All signs point to it. The Chicago Bulls have been stockpiling young, cheap players the past couple seasons. They have several expiring contracts on the roster and have yet to move them. The front office drafted two power forwards, which likely spells the end of Tyrus Thomas' tenure as a Bull. The team is comprised mostly of recent draft picks (7 players have three years or less experience entering the upcoming season). The front office has used made thinly veiled references to it, mentioning the "process" and "learning curve" that will require patience and time. Most recently, we let our top scorer from last year walk. Yep, the signs all lead to one thing.

The Chicago Bulls are rebuilding.

I know, the R word is a dirty, vile, horrible label to put on a team, and this team isn't completely hopeless just yet. The front office could still pull off some huge deal to bring in a star to complement the young nucleus of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Luol Deng (his massive, long-term contract means he's a Bull for at least another two years, so we may as well accept him as our SF for the forseeable future). But, in all honesty, who can the Bulls get? More importantly, can the Bulls offer a package for a star that no other team can top? I think not.

Like I already mentioned, the writing has been on the wall for longer than we may like to believe here in the Chicagoland area. Since the Michael Jordan dynasty ended in the 90's, the Bulls have never been a legitimate contender, and whenever they got close, the front office made the wrong move at the crucial moment. Elton Brand was let go, only to bring in Tyson Chandler. When Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon stunned the NBA by shutting down Dwyane Wade in the playoffs and exceeding everyone's expectations, the Bulls spent their money on retaining Kirk Hinrich for the long haul and going balls-out for Ben Wallace. When that failed, and the Bulls had to decide to re-sign Gordon and/or Deng, they chose Deng, who has since been an oft-injured, scarcely productive flop.

Now, the Bulls are mired in mediocrity, with no substantial cap space for this season and little hope for landing a star next offseason. Sure, there are plenty of stars who will potentially hit the market in 2010, but why would they come to Chicago? Most of the top potential free agents seems to be winners, who would obviously like to play for contenders. Cleveland will probably bring back LeBron, and the rest of the top talent will likely end up with Boston, Orlando, Cleveland, Los Angeles, or another viable contender (perhaps Denver). So if we don't land a star now, and if that failure persists in 2010, we'll have loads of cap space to either waste on undeserving talent or to rebuild.

So if we rebuild, what does that mean? Well, the two best examples from recent memory are the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams began with one star player (Paul Pierce and Kevin Durant, respectively), and they had to wait to slowly gather the right pieces to complement their stars. In the meantime, they cleared cap space, gutted their rosters, and collected a combination of expiring contracts and young players on rookie contracts. They then let the kids play, keeping the ones who thrived and letting go of those that didn't.

After that step is where the two teams too different approaches. The Celtics took note of two teams in miserable positions (the Timberwolves and, ironically enough the SuperSonics, who have since become the Thunder), realized that they were both ready to rebuild, and decided to throw all their efforts and cap space into getting a star from each team (Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, respectively). The all-or-nothing approach could have potentially doomed this team and forced them to start over yet again, but they won a championship the very next season, justifying their huge gamble.

The Thunder have yet to take that massive gamble, instead preferring to continue giving youngsters the opportunity to prove themselves. Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook seem to have worked their way into the nucleus alongside Durant, and new draftee James Harden will get the chance to join that core in the future. The Thunder appear willing to keep relying on draft picks to strengthen their team, and, though it has taken time, it has been working, slowly but surely. The team is clearly better than they were two years back when Durant began his career, and they still have plenty of cap space should they decide to take a gamble.

The Thunder's approach is much slower, and it mirrors the approach the Bulls themselves took after the MJ dynasty ended. Unfortunately, the "stars" the Bulls decided to build around were Hinrich and Deng, and Reinsdorf was gave them too much money and too many years to leave room for more talent, and his judgment leaves the team trapped in the middle of the conference. Luckily we have a true young star in Rose now, and we have already found a good, young complement for him in Noah.

The Bulls could, of course, pull off a move for some sort of temporary upgrade to try to contend next year, as Milwaukee did with Richard Jefferson last year. However, the Bucks found that their gamble was little more than a stall, getting them nothing more than assurance that they wouldn't get embarrassed throughout the season. The Bucks have since let Jefferson go, accepting their need to rebuild and preparing for a potentially long and painful period of trial and error to get back on track. Unless the Bulls pull off the miracle move and bring in a savior along the lines of Bosh, Wade, or Michael Redd (and I have little faith in any of these things happening), then, I have to grimace and grudgingly admit what is appearing more and more like the inevitable: the Bulls will have to rebuild. I hope we find that miracle cure, but to expect it would be naive. This team is in trouble, and the front office is faced with the decision to make one last gamble, or to prepare for the long and thankless task of rebuilding.

I've pretty much said anything I have to say about his game. I do want to mention again that I enjoyed watching him glide to the hole. It was fun watching him keep missing and getting his own put-backs too, picking up 2 boards in 3 seconds, and maybe even ending up with the bucket too.

In a way, Milwaukee and Wisconsin people are kind of easy. A lot of us have this defensive complex, with a lot of good will for players who say they come to enjoy it here, and turning quickly on anyone who has ignorant or valid reasons why there are other places they'd rather be. Charlie seemed to understand this, and must have cared a little too.

Now to be a little cold and talk about assets, Charlie's expiring contract didn't bring anything in a trade last season, and there's every reason to assume the front office was trying hard. Why would the market be any different this season? The decision must have come down to the court. But another team is going to be happy to bring in some rebounds and shooting next week.

To bring it back around, there's a good group of young kids with a kind of rare condition making them look a little bit different with no hair, and it has to mean the world for them to see how easy and confidently a great role model handles the exact same thing. Thanks especially for all the charity and work with kids over the years, Charlie!

Villanueva has a good relationship with [Mo] Williams, who became close to him the two seasons they played together in Milwaukee. Williams could serve as a recruiter much in the same way he helped bring another of his close friends to the Cavs, former Bucks teammate Joe Smith, when he was a free agent last March.

Villanueva also has a long-standing relationship with LeBron James. The two were in the same high school class and played with each other in various tournaments and summer camps as they were growing up. Following their senior year of high school, Villanueva and James became closer while taking part in two national All-Star Games, including the McDonald's All-American Game in Cleveland. They have kept in touch ever since.

The Cavs have been looking for a "stretch" power forward like Villanueva for some time. Because he is a good mid-range and decent long-range shooter (35 percent on 3-pointers last season), he is potentially a good fit alongside players such as James and Williams, who like to drive and kick out passes. Add in O'Neal, who succeed earlier in his career with stretch power forwards such as Robert Horry in Los Angeles and Antoine Walker in Miami, and that option creates an even better fit.

Cleveland fans are showing me mad love on twitter, appreciate the love
3:59 PM Jun 28th from web

well, twitterland like I said there will be more trades to come, very interesting, Shaq to Cleveland, nice, all Cleveland need is a PF now
6:28 AM Jun 25th from web

Broussard: The Yao Ming situation...this name I'm about to throw out here is baggage-infested, all right? But what about a Ron Artest?

Rodda: I'll take him yesterday, Chris. How do the Cavaliers work that out? Because right now, free agency-wise, all they have is the midlevel at, what, $5-6 million or whatever that is. How do you get a Ron Artest from the Rockets to the Cavaliers?

Broussard: Well, this is the thing. Does Yao Ming's situation change the outlook for the Rockets? Maybe they might say, "You know what, we're not going to contend next year. Yao's going to be out most of the year, maybe even all of the year...do we just let T-Mac's money come off the books and not sign Ron Artest to a two- or three-year deal worth $10 million a year so we can have room in 2010 to rebuild?"

If the Rockets understand that they can't build around Yao anymore, why sign Ron Artest? Now, I'm speculating. But after talking with some people around the league and some agents, why sign Ron Artest to a $10 million-a-year deal?

Rodda: How do the Cavaliers go about getting him, though, Chris?

Broussard: Then you look at the teams with money. Sacramento, do they want Artest? They're not winning anything any time soon.

Rodda: Been there, done that, right?

Broussard: Atlanta? They're all right at the three and on the wing. Do they bring Ron there? Portland has Turkoglu in their sights. Toronto? I don't really think Ron's a fit there. Memphis? No. Oklahoma City? No.

It sounds crazy, but Ron Artest, if Houston doesn't re-sign him, he may have to settle for the midlevel. I just mentioned all the teams that are out there, and this is from talking to a lot of people from around the league who themselves are kind of reading the situation. But you've got to wonder who's giving him more than the midlevel exception. Detroit, I don't think they're bringing them in there after the brawl.

Rodda: So the Cavaliers, with their midlevel available, they might be a team, if that's what he has to settle for, that he'd be a good fit for.

Broussard: He's going to have to go for the money because this is probably his last contract. But if he doesn't get more than a midlevel exception, I know he would love to play with LeBron and Shaq. And again, years are important to him, but he would at least consider a one-year deal. And for Cleveland, you probably want to do it for a year because you don't want to eat up all of your cap space for 2010.

I'm just throwing out other possibilities because now it's Yao. A couple of days ago, Villanueva was a pipedream. But things are happening that are opening up a lot of options for the Cavaliers.

The Milwaukee Bucks have made qualifying offers to restricted free agent guard Ramon Sessions and forward Ersan Illyasova, but will not make an offer to forward Charlie Villanueva -- allowing one of their top scorers from last season to become an unrestricted free agent.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Bucks general manager John Hammond said Monday that the team already had sent offers to Sessions and Ilyasova, giving Milwaukee the right to match any contract offers from other teams. But with Tuesday's deadline for teams to make offers to their restricted free agents looming, the team decided not to make an offer to Villanueva.

In a move that was considered shocking in corners Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to offer young free-agent power forward Charlie Villanueva a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent. He now will be unrestricted, which makes him significantly easier to sign because the Bucks will not have matching rights. According to sources, Villanueva now will be one of the Cavs' free-agent targets when teams are allowed to speak with them Wednesday.

well, twitterland like I said there will be more trades to come, very interesting, Shaq to Cleveland, nice, all Cleveland need is a PF now

Well, i would like to thank my milwaukee fans, for 3 great years, and Senator Kohl, but my journey in Milwaukee has come to a end,

now its on Gods hands, where will I end up, only time will tell

I took the kid to task in a previous blog, because I think his move has started an unsavory trend of American teenagers heading overseas simply because they can't make a decent score on the SAT. I'm all for teenagers getting paid to play ball, but this ain't some minor leaguer riding on a bus from Durham to Greensboro after a double header. An American teenager flying around Europe and not knowing a lick of any language over there is an entirely different (and potentially problematic) deal altogether. A lot can go wrong over there, just ask Foxy Knoxy.

But in terms of playing the game, I will give Jennings credit where credit is due, the kid has a nice skill set. I think Bucks fans are getting a player who, with a little seasoning, has the potential to be highly entertaining. But it appears that Milwaukee is also getting a kid who hasn't learned how to filter what comes out of his mouth. After a pre-draft workout with Sacramento, Jennings had a fascinating exchange with the media that caused quite a stir.

During the Q&A session, Jennings basically said that Spanish star Ricky Rubio, who ended up being the highest point guard taken in the Draft, is overhyped. Because his draft status was fairly secure, Rubio chose not to workout for NBA teams. But Jennings went so far as to say that if Rubio had worked out against any of the other highly rated point guards in the 2009 Draft, he wouldn't have fared very well.

Jennings has been taken to task in many corners for his blunt criticism of Rubio. To many, he came off sounding like a jealous, spoiled brat. I can see how one can come to that assessment, and I will go further by saying if this kid wants to be a professional, then he has to act like one. But while he might have wanted to choose his words a little more carefully in this particular situation, I think the basis of what Jennings said brings up an interesting question...Is Ricky Rubio good enough to be the fifth pick in the Draft?

I know, I know, Jennings is no NBA Draft analyst, but he does possess an interesting perspective that no analyst has in that he actually played against Rubio. He came, he saw, he wasn't impressed and he bluntly told the media about it.

We've heard it all about Rubio, he's been the next big thing for years now. He's got great court vision, he possesses ideal size for his position, he's been playing pro basketball soon after taking his first steps, and so on and so on. But after seeing him in Spain's gold medal game loss to the USA in last year's Olympics, I don't recall myself thinking he was lottery pick material.

In nearly 29 minutes of court time against the USA, he tallied 6 points and 5 assists. Granted, Rubio was playing against the best that this country has to offer, but he'll see these same guys plus a lot more studs this coming season. I know it was only one game on which to judge him, but I didn't see the kind of explosiveness an NBA point guard needs to survive in the league. And his jump shot? That thing looked pretty unremarkable.

Also, look at the recent history of the highest European guard taken in each of these drafts:

2003 - Mickael Pietrus (11th pick in first round by Golden State)
2004 - Sergei Monia (23rd pick in first round by Portland)
2005 - Roko Ukic (41st pick in second round by Toronto)
2006 - Thabo Sefolosha (13th pick in first round by Philadelphia)
2007 - Marco Belinelli (18th pick in first round by Golden State)
2008 - Goran Dragic (45th pick in second round by San Antonio)

Not many All-Star Game appearances between the guys listed in that unremarkable group. Europe's always been a nice place to get big men (Pau Gasol, Andrea Bargnani, etc.), but it hasn't exactly been the cradle of point guards save for Tony Parker. Curiously, he wasn't even the highest European point guard taken in the 2001 Draft, that honor went to Raul Lopez (who is now out of the league). Therefore, in terms of history, Rubio has an awful lot going against him.

I think we're all going to have a lot of fun listening to the crazy sound bites that Brandon Jennings will undoubtedly offer up during his rookie season. I anticipate no less than a half dozen YouTube worthy moments where he sticks his foot completely in his mouth. But I gotta say, there's a chance he might not be totally off the reservation with his criticism of Rubio. Regardless, I can't wait to see these two go head to head next season, that should be very interesting.

Record Last Year: 34-48, 5^th in Central Division, 12^th in East

Who's New: G Brandon Jennings (draft), SG Jodie Meeks (draft), SF Bruce Bowen, F Amir Johnson, PF/C Kurt Thomas

Who's Gone: SF Richard Jefferson

Free Agents: PG Ramon Sessions (restricted), SG Keith Bogans, G Damon Jones, SF Ersan Ilyasova (restricted), PF Malik Allen (player option), PF Charlie Villanueva (restricted), C Francisco Elson (player option)

Estimated Salary Cap Status (excluding draft picks): $56.7 million definitely committed for 09-10 (estimated $58 million cap)

Strengths: The Bucks still have one proven star in Michael Redd, a shooting guard with size who can shoot the lights out and defend very well. However, he will be 30 when the season starts, and his supporting cast is weak. C Andrew Bogut is an efficient player (18.2 PER last season, 14.3 for his opponents' counterparts) who rebounds well and plays solid defense. PF Charlie Villanueva averaged 21.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per 36 minutes last season, but his game is inconsistent and his D needs work. Ramon Sessions had a respectable 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio last year, and he's developing into a legitimate starting point guard (and at $711.5 K last season, he was a serious bargain). While overpaid for a backup, Luke Ridnour is a decent PG behind Sessions. Kurt Thomas is on his last legs, but he is still a good low post defender that could prove serviceable off the bench. If Bowen sticks around, he'll provide stellar defense on perimeter players. Jennings is very athletic and talented, and he may become a very good point guard if he learns all the tricks of the trade (such as decision-making and guarding quick Rondo-types). Meeks could be a solid scoring threat off the bench in a poor man's Eddie House role.

Weaknesses: By trading the team's second best player, Richard Jefferson, the Bucks have signaled their intent to dump salary and rebuild. SF Bruce Bowen's contract is non-guaranteed, and, while he and Gregg Popovich reportedly have beef, I could see the Bucks passing on his contract and him ending up back in San Antonio. While Jennings is freakishly athletic, he's not a true point guard and doesn't have the build (6'1", 170 lbs) to play shooting guard, so he's a work in progress. The post presence is pretty poor with this group (team position PER ranks of 29 at center - with Bogut missing load of time from injury - and 15 last year), and this team will have to pray that Sessions and Redd stay healthy throughout the season if they want a productive backcourt. Scoring is going to be difficult for a team that averaged under 100 points per game last year, especially with Jefferson gone and nobody to fill that void. This team really has a weak bench, and injuries to key players will hit this team hard.

Outlook: Since they are rebuilding (and I applaud them for choosing that route), I doubt that they are done making moves. I also doubt that they will improve their record from last year, and I feel confident predicting another lottery pick in next year's draft for the Bucks. Even if this team manages to stay healthy for 82 games, they simply don't have the talent to do any better than 8^th in the East, and even that seems like a reach with the current crop of players. The Bucks will probably look into getting value for Redd in some deal and try to build around Bogut and Jennings. I'm interested to see what this team will look like in two years.

Prediction: 30-52, 5^th in Central Division, 13^th in East

UPDATE (6/29): The Bucks announced that that they will make qualifying offers to Sessions and Ilyasova, but not Villanueva, whom the Cavs are rumored to be tracking. Also, Jennings seems to be all over the web for all the wrong reasons.

-Salary Info. From HoopsHype

-Advanced Info. From Basketball-Reference & 82Games

-Additional Player Info. From ESPN & Yahoo!

The New Jersey Nets have agreed to a trade in principle with the Magic that will send Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to Orlando for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee, two league sources told ESPN.com.

The two sides are expected to a complete the trade by the end of the day.

The trade would give the Magic even more star power on their quest to win an NBA championship. The addition of Carter to a lineup that already consists of All-Star players Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson would make Orlando the favorite to win the Eastern Conference title next year if the franchise also finds a way to bring back Hedo Turkoglu, who will opt out of his contract this summer.

• Supposedly there are rumors that the Celtics are unlikely to re-sign Allen to a long-term extension next summer and are hesitant to sign Rondo to an expensive long-term contract. Also, the case of Rondo's maturity and relationship with the rest of the team continues to pop up. However, Danny Ainge has twittered, "I'm not sure why his name is popping up, but we love Rajon. It doesn't seem like you have to have any source any more (to report rumors)." He also twittered, "I've heard speculation we're dissatisfied with him; we're gonna trade him because he was late for a playoff game? That's not true."

• Personally, I think it would be absolutely idiotic for the Celtics to trade Rondo...for anyone. Rondo almost averaged a triple-double in the playoffs this year without Kevin Garnett. People fell in love with Derrick Rose in this year's first round of the playoffs, but you could easily argue that Rondo won the point guard battle because his team came out victorious and his stat lines were just ridiculous.
  
  

• Why would the Blazers want another point guard? This completely frustrates me. Steve Blake is the starting point guard with Sergio Rodriguez coming off the bench. Rodriguez is Rudy Fernandez's best friend on the team and they have great chemistry on the court together as you probably cannot count how many alley-oops they've converted this year. Then, you have an extremely talented young point guard Jerryd Bayless as your third-string who rarely gets playing time and now they want to draft another PG?

• The Timberwolves were smart to decline, understanding the likelihood of Stoudemire opting out for the 2010 free agency. The Suns most likely knew that they had no chance of scamming this deal out of Minnesota. I don't believe Stoudemire will be moved this offseason unless Phoenix engages talks with a title contending team. I think Stoudemire will be asking for a huge contract once 2010 comes and hoping to go to a big market. Perhaps reunited with Mike D'antoni in New York?

• Um, who cares?

• I am not really sure what to expect from the Suns anymore. They will probably run-n-gun this year under Alvin Gentry but not play defense at all and miss the playoffs again. I kind of hope Steve Nash and Stoudemire go back to D'antoni in 2010...along with Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh...a guy can dream, right?