“What’s next for the Chicago Bulls?” I will do my best to examine their story from the eyes of a fan.

Just a few years ago Ben Gordon arrogantly turned down a 5 year 55 million dollar deal in hopes of receiving a bigger one. I am not here to say he is worth more or even 55 million, but I believe Ben Gordon has played his last days in Chicago. He can be silky smooth on offense with knocking down shot after shot, especially in the 4^th quarter. There isn’t a shot on the court that doesn’t look delectable to Ben Gordon, but he’s undersized, plays poor defense, and just as easily can takes and makes the big shot, he takes bad shots, and turns the ball over.

I would be the first to admit when I am wrong, as I didn’t want the Bulls to draft Derrick Rose, not because I didn’t like him, but they already had a handful of guards. The jokes on me, as D-Rose was delish this year, and will only get better. He’s the future of the franchise and is the center building block for future seasons. Once he learns to knock down a consistent jumper he will be that much more dangerous. He showed flashes in the Boston series that he can be deadly from all spots on the court; so imagined how good he will be when he gets a legit all-star playing along side of him.

The front court seems to be established, but not as legitimately as it should be. Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah proved they can be valuable to a playoff team with hustle, blocking shots and rebounds. They have shown flashes, but will be that much better with a legit all-star playing all side of them… e.g. Chris Bosh/Amare Stoudemire. Thomas and Noah’s low post game is very minimal, but with a star next to them will make their job that much easier.

Kirk Hinrich’s name has been rumored in numerous trades over the past 12 months, but nothing ever materialized. He’s the teams best perimeter defender and can be a scoring option off the bench. With Ben Gordon more than likely signing else where, expect Kirk to not be traded and just finish out his contract with the Bulls, and perhaps resign for less money and finish off his career as a Bull.

A pleasant surprise for the Bulls was second half guard John Salmons. He added depth at the guard position and another scoring option to a team that lacked scoring. He’s a big guard which the Bulls haven’t had in years and will probably be the starting back court with Rose next year. He can score and at times was an intelligent scorer. When his shot wasn’t falling during the playoffs he took the ball to the basket, got fouled and took points from the charity stripe.

Probably the biggest concern and question mark for the Bulls (at least in my mind) is over paid, over valued Luol Deng. He’s had a tough time staying healthy and one decent season (back in ’06-’07 of 18.8 pts and 7.1 rebounds) landed him big money. Apparently the Bulls still see a higher ceiling on 6’9” forward and hopefully they are right. I don’t see the upside, but with him under contract would love to be proved wrong. He needs to develop a low post game and continue to knock down the 15-18 foot jumper.

The Bulls have their point guard for years to come, and a solid core of players. But everyone knows the key to winning in the NBA is with All-Stars/“closers” – players who want the ball in the closing minutes and can take over the game at any point. They need a forward who can consistently score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds to compliment the perimeter shooters the Bulls have. 2010 a handful of free agents will hit the open market; we are talking game changing free agents, and I expect (hope) the Bulls make their mark and land someone to turn this team into a legitimate contender for years to come.