Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Thompson, Rose, Gansey

October 3rd, 2015 at 12:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tristan Thompson has become a virtual outsider for the Cavaliers as his training camp holdout continues, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “Right now, my thoughts are just about the guys that are here and how hard and how well they are working and no specific expectation otherwise,” said coach David Blatt when asked for his reaction to Thompson not signing the team’s qualifying offer. “Just happy to see our guys working as well as they are.” The coach noted that he isn’t losing any sleep over the situation — literally, with Blatt admitting that he was fast asleep when Thursday night’s deadline for Thompson to accept the qualifying offer passed, McMenamin adds. “I was liking the dream I was having,” Blatt said. “Usually I don’t go to sleep that early, but [that] night I was tired. We’re just back at it. We’ve got to focus on the now and here and that’s what we’re doing.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Central Division:

The city of Chicago’s love for hometown star Derrick Rose is waning rapidly, and the story between him and the Bulls may not have a happy ending, Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com writes. Outside of his numerous injuries the past few seasons, Rose didn’t help public perception of himself with his comments saying that he was looking forward to becoming a free agent in 2017, Jackson notes. “What is interesting about Derrick Rose’s career is the public has seen him grow as a man and a spokesperson for himself and the team. For someone who has played in so little games, he is still the face of the team. He has gone from a shy introvert to an aggressively vocal [player] on the court and defender of himself and team to the media,” communications strategist Micaeh Johnson of Carte Blanche LTD, a Chicago-based public relations firm, told Jackson. When asked what Rose could do to help the public’s perception of him, Johnson said, “In short: Recover, stay away from the media, don’t respond to the sport of media and fan [expletive] talking, speak to his fans with humility and confidence when he returns and play ball.“
The Pacers have officially named Steve Gansey as the head coach of their new D-League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced. Gansey spent the 2014/15 season as associate head coach for Cleveland’s affiliate, the Canton Charge.
The Pistons have been hit by the injury bug at the point guard spot early on in training camp, which will give 2014 second-rounder Spencer Dinwiddie a chance to show what he can do, and potentially earn himself a slot in the team’s regular season rotation, Aaron McMann of MLive.com writes.

Central Notes: Drummond, Felicio, Cavaliers

October 1st, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons center Andre Drummond is cautiously optimistic about his team’s chances heading into the 2015/16 campaign, John Niyo of The Detroit News writes. “I feel like now is the time for us to really do what we set out to do every year,” said Drummond. “We say we’re gonna do one thing, and then one thing leads to another and we don’t do it. But I feel like now, this is our time. We’re on the rise, and we’re gonna do it.” The young big man declined to make a specific prediction for Detroit’s fortunes in 2015/16, but he did say, “It’s just words until you do it. I hate losing. I can’t stand it. It’s the worst feeling. People laughing at our team, that’s not a good feeling. I want to rub it in somebody’s face that we’re a great team.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

With the Bulls already carrying 13 players with fully guaranteed deals, power forward Cristiano Felicio, who is in camp on a non-guaranteed pact, could be a victim of the numbers game in his quest to make the regular season roster, but the team is extremely high on his potential, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets. Coach Fred Hoiberg raved about how strong the 23-year-old is, Johnson adds.
Cavaliers coach David Blatt said that the team intends to carry the maximum of 15 players on its regular season roster, so all of the camp invitees have a shot at making the final cut, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
Expect Kevin Love to have a more prominent role in the Cavs‘ offense this season, McMenamin writes in a separate piece. LeBron James noted that Love’s importance to the team was illustrated after Love went down during last year’s playoffs with an injury, McMenamin adds. “I think him being out showed even more of what he means to this team, more than him being on the floor for those three and a half games,” James said. “It would’ve been huge for us obviously if he was in the lineup, but it gave him the opportunity to put things in perspective and see what his presence can mean to our team. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to see how important you are.“
The addition of Steve Blake, who came to the Pistons via a July trade with the Nets, makes perfect sense given the uncertainty surrounding the health of Brandon Jennings, who isn’t expected to return to action until December, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “It’s exactly what we wanted,” president/coach Stan Van Gundy said. “A guy that’s good enough to come out and be your everyday backup and mature enough that, when Brandon comes back, that if there’s not as much or any minutes there, can handle that role.“

Bulls Sign Stefhon Hannah

October 1st, 2015 at 11:11am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have signed former University of Missouri point guard Stefhon Hannah, the team announced. He played in the D-League this past season and was with the Warriors for training camp in 2012. Chicago only had 18 players, two under the preseason roster limit, so a corresponding move isn’t necessary. The terms of Hannah’s deal aren’t immediately clear, but most signees at this time of year receive minimum-salary deals with little or no guaranteed money.

Hannah, 30, will give the Bulls some depth at the point while Derrick Rose recovers from his fractured orbital bone, which the team says should keep the former MVP from basketball activities for two weeks. The 6’1″ Hannah averaged 5.9 points, 2.1 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game in 22 D-League appearances last season, when he split time between the affiliates of the Kings and the Pistons. The Pedro Power client’s strength is on the defensive side of the ball, as he won back-to-back D-League Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2012 and 2013.

The Bulls have Aaron Brooks, Kirk Hinrich, E’Twaun Moore and fellow camp invitees Jordan Crawford and Jake Anderson available to play point guard in Rose’s stead, though Hinrich, Moore and Crawford also play on the wing, which perhaps created the team’s desire to add Hannah. Chicago has 13 players with fully guaranteed contracts, plus a 50% partial guarantee to Cameron Bairstow, and with the team’s history of carrying fewer than 15 players on opening night, Hannah’s odds of sticking for the regular season appear low.

Marc Gasol To Try To Recruit Pau Gasol To Grizzlies

October 1st, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Gasol will be part of an effort to convince Pau Gasol to sign with the Grizzlies, as Marc tells the Spanish outlet Europa Press (translation via HoopsHype). Marc signed a new five-year max deal with Memphis in July, but Pau can opt out of his contract with the Bulls next summer. Marc suggests it would be difficult to convince his brother to leave the Bulls, the team he joined just last year, but Marc says that he and the Grizzlies will try.

Pau’s contract with Chicago is team-friendly, particularly in light of his 18.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this past season, a bounceback year for him and one in which he and his brother started at center for their respective conferences in the All-Star Game. The 2016/17 player option in Pau’s deal is worth slightly less than $7.77MM, and though he turns 36 next July, the free agent market will be flooded with cash as the salary cap jumps to a projected $89MM. The Grizzlies have about $46MM in commitments for 2016/17, though that doesn’t include money for Mike Conley, who’s No. 3 on our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings and whose max salary is a projected $24.9MM.

Power forward Zach Randolph is under contract with the Grizzlies through 2016/17, so the addition of Pau this coming summer would give Memphis a crowded frontcourt. However, Randolph is only one year younger than Pau, and Marc will be 31 by then, so it’s a distinct possibility that age will limit the ability of all three to play heavy minutes anyway. Pau is already in the midst of a frontcourt logjam in Chicago, where he, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic and recent first-round picks Doug McDermott and Bobby Portis are all candidates for playing time at the power forward and center positions.

Central Notes: Rose, Ilyasova, Hammond, Crawford

September 30th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s not yet clear how long Derrick Rose will be out with his latest injury, an orbital bone fracture suffered during practice, but it’s poor timing, given that new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg must implement his system in camp without him, and Rose’s recent comments about free agency, opines Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The point guard is well-known for his frequent injuries, but he also makes a habit of remarks that antagonize him to fans, Berger notes. The latest such slip of the tongue came Monday when he talked about all the money he could make when he hits free agency in 2017, the summer the cap is projected to hit $108MM. David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune takes Rose to task for coming across as “a tone-deaf millionaire,” though Rose insists he’s just making prudent plans for the future.

“I’m trying to prepare myself and my family,” Rose said, according to Haugh. “It’s all for my son, even though we’re comfortable. You talk about ‘X’ amount of dollars, it raised everybody’s eyebrows. There’s nothing wrong with being overprepared.”

See more on the Bulls and their Central Division rivals:

Ersan Ilyasova was discontented with the revolving door of coaches he had with the Bucks and has already taken to Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, who traded for him this past summer, as the stretch four tells Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Van Gundy is entering the second season of a five-year deal. “Me and Stan had this conversation by phone,” Ilyasova said. “It’s a really good thing. I played for a lot of coaches; I never see a coach like this who really cares about you and when you see something like that, you want to give even more. On some level, coach and player, is going to be always issues. The communication is a key all the time and it’s really important. If you have a coach like this, Stan, who is going to explain to you, it helps.”
Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said Monday that he felt it important to align the end of GM John Hammond‘s contract with that of coach Jason Kidd, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). The deals for both Hammond and Kidd are set to expire in the summer of 2017 following the one-year extension the Bucks granted Hammond earlier this month.
The non-guaranteed contract that Jordan Crawford signed with the Bulls is for the minimum salary and covers only one season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Camp invitees Jake Anderson and Marcus Simmons are also on one-year, non-guaranteed deals for the minimum salary, according to Pincus.
Cavaliers coach David Blatt bristled last season whenever someone mentioned that he was a rookie NBA head coach, but he admitted Monday that he didn’t realize how much he had to learn about coaching in the league, observes Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Blatt survived apparent early-season doubts from Cavs brass about his performance before guiding the team to the Finals.

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Arthur, Miller, Pekovic

September 29th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Enes Kanter hoped to stay with the Thunder even as he signed an max offer sheet with the Trail Blazers this summer, creating a tense three days before the Thunder matched, notes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

“The three days was definitely tough, because I really wanted to be here,” Kanter said. “That three days was really tough, really difficult. I never experienced anything like that before. In the end, it worked out. [I’m] really happy to be here. It’s really nice [to have] your team’s trust in you. It means a lot.”

See more from the Northwest Division:

Darrell Arthur nearly left for the Clippers this summer before ultimately deciding to re-sign with the Nuggets, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links). “I was pretty close. It was a tough decision to make,” Arthur said. “But with this [Nuggets] team I felt that I could possibly make a difference in trying to help this team make it to the playoffs.” The money couldn’t have hurt, either, as Arthur received a two-year deal worth almost $5.755MM from Denver, about $3.08MM more than the two-year minimum salary offer that the Clippers were limited to.
Andre Miller visited the Bulls in free agency before signing with the Timberwolves this summer, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
Nikola Pekovic said he’ll miss roughly the first month of the season, but the Timberwolves expect Ricky Rubio will be healthy enough to play on opening night, even though he’s not quite 100% yet, observes Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press.
Timberwolves GM Milt Newton expressed a desire to use the D-League more often this season, pointing to No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, but the GM said he’d want the point guard to go to a D-League team that would give him some playing time, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). The Timberwolves, who don’t have a D-League affiliate and would have to send Jones on assignment with another team’s D-League club, haven’t made progress toward their own D-League partner, Zgoda notes.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey expressed optimism about his point guards on Monday, jibing with earlier reports that the team is content for now even without the injured Dante Exum, but he wouldn’t rule out spending to acquire another point guard if the performance at that position is lacking, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links).

Central Rumors: Granger, Rose, Bucks

September 28th, 2015 at 6:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Small forward Danny Granger will not join the Pistons for the start of training camp, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Granger, who was traded to Detroit from the Suns as part of the Marcus Morris deal, will remain in Arizona to continue knee rehab under a mutual agreement with Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, Ellis continues. “I think it’s better for him and for us if he stays right there in Arizona and does his rehab and when he gets to a point that he’s ready to play and compete, then we will bring him in,” Van Gundy said during the team’s media day on Monday. Granger is one of 17 Detroit players with guaranteed contracts so he remains a waiver or trade candidate, Ellis adds.

In other news around the Central Division:

Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings isn’t close to being game-ready, Ellis writes in the same notebook piece. Jennings, who tore his Achilles tendon in January, is limited to light shooting, jogging in the pool and weight-controlled treadmill work. “We’re hoping sometime in mid-October that he’s be able to start doing drill work out on the floor and then hopefully by mid-November he starts ramping up, actually getting in some five-on-five stuff,” Van Gundy said.
Derrick Rose made a splash during the Bulls’ media day, saying that he’s already looking toward his next foray into free agency, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter links). Rose, who is signed through the 2016/17 season, expects to remain in Chicago for the long term, Goodwill adds. “You see the way all this money will be passed around in this league. My day [free agency] is coming,” Rose said. But while Rose prefers to stay with the Bulls, the notion of leaguewide increased salaries “makes one pause,” Sam Smith of Bulls.com tweets.
The Bucks hired longtime NBA executive Rod Thorn as a special consultant, the team announced Monday morning via press release. He will work closely with GM John Hammond, the release adds. Thorn most recently served as the NBA’s president of basketball operations, where he oversaw the league’s day-to-day business under commissioner Adam Silver.
The Cavaliers allowed the remaining $635,816 portion of their trade exception for Keith Bogans to expire on Sunday, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Cleveland dealt Bogans to the Sixers last September and used part of the exception to acquire Timofey Mozgov in January.

Bulls Sign Jordan Crawford To Camp Deal

September 28th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 28TH, 1:10pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. Combined with the other two signings the team made today, Chicago has 18 players for training camp.

SEPTEMBER 17TH, 7:58am: The Bulls will sign four-year veteran Jordan Crawford to a non-guaranteed contract, giving the former first-round pick a chance to return to the NBA after an injury-riddled year split between China and the D-League, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. The Bulls have only 13 contracts that are known to be guaranteed, as our roster count shows, ostensibly giving the Wasserman Media Group client a strong chance to stick for opening night, but Chicago traditionally carries fewer than 15 players at the start of the regular season.

Crawford averaged 29.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 33.5 minutes per game across five appearances for Xinjiang Guanghui in China this past season before suffering an eye injury that lingered for months. He recovered in time to sign with the D-League in March, joining the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, then a shared affiliate, for whom he once more put up strong numbers in a small sample size, notching 22.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 4.5 APG in 35.7 MPG over eight contests. His production was more muted in summer league for the Mavs squad in July this year, though again, that was only a tiny sample size of six games.

The 26-year-old who turns 27 next month had his best moments with the Celtics in 2013/14, when he started 35 games for an injured Rajon Rondo and proved he could handle the point despite having traditionally played on the wing. He put up 13.7 PPG and 5.7 APG against 2.2 turnovers per game in 30.7 MPG, but a midseason trade sent him to the Warriors, who failed to give him much playing time.

Chicago has Cameron Bairstow on a partial guarantee of $425K and offseason signee Cristiano Felicio, both of whom will compete with Crawford in camp to try to win their way to the regular season roster. The Bulls have a crowded backcourt, with Crawford pitted against six guards on fully guaranteed contracts — Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Tony Snell, Aaron Brooks, Kirk Hinrich and E’Twaun Moore — as former Nets executive Bobby Marks points out (on Twitter). That would bode well for Bairstow and Felicio, both of whom are frontcourt players.

Do you think Crawford will stick with the Bulls for the regular season? Leave a comment to tell us.

Bulls Sign Marcus Simmons, Jake Anderson

September 28th, 2015 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have signed former USC shooting guard Marcus Simmons and former Iowa State point guard Jake Anderson, the team announced via press release. The moves, combined with the official signing of Jordan Crawford, give the Bulls 18 players, including 13 with fully guaranteed contracts.

Simmons, 27, has played overseas and in the D-League since going undrafted in 2011. He was a reserve for the D-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants this past season, averaging 4.0 points in 16.7 minutes per game across 41 appearances and shooting just 28.8% from three-point territory.

Anderson played under new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg in 2010/11. The 28-year-old also has a history with the Bulls organization, having played on Chicago’s summer league squad in 2012. Like Simmons, Anderson went undrafted in 2011, spending his first pro season in the D-League before heading overseas.

Central Notes: Dunleavy, Morris, Bulls

September 25th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls small forward Mike Dunleavy underwent a successful low back microdiscectomy procedure earlier today at Rush University Medical Center and he is expected to be out of action for 8-10 weeks, the team announced. Dunleavy had experienced some occasional back discomfort over the summer which had recently worsened, according to the release. If his recovery goes as planned, Dunleavy will likely miss between 12-15 contests.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Marcus Morris views his new start with the Pistons as a means to finally carve out a niche for himself in the league, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three,” Morris told Langlois. “The guy that’s there now [P.J. Tucker] might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too. But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”
The Bulls return virtually the same core as last season, and if the change in coaches from Tom Thibodeau to Fred Hoiberg doesn’t nudge the team to the next level, it may be time for Chicago to attempt to pry Carmelo Anthony away from the Knicks, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Friedell does note that the size of Anthony’s contract would be a gamble for Bulls, and the team would likely have to part with a number of talented players to make the deal work financially, which would make such a trade a risky proposition for Chicago.
If the Cavaliers can remain healthy as a unit and are able to secure home court advantage in the playoffs, the team is likely to secure the NBA title in 2015/16, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview.