- Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo worked out for the Bulls and Bucks already this week in advance of his Thursday workout with the Nets, as Adam Zagoria details. Meanwhile, Mark Strotman of CSNChicago.com wonders if Diallo, who could still return to Kentucky, might be the splash the Bulls are seeking.
- After being nagged by ankle issues during his rookie season, Bulls guard Denzel Valentine has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle, a person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press (link via USA Today). Valentine’s recovery timetable isn’t expected to stretch out too long — the AP report suggests he’s expected to play for Chicago in Summer League action in July.
Whether “Three Alphas” were too many or too few, this season didn’t turn out the way the Bulls hoped when they signed Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo to team with Jimmy Butler. After spending much of the year teetering on the edge of disaster, Chicago put together a late-season surge to claim the East’s final playoff spot.
Now the Bulls have to decide if they want to go through it all again. There’s no guarantee that Wade, Rondo or Butler will still be in Chicago next season, but there’s also a decent chance that they might all come back. If they do return, the Bulls need to spend the summer finding the right pieces to put around them, something that never happened this season. The other option is a complete rebuilding project, which some in the front office reportedly favor, but which Bulls fans may not be ready to accept.
Here are five key questions as Chicago embarks on an unpredictable offseason:
1. Is Butler a franchise player?
It’s not often you hear an All-Star-level professional athlete get upset about a preposition, but Butler reportedly become angry when VP of basketball operations John Paxson said, “We are building with Jimmy right now.” Butler planned to make it clear in a post-season meeting with management that he is the type of player to build around, not just with.
Regardless of the wording, Butler is the key to Chicago’s future. He is under contract for the next two seasons at nearly $18.7MM and $19.9MM before entering an option year in 2019/20. So the Bulls can try to piece together a title contender, or they can trade him and start rebuilding. The Celtics, who may own the top pick in this year’s draft, were very interested last summer, as were the Timberwolves, who are run by Butler’s former Chicago coach, Tom Thibodeau.
The Bulls have a lot of dominoes that could fall in a lot of different directions this offseason, but the decision that will affect all others is whether to blow up the current team and take the best deal for Butler or keep him as the centerpiece to build around (or with).
UNC’s Justin Jackson would be happy to play for any team in the league, but he believes he could help the Bulls on both ends of the floor, as Adam Zagoria relays for The Herald Sun.
“I can shoot the ball pretty well, which helps with spacing,” Jackson said. “Defensively, I can do a few things and so you kind of add both of those into it. At the end of the day, the Bulls are a great organization already but if I’m blessed to be drafted by them or whoever it might be, I can add a few things to it.”
Udonis Haslem and Tyler Johnson made a public appearance today to help Dwyane Wade sell sneakers, but they avoided questions about whether their former teammate might rejoin them with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Wade is considering whether to opt out of his $23.8MM contract with the Bulls for next season. If he does, many believe he will decide to return to Miami, where he spent his first 13 seasons. Haslem and Johnson have both been in touch with Wade since Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs last week. “He’s going to have to make the best decision for him,” Johnson said. “I know he wants to be in a situation where he’s playing for a team that’s kind of established. I don’t think he wants to go through a rebuilding process.”
There’s more news out of Miami:
- The Heat are expected to petition the league office soon to have Chris Bosh‘s salary removed from their cap. Bosh was kept on the roster all season after failing a physical in training camp over blood clot problems that have plagued him for the past two seasons. Haslem tells Winderman in the same story that he has contacted Bosh but hasn’t discussed his NBA future. “Chris is one of those guys, when he puts his mind it, he can do anything,” Haslem said. “So he doesn’t lack opportunity. He’s going to have a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things. He’s a very well-rounded guy. And whatever he does, he’s going to be great at it.” If Bosh is able to play enough games for another team, his $52MM salary would be put back onto the Heat’s cap.
- Free agent forward James Johnson may not be guaranteed a starting job if he
re-signs with the Heat this summer, Winderman speculates in another piece. With Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic both starting, Johnson may give Miami too many
players on the court at the same time who need to handle the ball. Also, Justise Winslow may claim one of the starting forward slots
when he returns from injury. - Winderman examines who the Heat might take if they keep the No. 14 pick in the May 16th lottery. Players who have been linked to Miami in that spot include Duke’s Harry Giles, UCLA’s T.J.
Leaf, North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, California’s Ivan Rabb, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, Indiana’s OG Anunoby, Duke’s Luke Kennard, Wake Forest’s John Collins and two overseas players, Terrence
Ferguson of Australia and Frank Ntilikina of France.
- The Bulls are still very high on Cameron Payne, Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago writes, despite the fact that the guard wasn’t featured as heavily as some thought he would be following the deal in which they acquired him.
- While they may be exploring their trade options, the Bulls mean no disrespect to starting swingman Jimmy Butler, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. “Don’t misunderstand: We think the world of him. You can’t say enough good things about how this young man has made himself the player that he is,” team executive vice president John Paxson said.
James Johnson is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and teammate Tyler Johnson wants him back with the Heat, reports Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post. Since last summer when James signed with the Heat, the pair have been inseparable.
While James has publicly made it clear that he wishes to remain with the Heat, Tyler, who himself is under contract for three more seasons, knows that anything can happen and ultimately wants the best for his close friend. James enjoyed a career season in 2016/2017, averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, while shooting 47.9% coming off the bench in all but five of the 79 games he played (27.4 MPG).
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel contends that Dion Waiters is set to field contract offers big enough “to create pause when it comes to making the Heat salary-cap math work.” Winderman cites Waiters’ excellent final half of the 2016/2017 season as reason why he’ll be coveted in free agency, despite having drawn little interest a year ago.
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that a Dwyane Wade reunion with the Heat is a possibility. The Bulls front office has been noncommittal about whether it will look to trade Jimmy Butler, who was perhaps the biggest reason Wade signed with the Bulls in the first place. According to Jackson, while the Heat may lack the assets to appeal to the Bulls, Pat Riley will likely at least explore the possibility of a trade for Butler, if the Bulls are taking calls.
- Furthermore, according to Jackson, a Wade associate has indicated that he would consider re-joining the Heat under the right conditions. The veteran guard hasn’t closed the door on accepting a bench role, and if Miami were to pursue him, it would likely be for a bench role — and at a reduced salary. Wade has yet to decide whether he will opt out of the final season of his contract with the Bulls.
Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman spoke to the media in a Wednesday press conference that lasted the better part of an hour. Although Paxson and Forman didn’t exactly lay out their offseason blueprint, several of their answers provided hints about the Bulls’ next steps.
For one, Paxson praised Rajon Rondo and said there’s a “really good chance” that the team will retain the veteran point guard for next season, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As we outlined this morning in our Offseason Cap Digest for the Bulls, Rondo’s $13.397MM salary is currently only partially guaranteed for $3MM, so Chicago could save more than $10MM by cutting him — but likely won’t.
Here are more items of note from today’s presser, with all links via Friedell unless otherwise indicated:
- Paxson reiterated today that Fred Hoiberg will return as the Bulls’ head coach next season (Twitter link).
- Although Paxson acknowledged that Jimmy Butler doesn’t necessarily fit into Chicago’s desire to play with pace, he said the Bulls “know his value”and that Butler is “far and away our best player” (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune and Friedell).
- The Bulls will sit down with Butler and Dwyane Wade – who has a player option – within the next few weeks to discuss their respective futures (Twitter links).
- Both Paxson and Forman spoke about the importance of establishing more consistent roles for players next season, particularly for the Bulls’ young guys (Twitter links).
- The Bulls value Nikola Mirotic, according to Forman, who made it clear that there’s mutual interest between the two sides in getting a new deal done for the RFA-to-be (Twitter links).
- Asked about coaching staff changes, Paxson said the team is “in the process of looking at everything.” With Hoiberg a lock to return, any changes made would be to the assistant coaches (Twitter links via Johnson).
- The Bulls want to add shooting and athleticism this summer, according to Paxson (Twitter link).
- The Bulls continue to stress the idea of maintaining flexibility for 2018 and beyond. Paxson suggested that it would be “difficult” to make significant changes to the roster this summer, while Forman talked about the advantage of saving cap room rather than committing to multiple long-term deals right away (Twitter links via Friedell and Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).
The Bulls’ approach to the 2016 offseason was a vexing one, as they stocked up on veteran perimeter players with poor outside shots. Chicago’s questionable roster moves continued into the regular season, when the team sent a pair of rotation players to Oklahoma City in exchange for a point guard (Cameron Payne) who barely got off the bench in the playoffs. With the futures of Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, and even trade candidate Jimmy Butler up in the air heading into the summer, it will be interesting to see whether the Bulls double down on their current core or head in a new direction.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Bulls financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:
Guaranteed Salary
- Jimmy Butler ($18,696,918)
- Robin Lopez ($13,788,500)
- Rajon Rondo ($3,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.1
- Cameron Payne ($2,203,440)
- Denzel Valentine ($2,186,400)
- Jerian Grant ($1,713,840)
- Bobby Portis ($1,516,320)
- Paul Zipser ($1,312,611)
- Isaiah Canaan ($200,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.2
- Total: $44,618,029
Player Options
- Dwyane Wade ($23,800,000)
- Total: $23,800,000
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Rajon Rondo ($10,397,000) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.1
- Isaiah Canaan ($1,377,230) — Partial guarantee. Guaranteed portion noted above.2
- Total: $11,774,230
Restricted Free Agents
- Nikola Mirotic ($7,228,063 qualifying offer / $10,986,655 cap hold)
- Michael Carter-Williams ($4,187,598 qualifying offer / $7,958,815 cap hold)
- Joffrey Lauvergne ($2,137,149 qualifying offer / $3,248,466 cap hold)
- Cristiano Felicio ($1,671,382 qualifying offer / $1,671,382 cap hold)
- Total: $23,865,318
Cap Holds
- Dwyane Wade ($27,840,000) — If player option is declined
- Anthony Morrow ($6,627,200)
- No. 16 overall pick ($2,247,480)
- Total: $36,714,680
Trade Exceptions
- Taj Gibson TPE ($5,462,000) — Expires 2/23/18
Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000
Maximum Cap Room: $50,872,031
- With only two sizable guaranteed contracts on their books for next season, the Bulls could clear a significant chunk of cap room. However, it would require waiving Rondo and Canaan, not to mention renouncing all their exceptions and free agents, including Wade (assuming he turns down his player option). In that scenario, the Bulls’ remaining guaranteed salary, the cap hold for their first-round pick, and a few cap charges for empty roster spots would total $50,127,969. However, I’d expect the Bulls to hang onto Rondo and attempt to re-sign at least a couple of their restricted free agents, which will limit their cap flexibility. Wade opting in would also reduce their cap room significantly.
Footnotes:
- Rondo’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
- Canaan’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 30.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.
The Bulls are considering front office changes this offseason, which may include more day-to-day control of the team for vice president John Paxson, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
That ties into a story from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who suggests that “subtle” front office changes are in the works. Organizational meetings are planned for this week, and management may hold a press conference to announce the moves as soon as tomorrow.
Johnson notes that the Tribune reported in February that Paxson and GM Gar Forman were safe in their jobs even if the Bulls missed the playoffs. Chicago rallied to claim the eighth seed, then took a 2-0 lead over the Celtics before being eliminated in six games.
Forman has promised that coach Fred Hoiberg will return in the fall to begin his third season, even though he has become the target of fan wrath. The crowd at Game 6 was loudly chanting “Fire Hoiberg” as the final minutes ticked away.
Behind the scenes, the Reinsdorf family still has faith in its management team, but team president Michael Reinsdorf is an advocate for more debate on key decisions. Paxson’s brother, Jim, a former GM of the Cavaliers, is someone who could be given a stronger voice in the organization.