Chicago Bulls Can Again Become a Dynasty With Derrick Rose

After rolling through the 1990's successful, carefree, and happy as an Ecstacy dealer at Bonnaroo, Billy Mitchell was at the top of the sporting world. Er, rather, near the top. That's because the Chicago Bulls dominated the decade like none other, boasting the best player in basketball history and a dedicated herd of fans across the country professing love through their purchases of black/red/white Zubaz and R Kelly CD's.

If, as the saying goes, true love never dies, one must question the ability of Americans to truly love as the United Center went quiet after the retirement of Michael Jordan (Further proof: King of Kong). And who could blame the world for jilting their former favorites? They were awful. From 1998-99 to 2001-2002, they won 66 total games, six fewer than they won in Jordan's first year back from retirement (1995-96). It's been a bit better since, the Bulls went as far as the Eastern Conference Semifinals two seasons ago, but a pitifully disappointing performance last year killed any enthusiasm threatening to return to Chicago.

Then the Bulls unexpectedly won the 2008 NBA Draft Lottery and took Derrick Rose number one overall...

Conventional wisdom said the Bulls' most glaring weakness centered around a lack of interior scoring, which Michael Beasley could've helped. And it was. Still, anyone who has seen Rose at his best will attest that he was the most valuable of talents... an ultra-athletic point guard who can get anywhere on the floor, finish spectacularly in traffic, and decimate opposing floor generals defensively. Combine those traits with the fact that he grew up in the Windy City, and it's hard to deny that the Bulls had to take Rose.

After his performance in the preseason and the first two games, Rose has surely quelched all but the most biased of Bulls watchers and Beasley backers. There is once again a superstar in Chicago.

The problem is that the team, as currently constructed, cannot threaten to win an NBA Championship. So, the team must build around Rose just like the Cleveland Cavaliers built their team around LeBron James. Fortunately for Chicago, the Bulls have many more assets than Cleveland did after drafting LeBron. Unfortunately, they all have similar skill-sets or aren't ideal to play alongside Rose.

In the backcourt, the Bulls are deep with players of debatable quality. Kirk Hinrich was the unquestioned point guard before Rose came to town and has now been bumped off the ball. Not everyone liked Hinrich's ability to play point, and he appears even less fit (or enthused) to play at shooting guard. He's only 6'3", as is Rose, and the two would combine for an undersized backcourt duo.

The rap on Ben Gordon his whole career has been that he is too small to defend opposing shooting guards and not good enough with the ball or passing to play point. He is a first-rate shooter who could see more open looks off of Rose's penetration.

Behind those three, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha are big guards who can defend, but can't shoot. Hughes has a terrible contract that the Bulls would love to shed, while Sefolosha will have to improve to be anything more than a 20-minute per game rotation guard.

Luol Deng is entrenched as the starting small forward and signed a six-year contract extension in the offseason. He's an above-average defender, efficient mid-range shooter, and mobile athlete perfect for running the break alongside Rose.

Andres Nocioni sits behind Deng on the depth chart and has played about 25 minutes a game over his career. He can fill it up from the outside and is always a threat to go off for a big game. At $7.5 million a year though, he may not provide good value for a team with a stud small forward already in place. He'd make great and desireable trade bait.

In the frontcourt, the Bulls have three nearly identical athletic, tough defense-minded/offensively limited players in Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, and Drew Gooden. Thomas is in his third year in the league after being drafted fourth overall and has yet to fulfill his promise. He's explosive, active, and hard-working, but lacks a post game, ball-handling skills, or jump-shot. He's just 22 years old, so there's time for him to develop, but he's no sure thing. Noah, 23, has a scouting report that reads similar to that of Thomas. Gooden is a bit older and a free agent-to-be, and is, if at all different, perhaps a slightly better shooter than his counterparts.

Not to be forgotten is Aaron Gray, a young developing back-up center. He's unlikely to ever be more than that, but could prove useful in years to come as a defensive foil to posts around the league.

So the Bulls have a number of quality parts in Gordon, Hinrich, the contract of Hughes, Sefolosha, Thomas, Noah, and Gooden that could be combined to bring back what they need. And what exactly do they need?

A few suggestions:

If Rose and Deng are the keepers, then a shooting guard with size, athleticism, and three-point shooting ability for starters. Vince Carter and Jason Richardson immediately come to mind as perfect fits, and both have large salaries that their team would like to move (the Nets to get under the cap before 2010, the Bobcats because they're struggling for revenue). A package of Hughes's shorter contract and either Thomas or Noah may be enough to secure either guard.

Up front, the Bulls desperately need a big with a back-to-the-basket game. Unfortunately, those are hard to come by in the NBA. A Brad Miller-for-Kirk Hinrich swap would make sense for both teams. Miller would give the Bulls an offense-minded center with passing ability and range out to 15-feet; their remaining bigs would be nice complements to Miller. Hinrich would be an upgrade over Beno Udrih in Sacramento and clearing Miller out would hasten the development of Spencer Hawes.

The deals would balance the squad and give the Bulls a core that could advance past the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs immediately. If Rose develops into an All-NBA point guard, the team could compete for the championship in a few years.

Here's how the team would look:
PG- Rose, Sefolosha
SG- Richardson, Gordon
SF- Deng, Nocioni
PF- Gooden, Thomas
C- Miller, Gray