Travis Owtlaw's play in the last to games seems to be making the biggest case for starting Batum in place of Outlaw, but Batum's play hasn't hurt that case either.  Batum has been solid the last two games, making good decisions, and has shown better defense and passing ability than Travis.  Outlaw on the other hand has struggled, clearly not comfortable in the starting lineup where his best atributes are wasted as the fourth option, and his weaknesses are exposed as a role player.  So why not try running Batum out there with the starting unit.  Let him keep Webster's seat warm until he returns and leave the rest of the rotation as is.  Outlaw's minutes would still increase, no doubt, and I could'nt see Batum playing more than about 20.  Batum wouldn't likely make a huge impact  on the starting unit, but he wouldn't hurt it either.  Then Roy and outlaw could stay right where they are, where they have been most successful.

Before I get lynched here, let me explain.  This is not a bash Aldridge post.  I'm a big fan.  But looking at the line-up next season I can't help but wonder if we might benefit from a Manu Ginobili type rotation where one of our big three comes off the bench.  Here's why.

1.  With Oden and Aldridge starting the white unit has no offensive low post presence.  Joel can't score and Frye barely steps more than a few feet inside the three point line.

2.  If LaMarcus and his shooting is such a great complement to Oden, wouldn't Frye's shooting complement him pretty well too?

3.  Aldridge and Pryzbilla are coming off of a whole season of playing pretty well together.

4.  That would give us an inside/outside combo of Roy/Oden on the starting squad and Rudy/Aldrridge on the white unit.  Throw in Outlaw and MarWeb where you wish.

5.  On the podcast the other day Dave talked about the need for more consistent scoring off the bench.  Problem solved.

The lineups would probobly look like this (not considering any player movement this off season).

Black Unit

Blake/Roy/Webster/Frye/Oden

White Unit

Jack/Rudy/Outlaw/Aldridge/Pryzbilla

Reserves

Sergio/Jones/McRoberts/LaFrentz/Draft Pick

Of course the majority of the minutes at PF will still go to Aldridge so the big three will spend quite a bit of time on court together, especially at the end of the first and second half.  But I don't see how we can pair up Frye and Pryzbilla, or even Outlaw and Pryzbilla, and leave them out there together for very long. 

I know there's been endless debate about possible point guards on this site and Harris and Calderon have been at the front of that debate.

What we've been arguing on a recent post is who is more coveted between the two among GM's and fans on this site. 

You be the GM.

Very simply, if we were going to aquire one of these guys this offseason, and it cost the same to get them, who would you choose?

Settle the debate, what is the popular opinion?

The Chicago Daily Herald had an article today about "Rebuilding the Bulls" in which the writer suggested a couple of ways to improve the team.(http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=179263&src=150)  

After an awful year the overwhelming sentiment in Chicago seems to be that this team will not win in it's current state.  A logjam and chemistry issues in the backcourt, and toughness in the front court are the two biggest areas needing to be adressed according to this and other comments made by writers and fans throughout the season.

This writer suggests a trade of Andres Nocioni for T.J. Ford.  It makes sense for toronto as they would just be thrilled that someone would take Ford and they could make Calderon their main man in the backcourt once and for all.  For the Bulls, however, it only adds to their backcourt logjam.

That's where we come in.  I know from previous posts that there are mixed feelings around here about Kirk Hinrich and where he ranks among the the leauges point guards.  While no one is going to confuse him with Chris Paul or Derron Williams, I think most of us would agree that he would be a pretty nice upgrade to our backcourt.  I see him as a better version of Steve Blake and think a point guard tandem of those two would look pretty good next to Roy and Rudy, especially if we could get him for almost nothing.  Remember, this guy was just about untouchable in trade talks for the last couple years, and the only reason we're talking about it now is because he (along with the entire Bulls organization) had a down year.

Here is a couple of options.

Option 1:

The Nocioni/Ford trade goes thru and Chicago looks to adress their front court deficiencies.

How about a three way deal involving Denver that goes down like this:

Blazers get:  Hinrich (10 mil), and Stephen Hunter from Denver (3.5 mil)

Bulls get:  Nene (9.7 mil)

Nuggets get:  LaFrentz (12.7 mil), Jack (2 mil), McRoberts (.5 mil), and our #1

While the Bulls would be taking a risk on two players with injury/illness issues, it's a risk that could really pay off if they stay healthy, and as stated before there is a feeling in Chicago that they can't just stand pat with their current roster.

The Nuggets would be giving away more talent then they got back for sure.  But with the questions surrounding Nene's health, the emergence of Kleiza (not really a PF but does spend time opposite Anthony at the other forward position), and the fact that they have about 80 million committed to just nine or ten players next year (a lot of money for a #8 seed and first round playoff loss), they could jump at the chance to unload his contract.  Plus, Jack could be their best point guard next year (Carter and Atkins are older than dirt), and his good size for a PG could make up a little for Iversons diminuative size for a SG (since it's denver they won't care that Jack cant play defense either).  McRoberts and the #1 pick give them the opportunity to replenish some front court depth.

As for us, we get the PG upgrade we've been wanting for an expiring contract, a couple of scrubbs, and a late lottery pick.  That's pretty much free, in my opinion.

Option 2:

We jump in with Toronto to assist them in getting rid of Ford in this three way deal:

Blazers get:  Hinrich (10 mil), Maceo Baston from Toronto (2 mil)

Raptors get:  Ben Gordon in a sign and trade (10 mil)

Bulls get:  T.J. Ford (8 mil), LaFrentz (12.7), Jack (2 mil), and our #1

I don't care what Ben Gordon says, if given another opportunity at the 10 million a year deal he passed on last year, he'd take it in a heartbeat.  Toronto would again get rid of Ford, and Gordon would be a nice outside scoring threat to compliment Bosh.

Chicago would again clear up their backcourt mess and be left with Ford/Jack at PG and Hughes/Sefalosha at SG.  They would also have some great trading chips with LaFrentz's expiring contract and the 2 lottery picks they would have in this years draft if they wanted to continue to wheel and deal.  Or they could use the picks to add even more young talent and hit free agency hard next year when Raef's deal comes off the books.

And once again we basically get a free starting point guard having only given up LaFrentz, Jack, and our #1.  That gives us a line-up of:

PG - Hinrich / Blake / Sergio

SG - Roy / Rudy

SF - Webster / Outlaw / Jones

PF - Aldridge / Frye

C - Oden / Pryzbilla

I'll take that line-up for the next 8-10 years.  We would be deep, have great chemistry, and should be pretty darn good at both ends of the floor.

I tried to approach these trades with a little bit of realism so that it made sense for all parties involved but I'm sure you'll let me know if you think I'm just being a complete homer.