Butler Expected Trade Involving Him Or Rose
- During an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump on Wednesday, Jimmy Butler acknowledged that he knew heading into the offseason that the Bulls would likely trade either him or Derrick Rose, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com details. Butler also isn’t 100% sure he’s safe, even after he made it through the draft without being dealt. “I don’t think anything is for certain,” Butler said. “I really don’t. I love the city of Chicago, Chicago basketball, I think everybody knows that. They drafted me; I’ve been here my entire career. Nothing is for certain.”
Forman: Bulls Need To Get Younger, More Athletic
- The Knicks‘ release of point guard Tony Wroten after acquiring Derrick Rose from the Bulls last week raised some eyebrows around the league given New York’s rather thin backcourt depth chart. Some light has been shed on why New York parted ways with Wroten, with a league source informing Stefan Bondy and Frank Isola of The New York Daily News that the guard was waived due to an undisclosed disciplinary issue. Memphis subsequently claimed Wroten off waivers.
- The Rose trade ushers in a new era in Chicago and GM Gar Forman says the Bulls will need retool in order to become a contender once again, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com writes. “We had a great run for 10 years,” Forman told reporters. “The last decade, we’ve got the best record in the Eastern Conference. We’ve put together a group that we thought was highly competitive and probably had a chance to get to a championship level. The injuries obviously derailed us quite a bit, especially the last few years. And then last year there were just so many of them. But we’ve got to put this back together now, going younger, more athletic and building it back up moving into the future.“
Portis, Snell Select New Agent
- Bulls power forward Bobby Portis and small forward Tony Snell have signed with CAA Sports, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Daily tweets. Portis had been a Mark Bartelstein client while Snell was represented by Mitchell Butler.
Bulls Want To Re-Sign E'Twaun Moore
- Asked today about the Bulls‘ pending free agents, GM Gar Forman spoke positively about E’Twaun Moore, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com observes. Moore seems more likely to re-sign in Chicago than players like Joakim Noah or Pau Gasol, but the 27-year-old guard will generate a fair amount of interest on the open market as well.
Pau Gasol To Opt Out Of Bulls Contract
Pau Gasol has formally notified the Bulls that he’ll opt out of his contract, declining his player option for 2016/17 rather than picking it up, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). The move, which will allow Gasol to hit the open market, had long been expected, with a report way back in December suggesting the veteran was “very likely” to turn down that option.
[RELATED: Player option decisions for 2016/17]
Gasol, who signed with the Bulls in 2014, would have made $7,769,520 in 2016/17 if he had opted into the final year of his contract. However, the former third overall pick has continued to be productive during his time in Chicago, averaging 16.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season, and earning All-Star nods in each of the last two years. He should be in line for a raise, if he wants it, and likely another multiyear deal.
The Bulls, who traded former MVP Derrick Rose to New York last week, appear to be in the midst of a rebuilding phase, or at least a retooling phase. Gasol doesn’t seem to be part of those plans, and while neither side has come out and said that the Spaniard – who turns 36 next month – won’t be back, it would be a shock if he re-signed in Chicago.
Several teams will likely have interest in the 15-year veteran, including the Knicks, who sent Robin Lopez – a potential replacement for Gasol – to Chicago in the Rose deal. Earlier in the offseason, Pau’s brother Marc Gasol advised his brother to sign with San Antonio, and that’s a possibility the Spurs could explore if they miss out on their top target, Kevin Durant.
Bulls Notes: Noah, Gibson, Gasol, Valentine
Free agent center Joakim Noah is putting together a list of possible destinations and seems increasingly likely to leave Chicago, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Noah and his agent, Bill Duffy, are working though a priority list as they search for Noah’s next team, Cowley reports. In order, those are a winning team, a chance to start and finish games and a franchise that will support his foundation, Noah’s Arc. The Knicks’ prospects for landing Noah improved with the Derrick Rose trade, according to Cowley. The Wizards and Timberwolves, under the direction of former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will also be contenders.
There’s more tonight out of Chicago:
- The Bulls have been talking to a few teams about a trade involving Taj Gibson, Cowley writes in the same piece. The 31-year-old power forward will make $8.95MM next season in the final year of his contract. Cowley says the Bulls also seem likely to lose free agent center Pau Gasol, who will turn 36 soon and doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project.
- Denzel Valentine‘s college coach says the No. 14 pick will be fine in the NBA despite concerns about the condition of his knees, relays K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “I think he’ll be great for the Bulls,” said Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. “I know people are worried about the knees. I’m not saying he’s got 20-year-old knees, but the guy played in 144 of 148 games. He missed some practices when he had surgery on it, but that was it. I used to have to drag him out of games. He practiced. He worked out. He loves the game.”
- Free agent point guard Brandon Jennings could help fill the void left by the loss of Rose, suggests Kendall Gill of CSNChicago. Jennings averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 assists this season in 48 games with the Pistons and Magic.
Noah May Join Rose In New York
Now that Derrick Rose is with the Knicks, his first priority will be convincing former Chicago teammate Joakim Noah to join him, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Noah is a New York City native who will become an unrestricted free agent Friday, and the Knicks have an obvious need at center after trading Robin Lopez to the Bulls to acquire Rose. “Oh, I want him, he knows that,” Rose said of Noah. “I think his family knows that. I think everyone knows that. Even [Thursday] night I was talking to him about it and it’s the same way. He’s in a position where he got injured twice last year. It was his contract year and he’s got to figure what he wants to do, so I can’t get mad with the decision he will make soon or whenever he makes it. He knows that I would want to play with him.”
Bulls Could Have added Crowder, Two First-Rounders
- The Bulls received several proposals for Jimmy Butler on draft night including the Celtics‘ package of Jae Crowder, the No. 3 pick and the No. 16 pick for the All-Star, sources tell K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Latest On Joakim Noah
The Wizards are expected to make a major push to sign Joakim Noah in free agency next month, sources tell Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News. Washington’s interest in Noah was reported earlier this week.
In addition to the Wizards, at least three other teams – the Knicks, Timberwolves, and Bucks – are prepared to make offers to Noah, who is coming off an injury-shortened season, having undergone shoulder surgery earlier in the year. The Warriors are also believed to have Noah on their list of free agent targets.
One team apparently not viewed as a serious contender to sign Noah is his current team — the Bulls. An earlier report indicated that the veteran big man may want to leave Chicago, and Lawrence hears that Noah is indeed ready to move on.
Lawrence also suggests that the Wizards may be willing to offer Noah a maximum-salary contract, though that seems awfully hard to believe, given the veteran’s age, his health issues, and his modest production over the last couple seasons. J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com (Twitter link), who thinks Washington may pursue Noah, is skeptical that the club would offer him the max, as is Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com.
With the salary cap on the rise, we’ve been bracing for months for a crazy free agent period, with salaries that exceed what we would have expected. But a four-year max contract for Noah would start at $26MM+, and wouldn’t expire until he’s 35 years old. I could potentially imagine the Wizards being willing to do a maximum-salary deal for one or two years, if they’re unable to land any other top free agent targets, but even that would be a bit of a shock.
Still, according to Lawrence, multiple NBA general managers believe Noah could draw more interest than some other top big men on the market, and at least one GM thinks the longtime Bull will be very well-compensated as long as his shoulder isn’t a concern. “If teams are convinced Noah is healthy, he will get a max deal, and Washington is panicking because Nene is done and they didn’t make the playoffs last season,” the GM tells Lawrence. “They’ll overpay for Noah — they always do.”
As the Wizards prepare for free agency, they’re also reportedly ready to put a max offer on the table for Bradley Beal.
Bulls Rumors: Butler, Turner, Zipser
When Kris Dunn got past the Celtics and landed with the Timberwolves at No. 5 in Thursday night’s draft, Minnesota and Chicago engaged in trade talks involving Dunn and Jimmy Butler, per several reports. While it seemed at times like those talks were gaining momentum, the two sides ultimately didn’t make a deal, and ESPN’s Marc Stein writes today that negotiations “fizzled” out, despite the Wolves’ aggressiveness.
As Stein writes, the Bulls are big fans of Dunn, prompting the Wolves to push hard to see if the two sides could reach an agreement involving the Providence point guard. However, Chicago decided not to trade its best player just a day after moving former MVP Derrick Rose, and GM Gar Forman downplayed the discussions late last night.
According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter), the Wolves offered Dunn and Ricky Rubio for Butler. If Minnesota wasn’t willing to sweeten the offer any more than that, perhaps by adding Zach LaVine or another piece, it’s no surprise the Bulls weren’t convinced to move their All-Star forward.
Here’s more out of Chicago:
- While the Celtics would like to keep Evan Turner, and the Knicks are also expected to have interest in the free-agent-to-be, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News adds another team to the list of potential suitors for Turner, writing that the Bulls are eyeing the Chicago native.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reported last night that 48th overall pick Paul Zipser is expected to join the Bulls for the 2016/17 season, and today Givony tweets that Zipser’s buyout is worth just $600K. The small forward has one year remaining on his contract in Germany, but Chicago shouldn’t have any issues bringing him stateside, says Givony.
- Asked about free agency, Forman indicated that the team’s sale pitch to potential targets this summer will involve selling the city of Chicago, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. As Friedell points out, the city is always a selling point, but it will be even more important this offseason, with Rose no longer a Bull and Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol potentially leaving as well — there won’t be as much veteran talent on the roster that appeals to prospective signees.