Chicago Bulls = The Leagues Newest Treadmill Team?

[blueberrysticky]

Mavs were not a treadmill team in the 2000s; anything but. 67 wins, making conference finals a decent amount of time and appearing in the NBA finals twice winning one is anything but treadmill. They would win 55+ games pretty much EVERY year.

The current mavs with aging nowitzki though....

[FreeChef]

If Rose is healthy the Bulls are contenders, so no.

To me a 'treadmill team' is by definition a team with no hope of better future prospects, but also too good to get a top pick short of tanking or blowing up there team.

It's not simply a team that in any one single season is short of a title contender but not in the lottery. They have to actually be stuck in place, with few options for up or down movement.

That's not the Bulls. They have a lot of avenues to take the next step. Not just Rose coming back though that is the most obvious one. But cap space to go after a guy like Melo. A potential overseas star waiting to come over in Mirotic. Or simply a lot of draft pick assets they could combine with on hand team to make a trade.

A treadmill team is predictable what they will do the next season. The Bulls are about the total opposite of that, one of the biggest unknowns in the league going forward, mostly based on the uncertainty of Rose.

The thinking here is somewhat fuzzy to me. You define a treadmill team as devoid of hope, devoid of options to get better or worse but then you somewhat sidestep and jig around that definition when it comes to Bulls. The Bulls, according to you, don't fit this definition because their future is uncertain--huh, did I read that correctly?

You see uncertainty, and I see instability, tumult, fragility and whatever word you want to use to describe Thibs's relationship with the front office and the structural integrity of Derrick Rose's knees.

There's plenty of risk for this little Bulls thing to fall apart. There are many, many points of potential failure: What if you guys strike out in free agency? What if this international prospect doesn't pan out? What if you guys don't come up with anything good in the draft? What if those draft picks don't develop fast enough? What if Jimmy Butler never emerges? I don't even need to get into doubts about Rose after his flaming burnout of #thereturn.

So the fact that Bulls fans hopes rest on a risky long-term investment in Rose and an unlikely sequence of contingencies is supposed to disqualify them from the "treadmill" label?

Looking at the available evidence, the trends point to you guys not contending in the near future. And your coach is too stubborn to tank. Textbook treadmill. But let me qualify that by saying the Bulls are an honorable treadmill team in the vein of Sloan's later Jazz teams and Karl's Nuggets.

[hands11]

Just because the Bulls don't feel like tanking and actually like to play hard doesn't mean they are a treadmill team. They are an injured and depleted team. another solid scorer and an 80% rose would push them to the 2nd best team in the east with a "chance" of testing the heat. They lost rose, traded deng and still nearly 3rd seed(granted east is bad) Treadmil is perennial 5-8th seeds with multiple 1st round exits.

I think they stand more to gain by defying the odds then giving up.

They have talent. They have a good real good coach. They have players that don't give up.

There is so much value in that. When you are that kind of team, you can attract talent. You can draft mid round picks and develop them quicker. I would rather be a franchise that has though assets then a tank reboot team. Specially when I have a historical winning name like the Bulls do. There is still a winning MJ legacy there.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

The Mavericks are the ultimate treadmill team. 10 straight playoff appearances, including 1st round exists 3 of the last 4 years, and they have no hope of winning a title. Not with the Lakers still at the top and the Thunder about to pass up the Mavs with the core of Durant, Harden, Westbrook, Ibaka. And even if they made another Finals run, LeBron teamed up with Wade and Bosh would sweep them.

[mw2889]

nevermind

[DieYoung]

Yes, if they continue to try to build around a gimpy, overrated Rose. They should be tanking this year like the Lakers.

[DowJones]

Is being a top 3 team in the league with Rose healthy the equivalent of being on a treadmill?

1. You aren't a Top-3 team with a healthy Rose. You are a regular season team that will always struggle in the playoffs.

2. Rose will never be what he once was. He may be really good, but he won't be in that MVP form ever again and there is a very real chance that he will never be a true All-Star ever again.

Chicago is the very definition of a treadmill team. That is why they REALLY need Carmleo. I don't think Carmelo makes them title favorites, and I don't think he would make a HUGE difference, but at least the chance is there for it to all come together.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

Chicago is the very definition of a treadmill team. That is why they REALLY need Carmleo. I don't think Carmelo makes them title favorites, and I don't think he would make a HUGE difference, but at least the chance is there for it to all come together.

Agreed. Any relatively young team (Noah just turned 29, Butler 24, Gibson 28, Rose 25) positioning itself for a run at a max free agent is the very definition of treadmill team. I mean they should have predicted Rose's injury, predicting the future is easier than people realize.

[Damon_3388]

1/3rd of your examples of a 'treadmill team' literally won the nba championship

And one of the others made back-to-back finals series as well.

[Kingshadaine]

They're better than everyone except the Heat and OKC.

lol Rose has played what? 14 games in 2 years, but yet you know exactly how good they are with him?

I don't know exactly but it's not like it's hard to be better than every team other than the Heat and OKC with a top 2 defense and a top 5 player.

Rose isn't a top 5 player, not even the best point guard, stop the nonsense

[Keller61]

Is being a top 3 team in the league with Rose healthy the equivalent of being on a treadmill?

1. You aren't a Top-3 team with a healthy Rose. You are a regular season team that will always struggle in the playoffs.

2. Rose will never be what he once was. He may be really good, but he won't be in that MVP form ever again and there is a very real chance that he will never be a true All-Star ever again.

Chicago is the very definition of a treadmill team. That is why they REALLY need Carmleo. I don't think Carmelo makes them title favorites, and I don't think he would make a HUGE difference, but at least the chance is there for it to all come together.

1. Based on what? The last time Rose was healthy in the playoffs, they got to the ECF in their first year together under a rookie head coach.

2. You don't know that. There is no definite reason why Rose can't get back to his previous level and beyond.

[Damon_3388]

I wish this "all or nothing" philosophy peddled by the quants could be driven out of sports and especially the NBA. Watching the Bulls compete season after season against all odds is one of the best things about today's league and I'd rather be them than 76ers no matter how much success their shameful plunge may or might not yield.

Great post.

Makes even more sense when you consider this from a Philly perspective - They made the second round of the playoffs less than two years ago, and were then too cheap to re-sign the veterans (Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Elton Brand) that played a crucial role in you getting there (and being one of the best defenses in the league) and ease the transition towards the younger generation, then acted surprised when it inevitably caused them to fall away last year, then decided to totally blow the team up. There's no reason why with a bit of patience, nurturing and chemistry (keeping the core of the team together), they couldn't have ended up being the 3rd best team in the East this year, with the capability of putting a scare into the "big boys" (Miami and Indiana) in the right circumstances.

[JohnnyKILLroy]

Question is invalid because with Rose, Bulls still aren't a top 3 team in the league.

They're better than everyone except the Heat and OKC.

San Antonio and Indiana Pacers I believe are better. Bulls have no body who can create a shot for others besides Derrick.

Last time i checked the Bulls have a center that gets triple-doubles. Looks like creating for others when you can that from your center. I repeat from your center. I repeat again from your center.

[aol4532]

Rose will be fine. By all accounts, he didn't lose any athleticism after the ACL injury, then looking at Westbrook's return, there's a chance that he could come back even better.

[dice]

Chicago is the very definition of a treadmill team. That is why they REALLY need Carmleo. I don't think Carmelo makes them title favorites, and I don't think he would make a HUGE difference, but at least the chance is there for it to all come together.

Agreed. Any relatively young team (Noah just turned 29, Butler 24, Gibson 28, Rose 25) positioning itself for a run at a max free agent is the very definition of treadmill team. I mean they should have predicted Rose's injury, predicting the future is easier than people realize.

the rest of your post was only slightly less ridiculous

[CousinOfDeath]

Is being a top 3 team in the league with Rose healthy the equivalent of being on a treadmill?

1. You aren't a Top-3 team with a healthy Rose. You are a regular season team that will always struggle in the playoffs.

2. Rose will never be what he once was. He may be really good, but he won't be in that MVP form ever again and there is a very real chance that he will never be a true All-Star ever again.

Are these facts?

Struggling against the Heat =/= struggling in the playoffs.