First, let's recap the Bulls ineptitude in getting a shooting guard. Last season they gave away two SGs (Salmons and Hinrich) and then paid a lot of money for three SGs who are all worse than the two they gave away. The Bulls would love to have a Dr. Frankenstein create one good SG by combining the best traits of their three flawed ones, but instead they will have to look for a trade. Just to make things even more idiotic, one of their main trade targets, JR Smith, is another guy the Bulls once gave away for nothing.
Sigh. It's depressing to discuss these trade possibilities, but let's get to it. I'm not crazy about Smith, even though he is a good 3 point shooter, and that is our biggest need. The main reason the Bulls threw him away in the first place is because he is a bit daffy and not the greatest locker room presence. Which brings me to Stephen Jackson, another guy who gets traded a lot because no one really likes him. He's the best all-around scorer among the candidates though. OJ Mayo is another possibility. After starting for the Grizzlies for his first two years in the league, he's now firmly planted on the bench. He is a young player with the most potential in this list, but he's more of a "score off the dribble" type of guy and the Bulls need a spot-up jump shooter to knock down open looks when Rose drives the lane and takes three guys with him. Jamal Crawford, another ex-Bull who we couldn't wait to get rid of at one time, is now back on the Bulls' radar. He's coming off a Sixth Man of the Year award and can score lots of points at times, but he's pretty limited and another player with some baggage.
Another target is JJ Redick, because the Bulls seemingly can't resist Duke players (I'd bet money they'll draft Singler next year if he's available to them). Or maybe they are just fascinated with players who go by two initials instead of a first name? Redick was their first choice over the summer but he spurned them for Orlando, who overpaid to resign him. Now Orlando has pulled off a blockbuster trade that has pulled in plenty of scorers but leaving them without a backup big man, so they would love to have someone like Taj. With Noah out the Bulls desperately need Taj as well, so even though Redick is likely to be traded it remains to be seen if the Bulls finally get him.
Of course it is getting to be the time of year when everyone talks about Carmelo Anthony being traded. He's firmly a 3, and not a 2, but with a real scorer at SF, instead of Deng, the Bulls might be able to live with their SG by committee. Current rumors have him going to NJ though. And if we are looking for scoring 3's, we could add Iguodala and Gerald Wallace to the mix. While I like both of them better than Deng (actually, there are few starting 3's in the league I like less than Deng) the Bulls would have to think hard about team chemistry before swapping for either.
Despite being well out in first place in a weak division, the Bulls are not playing well and will not go far in the playoffs with this team. The good news is that Boozer is shooting better and Noah will eventually be back. If they could somehow manage to get an upgrade at the 2 or 3 then their outlook should improve.
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