Time to make a move

No matter how well a team is doing on the field, it seems that there is a rule in sports that a franchise must always look towards the future. You don’t jeopardize what has yet to come in order to take a risk for the present. Why is this? Mainly because teams don’t want to get burned by dealing un-developed talent in order to take a chance at winning a championship. Think of the Houston Astros trading 38-year-old relief pitcher Larry Anderson to the Boston Red Sox in 1990 for Double A first baseman Jeff Bagwell. Or the Charlotte Hornets acquiring center Vlade Divac from the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 in exchange for high schooler Kobe Bryant.

But does this theory make any sense? Is it worth it to hold on to a player that might become good instead of making a move for a sure bet? After thinking this over, I think that it might not be as bad of an idea that coaches and general managers make it out to be. Because while you a team is taking a chance that the young player will turn out to be a star for the other, they are also risking holding onto the player and having them be a bust on their roster.

Example number one would be two players who have caused the biggest smiles on my face and the loudest expletives out of my mouth over the past five or so years. Cubs pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are un-hittable when on, but that happens about as often as Charlie Weis refusing to Biggie size at Wendy’s. Most of the time they are either having surgery, recovering from surgery or pitching some sort of simulated game. Yet when it comes to trades, Cubs management and fans are skeptical to include these two. A few years ago the team could have dealt Wood back to his native Texas for catcher Ivan Rodriguez. But the thought of the 20 strikeout, healthy Wood pitching for the Rangers haunted then-GM Andy McPhail, so he said no. Rodriguez has since led two teams to the World Series, including the 2003 Marlins. Current GM Jim Hendry is no better. Last winter he said no to the Baltimore Oriels, who offered the Cubs shortstop Miguel Tejada for Prior. Considering Prior only pitched nine games last season while the team’s shortstop, Ronny Cedeno, hit a measly .245, it looks like the Cubs missed out again. Come 2007, both number 34 and 22 will be on the roster, as the team and fans pray that these two can somehow make a positive impact on the season.

Just looking at other Chicago teams show different approaches to handling young talent. For example, the Bears waited patiently on Rex Grossman to get healthy and have been rewarded with the starting quarterback for the best team in the NFC. On the other hand the Bulls waited patiently on Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler and were lucky to get more than a bag of sand for them. (There’s a reason I named my Fantasy Basketball team ‘Thanks Isaiah’) So there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to doing these things. But if teams were more willing to take risks, rebuilding projects wouldn’t take so long, the balance of power in the different leagues and would make following the game more fun.

The reason I’m writing this isn’t because I want to go on a rant about Prior, Wood or Grossman. It’s because I’m sick of the Bulls staying the course, holding onto all their young guys while hovering around .500 and losing in the first round of the playoffs. John Paxon is a good general manager. He picks talented players. And ripping off the Knicks into taking Curry was pure genius. But he has to learn to pull the trigger in order to elevate this team to the next level. A player like Kevin Garnett would be perfect for the Bulls. He is a terrific low-post scorer, a dominant defender and a Chi-town native. And the Bulls have the pieces to make the deal. Expiring contracts like PJ Brown and Michael Sweetney. Young studs like Loul Deng and Tyrus Thomas. Take one from each of those groups, add in the first round pick this year that can be swapped with the Knicks and see if Minnesota will do it. The Timberwolves aren’t going anywhere, and KG deserves the chance to play for a world title. But I doubt Paxon will do this, because he doesn’t want to mortgage the future in order to take a risk for 2006-07. He knows Deng can develop into a Shawn Marion type inside-outside scorer and that Thomas can be a super-athletic version of Rashied Wallace. So he doesn’t want to give that up. But wasn’t Curry supposed to be the next Shaq while Chandler was going to be a second coming of KG himself? And how did that turn out? Make the deal and give the Bulls a real chance to win it all….this year.



Since I will be out of town on Friday and next week, I will leave you with my NFL picks today. Last week I was an impressive 12-4, improving my season record to 129-80. Week 15 features some really interesting game, including a matchup of the leagues two best running backs (Kansas City at San Diego) and two teams who were left for dead but are still in the middle of the playoff race (Philadelphia at New York Giants). Here is how I see the week playing out, with my pick in bold.

San Francisco at Seattle

Dallas at Atlanta

Tampa Bay at Chicago

Pittsburgh at Carolina

Detroit at Green Bay

Cleveland at Baltimore

Jacksonville at Tennessee

New York Jets at Minnesota

Houston at New England

Washington at New Orleans

Miami at Buffalo

Denver at Arizona

St. Louis at Oakland

Philadelphia at New York Giants

Kansas City at San Diego

Cincinnati at Indianapolis