Discussing the Bulls swap of Tony Snell for Michael Carter-Williams with the Bucks, Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said he likes what the former Rookie of the Year can bring to the team’s second unit, Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com relays. “I think he’s a versatile basketball player,” Hoiberg said. “He’s shown he can get into the ball and defend full court. His numbers speak for itself on what he can do on the floor as a scorer, averaging over 14 and a half points for his career. Also a very good rebounder and passer with good vision, averaging six rebounds and six assists for his career. Just excited to get him, a long and athletic guard that can play multiple positions.”
The 2016/17 NBA regular season will get underway next week, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re going to run through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. Having looked at the Atlantic and Northwest division so far, we’re moving on to the Central today…
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2015/16 record: 57-25
- Over/under for 2016/17: 56.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Chris Andersen, Mike Dunleavy, Kay Felder. Lost Matthew Dellavedova, Timofey Mozgov, Mo Williams.
How many games will the Cavaliers win?
Over 56.5
66.50%
(403 votes)
Under 56.5
33.50%
(203 votes)
Total Votes: 606
(App users, click here for Cavaliers poll)
Detroit Pistons
- 2015/16 record: 44-38
- Over/under for 2016/17: 44.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, Ish Smith, Henry Ellenson. Lost Jodie Meeks, Anthony Tolliver, Steve Blake.
How many games will the Pistons win?
Over 44.5
54.03%
(302 votes)
Under 44.5
45.97%
(257 votes)
Total Votes: 559
(App users, click here for Pistons poll)
Indiana Pacers
- 2015/16 record: 45-37
- Over/under for 2016/17: 44.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Al Jefferson, Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young, Kevin Seraphin, Aaron Brooks. Lost George Hill, Solomon Hill, Jordan Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Ty Lawson.
How many games will the Pacers win?
Over 44.5
73.06%
(404 votes)
Under 44.5
26.94%
(149 votes)
Total Votes: 553
(App users, click here for Pacers poll)
Chicago Bulls
- 2015/16 record: 42-40
- Over/under for 2016/17: 38.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Dwyane Wade, Rajon Rondo, Robin Lopez, Michael Carter-Williams, Isaiah Canaan, Denzel Valentine, Jerian Grant. Lost Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Mike Dunleavy, Aaron Brooks, E’Twaun Moore, Justin Holiday, Tony Snell.
How many games will the Bulls win?
Over 38.5
61.90%
(372 votes)
Under 38.5
38.10%
(229 votes)
Total Votes: 601
(App users, click here for Bulls poll)
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2015/16 record: 33-49
- Over/under for 2016/17: 34.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Matthew Dellavedova, Mirza Teletovic, Jason Terry, Thon Maker, Michael Beasley. Lost Jerryd Bayless, Greivis Vasquez, Tyler Ennis, O.J. Mayo, Johnny O’Bryant.
How many games will the Bucks win?
Over 34.5
67.48%
(415 votes)
Under 34.5
32.52%
(200 votes)
Total Votes: 615
(App users, click here for Bucks poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (52.5 wins): Under (54.59%)
- Toronto Raptors (50.5 wins): Over (54.63%)
- New York Knicks (38.5 wins): Over (71.41%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (23.5 wins): Under (54.62%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Under (60.74%)
- Utah Jazz (49 wins): Under (68.72%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (45.5 wins): Over (69.92%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (43.5 wins): Over (65.71%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (40.5 wins): Over (50.11%)
- Denver Nuggets (37 wins): Under (68.81%)
NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, asking each of the league’s 30 GMs an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. As John Schuhmann of NBA.com details in his piece announcing the results, it comes as little surprise that NBA GMs are just as bullish on the Cavaliers‘ and Warriors‘ chances in 2016/17 as the rest of us are — those are the only two teams GMs predicted to become this season’s NBA champion, with Golden State getting 69% of the vote and Cleveland getting 31%.
While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more interesting ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…
- LeBron James led the way in votes for 2016/17’s MVP award, but Karl-Anthony Towns was the clear choice for the player most GMs would want to start a franchise with today.
- The Warriors were the only team to receive more than two votes for which team made the best offseason moves — Golden State was the runaway winner at 83.3%, largely due to the signing of Kevin Durant. The addition of Durant was easily voted the move most likely to make the biggest impact this season, and it was also viewed as the most surprising move of the summer, just ahead of Dwyane Wade joining the Bulls.
- The Jazz‘s trade for George Hill received at least one vote for the move likely to have the biggest impact, and it was the winner for the most underrated player acquisition of the offseason.
- Dejounte Murray (Spurs), Kris Dunn (Timberwolves), and Patrick McCaw (Warriors) were considered the biggest steals of the draft by GMs, who voted Milos Teodosic and Sergio Llull as the top international players not currently in the NBA.
- NBA general managers view Tom Thibodeau as the new coach most likely to make an immediate positive impact on his new team, and think Chris Paul is the player most likely to become a future NBA head coach.
- The rules that GMs wants to see changed or modified include the draft lottery system, the number of timeouts per game, and intentional fouling.
OCTOBER 17, 9:58am: The Bulls and Bucks have officially announced the trade in a pair of press releases. Given the difference between Carter-Williams’ salary and Snell’s salary, Milwaukee should also pick up a small trade exception worth $815,199 in the deal.
OCTOBER 16, 8:43am: The Bucks will send Michael Carter-Williams to the Bulls in exchange for Tony Snell, Zach Lowe and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report. While it’s not quite a done deal, it is expected to be completed by Monday, Charles F. Garner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.
Milwaukee has been looking to acquire more shooting and defense since Khris Middleton suffered a torn hamstring in training camp, sources tell the pair of ESPN scribes. Milwaukee is interested in Snell both as a fill-in for Middleton and as a potential role player for the future. The team is expected to open contract extension talks with Snell once the deal is consummated, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
This will be the Bucks’ second trade since the Middleton injury, as they acquired Michael Beasley last month. Snell should see significantly more playing time with his new team than he would have with the Bulls. He was facing competition for playing time in Chicago with Dwyane Wade, Jimmy Butler and Doug McDermott expected to see the majority of minutes on the wing.
The Bulls didn’t have a proven option at the point guard position behind new addition Rajon Rondo. The league’s reigning leader in assists per game signed a two-year deal with the team during the offseason, but only $3MM of his $13.4MM salary is guaranteed next season. Carter-Williams could have an opportunity to take over the starting spot long-term, but in the interim, he’ll provide the team with depth at the position.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After spending his first 13 NBA seasons in Miami, Dwyane Wade made the move to Chicago this offseason, signing a two-year deal with the Bulls. However, it certainly wasn’t the first time the 12-time All-Star considered joining his hometown team. As Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com details, Wade admitted this week that he nearly signed with the Bulls in 2010, but ultimately remained in Miami when it became clear that Chicago could only add two players out of the Wade/LeBron James/Chris Bosh trio.
“I mean, this is a place I wanted to play,” Wade said of Chicago. “It was a place LeBron also loved. We loved the city of Chicago. It’s a great market as well. Obviously, the sunny sun of Miami is great too. We had two great choices. It pretty much boiled down to what we felt we could build. … Chicago was very tempting from a standpoint of what they had on the roster when it came to young talent. But when it came to the point Miami was able to get three players, that changed the whole dynamic of the summer.”
With Wade now less than two weeks away from making his regular-season debut as a Bull, let’s check in on a few more notes on the former Finals MVP and his new team…
- While his experience in Miami perhaps colors his views on the issue, Wade also said this week that he believes super-teams are “great” for the NBA, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “At the end of the day, whether you dislike the Heat or you loved the Heat, you was tuning in to watch the Heat, right?” Wade said. “Same thing with Golden State.”
- Most teams view a championship as the perennial goal, but Wade is being a little more pragmatic about the Bulls’ goals this season, Goodwill writes in another CSNChicago.com piece. “When you’re coming off a season where as an organization you don’t make the playoffs, your goal can’t be winning a championship,” Wade said. “It would be unrealistic to say, ‘Oh, we want to win a championship.’ Of course we do. But it’s so many steps before you get to that.”
- Wade and Rajon Rondo were the Bulls’ most notable free agent additions this summer, but they weren’t the only guards signed by the team. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune takes a closer look at free agent signee Isaiah Canaan, who is trying to adjust his game to better suit the club.
- Bulls will incorporate yet another new guard this season, in Denzel Valentine, and Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders says that the first-round rookie is an ideal fit for the team.
Over the next several weeks, Hoops Rumors will be breaking down the 2016 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2016/17 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.
Free agent signings:
- Dwyane Wade: Two years, $47MM. Second year player option.
- Rajon Rondo: Two years, $27.397MM. Second year partially guaranteed.
- Isaiah Canaan: Two years, minimum salary. Second year partially guaranteed.
Camp invitees:
- Spencer Dinwiddie: Two years, minimum salary (no guarantee)
- J.J. Avila: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Vince Hunter: One year, minimum salary (summer contract). Waived.
- D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera: One year, minimum salary (summer contract)
- Thomas Walkup: Two years, minimum salary ($69.5K guaranteed)
Trades:
- Acquired Spencer Dinwiddie from the Pistons in exchange for Cameron Bairstow. Subsequently waived Dinwiddie, then re-signed him.
- Acquired Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant from the Knicks in exchange for Derrick Rose, Justin Holiday, and Bulls’ own 2017 second-round pick.
- Acquired the draft rights to Ater Majok from the Lakers in exchange for Jose Calderon, Nuggets’ 2018 second-round pick, and Bulls’ own 2019 second-round pick.
- Acquired the draft rights to Albert Miralles from the Cavaliers in exchange for Mike Dunleavy and draft rights to Vladimir Veremeenko.
Draft picks:
- 1-14: Denzel Valentine. Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-48: Paul Zipser. Signed for four years, $3.832MM. Third year non-guaranteed. Fourth year team option.
Departing players:
- Cameron Bairstow
- Aaron Brooks
- Mike Dunleavy
- Justin Holiday
- Pau Gasol
- E’Twaun Moore
- Joakim Noah
- Derrick Rose
Other offseason news:
- Reportedly considered Jimmy Butler trade scenarios before making him unavailable.
- Taj Gibson eligible for a contract extension. Tony Snell eligible for a contract extension until October 31.
- Acquired D-League rights to 12 players in D-League expansion draft. Named Nate Loenser head coach of expansion Windy City Bulls.
Check out our salary cap snapshot for the Chicago Bulls right here.
The Bulls shook up the league several times this summer. Now we’ll see if they can do it once the season begins.
The most shocking move, of course, was the one that brought Dwyane Wade home to Chicago. A legend in Miami and an indispensable part of that city’s sports foundation, Wade found his relationship with the Heat front office souring for financial reasons. For years, Wade played for less than his market value to give the team enough cap room to add LeBron James and Chris Bosh. But he grew increasingly frustrated with a franchise that was willing to give a maximum contract to Hassan Whiteside, but not to him.
So Wade began shopping his services around the league. The move was widely dismissed as a negotiating ploy — until July 6th, when the 13-year veteran announced that he was taking his talents to Chicago. Wade, whose cousin was killed in August by stray gunfire in the city, said basketball was only part of his motivation for wanting to return to his childhood home.
“Now I’m back in the city of Chicago — I’m back for a reason,” he said. “I played 13 years in Miami. Now I’m back in the city, let me see what I can do as one person to help lend my voice and help shed light on the tragedy that’s going on and find a solution to start the process of making change.”
Before Wade was in their plans, the Bulls made headlines with a blockbuster deal in June, sending former MVP Derrick Rose and Justin Holiday to the Knicks in a trade that brought back Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon. Many factors led to the decision to part with Rose, but among them were an injury-plagued past, his impending free agency next summer and an uncomfortable fit with backcourt partner Jimmy Butler.
The Bulls filled the void at point guard by signing free agent Rajon Rondo, last season’s league leader in assists, to a two-year contract worth $28MM. After agreeing to the deal, Rondo called the Bulls a “great organization with pieces around me that I’m excited about.”
Nearly as significant were the moves that the Bulls didn’t make. They held onto Butler despite aggressive attempts by the Timberwolves and Celtics to swing a deal on draft night. The franchise also kept coach Fred Hoiberg, who many thought was on the hot seat after missing the playoffs and being the target of a much-discussed locker room rant by Butler.
But Hoiberg can’t feel too safe as he tries to reconstruct a team that was hit hard by free agent losses. Starting center Joakim Noah, whose season was cut short by a separated shoulder in January, accepted a four-year, $72MM offer to join Rose in New York. Fellow big man Pau Gasol headed to San Antonio for $30MM over two seasons.
Lopez will take over at center, with Nikola Mirotic as the likely starter at power forward because of his 3-point range. Taj Gibson, Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio will all be in the mix for playing time. Gibson represents the Bulls’ next major roster decision, as he is eligible to receive a veteran’s extension. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 73 games last season, but enters the final year of his contract making just $8.95MM. He could be looking at a substantial raise in free agency if the Bulls don’t re-sign him. Fourth-year swingman Tony Snell, who averaged 5.3 points in 64 games a year ago, is eligible for a rookie-scale extension through the end of October.
Chicago passed up a chance to move up in the draft in a potential Butler deal and settled for its own 14th pick, which it used on Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine. The 6’6″ shooting guard will help make up for the loss of Mike Dunleavy Jr., who was traded to Cleveland to help clear cap space for the Wade signing. With their second-round selection, the Bulls took 6’8″ German swingman Paul Zipser, who seems like a good bet to make the team after getting two guaranteed seasons on his rookie contract.
With just seven players in camp who were on the roster when last season ended, continuity will be a major issue for Chicago. Another will be outside shooting, which neither Butler, Wade or Rondo particularly excels at. Hoiberg promised that floor spacing would be an important part of his coaching philosophy when he accepted the job in June of 2015, but he didn’t have the shooters to make that work last season and this year’s group might be even worse.
It’s up to Chicago’s new version of a Big Three to prove that their unique skills can be effective against defenses that don’t have to worry much about guarding the 3-point line. If they can, it will be a happy homecoming for Wade and a return to the playoffs for the Bulls. If not, it could mean another shakeup in midseason and an early exit for Hoiberg.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Cavaliers wanted to sign Dwyane Wade this summer, but couldn’t make it work financially, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.
Cleveland had the highest payroll in the league last season and has more than $122.6MM committed for 2016-17. That left the team with little flexibility when negotiations between Wade and the Heat broke down in early July. But it doesn’t mean the defending champs weren’t very interested.
“We couldn’t afford him,” said LeBron James, Wade’s longtime friend and former teammate in Miami. “It’s that simple.”
Chicago gave Wade a two-year, $47MM deal with a player option on the second season. To clear enough cap space for the signing, all the Bulls had to do was arrange deals involving Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Ironically, the Cavs benefited from one of those moves, picking up Dunleavy in a deal involving the draft rights to two players taken more than a decade ago.
Cleveland would have needed a major roster adjustment in a short time to create the cap space needed to chase Wade. As it was, all the franchise had to offer was the taxpayer midlevel exception, which was only worth about $3.5MM. That money was eventually used to re-sign Richard Jefferson.
“Who wouldn’t be interested in a Hall of Famer?” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said about the possibility of acquiring Wade. “That don’t even make sense. Yeah, we wanted him.”
James has spoken often about his friendship with Wade and the possibility of someday teaming up with him, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. He also addressed the sudden break-up of the dominant Miami teams, while hinting that a reunion with Wade could still occur some day.
“In professional sports things can change from one year to another like that, so I’ve always had that perspective ever since I came into the NBA,” James said. “I’ve always known it’s a business and you could be with one team this year — have teammates this year, the next year you might not have them. That’s part of the business. So I’ll always have that perspective.”
- The Bulls had already been without guard Denzel Valentine due to an injury, and have now learned that Tony Snell will be out at least a week, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). As Nick Friedell of ESPN.com tweeted earlier, Snell sprained his ankle in Monday’s practice and was expected to be out for “a little while.” The injuries don’t appear serious enough to affect Chicago’s regular-season roster decisions, though that’s just my speculation.
- Bulls guard Dwyane Wade says he’s trying to evolve as a player to compensate for age and the loss of athleticism that accompanies growing older in an effort to prolong his career, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. “The goal is to be around for as long as you can play the game and still be effective,” Wade said. “I’m in the moment. I have to come here and prove to not only my coaches but my team that I can help make them better. I can [play basketball with my pedigree] when I’m done playing to my kids: ‘Hey, this is what Dad used to do. While you’re playing this game, you get your butt tore up if you walk around with that facade. I’m out here at 34 trying to keep up with these young guys. They’re going to come after me. So I got a lot of work to do.“
After being waived by the Bulls on Tuesday, Vince Hunter has signed a training camp deal with the Grizzlies, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Terms of the contract for the 6’8″ forward have not been released, but he had a non-guaranteed deal with Chicago.
Memphis signed Hunter to give its front-line rotation a break until the season starts, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “We want to make sure we don’t overload our veteran bigs during the remainder of preseason,” said GM Chris Wallace. “He’s in shape. He’s an easy player to assimilate. We need to protect ourselves upfront.” (Twitter link).
Hunter played for the Grizzlies’ team in summer league, so he is familiar with their system. The 22-year-old didn’t see any action in Chicago’s first preseason game on Monday.
Hunter spent last season with the Kings’ D-League affiliate in Reno, as well as Panathinaikos in the Greek League. He was in training camp with Sacramento a year ago after going undrafted out of UTEP.
It’s the second move of the weekend for the Grizzlies, who waived guard Tony Wroten on Friday.