K.C. Johnson's mailbag

K.C. Johnson received some very excellent questions this week in his mailbag:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/chi-081218-kc-johnson-chicago-bulls,0,960268.story?page=1

Unfortunately he ducks too many of them with his answers, although K.C. is far, far better reading than Sam Smith. I'll try to take an honest stab at a few.

I have read where you state that the typical NBA player's non-game work day is about 2-3 hours long. How is it possible that players like Noah or Thomas cannot find time to develop the ability to hit an open 12-15 foot jumper (i.e. shoot 1000 shots a day). Can they not find the time or is it something else? I know I'm an outsider but am I missing something? --Tony Alam, Falls Church, Va.

That's an easy one. Noah and Thomas both suck, and that's why they can't hit an open 12-15 foot jumper, no matter how many half-hearted shots they jack up in practice.

It seems to me that the biggest problem with the Bulls is their really messed up salary structure. Their four biggest salary commitments are Deng, Hughes, Hinrich, and Noce -- three backups, not one player in the top three most productive in the team. This is a serious problem that makes me want to go on an anti-Pax rant, but then I ask: How much of the blame is truly Pax's? Periodically, I read statements to the effect that the guys that get signed (Deng, Hinrich) are the ones Reinsdorf likes (Gordon does not fall in this category). How much of a role does Reinsdorf play? And please be honest. Reinsdorf already barely talks to the Trib. --Alex, Boston

Another easy one: almost all of the blame for this falls on Pax and Jerry. They are clearly very poor at salary structure. In fact, they are both pretty bad at their jobs in general.

K.C., can we get some Ben Gordon love in here?! Despite his heroics he's always been completely underrated by fans. He's less appreciated than Hinrich and Deng, and rarely complimented by the media. Here's a crazy stat: Ben Gordon already has made more career three-pointers than Larry Bird. If he makes his usual 150 three's per season this year he'll be in the top hundred by the end of this year even though he's only in his fifth season. He's quite a bit younger than every player ahead of him in this stat. There's a very good chance that he's going to finish his career in the Top 5 ever in made threes. Please tell me that the organization has finally decided that they'd like to keep him over Hinrich. --Farhan, Rio Rancho, N.M.

I'll give Ben Gordon a little bit of love, even though he is a worthless ballhandler and a poor decision maker -- the man can shoot! And linking in with the previous question, as well as the next question, I for one don't understand how the Bulls could give a long-term contract to a dud like Luol Deng and take a pass on our best shooter. If I was choosing up sides for a hoops game, I'd take Ben over Luol any time, and you'd be foolish not to.

However, Farhan, let's get real here, Ben is definitely no Larry Bird!

What's wrong with Luol Deng? He's paid as a Top 10 small forward, but he is not playing like one. There does not seem to be any leadership or toughness about him either. He reminds me of Orlando Woolridge -- a lot of hype, not as much substance. What do you think -- is he as good right now as he'll ever be? --Richard, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Richard, you've hit the nail on the head here: no leadership or toughness, a lot of hype and not as much substance. Yep, that pretty much sums up Luol Deng. Yes, I think there is hope that he can be a bit better, but he's never going to live up to expectations.

{Skipping a few bad ones, and even worse answers from K.C.}

Hello, KC. I remember from 2003-2006 the Bulls were No. 1 or 2 in the league in holding their opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage, which I think was the main reason they made the playoffs three years in a row. Then all of a sudden they can't play a lick of defense, and teams are scoring 100 points against them with ease. Without a huge difference in personnel, is it that guys like Antonio Davis and PJ Brown made this big difference, or is it coaching? Or what? --Bob, Orchard Park, N.Y.

Yes, Antonio, this is a huge mystery. I'm thinking the answer is basically effort. Deng used to be an average defender, but now he's a swinging gate. Hinrich used to be a really good defender, but now he seems to be average at best. Ben can be average when he tries really hard. Thabo is hyped as a defensive specialist, but I can't remember the last time I saw him stop anyone.

Plus, having big guys with brains in their heads like Davis and Brown did make a big difference. Those guys knew how to rotate down and our current frontcourt is completely clueless when it comes to defensive rotation.

If Paxson had to redo a signing or a draft pick, what would he redo? --Eric, Chicago

Eric, you can make a good argument that Pax should have done all of them differently except for Rose last year. K.C. brings up the best one when he says Aldrige or Roy instead of Tyrus. Noah when Thornton (or anyone else) was around is less egregious, but comes to mind. Or how about Deng instead of Kevin Martin, Josh Smith or Al Jefferson?

I know Thomas, Noah and Sefolosha haven't exactly done anything to earn much playing time, but isn't it time we just let them loose and see what happens? I think we need to find out what they can do this season so that moving forward, the team can plan appropriately. --J. Shah, Cape Canaveral, Fla.

What is the deal on Thabo right now? I thought Vinny likes the defensive part of Thabo's game. As Thabo gets some good playing time he will be productive, like last season in February. Why is he not even getting one minute at the moment? --Matt, Switzerland

I agree with K.C. about dealing Thabo and disagree with him about moving Gooden. Don't get me wrong, I'd deal Gooden in a minute if I thought we could get a better player than him, but I don't see that happening. And I think we need less playing time for Tyrus and Noah, not more. That is, unless we want to showcase them for trades. Also, K.C. earlier says he'd keep Tyrus and deal Noah. I think I might do the reverse. I think Tyrus has more trade value, since other teams are stupid like the Bulls and fall in love with athleticism. I don't think either of them is going to be great, but Noah might at least be a serviceable backup.