Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman and Chicago Bulls Vice President of Player Development John Paxson sent a letter to the Chicago Bulls season ticket holders yesterday in wake of the Luol Deng trade. I’ll let you the NBA and/or Chicago Bulls fan/news consumer make of the letter what you will. You’re a big boy, you can put on your big boy pants and make up your own mind.
Care to sound off? Well, the comments section is right there at the bottom. Let GarPax know what you think. Here is the message GarPax sent to the Chicago Bulls season ticket holders.
Dear (Season Ticket Holder)
Last night the Chicago Bulls announced that Luol Deng was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is always tough to lose someone like Luol. We have great respect for him as a player and a person. He has been an incredible contributor to our team on the court, while also doing great things in the community. On behalf of the entire organization, we want to thank Luol for his years in Chicago and wish him the best going forward.
As a Season Ticket Holder, you are such an important part of the Bulls’ family. You are also among the smartest fans in sports and on days like today, we know you have a lot of questions about what these moves mean to the team.
This trade represents a rational evaluation of where we are right now. We are not where we were at the start of the season, and while we still believe this team can be competitive in the Eastern Conference and earn a Playoff berth, we recognize it will be an uphill battle contending for a championship this year.
These moves will put us under the NBA’s salary cap after this season and that puts us in a better position to make our roster stronger for the future. We now have more long-term financial flexibility to attract the kinds of trades or free agents we need to quickly deliver another championship contending team.
This transaction also gave us multiple draft picks. Appreciating the value of draft picks necessitates a longer-term view, but we have seen great success in the draft and are excited about the potential it represents. A number of our recent draft picks are having a very positive impact on this team now, and we expect they will for many years to come: Joakim Noah (#9 – 2007), Taj Gibson (#26 – 2009), Jimmy Butler (#30 – 2011), Tony Snell (#20 – 2013), and certainly Derrick Rose (#1 – 2008).
In addition to our own draft picks, we also hold the rights to a Charlotte Bobcats’ #1 pick (this year if they make the Playoffs), and the rights to Nikola Mirotic, a star in Europe who is 6-10 and just 22 years old.
It is important for you to know how much we still believe in and support this team. Many of these players have been tested over the last several seasons, and they have performed incredibly under unpredictable and difficult circumstances.
As a Season Ticket Holder, you’ve seen the character and grit of this team and coaching staff, so you know they will continue to take visiting teams to the limit every night. And you will see the ongoing development of young talent like Taj, Jimmy, Tony, Erik Murphy and Marquis Teague, and witness the passion that our veterans like Joakim, Carlos Boozer, Nazr Mohammed, D. J. Augustin, Mike Dunleavy, and Kirk Hinrich bring to the court every game.
On behalf of the entire organization, we want to say thank you for the support and faith you continue to show the Chicago Bulls. Please be assured that we are totally committed to winning a championship and our future remains extremely bright.
We look forward to seeing you at the United Center tonight or at another home game soon.
Sincerely,
Gar Forman
John Paxson
So what did you think Chicago Bulls fans and Chicago Bulls information seekers? Comment below.
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