It's Media Day

Yes, you read that title right.  I'm posting because it's Bulls Media Day at the Berto Center.  I know it's very small compared to what we'll see transpire over the course of the season, but it gives the press their first look at the roster that will be competing for a championship this season.  It also allows a chance for new stories instead of those that have been rehashed over the summer.

This is the event during which Derrick Rose posed the question of why he couldn't be MVP of the league just three years ago.  Since 2009, he's the only player not named LeBron to come away with that hardware.  It's unlikely we'll see such amazing prognostication again, but it sure gives us sentimental value, especially since Rose will actually be on the floor this season.  That makes anticipation as high as it's been since before his ACL tear.  This and an Adidas commercial won't be the only times he wears a game uniform this year, meaning great excitement around the United Center.  If he somehow leads the Bulls past Miami in this year's playoffs and then to the championship, the team can claim to be the most popular tenant of their building once again.

Of course, The Return is not the only big story surrounding the Bulls as they open camp.  The fact that this could be Luol Deng's final season with the team has created a lot of buzz.  Gar Forman has not been able to negotiate a new contract with the longest tenured Bull and all indications are that Deng will test the market next summer.  This has also been said to be a source of animosity between Forman and Tom Thibodeau.  The last thing this organization needs is a fiasco reminiscent of Jerry Krause and Phil Jackson.  They got away with it in the 90s partially because of the talent on the roster.  This edition doesn't have Jordan, Pippen or even Rodman.  Rose is great, Deng is in his prime and Joakim Noah may be about to enter it.  Still, unless they're the last team standing in June, they can't compare to the old dynasty.  Thibodeau is locked up, so he and Forman better patch up their differences or there could be a sense of uncertainty I'd rather not possess.

There are some big things to look out for and more will become known once Media Day ends.  This is like meeting the cast of a big Broadway production in costume before previews.  Optimism is in the air and this is about as lighthearted as it gets before the pressure starts to build up.  Though the fans are shut out from the activities, enjoy what comes out of them.  After all, you never know whether a crazy prediction will actually come out right later on.

Deng, This Could Be Interesting

Although it often seems to go against my sports-loving nature, I hate when people try to speculate what they think could be the roster beyond the coming season.  The one exception obviously came in the 2010 offseason, which ended in LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach and winning two championships to date.  So it should be no surprise that I'm not entirely happy with what several people are saying on the heels of the news that Luol Deng will explore free agency when his contract expires at the end of the year. 

The consensus is that it would be more economically efficient for the Bulls to either let Deng walk or trade him for expiring contracts at the deadline.  Jimmy Butler's youth and lower salary has made Deng expendable.  After that, they can amnesty Carlos Boozer, let Kirk Hinrich walk and have enough money to possibly woo LeBron, who can opt out of his contract after his bid to three-peat with Miami.  Even if that doesn't work, they say, someone like Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce or Ray Allen could reasonably sign a contract here.  No financial restrictions or luxury tax would be a problem and that will easily pave the way for the Bulls to win a title.  Everyone's happy, the end.

Not so fast, I say.  Deng is coming off two consecutive All-Star selections and, in my opinion and many others, has never looked better.  Both his offense and quiet leadership kept the Bulls in a lot of games last season.  Until his spinal tap sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs, a team that knew it had no chance to win a championship routinely looked to him so that he could provide a badly needed boost on any given night.  No, he wasn't a factor in closing out Brooklyn, but the Bulls in that position to begin with thanks in no small part to him.  If he signed a lifetime contract with the team now, I wouldn't be against it, even if he has a smaller supporting role as he gets older.

There's also quite a large risk involved here.  The Bulls essentially punted on the 2009-10 season so they could have a shot at all or part of the Big 3 that eventually ended up in Miami.  Their response was to sign a power forward whom everyone is calling to be amnestied and a cult-worthy bench that couldn't rise to the occasion when the stakes were at their highest.  There's no guarantee LeBron even leaves Miami after the season, although he himself is not sure where he'll be next year at this time.  If that does happen though, my gut tells me he'll head back to a Cavaliers team he so famously spurned three years ago.  Having landed two top draft picks since then, Cleveland is a hot place to consider. 

Plus, we can't even tell what goes on in LeBron's head routinely when thinking about Chicago.  Us Bulls fans haven't exactly been kind to him ever since he strung around our team.  In fact, only Cavs fans are probably the group of people that hate him more.  I know our opinion of him would do a 180 if he did team up with Derrick Rose here, but what about Nazr Mohammed's shove and bloodthirsty reaction from the United Center crowd in last year's playoffs?  Did that destroy any goodwill he held toward the organization?  Suiting up here is not something I'd put my money on.  Even those upcoming free agents I listed earlier are all getting older and the Bulls can't just put a old bandage over a fresh cut.  You have no way of knowing whether an aging star will be a Duncan-era David Robinson or the Celtics version of Bill Walton.  The Bulls' front office has to take these and the money they'll undoubtedly demand into account.

Through all this rambling, I'm saying not to instinctively agree that cutting your losses with Deng is a good idea, at least not now.  Although Butler is a small forward, I'm not opposed to see him at shooting guard alongside Rose for the foreseeable future.  Yes, Deng and his agent have every right to explore the best possible deal for beyond the season.  And yes, I'm sure there's another team who'd like to overpay for his services.  To just let him walk without a hitch is maddening though.  Once the season ends, I'm sure I'll have a better idea of what I'd like to see done about him, but for now, the veteran who has been a part of the Bulls' rebirth every year is the right man at his position here.  Unless Gar Foreman has absolutely no doubt in his mind LeBron will head to the Windy City, he must do all he can to protect this valuable asset.  Potentially leaving a hole at a position that's been stable for almost a decade?  I don't think so.