Categories
Archives
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- July 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Calendar

March 2010

M T W T F S S

« Jul

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

March 2010
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jul
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

May

14

Chicago Bulls Season Grades: Andres Nocioni

Filed Under Analysis/Commentary, NBA, Chicago Bulls

Nizoral Online Buy Propecia Lotrisone Online Buy Topamax Seroquel Online Buy Ultram Amoxil Online Buy Inderal Synthroid Online Buy Glucotrol

Looking to wheel and deal at the NBA trade deadline, Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson made three significant trades that provided a much-needed shakeup and helped changed the team’s culture.

One of those trades including sending fan favorite Andres Nocioni and others to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

In all honesty, it was hard to see Nocioni go in a trade. Even Paxson admitted that Nocioni was a warrior and one of his favorite players to ever wear a Bulls uniform.

With that said, Nocioni was not the same player that he was prior to signing a nice contract in the summer of 2007.

By no means was Nocioni’s up-and-down play with the Bulls in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 a result of a guy getting his money and packing it in.

Rather, Nocioni seemed continually disillusioned with how the Bulls failed to make the playoffs in an underachieving ‘07-08 season marked by the firing of Scott Skiles, the trade of Ben Wallace, selfish play by everyone, and what seemed to be a total lack of respect for coaches and playing the game the right way.

Despite having a new coach on board in Vinny Del Negro and a season to start anew, Nocioni just didn’t seem to be the same passionate fireball this year that he was in his first three years with the Bulls.

While Nocioni still played the game the right way, his intensity seem misguided. Oftentimes, he was out of control on the court, forcing the issue and taking some poor shots. Other times, he proved to be the spark plug that he so often was for the Bulls in the past.

Unfortunately, Noce was a little too high or two low for the Bulls’ liking over the last two seasons and needed a change of scenery. Even to local media who genuinely liked Nocioni’s personality and sense of humor, they noted that Noce just did not seem to be as happy as he used to be in Chicago and added that something seemed to be bothering the fiery Argentine.

Still, the disappointment and goodwill that his former teammates expressed after the trade was testament to the respect and popularity that Nocioni garnered as a player, person and friend while here in Chicago.

Final Season Grade: C+

Highlights: In 53 games with the Bulls, Nocioni averaged 10.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. His 24:06 minutes per game were the second lowest in his time with the Bulls. After being traded to the Kings on February 18th, Nocioni would start 16 of his 23 games with Sacramento, averaging 13.7 points per game and 6.o rebounds. His playing time also jumped to 31 minutes per game. Too bad the Kings are so bad that no one got to watch Nocioni.

Almost a Celtic? There were rumors around the deadline that the Boston Celtics were looking to acquire Nocioni immediately from the Kings, and while that would have been bad news for the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, it would have been great for Nocioni, who needs to be on a winner and seemed to really struggle with all of Chicago’s losing the last two seasons.

Hopefully, Nocioni can find his way to a winner again in the future, as the Kings are a long way from being good. With that said, Sacramento has some of the best fans in the game, and Nocioni should be a crowd favorite, as he was in Chicago, if he stays in Sac-Town for a while.

Two Difficult Seasons for Nocioni: At the end of his time with the Bulls, Nocioni struggled with all of the losing and became a player who took some selfish shots himself. He also did not benefit from the fact that Chicago had so many similar players biding for playing time.

Will Always Love Nocioni & His Style of Play! While it seemed the right time for Nocioni to move on, his accomplishments as a Bull should not be discounted. He played with a passion and intensity emblematic of a lunch-pail type of player, the kind of guy that Chicago fans love.

While Nocioni could be maddening at times, I’ll always appreciate the way he played the game: hard. He was a key element to the Bulls getting back to the playoffs in 2005 and being one of the more refreshing teams in the league in his first three seasons with the organization.

Here’s hoping that Nocioni can recapture the fire and happiness on the court that made him one of my favorite Chicago Bulls of all time.

While the Bulls may have had a better record with Miller and Salmons when compared to when Nocioni was with the team this season, the organization was better off for having Noce wear the red and white uniform for 41/2 mostly entertaining seasons.