Bulls Rumors

And-Ones: Smith, Moreland, Sampson

November 21st, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Minnesota is the latest team to be besieged by injuries, with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin out indefinitely and Ronny Turiaf also expected to miss time. Also among the Timberwolves to sit on the sidelines in street clothes tonight is Nikola Pekovic, who has a sprained wrist. With the league-maximum 15 players on their roster, the Wolves would not be able to sign another player without being forced to release someone. But if at least three of the players miss three consecutive games and an independent physician declares that they and a fourth player are likely to continue to miss time, Minnesota could apply to the league for a hardship provision that would grant them the ability to temporarily carry a 16th player. Still, “they don’t hand those things out like candy,” as Flip Saunders noted of the league’s willingness to grant 16th roster spots, in spite of recent allowances for the Thunder, Pacers and Grizzlies, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Kings have sent Eric Moreland to the Reno Bighorns, the team announced. This will be Moreland’s second assignment to the D-League this season. The 22-year-old power forward has yet to make a regular season appearance for Sacramento
The Sixers have assigned JaKarr Sampson to the Delaware 87ers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Sampson’s first trip to the D-League this season, and the rookie is averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game in nine NBA appearances.
Former Blazers first round pick Nolan Smith is headed back to the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports. Smith had cut ties with Turkey’s Galatasaray back in October and intends to use the D-League to showcase his talents for NBA teams, Pilato notes. The D-League will assign Smith to one of its teams through its waiver system. The 26-year-old point guard spent 2011/12 and 2012/13 with Portland, averaging 3.3 PPG and 1.2 APG in 9.9 minutes per contest. Smith had received partially guaranteed offers from the Bulls and the Thunder this summer but instead chose to try his luck in Turkey.

Bulls Notes: Gasol, Butler, Point Guards

November 21st, 2014 at 7:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Kirk Hinrich out indefinitely with a chest injury, the Bulls are hoping that Derrick Rose can return to action by this Monday, or else the team will consider signing another point guard, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter link). Rose has been sidelined with ankle woes leaving Aaron Brooks the only healthy point guard on the team. Chicago currently has only 14 players on its roster so no additional move would be required for the team to add another body.

Here’s more from the Windy City:

One of the best free agent signings of the summer not involving a player named LeBron James was the Bulls locking up Pau Gasol on a three-year, $22.3MM deal. Gasol left Los Angeles because he felt that he needed a change of scenery, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com writes. “Just a gut feeling that I needed to move on,” Gasol said. “I needed something different. I needed to be in a different position where I could be assimilated, where I could be motivated every single day, where I could be rejuvenated.”
Besides his on-court production, Gasol is also paying dividends in his mentoring of rookie Nikola Mirotic, Aschburner adds. “All the things Nikola is going through, Pau has gone through,” Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. “More importantly, it’s what he does. There are a lot of guys who say all the right things and do none of them. Pau does all the right things. He comes in every day, takes care of himself. He studies. He prepares. He practices hard, he practices well, and then he goes out there and he executes. And he plays for the team — he’s not one of those guys pounding his chest, ‘Look at me, look at me.’ He’s one of those guys who’s ‘Let’s look at the team.’ “
In his weekly mailbag, Sam Smith of NBA.com opined that Jimmy Butler should have accepted the Bulls’ extension offer despite how well Butler is currently performing. Smith cites Butler’s young age and the need for long-term security, using Jay Williams’ career-ending injury as an example of how quickly things can change. Smith also added that it would be different if Butler had already had a big money deal during his career, but since he is only being paid rookie scale wages, taking the eight-figure deal would have been the safer play.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, McDermott, Haywood

November 20th, 2014 at 9:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In an interview with Eli Saslow of ESPN: The Magazine (hat tip to Marc Berman of The New York Post), Carmelo Anthony said that coming to New York to play for the Knicks distorted his reputation and did not enhance it. “I’m more misunderstood than most people,” Anthony said. “As an athlete, you don’t really have a voice. Everything you say or do, people have a million opinions about it, so it doesn’t really get heard the way you want it to get heard. People are putting things on you and shaping your reputation, and you don’t really have control. People say I am all about more money, but it’s not like that. It’s about having the appearance of someone with success. Image and reputation matter to me. If you’re being honest, they matter to everybody. Money is about people thinking of you as someone who does well.”

Here’s more from the east:

Anthony also added that he isn’t fond of critics opining before each season on whether he will finally prove himself as a winner. “People say every year is the one that will determine if I’m great or terrible, if I’ve met expectations or been a disappointment,” Anthony said. “To be honest with you, I’m tired of it.” With the Knicks‘ record a disappointing 3-10, it doesn’t look like this will be the season ‘Melo silences his critics.
Despite entering the league with four years of college experience and having won numerous awards during that time, Doug McDermott admitted that it’s not easy being a rookie and that he is still trying to find his way with the Bulls, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. “I’m still kind of establishing a role to be honest,” McDermott said. “It’s still really early, and I’m just trying to get my feet wet and learn more things defensively and the playbook, and everything’s coming along great. So I’m making steps, but I think it’s still early and I think I can have a really good role on this team, not just as a shooter, but overall just a good role.”
Brendan Haywood understands that the appeal of his non-guaranteed contract for next season makes him a more valuable trade asset than on-the-court contributor for the Cavs, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I don’t worry about it because at the end of the day, I can’t do anything about it,” Haywood said. “If somebody views my contract as an asset or the team feels they can get something in that can help them or shed salary, they’re going to do what they’re going to do because that’s what they have to do.”

Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls

November 20th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Pau Gasol: Three years, $22.346MM. Signed via cap room. Includes a 15% trade kicker.
Kirk Hinrich: Two years, $5.587MM. Signed via room exception.
E’Twaun Moore: Two years, $1.964MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. First year is guaranteed for $425K. Second year is non-guaranteed.
Nazr Mohammed: One year, $1.448MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception. Non-guaranteed.
Aaron Brooks: One year, $1.146MM. Signed via minimum-salary exception.

Extensions

None

Trades

Acquired 2014 pick No. 11 and Anthony Randolph from the Nuggets in exchange for 2014 pick No. 16, 2014 pick No. 19, and the less favorable of Chicago’s and Portland’s 2015 second-round picks.
Acquired the rights to Milovan Rakovic from the Magic in exchange for Anthony Randolph, the more favorable of Chicago’s and Portland’s 2015 second-round picks, the more favorable of Chicago’s and Portland’s 2016 second-round picks, and cash.
Acquired the rights to Tadija Dragicevic from the Mavericks in exchange for Greg Smith.

Waiver Claims

None

Draft Picks

Doug McDermott (Round 1, 11th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Cameron Bairstow (Round 2, 49th overall). Signed via cap room for three years, $2.333MM. Second year is $425K guaranteed. Third year is non-guaranteed.
Nikola Mirotic (2011, Round 1, 23rd overall). Signed via cap room for three years, $16.631MM. Includes a 15% trade kicker.

Camp Invitees

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Tony Snell (third year, $1,535,880) — Exercised

The Bulls didn’t end up with Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Love this year, but they nonetheless made their most significant upgrades since Derrick Rose‘s MVP season in 2010/11. The past calendar year has featured upheaval in Chicago, starting with the January trade of Luol Deng, and the Bulls gave every indication that more changes were on the way heading into the summer. Their pursuit of Anthony was always fraught with pitfalls, thanks mostly to the salary cap chicanery that GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson would have had to pull off to give him a contract anywhere near the max. It was Plan A, to be sure, but Forman and Paxson weren’t without intriguing alternatives that extended beyond what for the most part appeared to be a long shot bid to trade for Love.

To affect any of the major changes they sought, the Bulls had to unload Carlos Boozer‘s unwieldy $16.8MM salary. They held the amnesty provision in their quiver, but waiving him meant still having to pay him, even if he would vanish from the team’s cap figure. So, the Bulls sought to trade the power forward who’d never quite lived up to having been the team’s marquee signing from 2010, the last time Chicago made such sweeping changes.

Forman and Paxson kept the notion of a Boozer trade alive even as they neared a deal with Pau Gasol for more than they would have been able to pay if they had kept Boozer and remained over the salary cap. The Bulls had talks with the Lakers about turning the Gasol acquisition into a sign-and-trade that would have allowed Chicago to cobble together matching salaries to send out. Chicago also wound up giving Nikola Mirotic a deal with a starting salary at precisely the amount of the mid-level exception, the most the team could have paid him while remaining over the cap. Ultimately, no palatable trade for Boozer came about, forcing the Bulls to amnesty him. Chicago moved on from the idea of a sign-and-trade for Gasol and simply inked him outright into the cap space that the amnesty had created, using the rest of the cap room on Mirotic and a long-term deal for second-round pick Cameron Bairstow. Still, the Bulls caught a break when the Lakers claimed Boozer off waivers, defraying a $3.251MM portion of the cost of Boozer’s salary.

Gasol gives the Bulls a gifted passer and a player whose game is more multidimensional than Boozer’s, and coach Tom Thibodeau has already taken advantage of the opportunity to pair Gasol with center Joakim Noah in a twin-towers starting lineup. The Spanish center is an odd fit to a degree because of Taj Gibson, whose game continued to grow last season. Still, Gibson is seeing even more minutes per game this year than he did last year, though the maladies that have kept Noah and Gasol out of a few games have no doubt contributed to that. Mirotic plays power forward, too, so the Bulls wouldn’t have been in a bind without either Boozer or Gasol. Still, given the team’s title aspirations, a proven and still capable veteran with two championship rings trumps the intrigue of a rookie, even if that rookie was perhaps the best player who wasn’t in the NBA last season.

Mirotic has nonetheless seen 12.1 minutes per game so far this year, about the same amount of playing time that Thibodeau has given to small forward Doug McDermott, the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft. The Bulls saw fit to consolidate their pair of later first-round picks to move up for McDermott, even if it meant absorbing the guaranteed salary of Anthony Randolph to do so. Randolph complicated Chicago’s pursuit of cap flexibility until the Bulls attached him to a pair of second-round draft picks and cash in a trade that sent him to Orlando. That move, combined with the acquisition of McDermott, meant the Bulls had turned two first-rounders and two second-rounders into a single first-rounder, but the first-rounder the Bulls wound up with was the only lottery pick in the bunch. There are plenty of doubts about McDermott’s ability to translate his high-scoring college game to the NBA, particularly given Thibodeau’s defense-first approach, but contenders like Chicago rarely have a chance to add a player of his talent through the draft. It’s a risk worth taking, and it demonstrates that Forman and Paxson are thinking of the long-term future even as they try to win the title this year.

Still, the Bulls held the line with Jimmy Butler, reportedly offering him somewhat more than $11MM a year in extension proposals that the swingman turned down. The former 30th overall pick is off to a roaring start this season, averaging 21.3 points per game and answering the questions that surrounded his offensive capabilities, which had seemed to lag behind his defense. The Bulls may end up having to shell out much more than $11MM a year if Butler can keep it up, but the Happy Walters client has pledged to remain with the Bulls, and Forman and Paxson would no doubt be willing to pay a premium for a budding two-way star.

Key to preserving success in the near term and the long term is loyalty, and Kirk Hinrich showed his affection for the Bulls organization when he reportedly turned down better offers to accept the room exception from Chicago. The 33-year-old had spent nine of his 11 years in the NBA as a Bull, averaging as many as 16.6 PPG during the 2006/07 season. That scoring average was nearly cut in half two years later, and he’s spent most of his time since as an afterthought on offense. The former Kansas standout is never going to be an elite scoring force, but he might have had a much more significant role than the one he’s played in Chicago if he had signed with either the Hornets or the Jazz, the pair of teams that apparently challenged the Bulls for his services. Neither of those clubs would have given him his best chance at his first championship, however. Given the eternal questions surrounding Rose’s health, Hinrich’s ability to both fill in for the former MVP when necessary and play alongside him when not makes Hinrich more valuable to Chicago than his salary or his statistics reflect.

Yet the Bulls aren’t going to win the title if Hinrich, or fellow offseason signee Aaron Brooks, ends up starting at point guard. The Bulls rise and fall with Rose, and short of the acquisition of a star like ‘Melo or Love, that’s not going to change. Forman and Paxson did their best this summer to keep the Bulls in the title hunt this season and for years to come, but they remain beholden to the knees of the team’s former No. 1 overall pick.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

Eastern Notes: Rondo, Kidd, Butler, Sixers

November 19th, 2014 at 7:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Executives from around the league tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has remained resolute with them that he won’t trade Rajon Rondo at this point. Still, many of those execs think the Celtics are in a position in which they simply must trade the point guard to avoid seeing him walk in free agency this coming summer. Ainge nonetheless continues to look for upgrades around Rondo, as he tells Beck. “Philosophically, we know who the players are, we know who the guys are that we would love to get,” Ainge said. “But we also know that certain players don’t make as much of a difference. We can’t sell our stockpile of assets just to appease one player. We’ve got to be smart in rebuilding. And we do have to remain patient. And yet at the same time, be ready to jump into the fray and pay a high price for special players, transcendent players.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Bucks’ roster features two starters who are 19 years old, a stark contrast to head coach Jason Kidd‘s Nets team of a year ago, which featured seven players 32 or older, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Kidd says it’s still just basketball to him, adding, “It’s just the age difference. They’re basketball players. This is a younger team, the team I had last year was vets. They knew how to play, a couple of them won championships so they knew what it took to win. We won a Game 7 on the road, so experience, time and minutes are probably the only thing that’s different.” The other difference for Kidd in Milwaukee is that he’s now coaching a team on the upswing rather than one constructed to contend for a single year like Brooklyn was last season, notes Deveney.
Jimmy Butler‘s decision to bypass a contract extension from the Bulls that would have netted him roughly $11MM per season could pay off handsomely if he continues his excellent play, Michael Lee of The Washington Post opines.
Former Sixer Evan Turner believes he can speak for those players unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle of GM Sam Hinkie‘s rebuilding plan, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Turner said of Hinkie’s approach, “It’s different. It goes the right way, or not. That kind of trend can make or break certain situations. Hopefully they don’t get penalized for what they’re doing, but if they do put the right guys on the team they can be really successful thanks to the leadership of coach [Brett] Brown. The biggest thing is having the unity. That’s all you have and you have to stay focused on going to battle with who you have.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: West, Draft, Butler, Jackson

November 18th, 2014 at 9:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Delonte West has been released by the Shanghai Sharks after making only four appearances for the team, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. West had played for the Clippers‘ summer league squad this year but was unable to secure a training camp invite. The 31-year-old guard had hoped to play his way back into the NBA but this latest setback in his career doesn’t bode well for that possibility, Amick notes. West last played in the NBA during the 2011/12 season when he made 44 appearances for the Mavericks.

Here’s more from around the league:

With the college season underway we are getting our first good look at a number of prospects who are expected to fill out next year’s NBA draft lottery. Basketball Insiders’ Yannis Koutroupis has released his first mock draft of the season and it is headlined by the Sixers selecting Emmanuel Mudiay, who is currently displaying his wares for Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association, first overall.
It originally appeared that University of Kentucky would keep NBA personnel out of their practices for much of the season after the Wildcats held an unusual October combine, but the school has let NBA teams know they’re welcome again, a source tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link).
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders runs down the 10 biggest surprises in the NBA so far this season, which include the stellar play of the Bulls‘ Jimmy Butler, the Cavs’ defensive woes, and Reggie Jackson putting up career-best numbers for the Thunder. Both Butler and Jackson are set to become restricted free agents next summer and the competition for their services should be increased if they can continue their early-season performances, notes Kennedy.
Robert Covington‘s four-year, $4.2MM deal with the Sixers will pay him $1MM for the first year which includes a partial guarantee of $400K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Covington’s second year is also slated to pay him $1MM but is non-guaranteed, and the last two seasons are for the league minimum and include no guaranteed money, notes Pincus.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Notes: Kelly, Henry, Miller, Gasol

November 17th, 2014 at 5:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers are a woeful 1-9, and while Kobe Bryant is imparting wisdom even as he fires away at a league-high clip from the field, there’s plenty of uneasiness amid the team’s woeful start. Changes appear to be on the horizon, as we detail amid the latest from downtrodden Lakerland:

A torn right hamstring will keep Ryan Kelly out for at least six weeks, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. Injuries to both hamstrings have limited the power forward to just three games this season. Kelly is on a guaranteed contract that runs through 2015/16.

Earlier updates:

Xavier Henry would likely be the odd man out if the Lakers decide to sign Quincy Miller, who’s auditioning for the team, according to Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding. Henry re-signed with the Lakers this summer to a fully guaranteed one-year contract for $1.082MM.
The Lakers offered Pau Gasol a no-trade clause in negotiations this offseason, the new Bulls big man told reporters, including Beto Duran of ESPN Radio Los Angeles (Twitter link). Gasol admitted that he’ll always feel “some level of attachment” to the Lakers but said that he’d reached a point emotionally where he needed to move on, as Duran shares in another pair of tweets. The 34-year-old added that he was looking for greater motivation in his next stop and said that the prospect of another losing season in purple-and-gold helped sway him to instead sign with the Bulls (Twitter links).
Coach Byron Scott put much of the blame on the frontcourt for the team’s defensive shortcomings, but Carlos Boozer disputes the idea that the big men are mostly responsible for the team’s league-worst scoring defense, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Central Notes: Butler, Marion, Harris

November 16th, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Arthur Hill

With restricted free agency looming next summer, Jimmy Butler has emerged as a solid two-way player for the Bulls, reports Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Butler has maintained a reputation as a solid defender since he entered the league, but he has shown a potent offensive game this season, including a career-high 32 points in Saturday’s loss to the Pacers. “Last year was an up-and-down year because of all the injuries,” said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau. “But he’s healthy, he was in great shape this summer, he got lighter, I think he understands the league really well. He’s strong on both sides of the ball and he’s scoring a lot of different ways. He’s getting to the line, shoot, probably six more times, eight more times.” Butler and the Bulls were unable to reach a deal on an extension before the October 31st deadline, with Chicago reportedly offering about $11MM annually and Butler seeking $13MM a year.

Eastern Notes: Brooks, Dellavedova, Powell

November 9th, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bulls guard Aaron Brooks credits coach Tom Thibodeau with rebuilding the confidence that once made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player, according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Thibodeau quickly became a fan of the 6’0″ guard after he signed a one year deal with the Bulls in the offseason for $915,243. “I came in here lacking confidence,” Brooks admitted. “Even when I doubted myself, he was there to tell me, ‘You know what? I’ve watched you play, you’ve done well’ and just to keep working hard. It’s been a breath of fresh air for me.” Brooks earned the Most Improved Player award with the Rockets during the 2009/10 season, but has since bounced around the league, playing for the Suns, Kings, Rockets again and Nuggets before signing with Chicago.

Here’s more from the east:

Matthew Dellavedova has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks of action, the Cavs announced in a press release. The backup point guard is averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 assists in three appearances.
Celtics forward Dwight Powell has been assigned to the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. The rookie has yet to make a regular season appearance after averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.0 minutes per game in six preseason appearances.
The Pacers are doing their best to remain positive despite a spate of injuries affecting their top seven players, according to Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. “It’s almost comical,” point guard Donald Sloan said. “Just how it’s happening. It seems game by game, it’s something. Same story.” The latest victim is center Roy Hibbert, who is day-to-day after leaving Saturday’s loss to the Wizards with a bruised left knee. The spiral for the 1-6 Pacers, who were the East’s top seed last season, began when Paul George suffered a broken leg in August during an exhibition game with the USA Men’s National Team.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Allen, Wear

November 7th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors, Wizards and Bulls are in a three-way tie atop the Eastern Conference, a pair of them clash tonight with Washington in Toronto. The two surprise teams from last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs took somewhat divergent paths this past summer, as the Wizards replaced Trevor Ariza with Paul Pierce while the Raptors retained Kyle Lowry and are mostly intact from 2013/14. We’ll have an early read on which approach was better by night’s end, but for now, here’s the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

Bucks majority partners Wesley Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan, along with former owner Herb Kohl, have pledged an estimated $300MM toward the roughly $420MM cost of a new arena in Milwaukee, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. That’s up from the approximately $200MM the current and former owners were set to invest in the building when the sale of the team took place this past spring. The new total includes a “major” contribution from Dinan, who joined the partnership this summer, as well as additional money from Edens and Lasry, and the Bucks are expected to raise yet more funding through a naming rights deal, Woelfel writes. The NBA has the right to take control of the Bucks if there isn’t significant progress toward construction by fall 2017, but it appears most of the arena will be privately financed, as Woelfel points out.
The Bulls have remained in contact with representatives for Ray Allen, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes in his mailbag column. An early September report identified the Bulls as one of many suitors for the Jim Tanner client, who recently made a non-basketball-related trip to Chicago.
Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders recounts the journey of Travis Wear, who went from 2009 McDonald’s All-American to undrafted this past summer before the Knicks, who’d begun to eye him even before the draft this year, gave him a chance. Voluntary workouts prior to training camp were the key to Wear’s ability to win a spot on the opening-night roster, as Beer details.

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