Bull of the Day: Tyrus Thomas

There's nothing more rare on Bulls Passion than negative commentary from me regarding a Bulls' player. Even Corie Blount's drug trafficking charges aren't enough for me to dislike him. However, there's one Bull who I don't appreciate, and that is Tyrus Thomas.

Way off here

For some reason Tyrus Thomas always reminded me of Pharrell, though on further investigation, they don't really look alike at all. Similar facial features aside, I'd say that's one of the worst celebrity comparisons I've held in my head.

There are many reasons to hate Tyrus Thomas. For one, he cost the Bulls LaMarcus Aldridge. In the 2006 NBA draft the Bulls held the #2 pick and originally selected Aldridge-- a no-brainer productive NBA player. The Bulls (apparently) were worried about his chicken legs. No body likes chicken legs. So they traded him for Tyrus Thomas because he was just skinny all over.

How the hell did the Bulls decide to make that deal? I'm pretty sure management fell in-love with his insane athleticism, length, and age (he was 19!). Unfortunately Paxson & Co. couldn't figure out that Thomas had zero offensive game, a terrible work ethic, and an unabashed love for taking bad jumpers.

Good old Tyrus added maybe 1lb of muscle during his tenure from the Bulls, and I never saw much in terms of developing an NBA skillset. But, boy, could he jump! To put his career in perspective, his numbers during his best years were only SLIGHTLY better than Dickey Simpkins. Tyrus sucked.

The one good thing about Tyrus is that the Bulls were able to con a 1st round pick out of the Bobcats for him. This is THE first round pick that analysts and such have been talking about since 2009, and it could finally come to the Bulls this season.

Not surprisingly, sensing his career was nearing an end, Tyrus played very well in limited minutes for the Bobcats, prompting MJ to sign him to a 5 year, $40 million contract extension. Tyrus was subsequently amnesited, and he now spends his time getting tattoos and tweeting at @IamT_Time . I think it's safe to call him the worst Bulls' first round pick of my lifetime.

Tweet


More Bulls of the Day

Bull of the Day: Dickey Simpkins

When it comes to NBA players with funny names, Dickey Simpkins always comes to mind. Simpkins was a late first round pick of the Chicago Bulls in the 1994 NBA draft. Speaking of which, the 1994 draft was semi-loaded, with a top three of Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd, and Grant Hill, followed by the likes of Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, and Brian Grant.

In hindsight, the Bulls may have been slightly better off with Wesley Person or Charlie Ward, but Simpkins wasn't a bad pick. He didn't ever need to play behind the Bulls' readily established front court of Luc Longley, Dennis Rodman, Bill Wennington, Brian Williams, and Toni Kukoc. However, the Bulls liked Simpkins enough to bring him back after trading him to the Golden State Warriors for Stormin Normin-fave Scott Burrell at the start of the 1997-98 season.

After the Bulls' dynasty was disassembled, Simpkins slid into to start as an undersized center alongside the prolific Mark Bryant or the remarkably washed-up Andrew Lang. Believe it or not, as a young Bulls fan I was uber excited for the arrival of Andrew Lang. I vividly remember thinking that Lang COULD push the Bulls into playoff contention. Boy was I off.

Either way, Simpkins put up a decent stat line (about 9 points/7 boards), but the Bulls were easily the worst team in the NBA, if not the worst team ever assembled not named the Bobcats. The Bulls led the league in attendance, but Simpkins' 46% shooting was not strong enough to cement him as the starter last season. Though he started 49 games, Rookie of the Year Elton Brand was a much more natural fit at power forward, so the Bulls paired Brand with Chris Anstey and Will Perdue. The Bulls finished 17-65 that year, and bid goodbye to Simpkins.

Simpkins made a brief comeback for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001-02 season, but unfortunately for Dickey, the comeback lasted just 3 minutes. According to his website, Simpkins went on to become an international all-star, and even won a title.

These days it seems that Simpkins lives in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago, running a basketball training program. He's doing something right--top recruit Jalen Brunson plays for his AAU team, although for some reason he is pictured in a Mac Irvin Fire jersey in the same article.

I ran into Dickey a few times at my alma mater, and he seems like a great guy. Great Bull? That's for you to decide. I love any Bulls (particularly those from my childhood) more than I love my own family.

Tweet

More Bulls of the Day

Bulls Passion Bull of the Day: Ben Gordon

A super jacked, 6'2 shooting guard out of UConn who would absolutely shoot lights out some nights, and other nights, look like a marginal NBA player at best. These words describe one of my all-time favorite Chicago Bulls, Ben Gordon.

Gordon will be perpetually underrated by Bulls fans because he happened to peak at the beginning of the Derrick Rose era. However, if you're a fan of the NBA, then you'll remember his legendary performance against the Boston Celtics in the 2009 playoffs. Gordon poured in absolutely amazing scoring numbers, particularly in his memorable 42 point outbreak in the Game 2 duel with Ray Allen, and his 33 points in a disappointing Game 7 loss.

Because of his spectacular performance, Gordon should hold a special place in every Bulls fan's heart. I know he does in mine. In fact, I went to see the Charlotte Bobcats last season because I wanted to see BG come off the bench for a few minutes. When he entered and received a flurry of boos, I became sick to my stomach. How could fans forget how important Ben Gordon was?!?!?

I suspect fans dislike Gordon for his decision to turn down a contract offer from GarPax early in the season, and his decision to bolt to the Detroit Pistons, where he was a terrible fit from the get-go.  I suspect fans are toeing the company line from management that Gordon should be chastised for turning down an offer from one of the more arrogant management teams in basketball, but I believe BG did what he thought was best for him and his family.

Currently, Gordon sits in basketball purgatory for the future Hornets. He's only played in a single game this season, and I don't know why. Last year, he would sporadically receive decent minutes and respond by pouring in 15-20 points, including a season high of 34.

I would love for the Bulls to acquire Gordon on the cheap after this season, but I think that might be a pipe dream.