[ESPN] Ben to Bulls

made me smile thanxs , my green and white brother1 ....also..."it's colllllddd...and blowin!"

That, and he probably knows what we all know, which is that Flip is a third-rate coach -- not very good at: getting the most out of his players, maintaining the great sense of teamwork that this team had in 2004 and 2005, understanding the dangers of playing for home court in the regular season, understanding the continuing importance of defense in playoff basketball, exuding a strong sense of confidence (Chuck Daly admitted that Flip was "nervous" before one of the Miami games), commanding respect, etc., etc., etc.

I honestly think that if Flip were let go today he would probably never get a head coaching job in the NBA again.

Flip coached a team that won 64 games. Somebody would give him another shot based on that alone.

I'm hearing the same things Brother HQ is talking about. I'm also hearing that Ben was disappointed in Sheed's disappearing azz this post season. But that's a coaching issue too.

It seems to me Mr Dumars made Ben the highest offer he possibly could that would still result in Ben leaving. 49 mil left Chicago just enough room to make a substantially better offer that Ben could not turn down, yet 49 mil proves to all other players and AGENTS that Dumars is willing to overpay to reward loyalty and hard work, without accually spending the money. Its clear to me that Ben had to go but Dumars wanted to do it in a way that smells good to the rest of the league. Every good player wants money and a ring, it is easier for a player in the prime of his career to play in Detroit for a little less money and a shot at a ring if he is confident the big money will come, even if that means a little help from Joe to make the next team overpay. Remember, one thing the sign and trade with Orlando did was increase Grant Hill's salary a few mil over what Orlando could pay on its own, a move that was good for Grant but bad for Orlando. Like more money is good for Ben but bad for Chicago. Players (and agents) will feel even better doing business with Joe now.