So, if the Bulls get LeBron, they're fine. We don't need to talk about that. Let's talk about plan B....
FIRST...3-way trade: Luol Deng to the Knicks, Rip Hamilton to Chicago, and Eddy Curry to Detroit. Detroit is eager to shed cap space and are more than willing to trade Hamilton. The Knicks do not need cap space next year (because in the second year of max deals, the numbers go up 10%, so NY would only get about $7 million under the cap) so why not talk them into taking Deng to be the sixth man on the team? Finally, for Chicago, it gives them a good shooter to play with D-Rose. It's a better match for Rose than what Deng is because Deng needs the ball in his hands.
SECOND...sign either JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. Either one will work. They need a spot up shooter from the outside to help stretch the floor. Plus, both guys can come for relatively cheap.
THIRD...sign either Dirk to a 3-year max deal or Rudy Gay to a 3-year deal for less than the max (but more than what Memphis would match). Dirk is the better option but Rudy is young. Both guys have shown they can play within a system and can be a good player off the ball. If the Bulls go with Dirk, then they need to sign probably both Korvery and Redick and start one of them. If they go with Rudy, they'll have more money for other players. They'll need a big man and possible solutions are: Brendan Haywood, Craig Smith (underrated worker), Udonis Haslem (can probably offer more than Miami can), David Lee (same situation as Haslem), or Carlos Boozer (who'd probably mean that they couldn't sign JJ or Kyle).
FOURTH...sign a veteran free agent PG for the minimum. Without Kirk, they'll need one. How about Steve Blake? He's good for 8-15 minutes a night.
So, let's look at these two rosters:
PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Korver
PF - Dirk
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake
Or
PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Rudy Gay
PF - Brendan Haywood / David Lee / Udonis Haslem
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake
9th - Korver
Both look pretty good, huh? And, in case you're wondering, this is all completely feasible.
