The return of Rose: Bulls 2k16

[Getty51]

Introduction

It was a warm summer night in late August, the rain was coming down in buckets as the man was driving through the city. Everyone says this is a dangerous town at night, maybe it won’t be so bad with this crazy amount of rain. Come to think of it, this summer has been filled with lots of rain. Probably that global warming stuff those politicians are always on about. As the man pulled into the facility, he pulled to the guard post at the gate where he quickly handed his ID to the guard and was allowed into the well lit parking lot. Well there aren’t many cars here, that makes sense. It is getting awfully late. The man had been driving all day, across multiple states but the people of importance had told him that time was not an issue and that they would wait for him but that the meeting had to happen today. I wonder what is so important that they call me. I hope they aren’t keeping this many people here just for me, I’m sure many of the cars are the night janitors and security, ya that’s it.

As he parked his car in the nearest open spot, hoping to avoid as much rain as possible while wearing his best shirt and tie he quickly hustled into the building. That didn’t work, still drenched, great first impression. He thought to himself as he quickly was becoming nervous realizing where he was standing. He was standing inside a basketball arena, that was completely dark but the hardwood floor, the stands and the baskets were unmistakable.

Suddenly the lights turned and he saw the banners, the banners that he had seen on television but had never seen in person. Out of the other tunnel began walking a shadowy figure. This is how horror movies typically start, if this guy has anything sharp I’ve just walked into his house of evil. Maybe that is why they called me randomly. Yup this guy is going to kill me, I should probably leave. Despite the urge to flee, he was still mystified by the banners hanging all around him. There were six of them, six championships but none in the past ten years. Finally the shadowy figure came into view. “I am Eugene Petit, we wanted to give you an idea of what it feels like to be the guy coming out of the tunnel with the lights coming on. We would have funneled artificial noise in to simulate a crowd but there was an NFL team that recently was punished for doing just that.”

As Petit and the man quickly walked up a few flights of stairs into an office that looked like his was big enough to also double as a house or at the very least a bedroom if this meeting took too long. Petit motioned to the chair in front of the desk. Petit began speaking to the man who was beginning to look as though the long trip was taking its toll. “Mr. Getty51, we are pleased to have you. You did not tell anyone where you were going correct?”

“I did not, as your assistant, I think her name was Kelsey, said on the phone.”

“Fantastic, you see we have been keeping an eye on you….

Ok, this is weird, I wasn’t supposed to say where I was going and they have been keeping an eye on me, what the heck does this guy possibly want with me.

….We are hoping that you would have some interest in a job that we have that will be opening up here in the next few hours.”

Confused, the man asked; “What job could I possibly do to help you all out here? I really doubt that a franchise as successful as yours?”

Petit laughed, “Well, the job would be in the front office. You see we recently have had a couple of our staff members accused of, well we will say misconduct. This has been kept under wraps and they are waiting to resign until we have completed our search for a candidate to replace them.”

Getty51, still confused; “What job would that be?”

Petit then got very serious, “You would be the General Manager of our team.”
As Getty51 rubbed his ears, his eyes and pinched himself Petit clearly looked at him as though something was going to go terribly wrong.

Did this guy just ask me to be the GM of this team? Am I dreaming? I’m obviously hallucinating, too much driving, too many energy drinks. Maybe that guy that cut me off earlier actually wrecked me and this is that in between that ev…..

“Sir, is everything ok? Like I was saying, we would like you, to be the General Manager of our team starting tomorrow when these men resign.”

Ok, maybe this guy is real, even if it isn’t and its just a dream why not say yes.

“I’m sorry, long drive, I accept! Where do I sign a contract?”

Petit began smiling now, becoming slightly less serious, “One of my secretaries will bring tell you where to sign before you leave, tomorrow we will introduce you to the media and get you set up in your office. However, you should know that there is one slight catch. Because this is your first GM position we will only have you in the role as a one year contract and we will want you to keep our current staff.”

Petit’s smile wasn’t because he had his new GM, but because he had his new fall guy, Getty51 wouldn’t succeed, what with the Cavaliers signing Lebron, did anyone think this team had a legit chance at a title? By setting this guy up as the fall guy Petit could get anyone he wanted next year, maybe a Phil Jackson could be pried away from New York, the possibilities were endless.

This is awesome, I came here expecting some boring meeting and now I’m signing a contract that will make me an NBA General Manager.

The two shook hands and Getty51 left the office and walked to the secretary, her name was Samantha, not the same secretary he had spoken to on the phone and gave him the contract and where to sign.



I Getty51 accept this contract to become the General Manager of the Chicago Bulls for a term of 1 year with the salary of ********* over the course of that year.


With that the Bulls had a new General Manger heading into the 2014-15 Season, would Getty51 be able to get the Bulls a conference Championship that Petit demanded? Would Petit use Getty51 as a patsy for a mishap in the Bulls front office? Find out in our next episode.

[Getty51]

Bulls Yearly Recap:

Association Awards:
MVP:
Defensive Player of the Year:
Rookie of the Year:
Sixth Man of the Year:
Big Man of the Year:
Coach of the Year:

Bulls Award Winners:

[Getty51]

NBA Champions:


Association Hall of Fame Inductees:




Association Bulls Hall of Fame Inductees:

[Getty51]

Sweating, was he really sweating, as he walked back off of the stage. It was hotter than I expected, all of those lights, all of those people staring at me. Good thing I had this jacket on because I need a new shirt. Having successfully just completed his first press conference, successful in the sense that he did not die in the process because he fumbled many of his own words while answering simple questions about himself let alone the questions he was getting about the roster and the issues the front office was having. No one told him that the job was going to be this tough, he thought it was just going to be a matter of signing/firing/hiring and watching basketball. No wonder the check was so big.

Right as he had made it to his office a knock was on the door and he stood to go open the door as he thought to himself I really need to hire a secretary, or have a phone installed, I wish those office workers would help me out, how am I going to have time to hire a secretary when I don’t even have time to get to the door. As he walked to the door he tucked back in the sweaty shirt he had been in the process of taking off and hastily threw on the jacket over the top to cover the stains already apparent on the shirt. He opened the door and none other than new Bulls Head Coach Fred Hoiberg was standing at his, HIS, door.

“Hi coach, why don’t you have a se…..”


“I’m just stopping by to say hello, I wanted to introduce myself since we haven't had a chance to meet just yet. I'm looking forward to working with you here and winning a championship right away. Obviously the roster for the season is already set and we both know that much of the season will depend on whether or not Rose is healthy. We have been working on dynamic scoring and we should be able to compete with anyone all season. These guys are hungry for a championship and they are all going out there ready to give it their all for the chance to be in the finals this year. We, have practice so I'll let you get back to whatever it is you were doing.”


Hoiberg darted out the door before Getty51 had a chance to even respond, or to say hello for that matter. He didn't mind because he knew Hoiberg had a lot to do in the coming days. This Bulls team has been steadily one of the most consistent defensive teams in all of basketball but have struggled to score points down the stretch. Hoiberg was brought in to fix that. Getty51 was brought in to win a Championship and Petit made no bones about that, the job was win or get fired..... No pressure.

[Getty51]

Establishing The Roster

In order to know what needs to be done in order to win and what to look forward to seeing this year, Getty51 had to familiarize himself with the roster and the players that make up the roster on the team. If the goal is championship or bust, what happens if the bust happens and the team needs to rebuild. Where will the key pieces come from?

Point Guards:
Derrick Rose (84) The ever dangerous and perplexing Derrick Rose. Turning 27 years old this season and a body that seemingly continues to fail him, the city of Chicago has seemed to lose patience with a player that the last time he played a full season healthy was the MVP of the league. If the Bulls are going to regain their dominance and win a championship it will have to come on the back of Derrick Rose and he will need to be healthy.

Aaron Brooks (75) In the event of an injury, the Bulls went out and grabbed a backup point guard that would be able to control the offense and they got just that with Aaron Brooks, the 30 year old vet signed back on with the team with the ability to make things happen from everywhere on the court.

Shooting Guards:

Jimmy Butler (86) Butler is a tremendous story, coming from being homeless in high school to being a first round pick that hardly played for the Bulls his rookie year to taking the league by storm in his previous season. Butler was rewarded with a massive contract and like Derrick Rose, the team will rely heavily on Butler to carry this team deep in the playoffs.

Kirk Hinrich (71) Captain Kirk has aged a bit since he was in his prime. Hinrich is still a veteran presence that can command the offense, set up defenses and is always willing to put his body on the line to win games. Look for Hinrich to eat up a few minutes a game to keep Rose and Butler healthy.

E'Twaun Moore (71) Moore is a mere 26 years old and an extra insurance policy for any injury for the Bulls at the Guard positions. He is a solid swing guard that is able to drive, dish and shoot from outside. He isn't going to be setting the world on fire but he will be out there competing and should eat up some minutes with the formidable bench mob.

Small Forwards:
Mike Dunleavy (73) Dunleavy is the savy veteran on the team, coming from a coaching background, there is no telling on how long Mike will remain in the league but there are two things that are certain. Mike can make it rain on a basketball court and whenever he is done some team may be lucky enough to grab his as a coach.

Tony Snell (72) The heir apparent to Dunleavy whenever he officially retires, Snell a former first round pick took the Jimmy Butler path to success in the NBA, sit for the majority of your rookie season and then in year two play key minutes for the team down the stretch. Snell should see an increased role for the team this year and poses some matchup problems for other players trying to guard his lanky frame.

Doug McDermott (68) Dougie McBuckets as he is known is a younger version on Mike Dunleavy and actually has a bigger frame that he can use to get inside on players. Look for Doug to follow the path that Snell and Butler took to success as getting key minutes this season and earning his chops.

Power Forwards:
Pau Gasol (86) Last year when the Bulls signed Gasol people felt he was too washed up to pursue. Gasol simply responded by attempting to carry the Bulls to a finals run while other players were going down injured all season. Gasol can still get the job done and desperately wants to win a championship before he calls it quits but the window does appear to be shrinking for the 35 year old veteran.

Taj Gibson (76) One of the best 6th men in the league, Taj Gibson is essentially a starter for the Bulls with the minutes that he has accumulated over seasons. Gibson is yet another former 1st round pick for the Bulls that really gained a knack for playing defense while under former coach Tom Thibodeau. Gibson is finally beginning to show his age, now 30, but still can defend the best forwards in the paint.

Nikola Mirotic (76) The Bulls had waited a long time for Mirotic to come play in the states and he did not disappoint. Mirotic can flat out score, the problem is, last season he was not the defender or the type of defender that Thom Thebodeau needed or wanted. Mirotic struggles against the premier scorers in the league with some of the basics and will need to fix that to become a star in the league.

Bobby Portis (71) The question is, how many minutes with young Portis get? Being another first round pick for the Bulls playing at a crowded power foward spot, Portis might find it hard to get minutes this season but has plenty of time to learn from the guys in front of him.

Centers:
Joakim Noah (79) Noah is one of the most hated players in the NBA by fans of other teams. Noah seems to embody the mentality of the Chicago Bulls team and plays hard nosed defense, makes sure to give a little extra emphasis to his big plays and has no problem throwing an elbow or two in order to get ahead. Noah at times can run the offense and at other times can be a post player and when he is good, he is nearly unstoppable.

Cameron Bairstow (66) The 14th man on the roster, Bairstow won't be seeing much time this season with the Bulls on the court unless a mass of injuries take place, but if needed he can play some decent defense and does still have time to develop as he is only 24 years of age.

[Getty51]

Basic Rotation

With the Coaching change and now the GM change it is best to take a quick look at the Bulls and the rotation that they are expected to use this season.

Starters:
PG: Derrick Rose (33 Minutes)
SG: Jimmy Butler (33 Minutes)
SF: Mike Dunleavy (25 Minutes)
PF: Pau Gasol (32 Minutes)
C: Joakim Noah (28 Minutes)

Bench:
6th: Taj Gibson (25 Minutes)
7th: Nikola Mirotic (23 Minutes)
8th: Aaron Brooks (19 Minutes)
9th: Tony Snell (12 Minutes)
10th: Kirk Hinrich (5 Minutes)
11th: Etwan Moore (2 Minutes)
12th: Doug McDermott (2 Minutes)
13th: Bobby Portis (1 Minute)

Reserves:
Cameron Bairstow

This rotation obviously will be adapted every week depending on who is hot, who is not and who is feeling banged up.

[Getty51]

Bulls 2015-2016 Season Expectations

Worst Case Scenario:
Record: 30-52
Playoffs: None
How it would happen: For this to happen the team would have to suffer injuries to not only Derrick Rose but also someone like Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol. It would also mean that role players such as Mike Dunleavy, Aaron Brooks and Joakim Noah were unable to step up and lead the charge. For this to happen a lot of things would need to go wrong but that happens sometimes.

Best Case Scenario:
Record: 62-18
Playoffs: #1 Seed and NBA Champions
How it would happen: Derrick Rose would have to return to the MVP form that he has played in and would need similar help from Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol. Joakim Noah, Mike Dunleavy and the entire bench would have to be able to play at a high level all season and make the Cleveland Cavs chase the Bulls all season.

Realistic Expectation:
Record: 52-28
Playoffs: #3 Seed and East Conference Finals loss
How it would happen: The Bulls would get solid contribution from all levels, Derrick Rose would not regain MVP form but would instead stay healthy and provide quality basketball all season. Eventually the Pacers, Raptors Pistons or even the Heat could take the #2 seed with a strong year which would mean the Bulls would take 3rd eventually losing to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference finals.

[Gronk4M13]

Definitely following, good so far.