Ben Gordon Departs

And then this happens.

Has Ben: Time was up for one-dimensional star

BY CAROL SLEZAK

Print media has a love affair with puns in their headlines. This is why it is dying.

Ben Gordon is moving to Detroit, and you just know he's going to explode for 40 points the next time the Bulls play the Pistons. And when he does, many angry Bulls fans will complain that he never should have been allowed to leave.

Damn straight. Never let a guy who can put up 40 go for nothing. Seems to me that these fans are reasonable people.

Natural born shooters are a rare commodity in today's NBA, and when you're lucky enough to have a guy who can shoot like Gordon, you must keep him.

Do you feel what's coming? Carol is setting up a whammy. Pat Benatar me, Carol.

Not so fast, folks.

WHAMMY!

There is another side to this debate. In truth, Gordon was often a liability for the Bulls. He has never had any interest in playing defense,

You are correct in saying that there is another side to this debate. However that side is wrong. To say he has never had any interest in playing defense is bullshit. Every time a black player takes too many shots on offense, and Gordon can definitely be a ball hog, he gets labeled as lazy on defense. Every last time. On the flipside, offensibely mediocre white guys almost always get labeled as gritty defenders. Kind of like Kirk Hinrich. Both players are considered combo guards, except Kirk Hinrich gets extolled for being able to ably defend two positions while ignoramuses like Carol Slezak proclaim Ben Gordon has never cared to play defense in his professional career. The following are Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon's counterpart production on a 48 minute basis at SG:

FGA eFG% FTA iFG Reb Ast T/O Blk PF Pts PER*
Kirk-15.4 0.494 5.1 27% 5.1 3.9 2.3 0.3 3.8 19.5 16.0
Ben -16.9 0.504 4.3 27% 5.1 4.3 2.4 0.5 3.4 20.6 15.4

Look, I don't love basketball sabremetrics. It's not baseball where one guy accounts for his performance and nobody else's (with the exception of a catcher calling pitches). There are 9 other guys out there who all influence one player's production. But these numbers, even taken with the massive grain of salt, show that losing Gordon and replacing him with a supposedly solid defender won't make much of a difference on the defensive end. It will make an impact on the offensive end where Gordon averages 27.1 points per 48 and Kirk averages 18.2.

his ballhandling skills are non-existent

His ballhandling (snicker) does kind of suck. But we have Derrick Rose to handle the ball and get Ben the open looks that he always knocks down. That's part of the fun of having Derrick Rose.

and he's too small to be a bona fide NBA shooting guard.

No. Of all the arguments against resigning Ben Gordon, this is by far the stupidest. He put up 21 points per game and shot a damn good percentage from both within and beyond the ark. His height is not affecting his ability to get his shot off. As shown by facts earlier in this post, it doesn't particularly affect his defense. It doesn't affect his passing. Ray Allen is 6'5" and Ben grabbed just as many rebounds as him last year. Ben battled him to a stand-still in the NBA playoffs last year. They are two comparable players, yet nobody ever says Ray Allen isn't worth the 19 (!) million he's paid. People should say that because he's not, but they don't because Ray was fortunate enough to have KG on his team. Yes Ray shoots a higher percentage, but the Celtics have more offensive threats than the Bulls do and that gets Ray more open looks.

When he was hot, he could carry the Bulls. When he wasn't hot, he could be a burden.

He was hot more often than not. He often carried the Bulls. Because he is very good at basketball.

After five seasons, the Bulls knew what they were going to get from Gordon, good and bad. He'd give them about 18 points a game, and give up at least that many on the defensive end.

Facts refute this statement. Slezak: Facts :: Transformers 2: Cinema. Meaning the first and third objects hate and seek to destroy everything the second and fourth objects represent.

There was plenty to like about him, but in the end he had only one dimension to his game. He was a specialist. Should a specialist make $11 million a season?

Yes, if they are very good at their specialty. Like Ray Allen or a top tier brain surgeon is.

And can a specialist who wants the ball every trip down the court play side-by-side with Derrick Rose, who needs to have the ball in his hands?

Yes again. Because Derrick Rose likes to drive and kick and Ben likes to shoot open shots. Derrick is a creator and Ben is a finisher. They are complementary players. Why is this difficult to understand?

Those were the questions the Bulls were facing. Luxury tax implications aside, that's what this decision came down to.

No. Basketball issues aside, this decision came down to luxury tax implications. Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't care to spend money on the Bulls. This article is about to set a Guiness record in the category of wrong.

The Pistons apparently believe Gordon is worth it. He has agreed to a five-year, $55 million deal with them.

The Pistons are in fact, screwed. They have 3 shoot first guards in Stuckey, Gordon, and Hamilton and a power forward who also needs a lot of touches in Villanueva. This of course ignores Tayshuan Prince who's actually a good offensive player who deserves more touches and instead will be getting less. Ben is a good piece on a team with an unselfish point guard and low post players who can protect the rim. The Pistons don't have any of that.

The Bulls, who once offered Gordon $50 million over five years, no longer value his contributions so highly. You can be sure that Rose's incredible rookie season made their decision easier. In some ways, Rose's emergence made this decision necessary.

I bet the conversation between GM Gar Foreman and John Paxson went exactly like this:

GF: John, what do you think resigning Ben Gordon? He's a hell of a good shooter but his game is kind of flawed.
JP: Well I pissed him off last year by offering a contract and then rescinding it when he accepted, so that's not gonna help. But it's ok though. Because thanks to my brilliant drafting strategy, we have Derrick Rose. A true point guard who creates open looks for his teammates.
GF: Yeah Derrick's abilities could really help Ben reach the next level. They could be a great backcourt tandem, add a good power forward and this may be a championship team.
JP: No dummy, Ben Gordon taking and making shots hinders Derrick's growth. Derrick's a second year player now, it's time he became the sole bearer of this team's offensive burden.
GF: Of course, how could I be so blind. Surrounding good players with other good players doesn't improve their game. Derrick needs more shot opportunities. I don't care if he took 15 shots per game last year for second most among rookies. I don't care if he's only 19, playing in a system run by what appears to be a cardboard cut out of Luke Wilson making his confused face. It doesn't matter if he's a a true point guard who isn't necessarily looking to score first. I won't be satisfied until he's jacking up 20 shots a game with defenses collapsing on him everytime he steps inside the three point arc.
JP: You learn quickly, grasshopper. Now, to the batmobile!
Paxson dashes off while Foreman calls Carol Slezak to explain this breakthrough in team building logic.

Gordon never was an easy fit with Rose. With Gordon firing up shots at every opportunity, Rose often was left standing flat-footed, watching him. At times Rose seemed to become a spectator.

Early in the season yes. Then they jelled and played the Celtics every bit as tough as the Orlando Magic, who went to the NBA finals. Think about it. Bulls get a break or two against the Celtics and advance. They can compete with the Magic and the Cavs and really are already part of the East's top teams. Resign Gordon and make a trade and you're a perennial contender. That's how you move forward. Instead of sitting back with a thumb up the ass hoping Dwyane Wade will join us in 2010.

Although he was best suited coming off the bench, to score in bunches, Gordon viewed himself as a starter.

Gordon repeatedly said he wouldn't mind coming off the bench. The coach viewed him as a starter.

He also viewed himself as a team leader.

He tried his best to act like one, too. Management really pulled together to act like one big collective douche to him. Who's leading this team? Vinny? Pax? Hinrich? Rose? Joakim? Tyrus? Tim Thomas? Luol? Lindsay Hunter? Seriously, who stepped up to be a leader on this team?

Gordon has never lacked confidence, and there's nothing wrong with that. But in reality, the Bulls are now Rose's team. They will miss Gordon's scoring in the short-term, but it was time for him to move on.

Rose needs help. Help Rose. Help me. Please?