- Dan Feldman of NBC Sports identifies three NBA head coaches who may be on the hot seat for the 2017/18 season, singling out Alvin Gentry (Pelicans), Jeff Hornacek (Knicks), and Fred Hoiberg (Bulls) as coaches under pressure to impress.
After a disappointing first season in which he wasn’t heavily utilized as a playmaker, Denzel Valentine is eager to show the Bulls what he’s capable of. The famously versatile forward out of Michigan State told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that his role in 2016/17 was to mostly just be a spot-up shooter.
With so much turnover on the Bulls roster over the summer, Valentine could get his opportunity to flash the rest of his skills and potentially even earn a role as a starter with the young franchise, although head coach Fred Hoiberg has implied that his lineups will be determined through preseason.
The 23-year-old averaged 5.1 points per game last season but underwent surgery on his left ankle at the start of the summer. The second-year Bulls forward is still working his way back into shape.
- The Bulls will be cautious with seventh-overall pick Lauri Markkanen‘s injured back. The club won’t rush the first-year big man back to the court, Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago writes.
- The Bulls appear headed for a high lottery pick, but that’s not how they’re approaching camp, relays Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Regardless of what people might think or say, we’re here to win,’’ said Justin Holiday, who came back to Chicago this summer after spending one season in New York. “We’re not on this NBA team just to be here, just to hang out. We’re here to win games.”
LeBron James‘ future in Cleveland is unclear beyond the upcoming season but he said to reporters during Monday’s media day that his stated intentions to finish his career with the Cavs haven’t changed, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes.
James said he will honor his current deal with the Cavaliers as he attempts to reach the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive season. James will field questions about his future for the rest of the season but he said that he will handle his fourth free agency next summer.
“And if you guys know me, I don’t know if you know me as much, but I’ve always handled it in the most businesslike way,” James said. “And I will do that with my team, and we’ll handle that in the summertime, as we always have.”
The Cavaliers enter 2017/18 with a restructured roster that no longer has Kyrie Irving but does feature recently signed Dwyane Wade, former NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose, and last season’s Eastern Conference scoring leader Isaiah Thomas. Barring a collapse the Cavaliers are favorites to return to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season.
Read up on other news surrounding the Central Division:
- While the Cavaliers‘ signing of Wade may reduce J.R. Smith‘s playing time, the Cleveland sharpshooter is ready for the upcoming season, Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders writes.
- Zach LaVine is making progress in his comeback from a torn ACL, staying behind after practices end to improve himself, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said that LaVine will likely not be able to take contact during practice until mid-November, per Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link).
- With a younger Bulls roster in place, Denzel Valentine said he will likely see more playing time and will need to take advantage of it, Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago writes.
- NBA.com’s Sam Smith answers questions in his latest mailbag including the Bulls‘ post-Wade future, depth at point guard, and expectations from the youngsters.
The Bulls have had a busy week signing Nikola Mirotic and buying out Dwyane Wade. Now, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, the team will turn its attention to Zach LaVine, their recently acquired guard currently eligible for a contract extension.
“They [the Bulls and his representation] have had some conversations,” LaVine said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I’m going to let all that take care of itself. I know I’m a big part of this team and I’m excited to be in negotiations with them. I want to be here for a long period of time. If it’s now or later, I know it’s going to be done either way.”
The guard averaged 18.9 points per game for the Timberwolves last season before tearing his ACL last February. He, along with Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick ended up with the Bulls in the Jimmy Butler deal.
Just yesterday we wrote about how the Bulls’ front office was clear about their intentions to build around a core that featured the 22-year-old dunk contest champion. Whether that means committing to him on the heels of a significant injury before he even suits up for a game, however, is a whole other question.
The Bulls have fully embraced a rebuild and it’s centered around Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen. Vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman declared as much at media day, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The three players mentioned were all acquired a draft day deal between the Bulls and Timberwolves that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. The change of course to embrace a rebuild came after a season of trade rumors and speculation that the organization should dismantle its core (among other things).
SEPTEMBER 28: The Bulls have officially signed Koenig, according to a press release issued by the club.
SEPTEMBER 27: Having been waived by the Bucks less than a week ago, rookie guard Bronson Koenig is poised to join a new NBA team. According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Koenig will sign a training camp contract with the Bulls, who have an open spot on their 20-man roster after buying out Dwyane Wade.
Koenig, 22, went undrafted this spring after finishing his college career at Wisconsin. As a senior in 2016/17, Koenig averaged 14.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 2.0 APG, shooting 39.5% on three-point attempts. He made 2.9 threes per game.
Koenig caught on with Milwaukee this summer, becoming the first player to sign a two-way contract with the club. However, after signing Koenig and Jalen Moore to fill the two-way slots on their roster, the Bucks waived both players this month, opting to fill their roster with 20 players on NBA contracts and figure out those two-way spots later.
The Bulls will now have a full roster, including 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Koenig will join Jarell Eddie, Jaylen Johnson, David Nwaba, and Diamond Stone as camp invitees without guaranteed salaries. Ryan Arcidiacono and Antonio Blakeney are currently occupying the club’s two-way slots.
Nikola Mirotic, who recently came to terms with Chicago on a two-year deal, knew all along that he would play another game with the Bulls, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Mirotic added that he was prepared to play under his qualifying offer, which would have paid him approximately $7.23MM this season, if the Bulls didn’t present him with a desirable offer.
Mirotic’s new deal will pay him $27MM over the next two years, though the contract contains a team option for the 2018/19 campaign. He knows that he would have brought home a much larger contract had he hit the market just one year prior, but he remains grateful for the opportunity to play in Chicago.
“If I was in this position like last year, you know, I’m sure that I would get much more pay, but it’s just not about the money, to be honest,’’ Mirotic said (via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times). “Coming from Europe, I was very happy there with the contract, and it’s more about being happy where you are, feeling comfortable with you and your family. I knew that my wife, my son, would be very happy in Chicago, too, so it was a goal.’’
Here’s more on Mirotic:
- Mirotic’s salary for the 2017/18 season is guaranteed for $12.5MM, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Lowe adds that the power forward could earn an additional $1MM in incentives this season.
- According to Mirotic, the Bulls want to play a different style of offense than they have in the past, Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet relays (Twitter links).“We want to play fast. No more holding the ball. We’re not gonna be bad like people think,” Mirotic said. Goodwill believes that Mirotic’s comments were meant as a shot toward Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade, both of whom are no longer on the squad.
- Coach Fred Hoiberg indicates that Mirotic will compete with Bobby Portis and No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen for the starting power forward spot, as Cowley relays in the aforementioned piece. The 26-year-old looks forward to earning his spot.“Whatever they ask me to do, I will try to do my best,’’ Mirotic said. “I think playing [the four or five], it depends on the style that Fred looks for in me.”
SEPTEMBER 26: The Bulls have officially re-signed Mirotic, the team announced today in a press release. The club’s roster count is now at 19 players, including 13 on guaranteed deals.
SEPTEMBER 24: The Bulls have agreed to re-sign Nikola Mirotic to a two-year, $27MM deal, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Mirotic has a right to veto any trade in the first year of his new Bulls deal, Charania adds. Mitrocic’s second year will include a team option, per Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link).
Mirotic, 26, has been a steady scoring presence for Chicago the last three seasons. The Montenegro native averaged 10.6 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 70 games (15 starts) for the Bulls last season. The 6’10” forward was one of the last restricted free agents on the market — with Mirotic returning to Chicago and Alex Len signing his qualifying offer in Phoenix, Grizzlies forward JaMychal Green is now the final unsigned RFA.
Earlier this week, we noted that Mirotic had not made any progress but that his qualifying offer remained on the table. Now, he has a multiyear deal that will keep him in Chicago.
SEPTEMBER 25, 4:25pm: Wade has been formally placed on waivers, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. He will clear waivers on Wednesday, Charania adds.
SEPTEMBER 24, 8:36pm: The Bulls and Dwyane Wade have reached an agreement on a buyout, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
The early favorites for Wade’s services are the Spurs, Cavaliers and Heat, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Miami is currently positioned to pay him the most money this season.
Within minutes, Wojnarowski followed up with another tweet saying that Cleveland was a “clear frontrunner.”
Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Heat can sign Wade for $4.2MM and the Spurs can sign him for $3.3MM. The Cavaliers at $2.5MM could pay little over the veteran’s minimum.
The idea of Wade suiting up elsewhere in 2017/18 has been a popular topic ever since the organization traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves earlier this summer.
It’s been said that Wade felt misled by the organization at the beginning of the offseason, given assurances that the team would remain competitive in his final year with the squad should he opt into his 2017/18 player option.
Wade, of course, did opt in but the Bulls soon changed course, trading Butler for a package centered around Zach LaVine and Minnesota’s No. 7 overall pick.
In the months since, the Bulls and Wade have gone back and forth in seemingly amicable negotiations.
Per Wojnarowski (also on Twitter), Wade will forfeit about $8MM of his $23.8MM contract, leaving the Bulls on the hook for around $16MM through 2017/18.
Considering that Chicago currently runs the risk of falling below the salary floor for the season, keeping the bulk of the veteran’s deal on their books isn’t particularly cumbersome.
Chicago came to an agreement with Nikola Mirotic earlier today that would have pushed the Bulls above the $89.2MM floor but the Wade buyout will drop them below yet again as training camps around the league begin in earnest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.