What to do with Anthony Roberson

But what, pray tell, are the chances of that happening? Recent reports speak of at least a modicum of Bulls interest in Allen Iverson, Nate Robinson and Jannero Pargo, and regardless of the validity of such reports, there's a common theme amongst them; all three players are small scoring guards. And so is Anthony Roberson.

None of those players will replace the talent level of Ben Gordon, and Roberson definitely won't either. But even last season, the Bulls were probably one outside shooter short. They ranked 6th in the NBA in three point percentage, but only 22nd in total makes; on a team with a well documented lack of post offense, that's not really high enough. And now that they've lost Gordon, one of the best jumpshooters in the world, the need becomes ever greater.

Well, Anthony Roberson is a shooter. That's one thing you can never deny him. The rest of his game might not be up to par, but the jumpshot - and his ability to get jumpshots off - has never wavered. And he's already on the roster.

You can never have too many shooters. You never could, but in this day and age, of small ball lineups and high tempo offense, you really can never have too many shooters. But you can easily have too few, and the Bulls are flirting with that right now, like the vile temptresses that they are.

The rotation features only two shooters; Hinrich, who is streakier than Erica Roe's bacon; and Salmons, who has only made more than 50 three pointers in a season once. Sure, Tim Thomas can shoot from outside. But he's not a good enough player to be in the rotation, so that doesn't count for much. And while it's nice to speculate that either Derrick Rose or Luol Deng can develop consistent outside strokes - or, even better, both of them - it's also highly speculative, since the pair combined for only 24 three point makes last season. In fact, all of the players currently under contract to the Bulls for next season combined for only 305 made three's last season, breaking down like this:

Salmons = 126 (77 with Sacramento)
Thomas, Tim = 78 (53 with New York, 6 with L.A. Clippers)
Hinrich = 69
Miller = 23 (20 with Sacramento)
Rose = 16
Deng = 8
Thomas, Tyrus = 3
Roberson = 2
Noah = 0
Gray = 0
James = 0
Nelson = 0
Johnson and Gibson = n/a, but Taj didn't hit a single three pointer in three college seasons, and Johnson shot 28% in his rookie year followed by 32% his sophomore year.

That's a bit lacking, really.

Roberson can hit more than that, though. He is not a rotation player, merely an outside shooting specialist (as evidenced by his career totals of 146 three point attempts, 109 two point attempts, and 10 free throw attempts). Yet, down on the deepest part of bench, he's a high quality shooter, something that every team wants on their deep bench. And this Bulls team, now with an increased three point shooting need, are no different.

Unfortunately, the rest of his game might hold him back. Roerson's defense is unspectacular, his ability to run the half court offense severly lacking, and his offensive game highly specialized. These all count against him, and it's probably going to be his lack of overall skill that will result in him being waived.

But if he doesn't make the team, it won't be because of his lack of jumpshot. And even if the Bulls determine that they don't need Anthony Roberson, they need someone like him.