Anthony

CHICAGO -- Can the Bulls still land Carmelo Anthony?

The short answer is yes, it's possible. It's certainly a longshot, but it's possible.

Let's take a look at some of the issues surrounding any possible deal and what it might take to make it happen ...

1. 'Mo money, no problem

This particular part of the equation can be cleared up right away. The Bulls are willing to spend the money that it would take to acquire Anthony and give him the three-year, $65-million extension he is looking for. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf has come out publicly in recent years and said that he would be willing to dip into the luxury tax if it was in the best interest of the club. The people I've spoken to in the organization are convinced he's not going to back off of that claim now, especially if it meant landing a player of Anthony's caliber. Plus, no one knows for sure if there will even be a luxury tax if and when a new collective bargaining agreement is reached in the coming year. There could be a hard cap, there could (and probably will) be a completely different cap, but no one is certain of what that will be. In the short term, the Bulls are willing to make whatever financial sacrifices they can to land Anthony. They'll worry about the long-term ramifications of the deal if and when the time comes.

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MONTA ELLIS, SG

 Projection: 24.2 pts, 4.2 reb, 4.8 ast per 40 min; 17.17 PER | Player card

• Super quick guard who loves to push tempo and finish in transition.
• Defensive ball hawk but gambles too much and lacks size for two.
• Mediocre outside shooter who often shoots contested Js early in shot clock.

Ellis is talented enough that he may eventually become very valuable, but at the moment he is the league's most overrated player. He plays like he learned the game from watching Allen Iverson tapes, and I don't mean that as a compliment. Probably no player in the league took more ill-advised jump shots early in the shot clock, a particular problem in this case because Ellis isn't a good jump shooter -- he made only 33.8 percent of his 3s and 38.1 percent of his long 2s.

Ellis finished with a gaudy scoring average because he played a lot of minutes on a fast-paced team, but he was 47th among shooting guards in both TS% and pure point rating. Basically, he dribbles around looking for a shot unless circumstances force him to pass.

The most damning stat, however, is how much better the team played without him. Golden State outscored its opponents quite comfortably as long as Ellis wasn't around, and finished a whopping 11.4 points per 100 possessions better without Ellis -- giving him the single worst differential in basketball.

• Click here to read the rest of Hollinger's player projections for the Warriors.