Hey, what can I say? It's a slow news day for the Chicago Bulls. As I was scrolling through Twitter, I saw an awesome tweet from Chicago's sports radio station, 670 The Score. The tweet has 10 total Bulls legends within it. Two teams, five on five. They posed the question, "Who do you got in this matchup?"
Team A
Team A consists of Kirk Hinrich, Michael Jordan, DeMar DeRozan, Toni Kukoc, and Joakim Noah. The guard positions are stacked with Hinrich and Jordan, who are both elite perimeter defenders. Obviously, Jordan is also regarded as the "GOAT" in many NBA fans' minds, making it hard to bet against him. Hinrich is the Bulls all-time leader in three-point field goals made still to this day. He was also an underrated floor general.
The forward positions are manned by DeMar DeRozan and Toni Kukoc. DeRozan is a mid-range guru. In his two seasons with the Bulls, he's made an All-NBA team and two NBA All-Star appearances. Kukoc was ahead of his time. He has the ability to play point forward, hit the long-range shot, and grab some boards.
The team's center is 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Joakim Noah. The epitome of "Heart, Hustle, and Muscle." Though Noah wasn't flashy offensively, he has an uncanny ability to find his teammates and was one of the best passing big men of his time.
Team B
Team B's team is no slouch here. This team consists of Derrick Rose, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. The guard positions are manned by former NBA MVP Derrick Rose and two-time NBA All-Star Zach LaVine. Both are very explosive players. Well, Rose was before his ACL injury, but we're just going to pretend that didn't happen.
Rose could penetrate the lane against any defender and either finish at the cup or dish it out. The good thing about Team B is that there are three-point shooters who would elevate Rose's style. LaVine could also get into the lane, but he's much more deadly from long range. Neither of these players excel on defense, but they honestly don't have to with the players around them on this squad.
The forward position is just deadly. Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen and six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler make for a cheat code, lockdown defense. These two are some of the best and most willing defenders anyone has ever seen on a basketball court. Did I mention that they can score pretty much whenever they want to as well? No? Well, now you know.
The last remaining player to mention is Hall Of Famer Dennis Rodman. Most notably known as one the best rebounders of all time. At least, I think he is. Rodman was an absolute menace out on the court and really compliments this team well.
So, Who Wins?
This is tougher than it should be. I have a hard time betting against a guy like Michael Jordan. Jordan is the best player included in this proposed question. Though, like Pippen likes to say, "It's a team game."
So, it comes down to matchups and what style the game is going to be played. If this is the late 80's, 90's, and early 2000's NBA, I'd most likely go with Team A. If it's today's brand of NBA ball, Team B has some dudes that can hit the three at a consistent clip.
I feel like I just chose both and that's incredibly lame. So, my final choice is going to be Team A. I cannot go against MJ and my favorite Bull, Kirk Hinrich. Mix Noah in there and you have a couple of dogs that just refuse to lose.
What say you? Which team are you picking? Let me know over on Twitter. I'd love to get everyone's opinions on this. Hey, it's better than speculating day in and day out what the Bulls are going to do this offseason, right?
More must-reads: