More Money, More Money. I'm Takin' Your Money, Your Money.

More Money, More Money. I'm Takin' Your Money, Your Money. That has got to be the Ben Gordon Theme Song. He must have played that song so many times that he started to believe it was written about him. Now after that mostly useless introduction we will continue with our feature presentation: Ben Gordon; The Man, The Mystery, THE MONEY.

There are a few things in this whole issue surrounding BG that I don't quite understand and they are; why is Ben Gordon so damn greedy, why is Ben Gordon so damn greedy and why is Ben Gordon so damn greedy? Okay so they're all the same thing but you get my point. I can understand that Benny Boy wants what he believes is a fair price for his services, which is fine all ballers desire a fair and reasonable paycheck. According to my sources BG will decide in the coming days as to how much he will leech off the Bulls and maybe even where he will leech his cash from (if a trade is manufactured).

Ben wants 13 mil a year for six years but the Bulls are offering him approximately 10 mil for a six year time period. Ben also has the option of signing a 6.4 million dollar qualifying offer which means he can test the free agency waters at the conclusion of next season. I will finish throwing facts at you now and get to the point of this post.

The Bulls have just come of a horrid 2007-08 campaign in which they only won 33 games (sorry, more facts). This helps illustrate my first point which is; if Ben wants BIG money he has got to play like he deserves the money. If he wants a max contract he has to lead his team not just in statistical categories but in leadership and most importantly lead his team to wins, playoff berths, round advancements, you know, all the good stuff. (watch out here comes some more facts) For a player with max money aspirations Ben averaged only 18.6 (points), 3.1 (rebounds) and 3 (assists) solid but not excellent once again highlighting the difference between what Ben thinks he deserves and what his stats indicate about what the size of bank account should be.

Has anyone stopped to think as to how this affects Chicago's new Golden Child, Derrick Rose. Derrick has just fulfilled, what I assume, was his life's dream and he turns up to his first practice (We talkin' bout practice!) and there's bickering and hatred flying around like he's just walked into the middle of a Jukai vs Eboy vs BETCATS e-beef. (that's an in-joke for the SLAMonliner's) As a rookie Derrick is as impressionable as a child and all the drama of the Ben Gordon fiasco can't be good for team chemistry or Mr Rose's view of the league. What is BG teaching DR? That fighting with your team is all part of the ride as an NBA basketballer. All I'm saying is that I Hope Derrick doesn't pick up some of Ben's Bad habits.

Now for all you stoners, try your hardest to remember (yes, remember) back to the first quarter of the 07-08 season when the Kobe-to-Chicago rumours (that's right with a "U") were running riot around the Bull's and as a direct result of those rumours the Bull's played poorly and Scott Skiles was fired. Now imagine what Ben Gordon's over-inflated sense of self-worth is doing to Chicago and this time it is being caused from the inside out.

I sincerely hope someone who holds some authority in the Bulls organization realises that Ben Gordon is toxic and they should give him his qualifying offer and then let him go. They can do that as long as they ensure he does not come to Philadelphia, my Sixers are fine without a toxic under-achieving, under-sized two guard who can talk the talk but struggles to walk the walk which is a direct result of all his egocentric talk.

For The Record: Ben signed the Bulls qualifying offer and will have another shot at free agent success and the completion of 08-09 season. I believe this was the best move for Chicago because it doesn't leave them strapped for cash and they have an opportunity to get rid of Ben (wishful thinking) in a season's time.