Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Embiid, Boozer, Turner

February 4th, 2014 at 11:56pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jeff Goodman of ESPN released his report about Joel Embiid “strongly considering” a return to Kansas for his sophomore season, noting that while the Cameroon native recently stated he didn’t feel ready for the NBA, those feelings could change depending on his development over the rest of the year. Earlier this evening, we noted that Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog relayed the first scoop from Goodman via Twitter.

After tonight’s game against Baylor, Embiid spoke with reporters: “I’m not even thinking about (going pro) right now…I’ll make a decision after the season, but I’m definitely considering coming back to school.”

Many NBA executives told ESPN.com that Embiid is their frontrunner to be selected first overall in June, according to Goodman. The Kansas center – who admittedly thought of redshirting prior to the start of the season – is averaging 11.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.7 BPG thus far during his freshman campaign, and is reportedly shocked at the impact he’s been able to make.

Here are the rest of the notable links we’ve gathered up tonight:

Carlos Boozer hasn’t been happy with being benched in favor of Taj Gibson once the fourth quarter rolls around, letting reporters know about his frustration on Monday: ‘‘I think I should be out there, but it’s [Tom Thibodeau’s] choice,…He makes the decisions out there. I play; I don’t coach. He coaches, so he decides that. But, honestly, he’s been doing that a lot since I’ve been here, not putting me [in the game] in the fourth quarter. Sometimes we win. More times than not, we don’t. But that’s his choice’ (Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times).
Boozer continued: ‘‘It’s very frustrating, especially when I’ve got a great game going or what have you. Obviously, as a competitor, you want to be out there to help your team win. Especially when the game is close, you can do things that can help your team win. And not being out there, all you can do is really cheer them on. But that’s [Thibodeau’s] choice.’’
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweeted that nothing has changed since the beginning of the season regarding the Timberwolves’ interest in 76ers guard Evan Turner. Although Minnesota covets Turner, President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders is still not willing to include a first rounder that Philadelphia would want in return.
During his chat with readers, Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW downplayed the possibility that the Bucks would deal Larry Sanders. Additionally, Sefko doesn’t believe that the Mavericks would be interested in pursuing the Milwaukee big man, especially with frontcourt positions already occupied by Samuel Dalembert, DeJuan Blair, and Brandan Wright.
Sefko doesn’t foresee the Mavs making a huge splash on the trade market, saying that if any move is to be done, it’ll involve players at the bottom of the roster instead of the top. One deal he thinks would make sense involves trading Wayne Ellington for an expiring contract, thus allowing Dallas to free themselves of $2.5MM next season.
As for the Pau Gasol sweepstakes, Sefko gets the sense that Dallas has at least made cursory inquiries and labels their chances at landing him as a “long-shot.” As for LeBron James potentially becoming available this summer, Sefko says that not being among the top on the list of preferred destinations won’t deter the team from making their free agent pitch.
With the Thunder owning and operating their D-League affiliate Tulsa 66ers, it has allowed Oklahoma City to create an infrastructure which maximizes player development, writes Anthony Slater of NewsOK.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Pelicans, Buyers/Sellers

February 4th, 2014 at 5:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, we heard that the Suns’ interest in continuing talks with the Lakers about a potential Pau Gasol deal hinges on the 7’1 Spaniard’s recovery from a strained groin injury. With news from InsideSoCal.com’s Mark Medina that Gasol’s rehab will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks, this most likely creates another hurdle in trying to complete a potential deal.

Here’s plenty more from around the Association:

Kevin Ding of the Bleacher Report (via Twitter) says that because of the injury, Gasol may or may not have played his final game for the Lakers. One certainty, however, is that the Lakers are now more motivated to deal him than before.
The Pelicans have been “extremely active” in trade talks over the past few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unclear exactly what sort of deals they’re working on, but they announced last night that center Jason Smith is lost for the season, and they’ve reportedly been seeking a trade for a big man.
Regardless of whether or not Andrew Bynum can produce for the Pacers, the decision to bring him aboard represents a pledge from team management to the players that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship, says Jared Zwerling of the Bleacher Report.
In the same piece, Zwerling lists several teams who could be among the league’s buyers and sellers at the trade deadline this season, labeling the 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, Lakers and Bulls are potential sellers, while the Bobcats, Warriors, Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Mavericks, and Pistons are potential buyers. According to one executive, the Timberwolves and Nuggets could fall into either group depending on what transpires in the next week or so.
Cedevita of Croatia has waived Josh Selby after the former Grizzlies guard suffered an injury, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Selby played 10 games in the NBA last season.
The NBDL’s Texas Legends’ close proximity to their NBA-affiliate Mavericks has made it easy for both to enjoy a highly active partnership as far as developing the Mavs’ young players, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Frisco, Texas – where the Legends are based – is located about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, conveniently allowing the Mavs an option to send someone to play for the Legends one night and then head back for NBA practice the next day.
The 76ers announced that they’ve assigned big man Arnett Moultrie and guard Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers (Twitter link).
The Hawks have sent guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL, according to a team press release earlier this afternoon.
The Celtics announced that center Vitor Faverani was assigned to their D-League affiliate Maine Red Claws earlier today.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Exum, Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons

February 3rd, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The return of Slovenian native Sasha Vujacic to the NBA today, on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, gives the league 93 players born outside the U.S., and they hail from a record 39 different countries, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The globalization of the game doesn’t figure to let up soon, as there’s news on the top overseas draft prospect amid today’s look around the NBA:

Dante Exum wants to mimic Kobe Bryant‘s successful leap from high school to the pros, and that’s what led him to hire Bryant’s agent Rob Pelinka, the Australian point guard prospect tells Jon Tuxworth of The Canberra Times. Exum shares more about his decision to enter this year’s draft and his hopes for instant playing time once he’s in the league.
The Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons and Grizzlies would all like to swing deals by the deadline, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times categorizes nine Bulls trade candidates, and says the team won’t part with Taj Gibson unless it’s certain that a star player will sign with Chicago in free agency this summer. The Lakers, Wizards and Bobcats have reportedly inquired about Gibson.
Raymond Felton has changed agents, dropping Tony Dutt of Dutt Sports Services Inc. to join Wasserman Media Group, as Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reports in a subscription-only piece. Thad Foucher and Makhtar N’Diaye will handle representation for Felton, who can’t opt out of his deal with the Knicks until the summer of 2015.
Von Wafer has signed to play for Russia’s Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The six-year NBA veteran has also played in China and for the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam this season.

Central Rumors: Augustin, Bynum, Cheeks

February 3rd, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

D.J. Augustin remains the starting point guard for the Bulls even with Kirk Hinrich healthy again, a most unlikely scenario when the Raptors waived Augustin less than two months ago. Still, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau says he isn’t shocked to see the former ninth overall pick enjoy a renaissance, observes Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune.

“We knew he had the capability because he already had done it,” Thibodeau said. “His (four) years in Charlotte told you he was capable of playing well. And I thought he had some really good moments in Indiana (last season). … I knew he was hard to guard.”

The Pacers hope their midseason addition of Andrew Bynum pays off just as well, and there’s news on that amid our look at the Central Division:

The Heat spoke with Bynum before he signed with the Pacers this past weekend, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who tucks the news into his latest power rankings. Still, Pacers president Larry Bird called the notion that the team inked the center just to keep him from the Heat “about the dumbest thing I ever heard.”
Pistons owner Tom Gores said this weekend that he doesn’t think the roster is performing up to its capabilities, and coach Maurice Cheeks admits he should be doing a better job of preparing the team to play, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Cheeks has a guaranteed contract through 2015/16 with a team option for 2016/17, but that probably wouldn’t keep Gores from firing him this summer if the Pistons don’t start performing better, MLive’s David Mayo opines. Mayo also senses pressure on president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who’s in the final year of his deal.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Silver, Boozer, Carmelo

February 1st, 2014 at 2:27pm CST by Charlie Adams

News broke this morning that the Pacers officially signed Andrew Bynum to contract that covers the remainder of the season. The former All-Star didn’t find a fit in Cleveland, and a tweet from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reveals that part of Bynum’s frustration with the Cavs was aimed at Kyrie Irving. A source tells Amico that Bynum didn’t believe the team “knew how to win.” Here are a few tidbits from Saturday afternoon around the NBA:

The Bleacher Report interviewed some notable NBA figures to get a bunch of interesting ideas they’d like to see new commissioner Adam Silver tackle, including raising the NBA draft age limit, getting a team in Seattle, and changing salary structures.
Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald believes the Bulls will use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, but suggests that more of a shakeup will be needed to sign Carmelo Anthony. McGraw thinks the Bulls need to move Taj Gibson in order to create room for Anthony.
Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post thinks Nate Robinson‘s season-ending ACL tear will have two definitive effects: the Nuggets will require a guard in return for Andre Miller (on the trading block), and Robinson will likely pick up his $2.1MM player option for next season rather than testing free agency before proving he’s back on the other side of surgery and rehab.
Jodie Meeks tells Mark Medina of L.A. Daily News that he hopes he can stay with Lakers after this season: “I love it here and hope I can stay a long time.” He’s on the last year of a two-year, $3.05MM contract and is one of many Lakers that come off the books for next season.
The Warriors announced in a press release that they’ve officially assigned MarShon Brooks and Kent Bazemore to the Santa Cruz Warriors. This confirms a report we passed along earlier this afternoon that said the duo would be heading to the D-League.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Bulls, Rondo, Sixers

January 31st, 2014 at 9:59pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bulls are getting calls from clubs as the trade deadline approaches, but that’s no big deal to coach Tom Thibodeau. “The way that works is, when something gets close, they will come to me,” Thibodeau said, according to Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune. “But every conversation they’re having I don’t know about, nor do I want to know about. It’s important for me to focus on the guys we do have.” More from around the Association..

Andrew Bynum and his agent are in Indianapolis to meet with the Pacers, writes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. However, agent David Lee says the big man hasn’t signed with anyone yet. As of earlier this week, Bynum is still seeking more than the minimum.
Rajon Rondo says he’s “intrigued” by free agency, but Celtics GM Danny Ainge isn’t sweating it. “Come on, man! They’re talking about Kevin Durant‘s free agency in 2016 already; Carmelo Anthony. It’s ridiculous,” Ainge told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “It becomes a story because not very many people understand what free agency brings to Carmelo and Kevin Durant and [Rondo]. It gives them (the potential for) five-year max contracts which are way more significant than two-year extensions, three-year extensions. And they have to say these things. From my perspective, it’s like, ‘duh.’ If you’re around the NBA, those are like obvious things.“
The Sixers have sputtered since their hot start to the season but Hawks big man Elton Brand says they’re working hard and no one could accuse them of tanking, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
Zach Harper of CBSSports.com wonders if Kansas star Andrew Wiggins is starting to justify the hype.

Lakers, Wizards, Bobcats Ask About Taj Gibson

January 31st, 2014 at 3:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers, Wizards and Bobcats all made preliminary inquiries about Taj Gibson recently, but the Bulls weren’t satisfied with any of the proposals, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Still, there’s a “growing possibility” the team will deal the power forward before the deadline, Cowley writes, and it’s a signal that the Bulls might be willing to try to clear cap room for a run at Carmelo Anthony.

Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said this week that he’s “not necessarily” going to engineer a pursuit of a star this summer, but he didn’t rule it out. Anthony reportedly sees Chicago as an intriguing free agent destination, but it would take some maneuvering for the Bulls to be able to sign him this summer. Chicago has $63MM in commitments for next season, almost equal to the projected amount of the salary cap for 2014/15. They could amnesty Carlos Boozer‘s $16.8MM salary to clear space, but they’d have to open more room to accommodate a maximum-salary contract for Anthony, which would have a starting salary of $22,458,402 for next season.

Gibson will make $8MM next season, the second year of a four-year extension he signed with the Bulls in the fall of 2012, so depending on how much salary the Bulls take in return, trading him could clear the way for Anthony. Gibson makes $7.55MM this season, and while he’s primarily been a bench player, he’s averaging career highs in minutes (28.6) and points per game (12.2). It’d be a little surprising if he wound up with the Lakers, who have mostly shied away from long-term commitments, but the Bobcats will reportedly be buyers at the deadline, so Gibson would make sense for Charlotte. The same is likely true of the Wizards, who began the season with playoff aspirations but hold only a three and a half game lead on the ninth-place Knicks in the Eastern Conference.

Central Rumors: Irving, Martin, Rose

January 31st, 2014 at 2:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The leading story in the Central Division, and around the NBA, surrounds Kyrie Irving and his alleged discontent with the Cavaliers. It’s in the team’s best interests to mend fences with the star point guard, as multiple Cleveland-area writers have written, but the Cavs still wield most, if not all of the leverage. Irving would be a “raving lunatic” if he passed up a max extension from the team this summer, opines Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Here’s more on the Cavs and their Central Division rivals:

The Bulls have no immediate plans to re-sign Cartier Martin, whose second 10-day contract expired this week, but Tom Thibodeau won’t rule out the idea of bringing him back later this season, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the same piece, Thibodeau admits that Derrick Rose could begin practicing with the team later this season. The Bulls have maintained that Rose is out for the season, but Rose has left the door open for a return during the playoffs.
Executives around the league believe the Cavs are hesitant to send No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett to the D-League because they think it would look like an admission of failure on their part, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com.
With landing the No. 1 pick seemingly the best-case scenario for the Bucks this year, Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel explains that it’s no panacea.

Odds & Ends: Durant, ‘Melo, Rockets

January 30th, 2014 at 5:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are plenty of things to look forward to tonight in the NBA, including the announcement of the All-Star game reserves as well as the follow-up showdown between the Warriors and Clippers, whose Christmas Day match-up gave us a taste of how intriguing the playoff atmosphere in the Western Conference could be come April. Shortly after the 105-103 loss, Clippers forward Blake Griffin spoke about being ejected and didn’t seem too happy with Golden State:

“If you look at it, I didn’t do anything and I got thrown out of the game. It all boils down to they (referees) fell for it…To me, it’s cowardly basketball. I don’t know their intentions, but it worked…If I knew the answer I’d probably be in a different position. Tonight I got two technicals for nothing.”

Although Warriors coach Mark Jackson continues to insist that LAC-GSW isn’t a rivalry, Matt Moore of CBS Sports provides the evidence which suggests otherwise. In the meantime, here are some links to pass along from around the Association this afternoon:

Kevin Durant‘s decision this summer to sign with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports agency came from a desire to enhance his off-court marketing, and it had nothing to do with his feelings about Oklahoma City, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
An agent with ties to the Knicks tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling that he thinks Carmelo Anthony is “too Hollywood” to choose the Bulls in free agency and prefers New York or Los Angeles instead.
Some executives around the league were put off by the public negotiating the Rockets did when Omer Asik was on the block, and other front-office types were annoyed with Houston’s boasts after the Dwight Howard signing, as Zwerling reports in the same piece.
The Bulls would be “ecstatic” if Nikola Mirotic signed this summer for the mid-level exception, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. He’s almost certainly referring to the non-taxpayer’s mid-level, which would allow for a starting salary of $5.305MM.
Marco Belinelli says the Bulls didn’t make an offer to re-sign him this past summer, and he finds that surprising, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com observes. The Bulls chose to sign Mike Dunleavy instead, reportedly because they felt he was a better fit with Derrick Rose.
Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays a report from El Mundo Deportivo that China and Russia have decided to withdraw their bids from the FIFA World Cup Wild Card. Ryan Wosltat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter) says that with those two teams out of the picture and Brazil, Greece, and Turkey locks for the tournament, then Canada should have a shot to make it as well.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Paxson On Rose, Cap Space, Deng, Trades

January 30th, 2014 at 4:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Rose has long maintained that he doesn’t like to recruit other players to Chicago, and Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson doesn’t think that stance puts the team at a disadvantage, as Paxson said on ESPN Chicago 1000’s “The Waddle & Silvy Show.” Paxson said he wouldn’t have been comfortable recruiting during his playing days, either. The sharpshooter-turned-executive had plenty more to say about the state of the Bulls, as we highlight via transcriptions from ESPNChicago.com and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders:

On whether the team will try to clear room to ink a max-salary free agent this summer:

“Not necessarily, because we have other avenues. We still have some short-term contracts that can be used in deals and we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. It’s tough to play that game thinking that you’re just going to unload, unload, unload and try to have as much money [as possible]. Sometimes you can have too much, I guess.”

On the team’s motivation for trading Luol Deng:

“The reason for doing the Deng deal has been obvious, we’ve stated it a number of times. It doesn’t put us in a position right now to have max cap room this summer but it does give us the opportunity to have the ability to go out and pursue some guys and look at different avenues, whether it’s through trading players or trading for players.”

On his approach at the trade deadline next month:

“It’s a process. Now if somebody comes — we’ve got three weeks now until the trade deadline and there hasn’t really been any chatter at all from teams yet, but that’s often the case when you’re three weeks away — we’ll listen. But we’re still a team that has played pretty well, and we like a lot of our pieces and we’ll see where the year goes. People know that our guys don’t quit, our coach doesn’t quit and we don’t quit, and we’re just going to keep fighting away.”

On the luxury tax and the perception of the Bulls as being cheap:

“I can tell you about what’s happened recently. We came into the season with a high payroll, in the tax for the second straight year. With Derrick’s injury and other things we made the decision to move Luol and get under the luxury tax this year to give us some flexibility for years going forward. From the business standpoint we felt it was the right thing to do and you have to think that way; it is just a reality of the business. You hear those things [about being cheap], but to feel like you have to go out and respond to everyone, you just end up chasing your tail and it’s really not worth it. I know we work for a terrific owner and an organization that is willing to spend; we just don’t want to spend foolishly, and I think 90 percent of the teams in this league think that way.”