Bulls couldn’t get ‘home run’ in trade
As long as spring training is under way, it’s appropriate for Bulls general manager Gar Forman to use a baseball metaphor when explaining why his team didn’t make a move on the day the NBA trade deadline struck.
“In my mind, we don’t want to hit a single or a double. We want to try to hit a home run,” Forman said Thursday before the Bulls faced the Heat. “We feel we’re probably as well-positioned as any of the good teams in the East to make improvements to our team over the next two or three years.
“There are going to be opportunities there to hit the home run.”
Forman acknowledged the next opportunity for the Bulls will be to check for players who agree to contract buyouts or are released by their current teams by March 1.
Asked if he ever got close to any trades Thursday, Forman wasn’t specific. Sources suggested the Bulls thought they were close on a couple of things, but the moments leading to the 2 p.m. deadline were relatively quiet.
“I don’t know if we ever got to the 5- or 10-yard line, but we were in some serious conversations with a number of teams,” Forman said. “At the end of the day, we thought it was too rich to get marginally better.”
The NBA is facing a new set of labor negotiations this summer and the Bulls are wary that the salary-cap rules could change, maybe significantly.
“We don’t know what we’re facing going forward,” Forman said. “We didn’t want to give up a young asset for what could be a rental. You don’t know what’s on the horizon. We want to see what the playing field’s going to look like.”
The Bulls’ obvious needs are an upgrade at shooting guard and an extra defender. The Bulls weren’t sold on Houston’s Courtney Lee, Memphis’ O.J. Mayo or Cleveland’s Anthony Parker to meet the price being asked.
“I don’t know when the right time is. But when the opportunity presents itself, we want to position ourselves to be ready to jump on it,” Forman said.
“With that said, we like our team now. We’re 21 games over .500. We’ve been kind of middle ground the last several years. It’s very difficult to go from that to a good team. I feel we’ve done that.”
Heat support Rose campaign:Two Miami players have gone on record supporting Derrick Rose for MVP, Juwan Howard and Chris Bosh.
#147;LeBron (James) has won the last two,#148; Bosh said at Thursday#146;s shootaround, according to bulls.com. #147;He is my teammate, but Derrick has had a phenomenal season. Just looking at what he has done with the team and their record, how improved they are as a team and how much improved he is as a player. I think it#146;s close, but I think I would give it to Derrick if I were a voter.#148;
Miami#146;s Dwyane Wade disagreed slightly.
#147;I don#146;t have a vote, but of course Derrick is one of the guys who is a front-runner,#148; Wade said. #147;He#146;s got to finish out this year strong. Of course, I believe LeBron is a front-runner as well. Those two guys are the leaders of the MVP run. I#146;m going to be biased and choose my teammate. There#146;s no question about it.#148;
Bull horns:Bulls center Omer Asik tied a season-high with 11 rebounds in 21 minutes. #133; Newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel received a custom Bulls jersey from Scottie Pippen before the game. #133; Recording artist Kanye West sat courtside near the Miami bench.