2006–07 Chicago Bulls season

The 2006-07 Chicago Bulls finished with a record of 49-33 in the regular season and reached the second round of the NBA playoffs, making it their most successful season since the retirement of Michael Jordan, but nevertheless leaving some doubt amongst fans as to whether the team could compete for an NBA championship in the near future.

Offseason

Whereas previous seasons under General Manager John Paxson focused mostly on allowing the young players which comprised the core of the Bulls' roster to develop, before the '06-'07 season Paxon made an expensive free-agent signing in the form of Ben Wallace. Many fans were excited about the veteran experience and star power Wallace brought to the team, though some questioned if he was the best fit for the team, as Wallace had always been known for his defense, and many believed that the Bulls' biggest problem was a lack of inside scoring.

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	2	LaMarcus Aldridge	F	United States	Texas
1	16	Rodney Carney	F	United States	Memphis

Regular season

The Bulls got off to a rocky start, posting a record of 3-9 in their first 12 games. The criticism by some in the offseason about the signing of Ben Wallace seemed to gain some validity, as Wallace appeared to show his age and was not always able to put up big rebounding numbers as he had been known for with the Pistons. However, as they had in the 2004-05 season in which they started 0-9, the Bulls performed better as the season went on and finished 49-33. The record was good enough to receive the #5 seed among the 8 teams qualifying for the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Bulls, however, lost their final game of the season to the New Jersey Nets^[1] which would have boosted them to a #2 seed and given them an easier path to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Standings

• Qualified for playoffs

Postseason

The Bulls opened the playoffs by defeating the defending champion Miami Heat in a 4-0 sweep. The Heat were hindered by a nagging injury to Dwyane Wade, but nevertheless most observed felt that the Bulls had outplayed the Heat in the series.

East First Round

(4) Miami Heat vs. (5) Chicago Bulls

Last Playoff Meeting: 2006 Eastern Conference First Round (Miami won 4-2)

In the second round, the #1 seed Detroit Pistons quickly put a damper on the excitement of Bulls' fans by soundly defeating the Bulls in Game 1 of the seven game series, holding the Bulls to 33% shooting and only 69 points.^[2] The Bulls would continue to struggle, scoring just 87 and 74 points in games 2 and 3 respectively, and finding themselves in a 3-0 series deficit. The Bulls stayed alive by winning games 4 and 5, scoring triple digits in each game, but then suffered a 95-85 defeat on their home court in game 6 to end their season.

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Chicago Bulls

Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Eastern Conference Finals (Chicago won 4-0)

Awards and records

• Luol Deng, NBA Sportsmanship Award
• Kirk Hinrich, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Ben Wallace, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Tyrus Thomas, NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

Roster

2006-07 Chicago Bulls roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 4.5 !PF 35 USA ! Allen, Malik style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Villanova 1.0 !PG 11 USA ! Barrett, Andre style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 70 !5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Seton Hall 4.5 !PF 42 USA ! Brown, P. J. style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Louisiana Tech 3.0 !SF 9 UK ! Deng, Luol style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Duke 1.0 !PG 21 USA ! Duhon, Chris style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Duke 2.0 !SG 7 UK ! Gordon, Ben style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Connecticut 2.0 !SG 44 USA ! Griffin, Adrian style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Seton Hall 1.0 !PG 12 USA ! Hinrich, Kirk style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas 3.0 !SF 38 RUS ! Khryapa, Viktor style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Russia 3.0 !SF 5 ARG ! Nocioni, Andres style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Argentina 2.0 !SG 2 SUI ! Sefolosha, Thabo style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Switzerland 4.5 !PF 50 USA ! Sweetney, Mike style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Georgetown 4.5 !PF 24 USA ! Thomas, Tyrus style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Louisiana State 6.0 !C 3 USA ! Wallace, Ben style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Virginia Union	Head coach Scott Skiles (Michigan State) Assistant coach(es) Ron Adams (Marquette) Jim Boylan (Marquette) Pete Myers (Arkansas-Little Rock) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Transactions

• June 28, 2006: Drafted F LaMarcus Aldridge in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft
• June 28, 2006: Drafted F Rodney Carney in the first round (16th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft
• June 28, 2006: Traded F LaMarcus Aldridge and a second-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for F Tyrus Thomas and F Viktor Khryapa
• June 28, 2006: Traded F Rodney Carney, a second-round draft pick and cash to the Philadelphia 76ers for G Thabo Sefolosha
• July 7, 2006: Waived F Othella Harrington
• July 13, 2006: Signed free agent C Ben Wallace
• July 14, 2006: Traded C Tyson Chandler to the New Orleans Hornets for F P. J. Brown and G J. R. Smith
• July 20, 2006: Traded G J. R. Smith to the Denver Nuggets for G Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks
• July 31, 2006: Signed G Adrian Griffin
• August 18, 2006: Traded G Eddie Basden to the Cleveland Cavaliers for C Martynas Andriuskevicius
• October 30, 2006: Waived C Luke Schenscher
• October 31, 2006: Re-signed G Kirk Hinrich

References

1. ↑ ESPN - Chicago vs. New Jersey - Recap - April 18, 2007
2. ↑ ESPN - Chicago vs. Detroit - Box Score - May 05, 2007