Chicago Bulls Thread

[Andrew]

The first half of the season brought back memories of last year but as you said, the trades were a turning point and things looked a lot better through to the end of the regular season and the series with the Celtics salvaged what could have been another woeful year. Hardly the best season in NBA or franchise history, but they seem revistalised and there's certainly hope moving forward.

I'm still in favour of keeping Gordon for the price range discussed a page or so back. I think the Bulls will have the leverage as he's probably not going to get much more than they'd be willing to offer with the other players who will be free agents this offseason and in particular next year looming with all its marquee names. A team that's overhauled its roster to be a player in 2010 is not going to splash out big money on Gordon, or at least no more than the Bulls are likely to offer.

In any case, I'd like to see him return. Hinrich's looking pretty valuable off the bench, keeping Rose is a no-brainer, I'd like them to keep Salmons no matter what happens with Gordon and Thomas and Noah have shown encouraging signs of being a more dependable frontcourt. Basically, if they have an opportunity to bring back the core that finished the season I'd like that. That leaves Deng as the player I'd personally move but that's easier said than done and that's not to say I don't like Deng or that he's useless. He just strikes me as being more expendable at this juncture.

And sure, if there's a better low post scorer available then you've got to consider what kind of deal you could make but at the moment it doesn't appear that a can't-miss deal is imminent. Gordon's probably not going to be a factor in trade talks given his status as a free agent but if there is such a deal on the table involving Deng and the pick and anyone else not named Derrick Rose (and possibly Thomas or Noah, depends who would be coming the other way) then you probably pull the trigger as it could be their last opportunity to make that trade.

[air gordon]

a few comments...

trade for bosh. bosh may sign the extension offered this summer but that could be a sign and trade. offer some kind of combination of Tyrus thomas, Deng, Hinrich, the 2 first round draft picks... and either Tim Thomas or Brad miller to make the $' match

iirc signing Gordon for more then the MLE is going to put the bulls luxury tax territory. bulls owner Reinsdorf has been on record saying he will pay the tax only but only for a 'winning' team. this was a few yrs back... before the economy went in recession. there will be changes one way or another.

Noah is turning into a keeper. if the bulls were ever to get that low post scoring threat, i would want Noah to be paired with him in the frontcourt. Thomas has shown improvements this year but i think Noah's mindset & skillset make him the better match. he doesn't try to be the hero and plays within his abilities. go ahead- smoke the weed & sip on the cognac- just don't forget to hit the weights/do some cardio in the offseason

as awesome as the bulls playoff series was against the celts- we have to take it with a grain of salt. the bulls were fortunate to be facing an injury depleted team w/o it's best players. and VDN can't be going with a 7man rotation all season... though im sure he will try

haven't looked at draft prospects yet but i have this bad feeling tyler hansborough will end up on the bulls lol

[puttincomputers]

could you imagine a lineup of
PG Rose
Sg James or wade
sf Deng
pf tyrus
c Noah

or starters, bench
Pg. Rose, Ty Lawson (draft), hunter
sg Deng, salmons, nelson
sf Tyrus and Dominic McGuire (from washington) Dante Cunningham (draft)
pf Noah, tyler hansbrough (draft), Jerome James
c Brad Miller, Hasheem Thabeet (draft), gray,

[Andrew]

could you imagine a lineup of
PG Rose
Sg James or wade
sf Deng
pf tyrus
c Noah

I don't see that happening as I highly doubt LeBron or Wade would sign for the MLE.

[air gordon]

James or Wade? it's nice to dream. though unlikely, there's a slim chance Amare/Bosh will be available for trade

i don't think Deng will ever live up to his contract either. #1 priority is this guy gets healthy, works his arse off in the offseason, and comes back strong so we can trade him. ironically enough, it the bulls had deng available, they should have won against the KG-less celtics. they needed someone to hit that midrange jumper and more importantly defend Pierce. but i digress

just to throw it there- Memphis, OKC, and Detroit can offer Gordon more then the MLE

after a nice playoff series, i think Hinrich's trade value went up. perhaps Portland could be a potential team to trade him to...possibly Minnesota since Foye seems to be a 2 guard. and maybe even Philly & Atl depending on what Miller/bibby do respectively

after re-watching game 7 (sober this time around)... Davis completely outplayed Thomas.. shit- for the whole series. i'm beginning to think Tyrus won't be back

another random thought. Salmons is going to be 30. while he is a decent stopgap/insurance... i don't figure him to be in the bulls longterm plans. the only Bull in that longterm plan is Rose. then by necessity it is Deng for his contract. Next is prolly Noah but you throw him in a deal to land Amare/Bosh

[Andrew]

just to throw it there- Memphis, OKC, and Detroit can offer Gordon more then the MLE

It seems unlikely they would though. Gordon's best bargaining chip might be Europe, but that certainly didn't pan out for him last year so it's likely the Bulls' offer will be the best financially. He probably should've taken what was on the table last year.

[air gordon]

that seems to favor the bulls then he is saying the right things but we'll just have to wait and see. his agent probably did screw him over (iirc he hired a new one this year)

if the bulls sign Gordon for say ~$8 mil? what should they do next? i'm almost sure Reinsdorf won't pay the lux tax so they will have to trade someone else to get under the cap

and what if the bulls let him walk??

[Andrew]

It certainly does. That new agent really didn't help him out at all.

If he walks, it won't be the end of the world but I'll still be disappointed. If it were to happen though, then hopefully Deng would get healthy, stay healthy and be productive while Salmons moves over to shooting guard and keep doing his thing.

[Andrew]

Gar Forman promoted to Bulls GM

Gar Forman has been promoted to general manager of the Chicago Bulls, replacing John Paxson, who will remain with the team as executive vice president of basketball operations.

The Bulls announced the move Wednesday in a release promoting a Thursday news conference.

Forman has been director of player personnel the past five years. He joined the organization as a scout in 1998 and became the team’s director of player personnel in January 2004.

Paxson is expected to retain a major say in personnel moves, but was not immediately available for comment Wednesday. He had been GM since April 2003, when he was officially hired as executive vice president of basketball operations.

The new titles reflect a shift that had already taken place over the past year, with Forman assuming more day-to-day responsibilities. That included the lead role in contract negotiations with Luol Deng and Ben Gordon and input in the coaching search last summer.

It will be interesting to see how that plays out as the Bulls move forward and have to make some decisions on who (outside Rose, who surely should be untouchable outside the most unlikeliest of trade offers) will stay and who will go.

[George7]

What will be the exact role of Paxson?

[Andrew]

Well from the sounds of it he'll still be involved and he'll still have a say in player movement, perhaps veto power, but Gar Forman will officially be taking over the day-to-day stuff and spearheading contract negotiations, roster moves etc.

[NovU]

Is that good or bad?

[Andrew]

It remains to be seen I guess, though as the article says the change in titles is more of a formality at this point given the change has really already taken place.

[Bodz]

Bulls GM Forman: Re-signing Gordon is top goal

According to this article, seems like re-signing Gordon is a top priority for Forman... Wonder what Paxson has to say about this...

[Andrew]

I'm guessing Paxson is fine with it. He's also mentioned that re-signing Gordon is something the organisation would like to do.

[NovU]

How long has Paxson been the guy for the Bulls? Guessing from awful seasons that followed by MJ dynasty, I am thinking that he is not really a good one.

[Andrew]

Well...he's had his ups and downs but if I recall correctly he took over circa 2004. Jerry Krause was still in the front office for a few years following the breakup of the championship team, he's the one who traded Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler, brought in Tim Floyd and so on. Paxson has made a couple of blunders, certainly - signing Ben Wallace is a noteworthy one - but on the whole I'd say he easily did a better job during his portion of the last ten years compared to Krause did after breaking up the championship team.

[George7]

Gordon to Detroit???????
There are rumors here in Greece about Ben Gordon that he is going to Detroit and the Pistons for 11 milion a year.
Is it true??

[MikeMan™]

Ben Gordon coming off the bench again ?
Well I think it's okay for him , unlike the last one .

[Bodz]

If rumours are anything to go by...

Has Detroit Given Gordon An $11M Promise?

[Andrew]

Disappointing if true, though hopefully the Bulls will be able to work something out before he goes ahead and signs on the dotted line. That would really suck to lose him without getting anything in return, while Deng's contract chokes the payroll and he doesn't live up to it. Good call, Pax. Good call.

I am surprised though. As much as I like Gordon I wouldn't have thought anyone else would be clamouring to offer him more than the Bulls were and it's not the direct I figured the Pistons would go in when they traded Billups for Iverson and his expiring contract.

[shadowgrin]

Would that leave Detroit with a small defenseless backcourt? At least Gordon is a bit better than Rip at this point, and younger.

[Sauru]

looks like the show he put on against the celts is gonna get him paid

[NovU]

Wow, that's a lot of money for an undersized SG. Interesting though. His stats shows that he's a reliable scoring option so I am wondering how Stuckey and Gordon will play together.

[Andrew]

Stuckey is 6'5" so while it wouldn't be a huge backcourt, it would be bigger than the one the Bulls were running with this past season. It still surprises me though, obviously I'm a fan of Gordon and I feel he doesn't get quite enough credit but I would've figured the Pistons would be more interested in clearing cap space to make a run at a higher profile free agent.