The Great PB&J Dilemma of 2006

A few weeks have passed since the Bulls' 4-2 opening round series loss to the Miami Heat, and since then this column's gone dark, for which I apologize. I guess I've been busy -- busy thinking (with a little mourning mixed in there) about the impending off-season. Is a free-agent big man coming the Bulls' way? Will GM John Paxson lock up Kirk Hinrich long-term? Will it take a max-type deal? What about the two first-round picks? Keep 'em? Trade 'em? The list goes on.

Through it all, though, through all the deep, ponderous moments, the question I returned to time and again was [drumroll, please]:

Have Ben Gordon and Luol Deng shared their last peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

Granted, John Paxson's off-season might be a bit more complicated than considerations of his second-year duo's ritual pregame snack of choice, but Pax's decisions this summer could very well involve Chicago's young core, a group that includes PB&J pals Gordon and Deng, as well as Hinrich and Andres Nocioni and to a lesser extent, though for different reasons, Tyson Chandler and Chris Duhon. With Paxson, head coach Scott Skiles, the players themselves and all of Bulls Nation, really, pointing to this draft-pick- and space-under-the-cap-rich off-season, local pressure to assemble a Conference Crown-contending squad is at its highest in the Paxson-Skiles regime.

But back to the sandwich.

For several reasons, some clearer and more reasonable than others, Ben Gordon -- one half of that PB&J dilemma -- seems to be the lone young Bull continually linked to trade rumors. (Tyson's name comes up as well, but only as a means of evening up the money in a big multi-player trade. You'd be hard-pressed to find a taker for Chandler's $64-million contract for any other reason.)

Anyway, a reasonable person can say Gordon is undersized at shooting guard. After all, listing Ben at 6-foot-3 is about three inches generous. On offense that means a high degree of difficulty on jumpers and drives alike (though Gordon's floater is a great equalizer); on defense it means guarding either bigger shooting guards or quicker point guards. And no matter whom Gordon's guarding, he'll never be mistaken for an All-Defense player. He just doesn't have the lateral quickness for it.

Still, Gordon's defensive limitations have been so exaggerated in the media that the Chicago fan base seems to have been infected. Most fans I talk to think Gordon ought to be traded. The reason? His defense.

Gordon came into the league with a reputation for shoddy defense, and it seems, perception-wise, that that is his NBA fate -- signed, sealed, delivered. Never mind the fine defensive performance he gave in the playoffs. No, Gordon didn't have to chase Dwyane Wade all series -- that honor went to backcourt mate Kirk Hinrich, who, incidentally, did an impressive job on Miami's All-Star guard. (The way Wade shredded would-be New Jersey defenders in the Heat's 4-1 Conference Semis win over the Nets and given what's he's been doing to the exalted Detroit defense in the Conference Finals, Hinrich's performance is looking that much better.) Instead, Gordon's charge was Jason Williams, the ultra-quick Heat point guard who can be a handful in his own right.

After hurting the Bulls in Games 1 and 2, Williams was a non-factor the rest of the way -- a key to the Bulls tightening up the series. Gordon, who averaged a team-high 40.8 minutes per game in the Heat series, showed great stamina in picking up Williams full-court. He forced the Heat's point guard into jumpers rather than layups, and kept Williams out of the lane and unable to push the ball in transition. In doing so, Gordon turned Williams into a one-dimensionsal spot-up shooter instead of the playmaking point he likes to be. Nothing spectacular on Gordon's part (and certainly not acknowledged in the Chicago media), but it was evidence nonetheless that Ben is hardly allergic to defense.

Then there's the inconsistent scoring indictment, another media favorite.

Sure, Gordon's an up-and-down scorer. He's also been in the NBA for two years. And he's 23 years old. Yet he led his team in scoring in the regular season. And he averaged 21 points per game in the playoffs.

So let's keep some perspective on the kid.

Somehow Hinrich, Deng and Nocioni all avoid the 'inconsistent' label despite being similarly up-and-down scorers. Talk about a double-standard. Hopefully front-office decisions aren't made quite so injudiciously.

None of this is to say Gordon is untouchable. His height is an issue and he'll never be an elite defender.

There's little arguing, though, that Gordon is a unique NBA talent. As the art of the jumpshot enters relic status, Gordon's stroke -- one of the best in the league -- becomes all the more valuable. He has and will continue to win his fair share of games nearly single-handedly with unparalleled shooting displays, and he remains the closest thing this team has to a go-to scorer. And that's without a legitimate inside scoring threat to relieve some of the pressure on the Bulls' perimeter players.

To his credit, Gordon's also dealt with the disproportionate share of media criticism, trips in and out of the starting lineup and a publicly exacting head coach remarkably well, oftentimes responding to the adversity with big games.

So trade him at your own risk, John Paxson. But if you do, make sure you get a big-time scorer -- and a PB&J lover -- in return. Luol will still need someone to dine with.