Tuesday Insider

[Guest]

Could Eddie Jones

save the Bulls?

by Terry Brown

Send an Email to Chad Ford

Also Below: Lakers troubles start with ignoring The Triangle | Peep Show

The Good, the Bad, the Kitchen Sink

NBA Scouting Report: Are the refs making too many mistakes?

Brent Barry. Randy Brown. Hersey Hawkins. Fred Hoiberg. Ron Mercer. Trenton Hassell.

Have we exorcised the demons yet? Does No. 23 still haunt the United Center? Is a statue in front of a building above a flight of steps still the biggest draw in Chicago?

After winning six titles in seven years, the rebuilding of the Chicago Bulls was supposed to involve Tim Duncan, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones, Tim Thomas and the like. Elton Brand, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Eddie Robinson and Jalen Rose have tried. Jay Williams, brave young soul that he is, volunteered.

But who in their right mind would ever want to play shooting guard for the Bulls again?

Sam Smith of Chicago Tribune believes he has the answer.

"Miami, already out of contention in the East, is determined to rebuild," writes Smith this morning. "To do so the Heat has to rid itself of big contracts, and coach Pat Riley, when not upset at the officials, lately has turned his wrath on Jones. ... To single out his best player like that surely is a sign that Jones has become expendable."

Yes, that Jones. Eddie Jones.

Eddie Jones

Shooting Guard

Miami Heat

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

28 17.8 4.8 3.6 .427 .783

The one who is averaging 17.8 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals on 42 percent shooting with 49 triples in 28 games.

The one who, only two years ago, used a desperate Jerry Krause to work out a sign and trade between Charlotte and Miami to land himself a big contract to play for Pat Riley.

The one who Sam Smith believes is available.

"The Heat and Bulls haven't talked specifics, but they have talked recently," continues Smith. "Miami insiders indicate Riley would be receptive to such a deal. He likes Eddie Robinson and he wants players with contracts expiring, like Fred Hoiberg. He probably would take Dalibor Bagaric and either Marcus Fizer or Jamal Crawford too."

Miami needs cap room to rebuild. Chicago needs players to rebuild.

That would leave the Bulls with a rotation of:

Jay Williams, point guard

Eddie Jones, shooting Guard

Jalen Rose, small forward

Donyell Marshall, power forward

Tyson Chandler, center

Eddy Curry, bench

Couldn't this team make a run? Couldn't this team compete with the best in the Eastern Conference? Couldn't this team stir the memories of championships past?

Currently, the Bulls are 10-18 and in 11th place in the East, only 2½ games out of the playoffs, behind the Milwaukee Bucks at 12-15 and Atlanta Hawks at 11-16. In that coveted eighth spot are the Washington Wizards at 12-15, with a player named Michael Jordan trying exorcise his own demons with one last run for glory, taking a run-down franchise everyone said could never make the playoffs into the promised land.

Five years after his Airness left Chicago, two coaches removed and several lockers filled and emptied, with tensions rising and threatening to overwhelm a shattered franchise, the question remains.

Can the Bulls beat Michael Jordan?

Jones deal could mean playoffs -- now

Sam Smith / Chicago Tribune

The Bulls: One year later

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Bulls move to cool conflict

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Lakers troubles start with ignoring The Triangle

So it's Phil Jackson's fault, after all.

"I used to make the team stay inside the system a little bit more than rely on the superstars in the offense," Jackson said. "They're going to find their own way to score, regardless."

Rick Fox

Guard-Forward

Los Angeles Lakers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

23 10.1 5.6 3.3 .394 .707

So it is. Kobe still gets his 30 or so. Shaq gets his 30 or so. And the Lakers lose or so even when they defeat a Toronto Raptor team, sans it's two best players, in overtime. The three-time defending champs are 11-18, five games out of playoff contention entering their most-anticipated game of the year on Christmas Day against the Sacramento Kings, and wondering why 30 points from Shaq and Kobe aren't enough anymore.

"When we run and execute the triangle the way it's supposed to be run and executed, it may be boring, but it's [censored] sure a lot better than losing games," tri-captain Rick Fox told the Orange County Register. "I'd like to be a boring-looking team and win another championship. The bottom line is when we simply run it and rely on it and execute it, we win. ... We just have to get back to being a boring, triangle-offense-executing team and a gritty, hard-nosed defensive team that snuffed out people with pride."

Instead, they are left scrambling for answers after they "lost a game they deserved to win (in Philadelphia), won a game they deserved to lose (in Toronto) and played solidly enough for three quarters in New Jersey to keep general manager Mitch Kupchak in a continued state of perplexed inertia" as L.A. Daily News writer Howard Beck explains of the team's recent four-game road trip.

"I was encouraged," Kupchak said. "Although we got blown out in the fourth quarter in New Jersey, I was encouraged with 11 of the last 12 quarters we played. I thought the guys were competitive and wanted to compete. And by and large, did compete,"

But ...

"We're not out of the woods by any means," Kupchak continued. "I don't think anybody would say we are. After a week of looking at these guys, I do not see a glaring weakness."

Kupchak made it very clear to the Los Angeles Times that this team, as it stands, will live or die this season in its current form.

"I want to go on record, saying I'm not tired of winning," Fox said. "I'm not bored. I'm very proud to be a Laker and proud of my teammates and I recognize where we are as a group, what we did for three years."

We'll see if Year Four includes running the triangle.

Jackson wants Lakers to play inside triangle

Kevin Ding / Orange County Register

Truest test for Lakers is Kings

Howard Beck / Los Angeles Daily News

Upgrading May Not Be Option

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Fox Hunter

Tim Brown / Los Angeles Times

Peep Show

Sacramento Kings: Liar, liar, pants on fire continues, this time with Chris Webber's attorney filing a motion, for a second time, to dismiss the second of a four-count indictment, which reads that Webber "knowingly misled and lied to the grand jury regarding the amounts of money, benefits, obligations and expenses paid to and on behalf of Defendant by Eddie L. Martin, said information being material to the grand jury at the time the testimony was taken."

Kenny Satterfield

Point Guard

Philadelphia 76ers

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

22 5.6 1.6 2.4 .309 .696

Philadelphia 76ers: Point guards seem to be at a premium these days, so Philly wasted little time in claiming Kenny Satterfield off waivers from the Denver Nuggets. "He can change a game with the way he can get the ball up the court," GM Billy King said. "He could be a kid we're getting at the right time, playing with a veteran group." Coach Larry Brown hopes that this move will allow him to cut down on minutes with veterans Eric Snow and Aaron McKie.

Seattle SuperSonics: After DNPing for three games, Kenny Anderson still can't figure it out. "I never really got a great communication line with (Sonics coach Nate McMillan), so I just sit back, practice, and sit back and wait and see," Anderson said. "Keep my head in it, and be a professional about the whole thing. I can't get into my mind this year is a wash. I don't want to do that, and it's hard not to, because I don't think they are 100 percent with Kenny. Like, Kenny is not in our plans for the future, he don't want to be here. Maybe that started way back when, when my agent talked about a buyout. I don't think they are interested in me as much as I thought. What I am saying is, I just want to practice hard and see what happens." Got it?

Golden State Warriors: After falling to 9-18, the only team in the NBA to use the same starting lineup for all of its games is about to fall. "We are definitely considering starting lineup changes now," Musselman said. "How it works out, I don't know. We haven't talked about anything in particular." That most likely means Earl Boykins will be inserted as the starting point guard, with either Gilbert Arenas or Jason Richardson moving to the bench. The Warriors are concerned about the team's slow starts and inability to move the ball on offense. "Whoever produces will stay in, then we'll go down the rotation from there," Musselman said.

Webber's lawyer calls case against star bogus

Rodney Thrash / Detroit Free Press

Guard Satterfield claimed off waivers from Nuggets

Phil Jasner / Philadelphia Daily News

Anderson sits, waits

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Warriors pondering changes

Matt Steinmetz / Contra Costa Times