2012 June | Hoops Rumors

Offseason Outlook: Chicago Bulls

By Luke Adams | at June 15, 2012 2:44 pm

Guaranteed Contracts

Derrick Rose ($15,506,632)
Carlos Boozer ($15,000,000)
Luol Deng ($13,305,000)
Joakim Noah ($11,300,000)
Richard Hamilton ($5,000,000)
Taj Gibson ($2,155,811)
Jimmy Butler ($1,066,920)

Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Contracts

Kyle Korver ($5,000,000; partially guaranteed for $500,000)
Ronnie Brewer ($4,370,000; partially guaranteed for $333,333)
C.J. Watson ($3,200,000)

Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Omer Asik ($2,414,750)
Mike James ($854,389)
John Lucas ($854,389)
Brian Scalabrine ($854,389)

Draft Picks

1st Round (29th overall)

Cap Outlook

Guaranteed Salary: $64,167,696
Non-Guaranteed Salary, Cap Holds: $16,714,584
Total (not including draft picks): $80,882,280

2011/12 was a "What if?" season for the Chicago Bulls, who very well could be playing for the NBA title right now if it weren't for injuries to Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah early in the playoffs. Rose is expected to miss a good chunk of next season as well, but there's enough talent on the roster that the team should stay afloat without him, and could make a second-half run when he returns.

Before the Bulls take the floor in the fall though, a number of roster decisions face the team. Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, and C.J. Watson all have non-guaranteed contracts for next season — Korver and Brewer have modest partial guarantees, but cutting all three players would still save the Bulls nearly $12MM.

I expect the Bulls to release at least one or two of the guys on non-guaranteed deals, but there's no real urgency to cut that salary. Chicago isn't in position to create room under the cap, and re-signing restricted free agent Omer Asik and filling out the roster will probably take the club into the luxury tax anyway. Replacing someone like Watson or Brewer with a lower-cost alternative, either through the draft or free agency, could be prudent, but that decision shouldn't affect the team's ability to spend elsewhere.

If they're a taxpaying team, the Bulls will only have the $3MM mini mid-level exception, along with minimum-salary exceptions, to spend in free agency. Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are rumored targets for Chicago, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Nash, in particular, seems unlikely to choose a destination where he could only earn $3MM annually and a franchise point guard is already in place. Kidd might be a stronger fit though, and the Bulls could also kick the tires on guys like Raymond Felton, Chauncey Billups, and Kirk Hinrich.

Of course, Chicago doesn't necessarily have to allocate that mini mid-level to a point guard acquisition, but it seems like the most logical choice. Assuming the team re-signs Asik, which GM Gar Forman has suggested will happen, the Bulls are in good shape with Noah, Asik, Taj Gibson, and Carlos Boozer up front. With Luol Deng on the wing and Richard Hamilton at the two, the Bulls' biggest hole is at the point. The team will be targeting a player that can carry a heavy load early in the season, then settle into a smaller role when Rose gets healthy.

The Bulls also hold the 29th pick in a deep draft, and while they probably won't find their point guard answer at that spot, there should be plenty of intriguing two guards available. Given Hamilton's health issues this year, adding a scorer to back him up makes some sense. John Jenkins, Doron Lamb, and Jared Cunningham could be among the Bulls' possibilities at No. 29.

While some Bulls fans may be expecting the team to use its amnesty provision on Boozer or to explore a blockbuster trade involving Noah or Deng, I think it's unlikely Chicago does anything too drastic this summer. The Bulls finished the regular season tied for the NBA's best record in a year when Rose never seemed completely healthy. There's no reason to believe the team as constructed, with perhaps a few small tweaks, can't be a title contender with better luck on the injury front.

Rose's ACL surgery was certainly bad news in the short term, but as Forman has said before, it shouldn't affect Chicago's long-term plans. I expect the Bulls to exercise patience this offseason, rather than desperately looking for any quick fixes.

Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.

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0 comments Chicago Bulls Offseason Preview

Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

By Luke Adams | at June 15, 2012 12:41 pm

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

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Bulls GM Talks Draft, Rose, Asik, Mirotic

By Luke Adams | at June 15, 2012 9:36 am

Despite an early and disappointing end to this year's season, Bulls GM Gar Forman remains optimistic about his team's long-term future. Forman appeared on BullsTV this week to answer fans' questions, and opened up a little on a few topics, including his plans for the draft, Derrick Rose's rehab, and the futures of a couple young big men. Here are some of the highlights from the GM, courtesy of Adam Fluck at Bulls.com….

On the draft and the Bulls' lone pick at No. 29:

"We feel pretty good about where we’re at with No. 29. It’s a deep draft and we’ll be able to address a need with our pick and get a player that’s going to fit into our team, both from a culture standpoint and from a strategic standpoint…. As always, we’re not looking at specific needs. We’ll draft who we feel is the best player available."

On Rose's recovery from ACL surgery:

"He’s been diligent in his rehab, he’s made tremendous progress, and the surgery, obviously, was a huge success. The biggest thing that’s been encouraging about Derrick has been his mentality towards the rehab. He’s working each and every day, putting a lot of effort into it, and we’re optimistic that if he continues to make the type of progress that he has, that we’ll see Derrick back on the floor at some point next season."

On restricted free agent Omer Asik:

"Omer is very, very important to us. We see him as a key piece of our team moving forward. We think he’s shown the potential to continue to improve. We’re looking forward to getting a chance to sit down with him on July 1st. But it’s certainly our intention to have Omer Asik in a Chicago Bulls uniform long term."

On 21-year-old Nikola Mirotic, whose NBA rights the Bulls hold:

"He’ll remain under contract with [Euroleague's] Real Madrid for the next couple years. But it’s certainly our goal and our expectation that Nikola will be in a Chicago Bulls uniform somewhere down the line. We’ll continue to monitor his progress and feel really good about the development that’s taking place…. He’s seeing major minutes for Real Madrid. When he does come over, we think he’s really got a chance to be a key piece to what we’re trying to put together."

On the team's long-term outlook:

"We’ve hit a bump in the road. We’re going to take a step back short term. But long term, we’re in as good of position as we feel we’ve ever been in. We’ve got some quality young players and we’ve got some assets on the horizon. We don’t have a lot of financial flexibility right now, but we will in the future."

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2012/13 Guaranteed Salary By Team

By Luke Adams | at June 15, 2012 8:44 am

At this point in the calendar year, it's hard to gauge exactly how much money NBA teams will have to spend in the offseason. Most decisions on team and player options are still to come, draft bonuses aren't on clubs' books yet, and the amnesty period is on the way. Still, we can get a sense of which teams will have the flexibility to spend this summer by taking a look at the guaranteed contracts that have been signed for next season. Listed below are the current guaranteed salary commitments for all 30 NBA clubs. Keep in mind that the 2012/13 salary cap and luxury tax thresholds are expected to be about the same as this year's — $58,044,000 for the cap and $70,307,000 for the tax.

2 comments Uncategorized

Odds & Ends: Shaw, Bower, Claver

By Ryan Raroque | at June 14, 2012 10:21 pm

A handful of tonight's coaching search updates came in the form of tweets. TNT's David Aldridge reported that Brian Shaw had an interview in Charlotte today, but was not offered the job. Yahoo's Marc Spears also confirmed that no offer was made, adding that Portland and Orlando are still on Shaw's radar. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, who broke the news about Sloan's withdrawal from Charlotte's head coaching race, thinks the Trail Blazers have a better chance of landing Shaw than the Magic do.

We've got more on Orlando's GM search and highlights from HoopsWorld chats with Mark Nugent and Tommy Beer…

0 comments Boston Celtics Dallas Mavericks Indiana Pacers New York Knicks Orlando Magic Portland Trail Blazers Amar'e Stoudemire Brian Shaw Jeff Bower Kevin Garnett Ray Allen Roy Hibbert Shan Foster Tyreke Evans Victor Claver

Draft Updates: Thursday

By Luke Adams | at June 14, 2012 8:46 pm

The countdown until the 2012 draft is down to two weeks, and this week has been heavy on workouts and trade speculation. We'll track the latest news and rumors on both fronts, along with a handful of other draft-related items, right here. New updates will be added to the top of the page throughout the day….

According to their official website, the Pacers will work out Evan Fournier, Ashton Gibbs, Travis Hyman, John Jenkins, Josh Owens, and Tony Wroten Jr. on Friday.

Earlier updates:

Charles F. Gardner Journal Sentinel reported that the Bucks hosted a pre-draft workout today which featured Tyler Zeller, Meyers Leonard, Fab Melo, and Kyle O'Quinn.
Aside from Anthony Davis, ESPN's Ric Bucher thinks that this year's draft still contains big men with star potential, focusing specifically on Andre Drummond, Meyers Leonard, and Thomas Robinson (Insiders only).
Sean Meagher of The Oregonian presents the video interview of Perry Jones III after his workout for the Trail Blazers.
Nate Mulberg of CSN Philly discusses the mutual interest between the 76ers and Terrence Ross.
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld quoted an NBA executive who thinks that the lottery is loaded with impact rotation players, but not impact starters. Pincus also offered highlights from interviews with JaMychal Green and Kevin Jones.
Tomorrow's workout schedule for the Wizards includes Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Austin Rivers, Terrence Ross, and Tomas Satoransky, according to Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Gene Wang, also of The Washington Post, wrote about today's workout with Hollis Thompson.
Stephen Hewitt of WEEI.com provided a breakdown of Mitchell Watt, a 6'10'' forward out of Buffalo who could be a realistic target for the Celtics' second round pick (51st overall).
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com wrote an interesting piece on the mental toughness of 27-year-old draft hopeful Bernard James, a 6'10'' power forward who served in the Air Force and did tours in Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq before starring at Florida State. Howard-Cooper also tweeted an update on John Henson, saying that he has no plans to rest his injured ankle in the midst of upcoming workouts with the Suns, Rockets, Bucks, Cavaliers, Raptors, Pistons, and 76ers.
Darren Heitner of Sports Agent Blog briefly documents the separation of Renardo Sidney and his agent, Johnny Foster.
Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld believes John Jenkins and the Bulls could be a perfect fit at pick No. 29.
Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com published the second version of his mock draft today.
Thomas Robinson will work out for the Bobcats on June 22nd, according to SI.com's Sam Amick (Sulia link). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com calls Robinson the "clear frontrunner" to be picked second overall (Twitter link).
Jeremy Lamb turned an ankle at his Raptors workout this morning, but it's not serious, tweets Sam Amick of SI. According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter), the ankle is sprained, and Lamb will cancel at least his workout with the Blazers.
The Sixers announced in a press release today that they'll work out Moe Harkless and Hollis Thompson tomorrow.
Arnett Moultrie is the biggest name among the six players working out for the Trail Blazers today, tweets Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
Harrison Barnes and Bradley Beal will work out against one another for the Cavaliers on Saturday, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The two players are the most likely candidates to be picked at No. 4 by Cleveland, so that will be an intriguing workout.
Discussing potential targets for the Bobcats if they trade their No. 2 pick, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com names James Harden as a possibility. It's not clear of Goodman's source, who says Harden "could be in play," means the Bobcats will pursue Harden or the Thunder could make him available. Either way, I'm skeptical about how realistic that scenario is. Even with the long-term cap restraints facing the Thunder, overhauling the roster mere days after making the Finals seems unlikely.
SI.com's Sam Amick examines the question marks surrounding John Henson and the rising stock of Miles Plumlee in his latest draft piece.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld compares Perry Jones III to Jordan Hamilton, who slipped to 26th overall last year because most teams thought the risk outweighed the upside. Within the same piece, Kyler also says the odds the Bobcats keep a player the select at No. 2 overall are "extremely slim."
The Raptors have a big day of workouts scheduled, with Jeremy Lamb highlighting the first session, Austin Rivers in the second, and Harrison Barnes in an individual workout. Jay Satur of Raptors.com has the details. Unfortunately, Eric Koreen of the National Post passes along a bit of bad news from the first session, tweeting that Lamb left the workout with an apparent injury.
Chad Ford tries his hand at predicting where the players on the first-round bubble will land in an Insider piece for ESPN.com.
Will Barton and five other prospects will work out for the Pacers today, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
The Pistons' workouts so far suggest they're eyeing big men not just with their first-round pick but in the second round as well, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Bucks.com profiles the prospects that Milwaukee will be working out today.
Damian Lillard thinks he's ready to be an NBA starter, but he probably won't be a fit for the Kings at No. 5, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

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0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Boston Celtics Charlotte Hornets Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings Toronto Raptors Andre Drummond Anthony Davis Arnett Moultrie Ashton Gibbs Austin Rivers Bernard James Bradley Beal Damian Lillard Evan Fournier Fab Melo Harrison Barnes Hollis Thompson JaMychal Green James Harden Jeremy Lamb John Henson John Jenkins Josh Owens Kevin Jones Kyle O'Quinn Maurice Harkless Meyers Leonard Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Miles Plumlee Mitchell Watt Perry Jones III Renardo Sidney Terrence Ross Thomas Robinson Tomas Satoransky Tony Wroten Travis Hyman Tyler Zeller Will Barton

Jerry Sloan No Longer Considering Bobcats

By Ryan Raroque | at June 14, 2012 6:49 pm

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated writes that Jerry Sloan has pulled out of the running as a candidate for the Bobcats' head coaching position. With Sloan out of the picture, Brian Shaw and Quin Snyder now appear to be the frontrunners. Shaw reportedly had an "excellent" meeting with team owner Michael Jordan last Thursday, and according to a tweet by Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA, Snyder had a second meeting with Jordan yesterday. Amick cites a source with knowledge of the situation that Jordan had been considering re-opening the coaching search if he was not impressed with the finalists.

0 comments Charlotte Hornets Orlando Magic Portland Trail Blazers Brian Shaw Jerry Sloan Quin Snyder

Sonny Weems To Return Next Season

By Ryan Raroque | at June 14, 2012 6:40 pm

According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter), Sonny Weems plans to return to the NBA next season. The 6'6'' shooting guard will be a restricted free agent, and has drawn interest from the Celtics, Pistons, Cavaliers, and Clippers. He last played for the Raptors during the 2010-11 season before signing a one-year deal with Zalgiris Kaunas of the Euroleague during the NBA lockout.

1 comment Boston Celtics Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Clippers Sonny Weems

Odds & Ends: Noel, Spurs Prospects, Thunder

By Ryan Raroque | at June 14, 2012 6:27 pm

It has been extremely rare for a college basketball team to deliver a number one pick in consecutive years. However, with incoming freshman Nerlens Noel already being touted as the top selection of the 2013 NBA Draft, Kentucky could be the first program to do it since 1955 and 1956, when Duquesne’s Dick Ricketts and Sihugo Green were each selected number one overall on draft day in those respective years. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld provides some background on Noel, from his early beginnings as strictly a defensive minded player to now, a time when some marvel at the possibility of him being the NBA’s next great big man.

Here's more of what we've heard this evening, including two possible international gems whose draft rights are owned by the Spurs, an offseason dilemma for the Thunder, and some insight on two former Dream Team members looking for work in the NBA…

0 comments 2013 NBA Draft Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers Erazem Lorbek James Harden Nando De Colo Nerlens Noel Patrick Ewing Serge Ibaka

Nelson Extends Player Option Deadline

By Ryan Raroque | at June 14, 2012 5:16 pm

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweeted that Jameer Nelson and the Magic have agreed to amend his contract and move the deadline to exercise his player option from June 15 to June 29. In another tweet, Robbins added that Nelson and his agent wanted the extension in order to be able to speak with the team's new GM before making a decision.

0 comments Orlando Magic Jameer Nelson

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Month: June 2012