A look back on the ’06-’07 season (or “When will they ever stop saying ‘Baby Bulls’?”): Part 1

The original “Baby Bulls”: Curry and Chandler

This past summer made one thing clear: the Eddy Curry trade will either be looked upon as either an impeccable heist or a wasted opportunity that will make Darko proud. On one hand, Paxson traded away a center with motivational problems and a heart ailment for cheaper players, the #2 pick in one draft and a lottery selection in one of the deepest drafts ever. On the other hand, that Curry kid’s gotten pretty darn good in the low post (and he’s only 24; he’s still going to improve), the players the Bulls got in return amount to nothing after giving away Tim Thomas and watching Sweetney eat away his career, Tyrus Thomas is still horribly unrefined, and who knows what’s going to happen in the upcoming draft.

Let’s also not forget that all year, but especially in the Pistons series, the Bulls struggled because they had no consistent low-post scorer, and Curry might have been the best in the entire Eastern Conference. Yes, the future looks brighter because of the trade, but it’s also undeniable that the Bulls really could have used Eddy Curry this year.

After the Bulls signed Ben Wallace, it was inevitable that Tyson Chandler had to go. There’s no way that Paxson could afford to give $60 million a piece to two centers who can’t score and still have room to resign Hinrich, Gordon, and Deng. So Chandler was shipped off to New Orleans for P.J. Brown, J.R. Smith, and P.J. Brown’s expiring contract. Unfortunately, Ben Wallace put up Tyson Chandler numbers (minus the turnovers) and Chandler put up Ben Wallace numbers. I’m not saying that the Bulls would rather have had Chandler than Wallace, because there’s no guarantee that Chandler would have done that well in Chicago, but it’s still unfortunate.

Also, Smith had a breakout season in Denver after he was given away for a 2^nd rounder. Forgot about that. I’m still not sure what the motivation behind that move was; yeah, it would have been tough to get Smith minutes when Thabolosha couldn’t even get enough, but a promising big young guard who can score in bunches is surely worth more than a 2^nd rounder. I think Paxson’s hoping we all forget about that too after the Bulls draft JamesOn Curry with the pick and stick him in the NDBL.