Brooks played well as the backup point guard on last year's squad (11.6 points per game). Having joined a long list of productive players in that role during Tom Thibodeau's tenure, he was thought to continue that during the playoffs. Instead, he disappeared with only 4.5 points per game, putting more pressure on a still-recovering Derrick Rose. After that, his days in Chicago looked to be numbered.
Instead of grabbing a point guard in the draft, the Bulls decided to go big with Portis, leaving everyone to believe they'd sign a veteran at the position in free agency. However, those on the market were either out of their price range, less than ideal or chose to sign elsewhere. Perhaps Gar Forman and John Paxson felt their hands were tied here, but the move seems to indicate they have full confidence in the team that took LeBron James to six games in the playoffs instead of their usual five.
Does GarPax really believe Thibodeau was responsible for the team flaming out against Cleveland or do they believe Fred Hoiberg is the coach who can push them over the top? Not since the championship years have we seen so little roster turnover in this organization. The consensus was the Bulls needed to shake things up so they can get further along in their journey and soon. However, with a new coach typically comes new players and none seem to be arriving barring a trade in the days and weeks to come.
Is there a move in the works we don't know about? Not likely since Taj Gibson, their best tradeable asset, won't see basketball action again until roughly the start of the regular season. Mike Dunleavy and Jimmy Butler have already been locked up while Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah are aging and injured respectively. Heck, everyone will be a year older, so that's not very exciting when other teams look at guys they might want.
While other contenders are moving players around and signing free agents, thus getting better, the Bulls seem content with those they already had. Will this be a "slow and steady wins the race" situation or one that comes back to "you snooze, you lose"? Either scenario could play out, but most people are probably looking at the latter. If the Bulls fall behind because they couldn't/wouldn't find outside help to correct their problems, people will be calling for GarPax to be tarred and feathered at the Michael Jordan statue.
It's possible GarPax spent a good portion of last year picturing how Hoiberg would have handled the team they had in place. Would he have sat guys more, as is typically the case in today's NBA? Would fewer injuries have come from that? Would that have meant a stronger showing against Cleveland? As much as I'm sure they'd like, they're never going have the answers to those questions.
Defying the turnover that defines today's league is a practice only the best teams can get away with. If the salary cap doesn't force you to mess with a good thing, you won't. The Bulls have yet to prove their a real championship contender as constructed. If there was ever an offseason to define GarPax, this would be it.
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