Uh Oh, The Bulls Are In Trouble

Moments ago, Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Detroit Pistons have agreed in principle to sign free agent shooting guard Ben Gordon. Bulls fans, we can now commence the panicking.Gordon led the team last season with 20.7 points, and his offense was a huge reason why the Bulls put up such a valiant fight against the Celtics in the playoffs. His clutch scoring was unmatched on the Bulls, as he averaged 36.3 points per 48 minutes in situations with 5 or less minutes left in the game and a score difference of 5 or less points. He also had a sweet cajones dance that will be sorely missed.Of course, there will be plenty of folks who will argue that Gordon is a one-trick pony, a one-dimensional player who excels in one area and provides anywhere from adequate to poor production in all other areas. This may be true, but that one dimension that he happens to possess is scoring, and you can't win without scoring more than the other team. Moreover, he scores consistently and in a number of ways. Short range, long range, free throws, wide open and with hands swarming his grill, BG finds ways to score night in and night out, and few players in the league can be trusted to make the vital shot with the game on the line.I'm not saying that this will automatically plunge the Bulls into the abyss of the bottom rungs of the Eastern Conference with the dregs of the NBA society, but the Bulls have to do something to lessen the impact of Gordon's departure. As it stands, we now have no go-to scorer with games on the line, and Vinny Del Negro's crunch time playbook consists of doodles of Transformers and a sticky note reminding him to let one player do his best to take on the other team's five with the game on the line. We had Gordon to take on that thankless job last year, and he did it successfully at an alrming rate. John Salmons was asked to try his hand at that role, and he did respectably, but, unless VDN learns some actual strategy that the team can use late in close games, we're going to need someone who can score at will.Maybe I'm naive, but I do think the Bulls have the means to make up for the loss of Gordon. We have a good mix of expiring contracts, young potential, and intriguing talent to make some moves, and I'm in favor of focusing our efforts on landing either Toronto's Chris Bosh or Milwaukee's Michael Redd. Trying for Bosh has been argued to death in Chicago's fan circles (mention Bosh on Blog-a-Bull and prepare for a deluge of comments), but Brad Miller, Tyrus Thomas, and James Johnson/Taj Gibson/future 1st rounder for Bosh and Marcus Banks might be feasible. We get our man, a proven superstar with post presence and athleticism, and the Raptors get rid of Banks' lousy contract while getting the serviceable Miller and the freakishly athletic Thomas (the numbers work here, with the Johnson/Gibson/1st rounder part excluded). Miller would replace Bosh's rebounding and some of his offense, and his contract would expire after the season, freeing up cap space for 2010. Thomas could thrive in a new environment, and, at 23, his highly touted potential is still there. Bosh can leave in 2010, so the Raptors would be wise to at least explore what they can get for him now.Redd can also walk in 2010 with his early termination option, and, since the Bucks seem to be slashing payroll (refusing to offer Charlie Villanueva a qualifying offer and trading Richard Jefferson for Bruce Bowen and cap space) and starting from scratch, they might be open to moving him. Offering Miller and Thomas (and maybe a future pick) once again would work financially, and Miller and Salmons would also work, provided we took someone else like Damon Jones or Dan Gadzuric to match salaries. Milwaukee could use Miller to back up Bogut or replace Charlie V for a year, then clear cap space the next season, and Salmons would be a direct replacement for Redd (or they can try their luck playing the "Tyrus Has Potential" game). The Bulls would be in need of a backup center in either case, but we would at least get the scorer we need (and an upgrade over Gordon in all other areas) and be better off for it.At any rate, I hope I've made my point after all this ranting. Gordon is pretty much gone, and Bulls fans have reason to worry. The front office needs to move fast to bring in big talent, or Chicago could find themselves duking it out with the Timberwolves and the rest of the league's trash for lucky lotto balls in 2010. (Photo from Bulls.com)