It’s an interesting time to be a Bulls fan.
What I mean by that is… if I see one more status by Chicagoans proclaiming their newfound love of the Cleveland Cavaliers I will delete all social media.
Seriously.
I’ve done it before for far less– because, fuck people, right? Especially Gar/Pax. However, that’s neither here nor there.
Despite the fickle nature of Bulls fans lately, there is truth in the fact that a decent number of former fan favorites are spread throughout the league now.
Hence the widespread plague of allegiant confusion.
Jimmy Butler is in Minnesota playing for Tom Thibodeau. Who in hindsight, probably shouldn’t have been fired for (snore) “the Mayor,” Fred Hoiberg.
Derrick Rose is now suited up a few hours away with the guy (LeBron James) who was supposed to be his arch nemesis for years to come…before the aforementioned Rose knee ligaments turned to cotton candy.
Hell, even Taj Gibson, the forever forgotten one, is playing in Minnesota– and truthfully, I had to google that again to assure myself this entire off season hasn’t just been some sort of sick twisted acid trip. Which yeah, it has been. But, it’s also reality.
The Bulls are in limbo, and our favorite players are gone.
So, for the sake of conversation– if we’re all going to be pseudo Cleveland and/or Minnesota fans, which one of our favorite former Bulls should be happiest to be free from the inept cluster fuck known as the Chicago Bulls?
Jimmy Butler/Taj Gibson/Tom Thibodeau
Ahhh, the holy triumvirate.
Jimmy Butler is happy as hell to be in Minnesota back under the tutelage of psycho Tom. This is a given.
Especially considering the T’Wolves are young as hell and full of potential star power.
Also, his trainer compared Gar Forman to the likes of Pablo Escobar. So there’s that.
Sure, last year was rough for the kids up north. But, it was their first year with Thibs; and if there’s anything Thibs does well, it’s maximizing potential.
The acquisition of two veteran players in Butler and Gibson who are familiar with Thibodeau’s methods should yield great results in terms of helping to mentor the likes of Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. Thus expediting their rise to Western Conference contention.
The caveat?
Will Thibodeau run the potential out of them? Will he stunt their growth and plateau as he did in Chicago?
At any rate– Best case scenario, the Minnesota Timberwolves are serious contenders within 3 years.
Worst case? They die of exhaustion and never reach the mountain top. Same story, different colors.
Derrick Rose
Now to address the fallen angel.
Derrick Rose.
The man who was supposed to save Chicago, but instead fell victim to the rigorous style of the man we spoke of above.
Let’s be honest here– Thibs didn’t cut Rose’s knee ligaments like a psycho ex would your brakes. But hell, he certainly didn’t help. Let’s just say he neglected to change the oil every three thousand miles.
When it comes to Derrick Rose, Tom Thibodeau is surely guilty of (at the very least) criminal negligence.
However, Rose has the opportunity to do something really special here.
Which is–revitalize his career.
Without delving into some crazy distribe we are all tired of hearing, let’s just leave it at this– the story of Rose is fucking insane.
I’d be willing to bet that, for ill or nill, a 30 for 30 will be made about him within the next 10 years. And it’ll go something like this…
“What if I was to tell you… a shy kid from Englewood dared to challenge the shadow of his mentor in the city he loved… and then became a walking life alert commerical..”
OR
“What if I was to tell you… a shy kid from Englewood dared to challenge the shadow of his mentor in the city he loved… fell from grace… yet somehow managed to reach the mountain top as hand to the king.”
Touching story.
The “Decision”
Now for my opinion– without being a cop out I’ll say this and then expound, I believe it’s somewhat of a toss-up.
On one hand you have the T(hib) Wolves, who just got notably better, but the West is ummm NOTABLY better than the East. SO, there’s that.
On the other, you have the Cavs who are essentially a lock to go to the Finals– being that I’m pretty sure my current south side 8th grade Catholic league team is a challenger for the 8 seed.
I’ll take D. Rose and the Cavs. LeBron may be extrememly motivated IF this is his final year in Cleveland and especially motivated after seeing this–
But it’s this year or bust for LBJ and Co. whereas with the Wolves it’s the exact opposite– so it’s essentially a pick ’em.
What say you?
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