CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls answered one key question when they took Derrick Rose over Michael Beasley with the first pick in the draft on Thursday.
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| One day after being drafted by the Bulls, Rose throws out the first pitch at a ChiSox-Cubs game. (AP) |
The Bulls insist they won't rush Rose, or rush into a trade, even though somebody figures to be the odd man out in a crowded backcourt.
"I think Kirk Hinrich can play very effectively with Derrick Rose," general manager John Paxson said. "And I think Ben Gordon can play very effectively with Derrick Rose. And I think Thabo (Sefolosha) can. And we have Larry Hughes."
But can Hinrich, Gordon, Sefolosha and Hughes all play effectively with Rose? Or does someone need to go?
The Bulls entered last season expecting to contend for the Eastern Conference championship, only to unravel at 33-49 as players bickered with each other and their coaches. Interim coach Jim Boylan could not turn things around after Scott Skiles was fired in December and got dismissed at the end of the season.
The Bulls finally hired Vinny Del Negro after a drawn-out coaching search. And their luck took a turn for the better when they won the lottery despite 1.7 percent odds.
Weeks of evaluation ended with the Bulls taking Rose, who grew up on Chicago's South Side and led Memphis to the NCAA championship game in his lone college season. Now they have to figure out what to do with the rest of the team.
The most immediate issues involve Gordon and forward Luol Deng, their top two scorers. Both are restricted free agents after turning down five-year extensions worth more than $50 million last fall, and Paxson said no trades -- if any -- will be made until their situations are resolved.
If the Bulls re-sign Gordon, who averaged a team-leading 18.6 points, the backcourt would be overloaded unless there's a trade.
Hinrich, who's in the middle of a five-year, $47.5 million extension he signed just before the 2006-07 season, seems like the most logical candidate to be moved. He can contribute on offense and defense, while Hughes has a contract that would be more difficult to deal. He signed for five years and $60 million with Cleveland in 2005 and is coming off a season in which he averaged just 12.2 points while shooting 38.1 percent.
The Bulls could move Hinrich to shooting guard, but where would that leave Gordon, Sefolosha and Hughes?
"There's no set rotation right now," Del Negro said. "I've met with all the players, talked to them, been around them, gotten to know them a little bit. There are no preconceived notions on anything that's happened in the past."
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