This is a season that is unlike any other season the Chicago Bulls and their fans have encountered. Our great city and the personalities of sports radio seem to be fixated more on the off season and the trading deadline than the one that’s being currently played. They have every right to because it offers a free agent class that is unparalleled as far as the potential availability of game changing talent.

I say “potential” because there is no guarantee that Dwayne Wade, LeBron James or Chris Bosh ever hit the market. There are likely scenarios that they could all resign with their current teams, but the more exciting topic is the potential that they might not! Every single sports related program that covers the Bulls always fixate on the fact that we need to couple the promising star of Derrick Rose with a low post presence that can create havoc on the hardwood. I am a firm believer that while a dominant low post presence would be awesome, that this team could enjoy even more success with a particular shooting guard from Chicago that plays in Florida.

We have a young core of talent that has great potential of  good and competitive for a long time. Throw in Wade and you have a championship contending team for years to come. During the golden age of Chicago basketball, we didn’t have a low post presence, Scottie didn’t develop that low post jump hook or Jordan didn’t develop that unstoppable baseline turn around fade away jumper until later on in their careers. We had Bill Cartwright, whose wiry frame and awkward shooting style was the person we fed first to open the lanes for our superstars. The front line wasn’t dominant, but they had capable players that could play gritty defense, and knew how to play together. It made Horace Grant look like a superstar didn’t it? How did it turn out for him once he left?

While Wade, James or even Kobe isn’t in the league of Jordan, they do offer something we currently don’t have…. and that is a player that makes the defense shade to them! In front of our very eyes we are seeing flashes of the Derrick Rose everyone had envisioned when we had the #1 Pick drop in our lap two drafts ago.  How great would it be if we had another wing player that caused the defense to shade to him and open the lanes even more for our young superstar? Wade and Rose wouldn’t have to feel that they need to carry the load offensively because each one of them is capable of closing out games.

Who would they guard? My preferred choice would be to do whatever it takes to get Wade! He is great offensively, he is unselfish, and knows when it’s his time to push it. He is the perfect player that would command the attention that would free up Derrick and all our other young players. Keep the young core of Noah, Deng and Rose and partner that with a fundamentally sound player like Taj Gibson and the front line will perform better than they already are.

As much as I would like to keep Kirk, Solmons, the potential of James Johnson, Miller for personal reasons, they are all expendable. We would have a team, a starting 5 that we could send out there every night for 5 years! Loul Deng is playing like he did before he got injured two years ago making majority of his mid range jumpers, taking it to the hole more consistently, and now able to connect on the occasional three ball too. Joakim Noah is second in the league with rebounds, posting double doubles with his no limit energy. Mark my words, while Noah might not ever be a polished low post player, he will develop that jump hook to be more consistent and develop a few face up and post moves to make him as a competent offensive threat. That brings me to Taj Gibson. Easily one of the steals of last years draft, he is a fundamentally sound player that plays solid defense, covers the weak side, clogs the lanes, has an serviceable mid range jumper and is not afraid to take it to the rim! He is a blue collar player that brings it every night! We would have the top backcourt in the NBA, with a very strong and capable front line.

We all know that to win a championship it takes a certain amount of luck to stay healthy and to get some of those favorable bounces, but this team has the potential to have that be the only obstacles in their way. The time is now, the time to make a move is now, and we need a backcourt of native Chicagoans to bring this town back to the top of the NBA world!

If the Bulls weren’t able to land Wade, bring in Bosh and Joe Johnson. The Bulls would still be young and extremely powerful defensively and have flexibility offensively from the front court and backcourt that would give a defense fits.

By some miracle of chance, if the front office brass were to make this Bulls fan dream come true, the team still needs a veteran coach. We need a coach that can maximize the talent and put them in the best position to win.  A coach who knows how to teach the fundamentals of identifying when to cover above or below a screen when the other team is running a pick and roll. My first choice in coach would be Hubie Brown, but since he is on the wrong side of 70, we need someone younger. They need a mentor. They need someone that would show them the fundamentals and how to play as a team, a coach who has played before and knows how to put in the right offensive and defensive philosophy to get the most out of each player. We need Avery Johnson.

Avery is a coach that knows how to get the most out of limited talent with tenacity and heart from his playing days.  No disrespect to Vinny Del Negro, he has done a much better job this year than last, but his ceiling is limited and how long can we run with a coach that is learning on the job?

It’s time for Reinsdorf and Gar-Pax to make this happen. The Bulls have done a commendable job in getting us in a position to offer max contracts, build solid core through the draft… but now it’s time to make that game plan work! Make it happen guys, the city and especially this Bulls fan will be eternally grateful!