Give Me The Rock

Welcome to the final installment of the Eastern Conference Fantasy Team Previews. Whew… that ended up being a little more work than I expected. But, I saved one of the more interesting teams for the finale – those crazy Chicago Bulls! Fantasy wise, the Bulls have a lot of talent but no real superstar, at least not yet. Hinrich, Nocioni, Deng, and Gordon all seem to have the talent to possibly breakout this year and become “the man” on this team (under the rule that every human endeavor with more than one person needs an alpha male). Also, this preview will serve as my thumbs up or down to Nels’ decision to keep Ben Gordon on his KFBA team as a fifth round pick. More on that to come.

2005/2006 Fantasy Rankings
(55) Kirk Hinrich
(92) Ben Gordon
(93) Andres Nocioni
(94) Luol Deng
(106) Chris Duhon
(239) Mike Sweetney
(316) Malik Allen
(419) Luke Schenscher

IN
(59) Ben Wallace
(121) P.J. Brown
(186) Adrian Griffin
(NA) Tyrus Thomas

OUT
(143) Tyson Chandler
(179) Darius Songaila

BUY

Kirk Hinrich - On the downside: his stats have pretty much flatlined since his rookie year. On the upside: he was still good for number 55 on the player rater last year and should be a solid #1 PG available in the mid rounds. And there’s always the chance he could take a big step forward and turn into something like a Steve Nash lite.

Luol Deng - Starter Alert! Deng seems to be getting a lot of love for a breakout year of sorts, or at least, nice sleeper material. Unlike some of the other Bulls, he did show (modest) improvement in most of his stats last year. Now he’ll be starting, he’s definitely worth taking a chance on this year.

Andres Nocioni - When you lose your starting job to PJ Brown, that’s not the best sign. Still, the potential is there - he finished last season ranked at 93 in only 27 minutes a game. So, even if he does come off the bench, he’ll get enough minutes to be a solid contributor.

HOLD

Ben Gordon - I’ve been a fan of Gordan since his days at UConn, however, like Hinrich, he’s another guy who didn’t improve much last year. Besides the 3’s (which have been very nice) and possibly points (this year) - his stats (42% on field goals, 2.7 rebs, 3 asts, 0.9 steals, and 0.1 blocks in 05/06) don’t exactly scream “draft me!”. He could be a good category specialist if you’re in need of 3’s and points – which seems a little high for a fifth rounder (sorry Nels) – I’d slot him more like a 8th – 10th rounder.

Ben Wallace – It should be no surprise what you’ll get from Wallace this year. His stats are starting on that downward slope, but he should still be good for over 10 rebounds and 2 blocks a game.

Chris Duhon – Won’t be starting, but someone’s got to backup Hinrich and Gordon.

SELL

P.J. Brown - I don’t care if he’s starting. He could average 48 minutes a game for the Bulls and I still wouldn’t want him anywhere near my fantasy team. Brown is easily the starting power forward for the Jeff Foster All Stars.

Mike Sweetney – Well, at least he made the 15 man roster.

WATCH

Just about everyone is predicting good things from the Bulls this season. Playoffs are all but guaranteed, and a trip deep into the playoffs is likely. I’m curious to see which one (or more) of the young guys is going to step up their game. This should be a fun year for Bulls fans.

Where We Drafted Em (Our 10 Team Mock Draft)*
Kirk Hinrich - 4th
Ben Wallace - 4th
Ben Gordon - 7th
Andres Nocioni - 8th
Luol Deng - 9th

* Although, it’s difficult for me to take credit for any of the above mentioned picks as Nels didn’t give me the chance to actually draft any Bulls during the mock draft.