And Melo has chosen

In the biggest NBA Free agent frenzy since LeBron, Wade, and Bosh; Carmelo Anthony is about to wrap up his courting period.

The Melo watch didn't disappoint either. With rumors from New York saying they weren't offering a max contract in an effort to retain flexibility. Then Derrick Rose well not recruit, then did, but it was on accident, but it wasn't. Then finally we hear Melo, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Love were playing basketball together at UCLA.

Most of those rumours have already been dispelled and all that is left is the actual announcement. But truth be told, Melo only needed to hear one thing to make his decision...

Max contract

I understand what winning can do for a players legacy, and I'm sure Melo was genuine when he said he was going to look for an opportunity that could help him win a championship, but there was more money on the line than the average NBA fan can even fathom. The New York Knicks can offer Carmelo $60+ million more than the Chicago Bulls, and around $25 million more than the LA Lakers. Would you care to explain to your spouse why you took $60 million less?

People will say he already has more money than he knows what to do with, and you are right, but it doesn't mean he can make stupid decisions. When you hear Melo say, "I always wanted to stay here in New York" it isn't because he is selfish or only in it for the money, it is because he would earn ridiculously more money in New York than any other team could give him. And that isn't a bad thing, it's the decision 99% off us would make, so to unfairly cast the unfortunate expectation that he is that 1% is just wrong.

The Bulls did their job, and now they can return to building a NBA Eastern Conference contender. The Lakers and Kobe did their job, and now they can return to rebuilding their great franchise. Maybe, Kobe will join Carmelo next season in New York? Maybe the Bulls will work some magic and grab Kevin Love? Or maybe, just maybe there is a new super team about to be built in the desert?

Part of the picture will be announced tomorrow (Monday) and the NBA will become a little clearer again.

NBA Free Agency officially started, where should the starts sign?

The NBA Free Agency period is upon us and everyone's burning question is, where will these superstars end up!? Well I'll do my best to guess for you all.

If you think you have some ideas, or maybe some inside info, post a reply to the story below. Would love to hear your ideas.

LeBron James - Haven't we done this before? Word is LeBron is asking for a max contract, but that just might be fake info that he our his people are leaking out to other teams. If it is true, chances are one of the Big 3 will not be back, and you will see a Big 2, with a couple of other stronger spring cat type players. Imagine the Heat with LeBron and Bosh, with 3 other above average starters and an actual deep bench? Where does LeBron go? He's keeping his talents in South Beach.

Carmelo Anthony - Carmelo's only choice should be, do I want the money? Or do I want to win? If it's money, he'll be a Knick again. If he chooses winning, he'll be a Chicago Bull. The Bulls offer him something that very little other teams can, a legit chance to compete for a title in 2015. That isn't saying that he couldn't win in New York, Phil Jackson succeeds at everything he does and will do so as a GM, but his problems run deeper than Melo and it would be a smarter move to let him walk. Melo will be a Bull, regardless if Derrick Rose is recruiting him.

Kevin Love - This is a wild card because he is the biggest name available for trade. His name had been tied to a number of teams, and some if them make a ton of sense, but they need something that Minnesota would like in return and that's the tricky part. There were earlier rumours that the Bulls started to include Taj Gibson in a deal for Love, which if they are could jump then to the front of the list. His name is also tired to Golden State Warriors, for Klay Thompson and David Lee, there is a possible deal in the works with Denver as well, and maybe Boston or the Lakers. The tough party is, the Timberwolves want to win now and the teams dealing need to have current talent going the other way. So who will feel the Love? Golden State, but don't rule out a sign and trade with a team like the Heat, sending someone like Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh over.

Dwayne Wade - Wade has seen better days and he is in the twilight of his career. Players do one of two things at this stage, chase rings or linger on their team till it's clearly over. Wade would be better served to chase rings like Ray Allen, but he more than likely will linger longer than he should. It is also probably the smarter move for Miami to break tires with Wade, for the reasons of continuing to win. He will ask for too much money and tie up too much under the salary cap, especially if James gets a max contract. Where should he go? San Antonio. Where will he go? Stays in Miami.

Chris Bosh - He is intriguing. If the story is really over for the Big 3 (who actually believes that it is?) Than Bosh could fill a Big hole for a lot of contending teams in the league. Minnesota could use his services if they deal Love, San Antonio could be a fit and championship opportunity. Or possibly the Lakers, who have almost a complete roster to rebuild and the Phoenix Suns who have more money to spend than any NBA team this off-season. Where will he go? Miami, but I beg for him to make things very interesting.

So who else do you think will move this off-season? Who will join the Big 3 in Miami? What if Chicago strikes out on Melo, LeBron, and Love? It will be an exciting couple of weeks for sure.

By now you've seen....

Well, by now you've seen this lady:



Yes, that is Filomena Tobias, possibly the classiest lady in South Beach. Apparently she wanted to follow up her suspicion in the murder of her late 4th husband (this time it really was for love), with a very friendly gesture to Joakim Noah of the +Chicago Bulls.

Once identified, the +Miami HEAT (possibly just as classy of an organization) gave the fingering bandit a swift slap on the back of the hand with a Code of Misconduct warning. She could have faced penalties as hefty as having her season tickets revoked, however knowing she has to live with the world knowing she's a horrible person was penalty enough.

Full story in the Palm Beach Post 

All Heart

If you have seen as much as 3 minutes of the Chicago Bulls playoffs this year you know exactly what this post is about... Joakim Noah.



Between games Six and Seven of the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets series, Joakim guaranteed a Chicago Bulls win. Some took it as a serious, poster board material, some took it as confidence, Jo took it as a motivator for everyone to step their games up. Coming off a game 6 loss to Brooklyn, in a game which saw Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng out with various aliments and what seemed to be the rest of the Bulls sick with the flu, Joakim Noah lead a Bulls charge for the ages. With the help of Nate Robinson, all heart and no height, and the extremely surprising Jimmy Butler, the Noah lead Bulls took game 7 in Brooklyn and set themselves up for a second round match-up with the heavily favored Miami Heat.

The Chicago Bulls, still down Hinrich and Deng, set the defensive tone early. Making sure there were few easy buckets, contested every single dribble. This team fought tooth and nail, set the defensive tone for this series, for 48 long hard minutes came out victorious in Miami. The Miami Heat now know they are in for a series.

  This was supposed to be the season in-between, the year of waiting for Derrick Rose, and once he's back letting him get back into game shape so they can compete in 2013-2014. Sure the Bulls were going to give a lunch pail effort every game with tough nosed defensive players in the post and a friendly face in Kirk Hinrich running the point and guarding the tougher guards in the league. Luol was always a strong defender, and they added some depth behind Noah, Boozer, and Taj Gibson. Without Rose though, everyone knew this team would struggle to score points consistently, and with teams like the Heat, the Pacers, Nets, and Knicks we weren't sure if they could score enough to win on a consistent basis.

Through a couple of months of this season you saw the team mold and define itself, this was going to be a rough, tough defensive unit that will make you earn every bucket. With quality wins against the Knicks and Nets and Celtics and Heat this team was putting itself in a great position for the playoff run. Then, like it typically does, the injury bug started to bite the team. Noah struggled with plantar fasciitis, Hinrich struggled with various injuries, Rip Hamilton seemed to be at less games than I was, and Taj Gibson went down as well. Around this time we learned that Derrick Rose was cleared for basketball activities, which seemed to cast a cloud over this team.

So now the injury bug and Rose's status was hanging over this team's head, but they still continued to chug along. Impressive wins against the Lakers and breaking the Miami Heat's winning streak highlighted their season. In fact, he Lakers game was the breakout game from Jimmy Butler, which is also where he was coined "Kobe Stopper" from his teammates.



Coming into the playoffs the Bulls had gotten Taj and Hinrich back, and Noah hobbled back as well. All three clearly not looking very well, gutted out performances and took a commanding 3-1 lead against the Nets. Then Hinrich and Luol went down.... The Bulls gutted out a game which they were severely short handed, eventually lost, which lead to this proclamation from Noah:

“I’m ready to play. I want to go play right now. That’s my emotions, We’re a team of fighters. We keep getting punched in the face but we fight back. I’m proud of this team. We’re going to go into a hostile environment in Brooklyn and we’re going to win.”

Noah then went out and gave one of the most inspiring performances you'll ever see. Gutting out 41 minutes with 24 points, 14 boards, and 6 blocked shots. By the way, 5 of his 14 rebounds were 1st half offensive boards. The Bulls opened a large first half lead, and while the Nets fought back, they were able to hold off their late charge. Jo was the biggest reason for that. Joakim is undoubtedly this team's leader.

I heard earlier today, Joakim almost guilt's you into playing hard. You see him out there, giving everything he possibly has, on every play, with the ball, away from the ball. He is all hustle, he is all heart. He does the important things great, he does the little things great. He is a gamer in all sense of the term. Ken "Hawk" Harrelson would say, he has TWTW (The Will To Win).



There isn't a team in the league that isn't instantly much better with Joakim Noah on it. From a kid that was suspended from the team in his rookie season, the kid that most Bulls fans didn't like being drafted, has become Chicago's second son. We are lucky that we have a kid like Joakim in Chicago.

In Noah we trust, in Noah we trust.

Chicago Sports, last 24 hours

In the whirlwind that is Chicago, there has been much news over the last day or so. First off, I am extremely excited to welcome in the new NHL season. Finally I get to see the newest editions to this Hawks roster, and see if that grit we added will pay off in the end. Personally I think it might take. Month or two for the new Hawks to gel with the older Hawks, and although some say they tried too hard to get tougher, I think the muscle added will help free their skilled players get free and score a lot more often.

The Chicago Bulls....

Next, the hugely surprising White Sox hire of Robin Ventura. I am a Cubs fans (please no condolences) but I have always admired Robin from afar. His approach to the game, his ability to come out of college as a prospect with huge expectations, and ability to deliver under pressure made him one of the best Chicago athletes to watch, in my opinion. I see Robin as a teacher as a manager, one who can show the players the right way to play, can develop the younger guys, and should be a huge asset to Dayan Viciedo and Gordon Beckham. I especially think he can help Beckham as these two were similar in their expectations coming out of college. Only down side I see to Ventura is, managers get fired, and Robin is a very likable guy, once this team is ready to compete, they will most likely fire the teaching manager and hire a manager that can win. No one wins by firing fan favorites, and that has always been my fear in hiring Ryne Sandberg on the North-side.

And now the Bulls....

Speaking of the Cubbies... There really hasn't been much talk on their new GM... WHAT!? Yeah there has! In case you missed it, the Cubs sought permission to speak to the Red Sox general Manager Theo Epstein. There was an initial report that Theo was going to be involved in the teams search for a new manager (Red Sox manager), the top brass of Boston then came out basically saying he is there for the Cubs to take. I would imagine this would require the Cubs to send over a top prospect or two, and with the Cubs current minor league system, this could be a huge loss for a team with no great veterans, no MLB ready star prospects, and looks to be financially handcuffed by ownership. So I am sure the Cubs will make the wrong choice, since we have 100+ years experience doing the wrong thing anyways. Hell even if it's right, it will be wrong.

The NBA's Chicago Bulls....

The Bears are going to play Monday night vs. the Lions, and even though some are suggesting this is a find something out about the Lions game, I think it's more a learn what we have in this Beats team game. Sure the Lions haven't played on Monday night in like 10 years, but they get a highlighted game every year on Thanksgiving. What will really happen is we will find out about this Bears team. Will they commit to running against a team thy will score points? Will the secondary hold down Megatron and the Lions passing game? Will the Bears pass rush create pressure and force Matt Stafford into bad decisions? Will Johnson hold the ball after he catches a touchdown?

Finally the Bulls......

It should be a fun weekend and week ahead in Chicago sports, let's hope for the best cause we usually get the worst!

Do the Bulls still have a chance?

So we have all had our mouths watering for sometime over the possibilities of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, or Chris Bosh joining Derrek Rose and Joakim Noah with the Bulls. It now appears that the Bulls will strike out on the dubbed Big 3 while only pulling in Carlos Boozer to date and LeBron poised to make his announcement to join the Miami Heat tonight.

So I pose this question, when the Big 3 all sign with the Heat and Pat Riley, are they really the class of the NBA? How can they afford to sign any role players? Could they beat the Lakers?

The answer is yes and no to each question.

The Heat will not be the "class" of the NBA, that title still resides in LA to a team named the Lakers. Kobe has shown his maturity as well as his internal drive to win. The Lakers have shown to Kobe and the NBA that they are willing to do what they need to do to commit to winning, and putting new banners in the Staples Center's rafters. Until someone comes along and beats the Lakers, it is still their show and their NBA.

They can sign some role players, and the NBA's higher salary cap ($2 million more than expected) will help them do that. The problem here is, they will not get quality players to fill in these gaps. We may hear that a player will sign for less to join this team, but when a team like Chicago or the Nets throw an offer that Miami cannot even come close to, you will see these players go to those cities. Without quality role players this team will be forced to go with 8th and 9th options from any other team. Let's face it, these players can still be a usable piece as their top 3 options will be great players, yet when it is playoff time deeper teams will push this super team to its limits.

Can they beat the Lakers? No! Kobe is better than any of these players by himself, and has more killer instinct than either of these big 3. Pau Gasol is a better player than Chris Bosh, and although Kobe can match up with Wade or LeBron with Ron Artest guarding the other. The Lakers are deeper than this team as well making this a team that will fairly easily take care of the Heat.

I would say that the Heat would be built for the regular season, and will probably end up with the East's highest amount of wins, but like LeBron's Cav's of last season are not built for the playoffs. How will the Heat defend Orlando? Bosh will not be able to stop Dwight Howard. What about the Celtics? Boston is still way too deep for the Heat. What about the Bulls (I said it!)? Bulls are still deeper and offer a bigger challenge than the Heat offers the Bulls.

The Big 3 free agents aside, this Bulls team is better than they were last season. They nowhere near their ceiling, and Carlos Boozer has added a legitamate low post scorer as well as a veteran leader that knows how to win. Although he cannot guarantee we lock up James, he has pushed his old teammate Kyle Korver. With the Bulls roster looking like Rose PG, Deng SF, Boozer PF, Noah C, it appears that a great shooter is all they need, and Korver fits that mold. Yes James is a better option than Korver anyone would tell you that, but a legit threat that can spread the floor makes this team very tough to defend. The Bulls also have surprising rookie Taj Gibson that will come in and provide a very nice change-up as their sixth man.

This Bulls team should not be counted out of this LeBron James courtship, as this team is an immediate threat wiht him on it. The team has the cap room to bring LeBron in (roughly $17 million) and will commit to the 5 yr maximum that a team can provide (other than the player original team, which is a 6 year deal). The team can offer the opportunity to compete this year without needing to scrounge to fill in roster holes. This team has shown the ability to bring superstars championships, as well as help that superstar create a global market for himself. This team also is the most talented roster without LeBron James in the Eastern Conference.

No one can blame LeBron if he chooses to stay home, that is a decision I do not know if I could make, but if he were to choose anywhere else I cannot imagine how and why he wouldn't choose the Bulls.