Johnson getting max contract from Hawks really hurt Bulls
Even though Decision 2010 went in another direction, I haven't heard much sobbing from Bulls fans.
LeBron James or Dwyane Wade would have been great in theory. But what really broke the Bulls' hearts was Joe Johnson staying with Atlanta.
When he officially re-signed, Johnson said the Hawks were his first choice all along. But there was a loud buzz for months about Johnson hoping to end up in Chicago this summer. The suspicion here is he'd still rather play in a large market with Derrick Rose than stay anonymous in Atlanta alongside shot-intensive guards Jamal Crawford and Mike Bibby.
This seemed to be a layup for the Bulls until Atlanta surprisingly went all in with a six-year contract worth $119 million on the eve of free-agency.
What's funny is Johnson ended up with the largest contract of any free agent, since James, Wade and Chris Bosh all took about $2 million less than the maximum in Miami.
The contract is idiotic. If the Hawks offered to trade Johnson to the Bulls for a second-round pick tomorrow, I'd say no. He's going to make close to $24 million when he's 34 years old.
If the Bulls had been able to land Johnson for a more reasonable price and use him to plug their shooting guard vacancy, they would have a great chance of blocking the Miami glory grab. As it stands, I don't know if the Bulls can get it done with a mix of players in the backcourt.
One thing working in the Bulls' favor is their strength matches up with Miami's weakness. With Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, the Bulls are suddenly powerful on the inside. Newcomer Omer Asik is supposed to be a good shot-blocker, and there's a good chance Brad Miller will return.
Bosh is a talented player, but he was awful defensively in Toronto. Unless Heat coach Eric Spoelstra can work miracles, Bosh has little hope of stopping Boozer in the post. On the other end, the Bulls could use Noah to guard Bosh.
Miami's starting center will most likely be Joel Anthony, who is a pretty good defender, but not a scorer. Udonis Haslem might re-sign. Beyond that, the Heat is talking about Juwan Howard and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. In other words, bringing back Haslem will be vital to Miami's interior defense, but he'll likely be offered more money to go elsewhere.
Mario Chalmers figures to be the Heat point guard and he's battled well against Rose both in college and the pros. Mike Miller will sign with Miami in the next few days and Derek Fisher paid a visit, but it's tough to see him leaving the Lakers.
There might be just enough holes in the lineup for Miami to be vulnerable. Right now, it's questionable whether the Bulls are good enough to take advantage.
They have some potential - between Rose's penetration, Boozer's post scoring, better outside shooting and coach Tom Thibodeau's defensive schemes - to be a dangerous team in the East.
For now, ex-Utah sharpshooter Kyle Korver is the only option at two guard. The chances they hang onto Orlando restricted free agent J.J. Redick are probably less than 50 percent.
Whether they get Redick or not, the Bulls' next targets are expected to be former Jazz and Grizzlies swingman Ronnie Brewer and ex-Spurs guard Roger Mason. If they get Redick, the Bulls will have about $6 million left to spend; without him they're back up to $13 million.
As far as James snubbing Chicago, there have been reports by the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and ESPN saying he was turned off by the Bulls informing him there would be no special privileges for his business associates.
I don't know if those stories are believable. The "no special privileges" story was first mentioned in the Daily Herald, but I heard James had no problem with the Bulls' policy. For the record, the Bulls denied ever discussing special privileges in their meeting with James.
This is just a hunch, but I think a truer explanation could be found in Joakim Noah's smile the night James announced he would play in Miami. The current Bulls were receptive to James, but I'm not sure they were ever excited about having him on their team, for reasons any NBA fan can list.
Maybe that's not the best strategic move. But if they'd rather beat James than join him, fans have to like where their heads are at.