Read the opposing arguments from Loyal Homer and Bleacher Fan.
It has been a busy summer for the Chicago Bulls. Oddly, few in the media seem to focus on the team’s various misses this off-season when LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh failed to sign with the team in the second city. Now it is clear those players never had an intention to sign with the Bulls, but the Bulls were still able to make the BEST under the radar pick up this off-season when management quietly signed sharp-shooting three point specialist Kyle Korver to a three year deal worth $15M.
First, it is important to understand the definition of “under the radar.” Consider that deals and player acquisitions that appear on the radar do so because they are trailing a maximum amount of cash. The best judgment for what comprises an “under the radar deal” is where the deal falls on the scale of reason. Korver is a gifted, albeit one-dimensional, player. Therefore, the $5M per year – especially in this spending climate of outrageous contracts – is reasonable and makes perfect sense for a guy with the stats Korver packs (more on that in a moment). The team is paying for a skill it needs. The context of the deal helps convey value with a good under the radar deal. The team had a need and filled it with the best player available on the market with the needed set of skills – all for a reasonable contract value both sides agreed to quickly.
It is true that it is possible to consider any deal that doesn’t bear the name “LeBron James” as under the radar since he has so dominated the NBA headlines. But, plenty of players signed plenty of huge deals. Korver’s sticks out from the crowded landscape because of how reasonable it is.
Korver is an excellent basketball player. He may only have one primary skill, but he is excellent at that skill. Korver has battled injuries the past couple of seasons, it’s true. But the ability to maintain a 41 percent career average from three point range, in the face of injuries, is very impressive. He is coming off of a season where he shot 54 percent from three point range. He is beginning to enter the prime of his career at age 28. He certainly has elements of his game that he needs to work on, but he is also established in very important aspects of the game that complement the skills sets of his new teammates.
The fact is, the Chicago Bulls did not need a lot of new pieces to get better. The team needed to add some depth at power forward and two guard, and a few acquisitions have helped with that. But Korver is the big piece. Korver’s shooting ability allows the team to stretch the floor better which gives Derrick Rose more driving lanes, Joakim Noah more space to track down loose balls and create extra possessions, and Luol Deng more open spots on the floor.
There is a reason the Bulls targeted three ex-Utah Jazz players. Utah head coach Jerry Sloan is excellent and widely respected throughout the league. And he is handing off three much better players to the Bulls than when they originally came to his team in Ronnie Brewer, Carlos Boozer, and Kyle Korver. But, of those three players, only one received a deal that best fits the under the radar criteria.
The Bulls play good enough defense as a team already, and new coach Tom Thibodeau will help the team improve even more in that regard. Thibodeau also got another piece he relishes after his hugely successful seasons with the Celtics – a gifted shooter from the outside. The Chicago Bulls will be much better next season, and even match up well with the villainous Miami Heat. But, the key to building success with the Chicago Bulls next season is not adding Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, or others. The key to the Bulls is Korver because he opens up space for every other player, making him the best under the radar pick up of any team this off-season.
