Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: Brewer, James, Cavs, Sanders

April 10th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have made four roster moves in the past week, waiving Erik Murphy and signing Ronnie Brewer, Mike James and Louis Amundson. Still, more meaningful changes seem likely to come from elsewhere in the Central Division, where the Pistons and Cavaliers will probably be searching for new top basketball executives in the weeks ahead. Here’s the latest from around the Central:

Chicago’s contracts for Brewer and James extend through next season with non-guaranteed salary, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson suggests the Bulls structured those deals with offseason trades in mind, though it’s worth noting that neither is eligible to be traded until after the July Moratorium.
Cavs interim GM David Griffin believes in the backcourt pairing of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who thinks it’s unlikely that either will be traded if Griffin is formally named GM.
It was clear that the Bucks had no intention of bringing Larry Sanders back to play this season, writes SB Nation’s Tom Ziller. So, the revelation that the team and the NBA deemed him medically ready, allowing him to begin serving his suspension this year instead of next, shines a light on the league’s tanking problem, Ziller opines.

Bulls Sign Lou Amundson

April 10th, 2014 at 11:59am CST by Cray Allred

11:59am: The team has formally announced the signing on its website.

THURSDAY, 8:54am: It’ll be a straight rest-of-season contract, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, indicating that it won’t extend into 2014/15. The signing will take place later today, Charania notes.

WEDNESDAY, 9:03pm: In addition to bringing on Mike James, the Bulls will fill out their roster by signing Lou Amundson in the near future, a league source tells Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Amundson will be signed for the remainder of the season, and will be available for the playoffs.

James’ signing is set for Thursday, but it is unclear yet when Amundson will sign. The eighth-year big was waived in December by the Pelicans, and hasn’t played in the NBA since, despite rumored interest from the Wizards. Amundson has career averages of 3.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

If Admundson’s signing goes through, Chicago’s roster will be set for their postseason run. After waiving Erik Murphy and bringing in Jimmer Fredette, Ronnie Brewer, and now James and Amundson, the Bulls are set to reach the 15-man roster limit after spending part of the year under the 13-man minimum. It’s believed that the Bulls will avoid paying the luxury tax this season, regardless of whether Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earn their potential salary bonuses. Trading away Luol Deng and having Murphy’s waived contract claimed by the Jazz dropped the team’s salary obligations enough to create room for the influx of new faces.

Bulls Sign Mike James

April 10th, 2014 at 11:59am CST by Cray Allred

THURSDAY, 11:59am: The signing is official, the team announced.

WEDNESDAY, 7:56pm: The Bulls will sign veteran point guard Mike James tomorrow, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The deal will cover the remainder of the season, making James eligible for Chicago’s postseason run. James, a favorite of coach Tom Thibodeau, was expected to sign with the Bulls once Chicago was freed of Erik Murphy‘s salary thanks to a waiver claim of Murphy by the Jazz.

James has played exclusively for the Bulls this season, having his non-guaranteed deal waived early on and, until now, not getting an opportunity to re-sign after a 10-day deal expired in January. James joins recent signings Jimmer Fredette and Ronnie Brewer to bring Chicago’s roster up to 14 players, one short of the league maximum. The Bulls could still add another player now that the team is more comfortably below the tax line for the year.

In his time with the Bulls this season, the Lee Basketball Services client has averaged 1.0 points and 1.5 assists in 7.0 minutes per game. For his career, the 38-year-old averages 9.9 points and 3.5 assists per contest.

Bulls Sign Ronnie Brewer

April 7th, 2014 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have signed Ronnie Brewer for the rest of the season, the team announced via press release. He and Mike James have been the leading contenders to fill the roster spot vacated when the team waived Erik Murphy last week, though over the weekend it appeared as though the addition of James was somewhat more likely. There’s a decent chance the team signs both, especially now that the Jazz have claimed Murphy off waivers, taking his cap hit off Chicago’s books and making it less likely the team would have to pay the luxury tax if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses this year.

Brewer, 29, worked out for the team at its practice facility Thursday, but the Bulls are quite familiar with him, having employed him as a key reserve on a pair of teams that finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The swingman left for the Knicks last season and started 34 games in New York, which dealt him to Oklahoma City at the 2013 trade deadline. His minutes declined sharply from that point on, and the Rockets waived his minimum-salary contract shortly after the trade deadline this year.

The Bulls are back up to the NBA-minimum 13 players with the addition of the Creative Artists Agency client. The release simply says the contract covers the remainder of the season, so presumably there isn’t a non-guaranteed year tacked on for 2014/15.

Amico’s Latest: Allen, Battier, Rivers, Kerr

April 7th, 2014 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Ray Allen appears unlikely to return to the Heat next season, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. League insiders nonetheless believe that if the Heat’s trio of stars return, there’s a strong chance the team will try to re-sign Allen, too, so it seems his future is contingent on what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do. Indeed, those three will have much to say about what happens in free agency leaguewide, and Amico has more on the summer ahead and another member of the Heat as we highlight here:

Several teams are expected to court Heat forward Shane Battier for an executive job or a gig related to player development, Amico hears. Battier recently reiterated his plans to retire at season’s end.
The emergence of Brian Roberts has strengthened the belief around the league that the Pelicans will trade former lottery pick Austin Rivers this summer, according to Amico. Roberts is set to become a restricted free agent.
Sources tell Amico they wouldn’t be surprised if several teams aside from the Knicks try to convince Steve Kerr to run their basketball operations. Kerr has expressed a desire to coach, but it looks like the leaguewide interest in him is as an executive, the role he held with the Suns from 2007 to 2010.
Boris Diaw, Luol Deng, C.J. Miles, Marvin Williams, Luke Ridnour, Kris Humphries, Devin Harris and Jimmer Fredette are other free agents who appear unlikely to be back with their respective teams, Amico writes.

Latest On Potential Bulls Signings

April 5th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Cray Allred

The Bulls plan to add Mike James, and Ronnie Brewer is a likely addition as well, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson adds that a third player could be signed after James and Brewer, a possibility we reported when Erik Murphy was first waived. As we noted earlier today, the Bulls should avoid the the luxury tax regardless of whether Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earn their performance bonuses, thanks to the Jazz claiming Murphy off of waivers. Murphy’s salary was greater than multiple late-season pro-rated contracts will likely add up to.

James would meet the same need that he filled when playing on a 10-day contract with Chicago earlier this season: backup point guard. Brewer, however, could move in front of Tony Snell in the Bulls’ wing rotation. Snell’s minutes have dried up recently, and Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times thinks the Bulls interest in Brewer is directly tied to coach Tom Thibodeau’s frustration with Snell.

Luol Deng was traded earlier in the season as merely a cost-cutting move, and there has been much speculation about the Bulls plans for this season and beyond ever since. Johnson notes that the team has had contingency plans in place to avoid the repeater tax even if they exceeded the tax cap this season, and it appears they’ve reached a level of flexibility to be more active. After going much of the season below the league minimum for rostered players, the Bulls are adding potential rotation pieces in a flourish. If the newest signings occur, they will combine with recent addition Jimmer Fredette to give the Bulls at or near the max of 15 players under contract.

Central Notes: Cavs, Mirotic, Bucks

April 5th, 2014 at 8:26pm CST by Cray Allred

Cavs star Kyrie Irving explained the motivation behind his venting on Twitter last night to reporters including Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer. “In terms of all the rumors and accusations of what goes on in our locker room — it’s been going on all season, to a certain extent,” Irving said. “It’s all nonsense to me, now. It’s part of the business, I get it…I don’t go out and put all these reports or all these rumors out. But people feel like it’s a good thing to continue to put my name in headlines just to get reads. That’s your job, but at a certain point, it’s gotta stop.” Here’s more from the Central Division:

Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal says that Irving’s displeasure with the media doesn’t change the reality that people close to him have in fact been perpetuating the notion that he won’t stay with the Cavs.
Lloyd adds that all of the speculation will come to a head this summer, when Irving will decide whether to sign a max extension with the Cavs. Lloyd notes that Irving has declined to go on record with him as willing to sign the extension.
A Cavs team official told Lloyd that it’s taken “a village” to soothe the rift between Irving and Dion Waiters.
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald gives Cavs owner Dan Gilbert credit for authorizing the Scotty Hopson signing, saying the owner had no hesitation about paying an abnormally high cost for a late season addition in order to create trade flexibility with Hopson’s contract.
Finnan adds that the rumors that Gilbert would hire a big name executive over Cavs interim GM David Griffin this offseason could include a scenario similar to New York’s, with a powerful executive being installed above Griffin rather than merely replacing him as GM.
Nikola Mirotic told Canal Plus that he hasn’t ruled out staying with his Spanish team rather than joining the Bulls this offseason (translation via HoopsHype). Chicago is expected to prioritize a Mirotic buyout and signing this summer.
Responding to speculation that the Bucks could be sold very soon, Milwaukee’s broker told Don Walker of The Journal Sentinel that a sale is not imminent. “There is an active and ongoing process with respect to the Bucks. But we are not going to comment on speculation,” he said.

Western Notes: Adelman, Barnes, Rockets

April 5th, 2014 at 7:40pm CST by Cray Allred

Wolves coach Rick Adelman spoke to reporters including Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune on Minnesota’s future, but didn’t include himself as part of the ongoing decision-making (Twitter link). “For the most part we’re still a pretty young team and the success of this franchise going forward is who else can they add,” said Adelman, who many believe will not be back to coach next year. Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer and Zgoda tweeted back and forth, speculating that Adelman’s quote was a tacit admission that he wouldn’t be a part of the Wolves future (Twitter links). Here’s more from out West:

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald says there is growing sentiment that the Warriors will look to trade away Harrison Barnes this offseason.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com says that the Rockets reached out to point guard Malcolm Delaney to see if bringing him in from overseas this late in the season was feasible. Stein first reported that the Rockets had interest in Delaney, but the news that Patrick Beverley should return for the playoffs has Houston brass leaning against a play for Delaney.
Stein says the Rockets believe in Sergio Llull as an NBA rotation piece, but that there are major barriers to bringing him in from overseas anytime soon, including Llull’s apparent disinterest in joining the NBA, where the Rockets own his rights.
Erik Murphy‘s former Bulls teammates are very happy he was claimed by the Jazz, per a tweet from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “He works too hard,” said Taj Gibson, who had positive things to say about Murphy at the time of his release as well.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey shared what he saw in Murphy to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). “Big guys who can step out and shoot can be complementary to our group. And Erik is a super shooter,” said Lindsey.

Jazz Claim Erik Murphy, Waive Andris Biedrins

April 5th, 2014 at 4:23pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Jazz have claimed Erik Murphy off of waivers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Murphy was waived by the Bulls on Thursday, presumably to make room for a perimeter player. We had originally heard that the Bucks might be interested in claiming Murphy, but instead it’s the Jazz who have laid claim to the rookie big man out of Florida. Since the Jazz have a league maximum 15 players on their roster, they’ve opted to waive Andris Biedrins to make room, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.

Murphy, the 49th overall pick in last year’s draft, has played only 62 minutes in 24 contests for Chicago this season. His $490K salary will be wiped from the Bulls’ books and added on to the Jazz’s cap total. By getting Murphy’s contract off their books, the Bulls are now going to be able to remain under the luxury tax, even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah reach their earn bonuses. Waiver claims are a rare occurrence in the NBA, but the Jazz must be intrigued enough by Murphy’s size and skillset to take on the extra cap hit. He’ll be on a non-guaranteed, minimum salary deal next season.

To make the move work, the Jazz have waived Biedrins and his $9MM salary. Biedrins was acquired when the Jazz acted as a third-party in the trade that sent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors, but the veteran big man has faced injury problems and played sparingly during his tenure with the team. Utah will continue to be on the hook for his entire salary, providing he clears waivers, which is a near-certainty.

The Bulls catch a break with Utah’s claim of Murphy, whose cap hit will now come off Chicago’s books. This should give them enough room to sign multiple players to prorated minimum-salary contracts and remain beneath the luxury tax threshold even if Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonus clauses in their contracts.

Bucks Consider Waiver Claim Of Erik Murphy

April 5th, 2014 at 12:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks have interest in claiming former Bulls big man Erik Murphy off waivers, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. If they submit a claim before Murphy clears waivers Saturday afternoon, he’ll go to Milwaukee, since the Bucks are the league’s worst team and therefore would have priority over any other club that attempts to claim him. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote Thursday that he’d be surprised if Murphy cleared waivers, so other teams may be hoping the Bucks don’t prevent them from acquiring the 6’10” rookie.

Waiver claims aren’t typical, and Murphy saw just 62 total minutes with the Bulls this season, but teams around the league are apparently intrigued with the upside of the 23-year-old who was the 49th overall pick in the 2013 draft. His minimum-salary deal is non-guaranteed for next season, becoming partially guaranteed for $100K if he remains under contract through August 1st and for $200K if he makes it to November 1st. Any team can claim him, since he’s making the minimum salary, but his cap hit for this season would be more onerous than that of a free agent signee on a prorated contract for the final 11 days of the season.

Milwaukee or any other team that claims him would assume the cap hit for his $490,180 salary, and the money would be wiped from Chicago’s books. That could wind up saving the Bulls from paying the tax this year, as I explained earlier. The Bulls released Murphy on Thursday to make way for a veteran replacement, and a waiver claim would make it easier for Chicago to sign two players, which the team is reportedly considering. Ronnie Brewer and Mike James appear to be Chicago’s targets.

The Bucks wouldn’t have to make a corresponding move to acquire Murphy, since their final roster spot opened this evening when their 10-day contract with D.J. Stephens expired. The team doesn’t plan to re-sign the shooting guard.