The Bench Mob 2: Bench Harder (& Worse)

Today, Gar Foreman confirmed that the Bulls will not match Houston's offer sheet to Omer Asik, making Asik a Rocket. This announcement came in the wake of moves that left Kyle Korver a Hawk, C.J. Watson a Net, and Ronnie Brewer a Knick. Taj Gibson is the only reserve player of note who will be on the team in both 2012 and 2013

Mat is obviously disheartened by the moves, which suggest that the Bulls aren't willing to spend big to surround the current roster with the best supporting pieces . Some say (including Foreman himself) that the Bulls are simply trying to maintain their financial flexibility; in a universe in which the well-over-the-tax Lakers acquired Steve Nash and are the frontrunners for Dwight Howard, that's a hard pill to swallow.

Mat tried justifying these moves as a necessary evil after accepting that hard truth. After all, if Reinsdorf isn't going to pay for a contender, you have to build the best team within those constraints. Watson ended up signing for the minimum once the Bulls waived him. Brewer will also likely sign for the minimum, as that's all the Knicks can offer. Korver, who was traded, had value as an expiring contract, but also probably would have seen a paycut had he hit free agency.

Mat is still upset about the loss of these guys since they were 1) under contract for only one year and 2) expiring contracts, broken into manageable salaries across three players. They're the type of filler used to balance a trade for a Great Player in a deal centered around assets (Nikola Mirotic, Bobcats pick) and rookie-contract players (Taj Gibson). The Bulls didn't create long or short-term flexibility by letting those three go. They actually reduced their flexibility for a one-year financial windfall.

Still, Mat thinks not matching Asik was a move the team had to make considering the Bulls' financial crunch. Asik was a great defender, but unless Foreman and Paxson thought he would be a better overall player than Joakim Noah, they couldn't afford to keep him. You can't set a limit on your spending and then pay a backup $8 million a year. A team that won't spend more than ~$74 million simply cannot spend $20 million on a position at which they do not have a superstar.

Picking up solid, uninspiring guys like Kirk Hinrich, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed and Marco Belinelli is the road the Bulls have to take. The bench will win fewer games for the team in the regular season, but the Bulls can't afford that luxury. And make no mistakes: it is a luxury. In the postseason, the bench won't be picking apart the Norris Coles and Juwan Howards of the world; when superstars are playing 40+ minutes a game, the strength that is the Bench Mob is all but neutralized.

It was an amazing unit to watch, and in a perfect world, they'd still be in Chicago. It's time to face facts, though: the Bulls have to find a way to best divide their regrettably limited resources. In building a championship contender, Mat believes they're best served concentrating those resources into a tighter, 7-8 man rotation.

Now, if you'll excuse him, Mat will spend the next 24 hours hitting "C.J. Watson", "Gimme the hot sauce", "Chicago's Finest Brew", "Asik and Destroy", and "C.J. Watson (excited)" in a steady loop while sobbing softly to himself.