ByeBye Bench Mob

After the Houston Rockets offered Omer Asik a huge $25M deal, Bulls management seems like its scraping and scrounging for newer, cheaper additions to the roster. This means letting go of overpaid non-producers. But are all these moves good ones? Wasn't it the Bench Mob that won so many games this last season with the numerous injuries to star players like D. Rose and Deng? Lets just go over the things we know and see if there were some better options.

C.J. Watson

First they picked up free agent PG Kirk Hinrich, who agreed to comeback to the bulls for about $3M a year. Not a great deal, especially since Hinrich is so prone to injury. But he's a good veteran combo guard which gives Chicago some added depth at the both guard positions and hes a pretty legit defender too. This move gave to Bulls the opportunity to pass on C.J. Watson's option(about $3.4M per year).Also the addition of PG Marquis Teague through the 2012 draft helps with not retaining Watson, Teague is definitely not as seasoned, but Bulls' management seem to have faith that he can run the floor, and provide offense off the bench. Watson has just signed with the Brooklyn Nets to back up Deron Williams. Thats one Mobber down.

Ronnie Brewer

Then we said goodbye to SG Ronnie Brewer. Again the Bulls decided not to pick up Brewer's option worth over $4M a year. This move is also acceptable because while Brewer is a great defender, rebounder and totally disruptive to the oppostion, he struggles to score. But last year's draftee Jimmy Butler seems ready and willing to take over Brew's spot in the lineup. This kid has a motor and a drive to win. He's just as good a defender as Brewer but can really attack the basket and score as well, he's even a pretty decent threat from long range. Right now Butler is currently leading the Bull's Summer League team in scoring and has had 3 games of 20+ points. Bye Brew, hello Jimmy.

Kyle Korver (just as disappointed as everyone else)

Kyle Korver(sigh)......I do not know why this move was made. Kyle Korver was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for cap space and a trade exception. NOTHING ELSE. Yes, Kyle made about $5M a year, but thats worth it just for his 3point shooting. But then when you add his speed and slipperyness off of screens, a sweet mid-range jumper, a brilliant passing game, and this last season he showed everyone that he is a great defender too. All that for $5M, that's just fine. This trade would have been fine if the Bulls were able to get a Courtney Lee or a Ray Allen out of it (which they were'n't).Instead  the Bulls decided to pick up Vlad Radmonovic, a stretch power forward......sharpshooting big dude......whatever. The Bulls just signed him for the veteran's minimum salary. That's three gone.

John Lucas III is close to a deal with Toronto to backup the PG spot behind Kyle Lowry, I'm sure this deal will not be matched. This would be the fouth member to leave.

Omer Asik

And with the latest agreement of Nazr Mohammed, backup center from OKC, to sign for the veteran's minimum as well, I'll take that as a sign that Asik is on his way out for sure. While its wise to let Asik walk, there were so many other big men much more capable of replacing him. Robin Lopez could have been a good choice. Good defender, young, and capable of being a solid backup for about 15-20 minutes a night. There are some players in the summer league who are showing they can ball like pros who will come cheap: Malcolm Thomas, averaging a double-double in pts and rbs, seems like a more athletic Taj Gibson. He could be a perfect fit in Chicago, hopefully they dont wait around while he gets snatched up. Also Henry Sims, an undrafted C from Georgetown, not a great offensive threat, but he's a sold 7 footer who can block shots, defend, and rebound. Sounds like Asik. I would much rather see a young guy who is driven and has something to prove to himself and to the rest of the NBA, than an old washed up vet who is probably just going to spend most of his time on the bench.