Old Guys
Now that we’ve covered the who’s who of ditch diggers the front office gave Hoiberg at the point guard position, let’s talk about the old guys for a second.
Yes, Rondo came back from his benching (which he handled with the utmost professionalism) and provided a necessary spark for the Bulls offense down the stretch of the regular season. He kicked it into an even higher gear to lead his team to a 2-0 series lead with marvelous play in Boston.
But signing Rondo was still a mistake. There’s a reason Fred benched him in the first place. He wasn’t dictating the fast pace of the offense Fred wants. He wasn’t setting the tone defensively or even putting forth adequate levels of effort on that end. For large parts of the season, Rondo looked like a washed-up veteran playing an obsolete style of the game. It’s no coincidence the Bulls didn’t have much competition for his services on the free agent market. And yet, they still payed Rajon $14 million this season. “Here’s $14 million, we’re really excited to have you on boa–oh, wait. Just kidding. We’re benching you in favor of a collection of ditch digging toddlers.” That is peak idiocy from GarPax. Wasted money, wasted time, wasted everything.
Now we arrive at the dumbest thing GarPax did this season: the overdue arrival of Chicago native and Bulls unicorn Dwyane Wade. The guy the Bulls always wanted but could never get. Well, one ego-stabbing slight too many from Pat Riley and Wade suddenly wanted out of Miami. But here’s the problem: just because GarPax could finally get Wade didn’t mean they should. Help me out, Goldblum.
The Bulls executives were so giddy about the selling potential that Wade would bring to a floundering franchise that they didn’t stop to think if he was actually a wise investment for their basketball team. Sure, they sold Wade as having championship experience, leadership, intangible qualities and blah, blah, blah. But riddle me this: what’s so great about a leader who calls out his young, impressionable teammates for not caring enough when he’s caught dogging it on defense 90% of the time? GarPax clearly didn’t care about that. They slapped Wade’s name on new team merchandise and handed him a two year, $47 million contract.
Dwyane’s losing the battle against Father Time as all great athletes do, and it’s glaringly obvious. Other than an 11-point burst in the 4th quarter of Game 2, he’s been awful in this series. He can’t jump, he’s lost a step in his isolation game and he refuses to play any defense. Wade admitted as the regular season concluded that he was saving his aging body for the playoffs, but we haven’t really seen those benefits through four games.
The really ugly truth to this GarPax gaffe is that most other NBA managers aren’t stupid, and neither is Wade. Based on his performance this year, there’s no way any team offers him the $23.8 million the Bulls owe him next season. If he has any humility at all, Wade knows this. When he begins his decision process this summer, here are his options:
Option 1: Opt into his second year, stay in his hometown Chicago where his family has comfortably settled and earn another huge payday to be a glorified “leader” who can get away with not trying.
Option 2: Opt out of his second year and figure out what other NBA teams think he’s worth. Likely take a big pay cut and relocate his family again.
…If you’re Wade, and you have a lick of sense, Option 1 is the clear winner. Who cares if the Bulls still stink? He’s already got three titles and a Hall of Fame career in the bag.
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