Not an ESPN Insiders but I saw on ESPN....

[theBeast32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yeah...THAT Guy

I believe so for the reasons that I listed in my post before.

true but they could trade him for a 2-guard with matching contracts in a sign and trade.

[theBeast32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Brew

I am an ESPN Insider and here is the article the OP is curious about: How Heat, Bulls and OKC return Guides for how NBA's new front-runners get better, and back to conference finals By Tom Haberstroh ESPN Insider Archive NBAE/Getty ImagesEach of these guys wants to return to the conference finals next season. Given the youth of their cores, we can expect to see the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat back here in the conference finals next year, right? Think again. According to the brilliant work of ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton, we see that young teams that make the conference finals aren't exactly locks to get there again the following year. Here's Pelton's big takeaway: Of the 10 youngest conference finalists, as many (four) failed to return to the conference finals during the ensuing five years as made multiple trips. So what do the Thunder, Bulls and Heat need to do to ensure this run isn't a one-hit wonder? Let's outline three areas of long-term improvement for each of the teams: Oklahoma City Thunder 1. Find an offensive coordinator As we're finding out with Kevin Durant, it's easier to elevate from a good player to a great player than it is to elevate from a great player to an elite player. He's still just 22 years old, but statistically he took a step backward in 2010-11 when we all thought he'd continue on his meteoric rise. Part of that stunted growth is due in no small part to the lack of creativity in the offense. We saw a very concentrated version of this issue in the closing minutes of the Thunder's Game 4 meltdown against the Dallas Mavericks. Once James Harden fouled out of the game, both the play design and the execution of the play design was torturous to watch. The Thunder have two of the league's most potent scoring weapons in Durant and Russell Westbrook, but having them on the floor is one thing, and deploying them effectively is another. 2. Continue to develop James Harden Harden's hearty beard obscures his youth. The former Sun Devil is just 21 years old and averaged 15.8 points per game after the All-Star break. Here in the playoffs, he's struggling with his 3-point shot, but he's proved this season that he can create off the dribble and provide that third scoring option the Thunder desperately need. No different than Westbrook or Durant, there's room for Harden to grow. For one, he needs to cut down on his fouling. No, this isn't a wild overreaction to Game 4's disqualification. Harden is one of the most whistle-prone guards in the game. (Among regular shooting guards, only C.J. Miles, Tony Allen and Vince Carter fouled more per minute this season than Harden.) He needs to work on his quickness and defend with his feet, not with his hands. Secondly, he needs to get his 3-point shot back to where it was in his rookie season. However many jumpers Durant shoots this offseason, Harden needs to match that -- and then some. 3. Get back to defense Few departures were more damaging this offseason than when Thunder assistant coach Ron Adams left Oklahoma City to join Tom Thibodeau on the Chicago staff. Adams was the defensive architect behind the Thunder's ascension last season from 21st to eighth in defensive efficiency. And Adams' absence is also largely responsible for their drop this season from eighth to 13th. Ideally, Kendrick Perkins would anchor that back line, but he hasn't been able to make any sort of impact defensively in the postseason. In fact, the Thunder are 3.9 points worse defensively per 100 possessions with him on the court than with him on the bench in the playoffs. Is he completely healthy? Probably not, but his troublesome knees may keep barking long-term. It's doubtful that the Thunder will get Adams back in the fold after he already left Chicago once before, but the Thunder could use another defensive guru on the bench. As we learned from the young Suns in the late 2000s, a supreme offense can only get you so far. Chicago Bulls 1. Get a shooting guard It's a testament to Derrick Rose and the Bulls' defense that they were able to win 60-plus games with Keith Bogans starting at the 2. Sure, Bogans played fewer minutes this season than Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer, so Bogans was merely a nominal starter, but a swivel desk chair could create a shot more effectively than that trio. Few teams could use a positional upgrade more than the Bulls right now. Think about this: The Bulls had just the 12th-best offense in the NBA this season, and they still had the best record in the league. With $62 million already invested in 2011-12, the Bulls will likely need to acquire a shooting guard via trade, unless it frees up some cap space or the next CBA features some form of a midlevel exception. Memphis Grizzlies backup 2-guard O.J. Mayo would be a nice fit if he's still on the market. Dennis Wierzbicki/US Presswire Joakim Noah's rebounding and defense are solid. But his post-up game needs work. 2. Work on Joakim Noah's post game If he's not delivering a put-back or receiving a pass at the rim, Noah struggles to get points. According to Synergy Sports data, just 63 of Noah's 561 points were scored as a result of a post-up play. For a five-year, $60 million investment, the Bulls need a larger return on that end of the floor. Noah has the youth, work ethic, and the frame to be an effective scorer around the rim, so the potential is there. The Bulls have essentially decided to build around the core of Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Noah and Rose, but it's Noah who is the rawest of the bunch. In Omer Asik, the Bulls already have a stifling defensive anchor, but the Turkish big man makes pennies compared to Noah. If Noah wants to stay on the floor over Asik at the end of critical games, he needs to take his offensive game to the next level. 3. Dupe someone into trading for Boozer The Bulls are in a tough position when it comes to Boozer. On one hand, they need offense. On the other, Boozer is so porous defensively that they can't depend on him down the stretch. The numbers are staggering. The Bulls were better off this season with Boozer on the bench, according to plus-minus data from basketballvalue.com (minus-1.8 net rating). The Utah Jazz were better off in 2009-10 with Boozer on the bench (minus-2.0 net rating). Same thing in 2008-09: The Jazz were better off with Boozer riding pine (minus-6.6 net rating). That's three years running in which Boozer's defensive liabilities outsized his offensive exploits. So what do they do? Well, they could use him to net a legitimate shooting guard, but this is the second postseason in a row in which he's floundered underneath the bright lights of the playoffs. He can't hide anymore. The Bulls may be better off lighting $60 million on fire than playing him 30 minutes a night into his 30s. Miami Heat 1. Embrace the "pointless" lineup ESPN Insider David Thorpe wrote a terrific column detailing how the Heat can upgrade at the point guard position next season. His suggestion? Don't upgrade with a point guard. The Heat could be better off playing a combo guard or smaller 3 who can rain from downtown and defend opposing 1s. With Mario Chalmers and Mike Miller on the roster, the Heat already have two players who partially fill that role already, but each of them have their shortcomings. Chalmers isn't sharp enough from downtown (and he's a free agent this offseason), and Miller isn't quick enough to stay in front of the league's orchestrators. Thorpe suggests targeting players like Toney Douglas, Gary Neal and Courtney Lee, but the Heat have their hands tied with likely no cap room and a void of tradeable assets. They'd be better off investing in the draft (and Thorpe has a target there, too). 2. Get Mike Miller healthy and flip him at the 2011-12 deadline The Heat aren't going to be able to sign a long-term solution at center this offseason unless they can convince Nene or Tyson Chandler to take the veteran minimum (not happening, Heat fans). They don't need to spend whatever little money they'll have on a point guard (see above), so the long-term focus should be upgrading at the 5. Question is, how do they do that? Trading Miller would be their only option if they want to keep the Big Three intact. But Miller has next to zero value after he lost full function of both thumbs this season, which ripped away his premium skill: knockdown shooting. It's not the most realistic option, but Miami can hope that Miller rebuilds his stock high enough to net a legitimate big at the deadline next season. 3. Step on the gas The Heat don't have the flexibility to revamp their roster around the Big Three, so their only avenue may be to tweak their playing style. Here's a tip: run like mad. Teams under the helm of Pat Riley have never played uptempo, so this would be a new wrinkle in his book. And the firepower on this team may demand it. The Heat are nearly unstoppable in transition yet were one of the league's slowest teams in the league according to pace factor. Synergy Sports tells us that the Heat scored 1.22 points per transition play, which was tops for the league (average was 1.17). No surprise there, considering they wield Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. The surprising part? Just 13.1 percent of the Heat's offense was generated out of transition, which was the 13th-biggest share in the league in 2010-11. Of course, you can't get out in transition without a trigger, so the Heat need to use their athleticism to create more turnovers. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has maintained all season that they're a running team, but they've only been in third gear compared to the rest of the league. Tom Haberstroh covers the NBA for ESPN Insider and ESPN The Magazine. He is also writing about the Miami Heat this season for the ESPN.com Heat Index and contributes to Insider's college basketball, college football and baseball coverage. He contributes to ESPN The Magazine and ESPNNewYork.com and previously worked as a consultant for ESPN Stats & Information and as an analyst for Hoopdata.com. You can find his ESPN archives here, and follow him on Twitter here.

The Bulls could possibly get a sign and trade for a shooting guard. I mean they also have two first round draft choices.

[thaone08]

Quote: Originally Posted by theBeast32

a topic that said, "Why a Boozer trade would help the Bulls. Being a Bulls fan myself, I'd have to agree based on these playoffs but it got me to wonder on NBA2k11, what trades would you make to get for Boozer?

me i would trde boozer for al jefferson. i say that because al plays better defense, can rebound and is younger. he can grow with d-rose and runs the fast break easliy and plays better defense.you can get al for much cheaper then wht u paying boozer.

Another option would be to go after iggy from the 6ers. i say iggy because he reminds me of pippen alot. he can defnd, one of the 5 best wing defenders in the league and he would be perfect with rose. only thing that he dont have a jump shot but on 2k it would be easy to help him develop one.

Number 3 would be monta ellis. good scorer, plays defense, good number 2 guy for drose and you can depend on him more then with boozer. he would be the second fastest person on your team. put him at point guard when you take rose out and never really misses a beat.

Number 5 would be Lamarcus Aldridge and wesley matthews. Well you get a number two guy with Aldridge and aperfect shooting guard with mattews. only bad thing is the wesley dont have a good midrange but good *** threepoint shooting. you basically get two for one when you think about it. you get basically what they was tryin to get when they signed krover and boozer this past summer but you getting for cheap and they are really young

After all of this i wuld go for the blazers one when you think hard about it. you get more back.

[BullsClips]

The Bulls don't need to trade Boozer. The team won 62 games, made the Eastern Conference Finals, and now have more playoff battle tested experience to build on for the future with Rose. What the Bulls need is an upgrade at the 2, and obviously they won't be able to afford a superstar type anytime soon.

What I would find out a way to do is somehow pick up a guy like Jason Richardson or OJ Mayo. A guy who can spread the floor, and create his own shot by slashing. This takes some of the pressure off of Rose, and gives them a guy who can average 12-15 ppg, and every now and then go off for 30. Boozer will be fine, and the Bulls have always coveted some sort of down low scorer. While I agree that he is not a guy who gets a ton on the block, he does so in spurts. Trading him would be counter-productive. Gibson is much better in my opinion coming off the bench as an energy guy. I believe that is where he is most effective at this stage of his career.

That's the real Bulls. Video Game Bulls however, I hate playing with Boozer, he gets swatted a lot, and is inconsistent at times with his jumper. I made a trade with the Hawks to bring Joe Johnson in to play the two, and a throw-in of Josh Powell in exchange for Boozer and one of the first round picks (#28). I will run with that for a while, and if I need a new pf and gibson doesn't cut it, I will address that as needed.

Just my two cents, let me know what you think.

[BullsClips]

As far as OKC is concerned in the article, I don't see any glaring needs for that team besides growth and maturity. They will be a force to reckon with in the West as long as they keep Durant and Westbrook healthy. The cast around them must grow up as well. Durant needs to take the reins and make it known that he is the guy in late game situations.

Westbrook, is super young, and very raw, though still one of the top point guards in the NBA (top 5-7 range if you factor in no specific order: Rose, Rondo, Williams, CP3, Parker or Nash). He just needs time to continue to learn his position and his role on the Thunder. As time goes, so will his immaturity in late-game decisions.

I believe this team has the ability, with the development of Durant, Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka and a full offseason of Kendrick Perkins in the system, they will be back in a position to challenge for the Western crown for years to come.

Any Thunder fans out there who care to weigh in?

[theBeast32]

Quote: Originally Posted by BullsClips

The Bulls don't need to trade Boozer. The team won 62 games, made the Eastern Conference Finals, and now have more playoff battle tested experience to build on for the future with Rose. What the Bulls need is an upgrade at the 2, and obviously they won't be able to afford a superstar type anytime soon. What I would find out a way to do is somehow pick up a guy like Jason Richardson or OJ Mayo. A guy who can spread the floor, and create his own shot by slashing. This takes some of the pressure off of Rose, and gives them a guy who can average 12-15 ppg, and every now and then go off for 30. Boozer will be fine, and the Bulls have always coveted some sort of down low scorer. While I agree that he is not a guy who gets a ton on the block, he does so in spurts. Trading him would be counter-productive. Gibson is much better in my opinion coming off the bench as an energy guy. I believe that is where he is most effective at this stage of his career. That's the real Bulls. Video Game Bulls however, I hate playing with Boozer, he gets swatted a lot, and is inconsistent at times with his jumper. I made a trade with the Hawks to bring Joe Johnson in to play the two, and a throw-in of Josh Powell in exchange for Boozer and one of the first round picks (#28). I will run with that for a while, and if I need a new pf and gibson doesn't cut it, I will address that as needed. Just my two cents, let me know what you think.

I'd love to get OJ Mayo for the game or real life. however for the game, it is too stinking hard to get him from Memphis. does anyone know a way to get him without forcing the trade?

[KaptnKirk12]

I wasn't trying to be realistic when I did this, but so far the best Bulls team I've made with just make a couple trades is this...

Bulls trade Boozer + Noah + Kurt Thomas + Brewer

Portland trades LMA + Wes Matthews + Oden

I would of done a 3 way trade if there were more spots to, but I ended up turning right back around and trading Oden.

Bulls trade Oden + Taj + Korver + 1st rounder

OKC trades Perkins + Ibaka + Thabo

Rose/Watson/Pargo
Matthews/Thabo/Bogans
Deng/Thabo/Butler
LMA/Ibaka
Perkins/Ibaka/Asik

The team was insanely balanced. Have an awesome 3 man big rotation with LMA, Perk, and Ibaka. And Asik is good enough to give you some good minutes if needed. Wes can stroke the 3 ball and handle it well enough to set some teammates up or get to the bucket. Deng is still himself, plays good defense and knocks down jumpers. And Thabo off the bench is awesome, instant defense.

If I did it again, I'd probably try to keep Taj and not include Ibaka to try to make it a little less unfair lol. Would of kept Oden if I knew that he wasn't going to want to sign a max deal (which is a joke because there is no way he's getting anything close to that).

Portland ended up winning it all after the first year, lol.

[theBeast32]

Quote: Originally Posted by KaptnKirk12

I wasn't trying to be realistic when I did this, but so far the best Bulls team I've made with just make a couple trades is this... Bulls trade Boozer + Noah + Kurt Thomas + Brewer Portland trades LMA + Wes Matthews + Oden I would of done a 3 way trade if there were more spots to, but I ended up turning right back around and trading Oden. Bulls trade Oden + Taj + Korver + 1st rounder OKC trades Perkins + Ibaka + Thabo Rose/Watson/Pargo Matthews/Thabo/Bogans Deng/Thabo/Butler LMA/Ibaka Perkins/Ibaka/Asik The team was insanely balanced. Have an awesome 3 man big rotation with LMA, Perk, and Ibaka. And Asik is good enough to give you some good minutes if needed. Wes can stroke the 3 ball and handle it well enough to set some teammates up or get to the bucket. Deng is still himself, plays good defense and knocks down jumpers. And Thabo off the bench is awesome, instant defense. If I did it again, I'd probably try to keep Taj and not include Ibaka to try to make it a little less unfair lol. Would of kept Oden if I knew that he wasn't going to want to sign a max deal (which is a joke because there is no way he's getting anything close to that). Portland ended up winning it all after the first year, lol.

that team looks amazing.