It seems the Bulls would be more alluring to NBA stars, but Amare Stoudemire (clockwise from top left), Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have all passed on coming to Chicago.
Doesn’t anybody want to play for the Bulls?
Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks; Deron Williams reportedly to the Nets; LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami with Dywane Wade staying put; Amare Stoudamire to the Knicks; Chris Paul rumored to be heading to the Knicks. Do the Bulls have bad breath or something?
What’s mystifying about the recent spate of player movement in the NBA is that no superstar seems to be pining to play for what looks like the fastest-rising NBA championship contender in the East if not the NBA. The Bulls have the best young point guard in the league — maybe the best point guard in the league, period — and a core of Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng that has a nice combination of youth, experience and complementary skills.
They have a coach in Tom Thibodeau who seems like a perfect fit for this team — an outstanding defensive coach who doesn’t micromanage and has more to do with Rose’s emergence as an elite player than anybody or anything.
The Bulls are 38-16 heading into tonight’s game at Toronto. They just went 22-8 without Noah. And with Noah back, they should only get better in the final two months of the season. In fact, with Noah just coming back, the Bulls might be in better shape than most at playoff time.
‘‘I prefer to have him all season,’’ Thibodeau said regarding Noah. ‘‘[But] you look at the fact that he doesn’t have a lot of games on his body like most of the guys in the league do. So hopefully that will be an advantage.’’
With the balance of power in the NBA shifting to the East, the Bulls have a dual-purpose in the second half of the season — not only make a run at the NBA title, but look good enough to become a destination team. Whether or not the team is the darling of the fans and media around the NBA is immaterial. But the fact that other NBA players don’t seem to be excited about this team is something the Bulls might eventually have to deal with.
The threat to the Bulls of the recent transactions can’t be ignored — two teams behind them in the conference standings just got better.
It’s probably nothing to worry about this season, but if Paul goes from the Hornets to the Knicks in the offseason and the Nets don’t strike out in free agency like they did last summer, the Bulls might not be able to stand pat — even with the best young point guard in the league and a team that figures to improve next season.
They know they have to get someone. But, the question remains: Why aren’t players coming to them?
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