Bulls Lose Gordon, but Blackhawks get Hossa

Yesterday marked the start of free agency in both the NBA and the NHL.  Bulls guard Ben Gordon is now heading to the Pistons for $55 Mil while the Blackhawks snatched up the Red Wings Marian Hossa for $62 Mil.  So which is more important to each team, the Bulls losing their top scorer or the Blackhawks getting a top scorer?

Kevin:First let me state something yet again, I don’t know shit about hockey.  I didn’t even get to watch the Stanely Cup finals this year because I was in Europe.  However, I know who Maria Hossa is.  The only reason I know who he is is because every time Barry Melrose comes on ESPN to talk about who’s going to win he always says it’s going to be the Detroit Red Wings because they have guys like Marian Hossa.  Originally, I was going to say that the Blackhawks signing of Hossa was more important and crucial to the teams success but then I read in the paper that Marty Havlat, the Blackhawks leading scorer,left for the Minnesota Wild.  The Blackhawks also didn’t re-sign goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin.  If they had kept both of these guys as well as signed Hossa then I would have considered them one of the top contenders in the Western Conference.  I still think they can put another run together and build upon last year’s success but it will be harder now without two of last years leaders.  The Bulls however just lost the guy that has been their leading scorer for the last 4 years.  And they lost him to a division rival in Detroit!  I really don’t see anybody on this Bulls team that can shoot the jumper the way Gordon can.  This means that the guys that are going to have to step up their outside shooting abilities in order for the Bulls to have a shot at the playoffs next year are D-Rose, Loul Deng, and John Salmons.  Yikes!  Unless the Bulls are looking to go out and get another shooter this off seasonthey now need a 2-guard and a dominate big man, sorry Brad Miller.  Losing Ben Gordon drops the Bulls out of the playoffs and into the lottery.  This is clearly a devastating turn of events that almost everyone saw coming, so hopefully Pax has got something up his sleeve in order for the Bulls to build on last year.

Brian:  This is a dynamite question there, Kevin.  First, I think that the Hossa signing is friggin awesome.  The guy is healthy, smart & a baller (pucker?).  He can play at both ends of the ice & has the career behind him to kick ass all over the place.  However, as Deadspin pointed out yesterday, he has alos been on the Stanley Cup runner up the past two years.  So he could be a terrific jinx.  I don’t think so though, I think he’s going to be an awesome teammate to the baby Hawks and should help the team turn the corner & reach the next level.  Losing the Bulin Wall & Havlat is no small pill to swallow though.  Necessary if the Hawks want to be able to sign Kane, Towes, and Sharp in the upcoming years, but certainly not awesome. 

Moving on to what I think is the “more important” personnel change… the exit of Ben Gordon.  I’m going to preface the possibly dickish (I haven’t written it yet, who knows if I’ll get mean…) words to come, Ben Gordon has been the biggest cog in the machine for the past 4 years.  He has outplayed Hinrich and Deng and become the on-court answer for the team.  He is responsible for a great deal of the success that the Bulls have had recently.  That said… I’m glad to see him go.  Now that BG has moved on, the rest of the team will be forced to find a replacement.  The Bulls young bucks now have to find another “answer” at the end of the game & I hope they look inside themselves.  Rose, Thomas and Salmons should have the Eye of the Tiger now and realize that they can be the leader of the team.  Mostly, I’m glad that I don’t have to watch Ben flail into defenders & try to draw fouls.  While he generated a lot of points & drew many a foul… it was so aggravating to watch him flop for it.  Hey Pax – will you go git someone over 6′10″ please???