Imrem: Be it tragedy or comedy, Bulls will be must-see TV

At some point the Bulls will have to reveal what form of entertainment they're attempting to be.

Comedy?

Tragedy?

Dramedy?

Reality?

All of the above?

Comedy: Pairing three stubborn personalities like Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler on the perimeter.

Tragedy: Having Fred Hoiberg coach them when they don't fit how he wants his offense to operate.

Dramedy: Suspense over whether the players and coach finish with yuks like a "Seinfeld" rerun or on trial like a "Law and Order" rerun.

Reality: A series in which Wade stars - as he did as co-host of "Live with Kelly!" on Thursday morning - his actress wife Gabrielle Union plays a prominent role and together they try to explain why his first name is spelled "Dwyane" instead of "Dwayne."

All of the above: A variety show with all the genres colliding like rainbow paint splashing against the United Center walls.

The Bulls were amusing last season in a macabre manner, with Butler's ego crashing into Derrick Rose's, Hoiberg mishandling Joakim Noah and all sorts of other slapstick storylines.

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf acknowledged after the Bulls missed the playoffs that something dramatic had to be done and vowed "to be strategic and aggressive in the steps taken to improve the team."

The Bulls' aggressive strategy was to get younger and more athletic as they attempt to pass the Cavaliers and LeBron James in the East and challenge the Warriors and Kevin Durant in the NBA Finals.

So the Bulls added Wade, 34, and Rondo, 30 ... young and athletic?

If fans find it difficult to figure out what's going on here it's because the Bulls are finding it difficult synchronize their actions with their intentions.

The first word that comes to mind isn't "championship," it's "interesting."

It'll be interesting to examine how the Bulls stumbled upon the idea to sign grizzled veterans like Wade and Rondo.

It'll be interesting to see whether this apparently mismatched group will be able to keep out of its own way.

It'll be interesting to follow whether Hoiberg implodes first, explodes first or simply retreats into the corner to watch what transpires.

Being interesting is preferable to being irrelevant, which the Bulls were becoming.

Signing Rondo inspired curiosity around the NBA and signing Wade made the Bulls the talk of sports radio both locally and nationally.

Now the Bulls will be measured not by how many games they win but how often national-TV outlets want to televise them.

How many laughs will they generate, how many tears, how many laughs and tears, how many gasps compared to "Keeping up with the Kardashians"?

If you can't outplay them, distract them with a little song-and-dance starring a bunch of former or dubious stars trying to muscle their way into the secret square.

"So what's up?" Kelly Ripa deadpanned Tuesday morning to the man announced as "basketball superstar" Dwyane Wade.

"It's still surreal," Wade said of his move from the Heat to the Bulls. "I'm still numb."

Maybe numb is what the Bulls were going for.

If the flurry of transactions works, someone in the Bulls organization will be voted NBA executive of the year.

If they flop, they'll have to settle for a couple Emmys.

mimrem@dailyherald.com