second round and out Atlanta Hawks, the Bulls would need to be one of the best defensive teams of all time, if they were to continue playing at their current offensive level.

If the Bulls want to get better as a team, they will need to get better offensively. It is impossible to be a good team with an offense this bad

How can the Bulls improve their offense? The most obvious way is to start shooting more three point shots. The Bulls are currently last in the league in three point field goal attempts and makes. One of the simple truths of basketball is that making a three point shot is better than making a two point shot, because 3 > 2.

This is one of the main facets of an offense like Mike D’Antoni. D’Antoni encourages players to shoot wide open three point shots, even if they don’t shoot the best percentage. If a player shoots 33.3% from three point land, that is equal to shooting 50% on two point field goals. If a player only to take threes when they take jumpshots, and shot 33.3%, taking 7 three point shots a game, while making 70% of their baskets close to the basket, and taking 3 of those shots per a game, they would score at an efficient 56 TS%.

Making three pointers is key in boosting up offensive efficiency. So the best way to improve the Bulls offense will be to start hoisting up more three point shots. Rose, Deng, and Salmons need to stop passing up the wide open three point shot, as taking that shot is the right basketball play to make.

John Salmons and Luol Deng in particular need to start taking more three point shots. Salmons is a career 35.9% (53.9 TS%) three point shooter. Luol Deng has made 41.8% (62.7 TS%) of his threes over the past three seasons. These guys have shown to be good enough three point shooters to have free reign to jack up the open three point shot.

The Bulls need to implement these changes fast, because if they fail to improve their offense, they are going to be a bad team all year long.

Adam Silver: The fourth pick goes to the Washington Wizards.

Jay Bilas: That means Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and New York will be picking in the top three.

Commercial Break

Adam Silver: The third pick goes to the Sacramento Kings.

Adam Silver: The second pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mike D’Antoni begins celabratory handshakes with the representatives from the Kings and Thunder.

Jay Bilas: That means that the top overall pick will go to the New York Knicks.

Adam Silver: The first pick in the draft goes to the Chicago Bulls.

The following day….

Statement from the Commissioner’s Office
May 20th, 2009

Yesterday, the Chicago Bulls won the NBA Draft Lottery despite not having any winning lottery combinations. What happened, was we mistakenly grabbed the envelope labeled “1″ from last year. While we admit the error, the ruling on the court stands, and the results will be unchanged.

Statement from John Paxson, Chicago Bulls GM…VP…what’s his job title?
May 21st, 2009

It was difficult to feel bad for the Knicks when I was stealing their picks as a result of ripping off Isiah Thomas, but this situation is different. While my greatest sympathy goes out for the Knicks franchise, we are going to keep the pick and not give it back. Well, actually, we are going to keep all options open, except giving the pick back to the Knicks, and could possibly trade the pick.

John Paxson appeared on Monsters in the Morning to discuss a lengthy list of topics regarding the Chicago Bulls.  Here is a recap of what was said in the interview.

• The trade deadline passed and Paxson is still here, therefore the rumors weren’t true.  Paxson is always going to be loyal to the Bulls.  As long as Jerry wants to keep him around, he will be here.  Will always have some position in the organization.
• The job is getting bigger and bigger.  You don’t just have a GM, you have other people who carry a lot of responsibilities.  Gar Forman is the player personnel director.  Irwin Mandel has been the cap guy for years.
• The league is going in a different direction.  There are some issues that the league is going to be facing in the next year or two.  The star players are always going to get paid waht they deserve.  In the last CBA, the average player got paid more than they probably should have.  The MLE has probably ballooned some salaries.  These are some things in the next CBA that might be addressed.
• When you have to make a deal, you’re matching salaries.  You have to take on a player you maybe don’t want to in order to make the deal.  Lots of things prohibit trades, such as trade kickers.
• Lots of teams dancing under the tax.  The teams under the tax receive a portion of the tax money from the teams that are over and pay.  There are a lot of teams out there that are losing money.  He doesn’t care how much money certain owners have, you don’t want to conduct your business in a manner where you lose money.
• Gets emotional when he sees the team play and that’s why he can never coach.  He gets frustrated with himself and everybody, but that’s in the moment of watching the game.  He doesn’t get frustrated with individuals, but how they play as a group.  Would like for the Bulls to compete hard every night, defend, and share and move the ball better.
• He thinks that they are a better team than they were 2 weeks ago.  John Salmons is a very good player.  Their pro personnel guy was on him all year.  They took on a little more money next year to make it happen.  Going to be looking to sign some free agents or make some trades, pointing out Tyson Chandler getting traded.
• It was Paxson, not Skiles, who made the decision to send Tim Thomas home last time.  Thomas had a personal issue with his wife in an acident.  Just made the decision, since Thomas was in the last year of his deal, that they were just going to use him as a trade chip at the deadline, and play the young players, that Thomas should stay home.  So far, Thomas has been great.
• All players get a little antsy at the trade deadline, more so now than ever.  Back in his day they didn’t have the internet.  Now when these rumors come up, they have their friends and agents calling them.  He doesn’t know how it doesn’t affect them.
• Luol Deng had an MRI yesterday and it came back negative.  He’s day to day.  He was battling the injury for awhile and was wearing a sleeve on his shin.  He felt something a little bit different when he came down in the Houston game.  The X-ray showed what could have possibly been a line.  The MRI showed it being soft tissue.  Stress fractures take a little time to show up, so the Bulls are going to monitor it.  They won’t know for awhile.
• Talks to Vinny Del Negro about things.  It’s a team game, bt Derrick Rose is a big part of what they’re going to be doing in the future.  They have discussed some of the end of game playing time issues.  In Houston, Rose played and was phenomenal.  He’s going to have some successes and failures.  Even Michael Jordan missed some shots once in awhile.  Rose has to be in there to continually learn.
• Paxson has a very good relationship with Del Negro and they are on the same page.  The whole purpose is to help Vinny and maybe offer thoughts that he hasn’t had.  They knew when they gave Vinny the job that he never coached before, so he was going to make mistakes.  That’s the reason why they got him a really veteran staff to help him organize practice and game situations.  Vinny has a very open mind about everything.  He’s learning that the hard part when you’re on the outside is you have so many ideas, but you can’t implement them all.  For him, less is more.  When he just focuses on a few things, what he wants to be as a coach, that will come in time.
• Young guys need consistent minutes.  Right now, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas are getting consistent minutes and now they’re seeing who those players are.  Getting some real consistency out of them.  Thought that Joakim Noah played very well at the end of last year, but was set back this year with a couple injuries.
• Does not fall in love with the guys that he drafts.  Everybody istalked about in trade talks.  He just doesn’t want to make a bad trade.  Lots of times he talked about certain players, the trades made absolutely no sense to him.
• The Kobe Bryant thing came about from a youtube video where the Bulls got mentioned.  With Paul Gasol, the Bulls didn’t have the expiring contracts that Memphis wanted.  With Kevin Garnett, look at what Minnesota got for Garnett in Al Jefferson, and Paxson says he’d be pretty happy if he was them.
• Ben Gordon knows that Derrick Rose is a great point guard.  Gordon is such a unique player, he can help you win games by putting the ball in the basket.
• Would love to see the ball in Derrick Rose’s hands off of rebounds.  Thinks that they will be a better running team with some of the moves they made.  Thinks that it’s evolving, the mindset always looking for Derrick on the outlets and getting the other guys to run.
• The league changed the contact rules and that’s why you see so much of the screen and roll action because you really can’t do anything to contain a good point guard’s speed.  The mantra in the league office is freedom of movement.  The new game evolved from the game getting too physical and also from scoring going into the low 90’s.
• The Bulls will not be active in this summers free agent market.  Starting to position themselves to have some flexibility for 2010.  Hard to get the good players to leave their own team since they can make significantly more money with their own team.  Don’t see the great players moved that often.  Lots of it has to do with whether they’re winning.
• The Bulls still need an inside scorer.
• Thinks that Rose can be the go to guy.  Thinks the Bulls need more than one though.  Derrick’s getting that midrange shot because of his ability to drive to the basket.  It’s not a signature shot, but that little floater in the lane is effective for Rose.
• 72% of fans said No to question, “Should John Paxson resign as GM?”
• Paxson’s son Ryan told his mom that he was joining the marines before him.  He waited to tell John until after the trade deadline, and wrote down his intentions for his father.
• Most of the players who don’t get iit don’t have the right counsel around them.  Paxson is in the best interest of the players, but a lot of times the players think that management is out to hurt them.  There is a natural conflict between agents and management.  Some great relationships with agents.  Some not so great relationships with agents when things get unrealistic or you can’t do anything, things can get pretty heated.  The dollars have gotten so big and everyone wants a piece of the pie.
• Thinks that Mike D’Antoni felt a little bit underappreciated in Phoenix.  New York threw so much money at him, that we all would ahve taken that offer over night.
• Norm Van Lier was a unique character.  He was a tough minded, hard playing guy.  Listening to him was the treat.  He would tell it like it is.  It was all born out of that he wanted the Bulls to do well.  Just really sad that he went so unexpectedly.
• Johnny Red Kerr was sick for a long time.  Insiders knew how bad he was.  He lived every day and had a lot of fun.
• Paxson was only bothered by the booing at Johnny Red Kerr’s ceremony because of what the night represtented.
• Michael Jordan was once playing blackjack against the entire team on a plane trip.  John was betting like $5 while the other guys were betting big money.

In a year where the head coach of a team is the first to go in the first sign of turmoil, Mr. Del Negro even has to be surprised he remains the head coach of one of the most prestigious organizations in the NBA. The Bulls have marched the thin line of meritocracy for much of this season despite having one of the youngest talents in the league. Considering all the coaches that have been a victim of the merciless chopping block (Sam Mitchell in Toronto, Randy Wittman in Minnesota, and Eddie Jordan in Washington to name a few) Vinny Del Negro should be indebted for still having retained his job.   

Del Negro was not the popular vote when considering the possible coaching contenders with names such as D’Antoni floating in the midst. Despite his lack in coaching experience, on paper Del Negro would be considered a good choice because of his experience as a player, scout and executive. John Paxson, the executive vice president of the Bulls organization, invested a great deal of trust in the well spoken leader, Vinny Del Negro. Consequently, his merit hasn’t transpired onto the court. Del Negro has led the Bulls to 18 wins almost halfway through the season having lost a few heartbreakers.

So with seven different coaches being canned before the halfway point of the season, why is Del Negro still the man in the windy city and delaying payment for those who have backed him for the chop in NBA betting? A quote from John Paxson at Del Negro’s press announcement as head coach, “This is going to be a growing process for Vinny as a coach…” Paxson has reasonable patience for Del Negro’s rookie mistakes, which may be his undoing as well. With much of the season still to come, Del Negro has a lot to prove. Now here is the question: will the Bulls be scrutinized for keeping Del Negro far past his due or will the other seven teams around the league be criticized for jumping the gun on firing their coaches?

The writer, Andy Morris, is a consultant on NBA bets

Jerry Reinsdorf appeared on Monsters in the Morning and discussed the Chicago Bulls. Here is what he had to say:

• When talking about the White Sox, Reinsdorf said that he is not concerned with making money, he just doesn’t want to lose money.
• Reinsdorf doesn’t know whether Vinny is signed for a two year deal with an option year or a three year contract.  He thinks it is a three year contract.
• His grade for the Bulls this season up to this day is the lowest grade possible.  This season is an embarrassment and disaster.  But it will get better.
• John Paxson will not let this situation continue.
• You win or you lose as an organization.  John Paxson is the one person not responsible for what is happening.  Paxson is a great general manager and great judge of talent.
• Has a lot of thoughts on whether the players are not being coached up or not, but he can’t say them publicly.
• The team was mailing it in at in some point in the season.  They are not mailing it in anymore and playing hard.
• Has one great player in Derrick Rose.  Had one great player in Michael Jordan when he got involved with the Bulls.  When the Bulls won their first championship, Jordan was the only player left from Reinsdorf’s original team.  Going forward, the team will bring in players that can feed off of Derrick Rose.
• Will not take changing 11 players.  Thinks the team has some pretty good players on the team.  Just need to find an inside presence.

When Reinsdorf talked about it being an organizational failure and not a John Paxson failure, he may have been trying to shift some of the blame on himself. This is particularly evident when he calls Paxson a great evaluator of talent. Here, he is likely talking about Paxson’s great eye in talent for tapping out Mike D’Antoni to coach the Bulls.

You can listen to the interview here.

Last August, it was reported by Steve Rosenbloom that Ben Gordon wanted to play for the New York Knicks. Donnie Walsh tried to bring Gordon in via a sign and trade last summer, but the Bulls declined the deal. Once again, Ben Gordon is talking about the possibility of playing for the Knicks.

The questions about New York come all the time. He hears them from family, friends, old coaches, old teammates. He’s played more games at Madison Square Garden than he can count and has always loved the history of the arena. So would he consider signing with the Knicks?

“Who wouldn’t be interested in playing here full time?” he said. “I think the changes they’ve made have been really good. (New president of basketball operations) Donnie Walsh has been good for them. It’s good for the city, too, and the league. New York is one of those teams that should be in the playoffs every year.”

Gordon also praised new coach Mike D’Antoni, who runs a wide-open offensive style that appeals to him. “He’s a great coach,” Gordon said, “and he has a unique way of pushing that style. Some guys might be afraid of it but he does it and he makes it work.”

Source: New York’s Lower Hudson Valley

It is pretty simple to see what Ben Gordon is looking for. He is looking for an established role, a good head coach, and a winning team. The Bulls right now are presenting none of those things to Gordon, and that makes Chicago a very unattractive option for Gordon.

During the coaching search, Ben Gordon was one of the main proponents of Mike D’Antoni. It’s easy to see why, Ben Gordon would be among the league’s scoring leaders with D’Antoni as his coach.

The scary thing about New York is their financial situation. The Knicks could sign Gordon to a three year MLE deal, and then give him a massive extension after that with bird rights in hand. By getting Gordon on the MLE, the Knicks will still be able to be major players in 2010 free agency, while having another piece, other than D’Antoni, to lure players in with. Once the 2010 free agents are in place, the Knicks can give Gordon his large extension.

Hopefully the Bulls begin to accomodate Gordon at the deadline, and pave the way towards re-signing Gordon. But if the Bulls choose not to do that, New York looks like a pretty good situation for Gordon.

As many Bulls fans know by now, Vinny Del Negro fined Ben Gordon for missing a team flight deadline. This led to a heated exchange between Gordon and Del Negro in front of the media, before the two went off to a disclosed area.

Whether Vinny was right that Gordon missed the flight deadline or not, Del Negro is still in the wrong.

The Bulls last road game was against the New York Knicks on Monday. The game was played at noon, so there might have been some uncertainty over the flight departure time. These things happen. Just yesterday, Stan Van Gundy chose not to fine Dwight Howard for arriving to the stadium late, because Van Gundy was understanding of the circumstances that made Howard late.

But the big thing, was Vinny’s approach. Why did it take until Thursday to inform Gordon of a fine for an offense that he would have had to committed on Monday at the latest, as that was the last time the Bulls would have been flying. Did Ben Gordon irk Vinny during practice that he had to go fine Gordon for something that happened a few days ago? Players should be fined then and there, not eons after the incident occurred.

And the approach was unprofessional. Leaving a note in a player’s locker informing him he was fined? Is Del Negro too scared to confront a player face to face? If that’s the case, Vinny has no business coaching any team in this league or even a junior high team. This is very reminiscent of the communication breakdown between Scott Skiles and Tyson Chandler, when Skiles insisted that he had sent Chandler emails. Vinny was sold as a great communicator, but it turns out that he isn’t a very good communicator, which begs the question, what is he good at?

It is time for Bulls fans to rise up and demand a real coach. The Bulls should currently be coached by Mike D’Antoni, the choice of general manager John Paxson. Unfortunately, Reinsdorf scared D’Antoni away with his cheapness. There is no reason why the Bulls fans should have to suffer through another incarnation of Jim Boylan. It’s time for the Bulls to get a real coach. Coaches like Jeff Van Gundy and Avery Johnson fit the bill. Hopefully Bulls fans will be blessed to have a coach of that ilk next year.