Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Knicks, Spurs, McGrady

April 21st, 2013 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's tonight's look around the Association..

Eric Bledsoe is showing that he's going to be a big money player at some point, even if he doesn't get that payday from the Clippers, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Chris Paul echoed similar sentiments earlier today.
Knicks coach Mike Woodson knows first-hand how tough Kenyon Martin and Jason Kidd can be in the playoffs thanks to his time as an assistant coach for the Pistons, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday (on Sulia). “Both of them are still relentless and savvy,” Woodson said. “I go back to that 2004 Detroit team when they had our backs against the wall [in the conference semifinals] big time…That to me was really our championship series."
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni called Tracy McGrady a "wild card" but Gregg Popovich says that the veteran is "another body" and isn't sure how he'll integrate him into the rotation, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Sulia). The Spurs signed T-Mac shortly after cutting Stephen Jackson.
Former Bulls veteran Keith Bogans is now an important part of the Nets' defense, writes Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.

Central Notes: Dumars, Frank, Bulls, Scott

April 16th, 2013 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

As we wait to see if the Central's top two teams, the Pacers and Bulls, will meet in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, here's the latest out of the division:

As Vince Ellis writes in a pair of pieces for the Detroit Free Press, Pistons owner Tom Gores didn't exactly give coach Lawrence Frank and GM Joe Dumars ringing endorsements, noting his disappointment that the team fell short of playoff contention this season. "I will say I expected better results," Gores said. "I met with Joe and Lawrence (on Sunday) and I let them know that. They’re great guys that know their business, but I’m here assessing everything. My job is to move this franchise forward."
In Ellis' view, Frank appears to be on the way out in Detroit, but Dumars likely "isn't going anywhere." Gores did express excitement about the way Dumars and the Pistons' basketball operations had set the franchise up financially, with plenty of cap room available this summer.
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press argues that Dumars has earned at least one more year with the Pistons.
In his latest mailbag for CSNChicago.com, Aggrey Sam addresses the future of Luol Deng in Chicago and speculates on whether or not Nate Robinson will be back with the Bulls next season.
Kyrie Irving told reporters last night, including Rick Noland of the Chronicle-Telegram, that he "absolutely" wants to see Byron Scott return as the Cavaliers' head coach in 2013/14.

Odds & Ends: Bullock, Blazers, Noah, Nowitzki

April 15th, 2013 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

A few Monday odds and ends from around the Association:

North Carolina junior Reggie Bullock is "leaning strongly" toward going pro, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Bullock, who is ranked 35th on Jonathan Givony's big board at DraftExpress.com, is expected to finalize his decision today, according to Wojnarowski.
The Nuggets team that beat the Trail Blazers in Denver last night may serve as a blueprint for the Blazers' rebuilding process, writes Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
Bulls big man Joakim Noah will be represented by Bill Duffy and BDA Management going forward, the agency announced today on its website. As our agency database shows, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, and Goran Dragic are among BDA's other NBA clients.
In other agency news, Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal reports that Jay-Z Roc Nation Sports won't work with any other agencies besides CAA. Roc Nation will hire established agents for multiple sports and will have its own employees, including Jay-Z, certified, Mullen adds (Twitter links).
Dirk Nowitzki scored the 25,000th point of his NBA career last night, and intends to "be around" long enough to make a run at 30,000, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
Although it seems as if Doug Collins will coach his last games for the Sixers this week, many of his players would like to see him back next season, as Lang Greene of HoopsWorld details.

Thunder, Bulls, Hawks May Pursue Nolan Smith

April 14th, 2013 at 9:12am CST by Chuck Myron

The Trail Blazers aren't going to re-sign Nolan Smith, but sources close to the combo guard tell Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that the Bulls, Hawks and Thunder lead a pack of teams that are likely have interest this summer. The Blazers drafted Smith with the 21st overall pick in the 2011 draft, but after his rookie season, they declined the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him an unrestricted free agent at season's end.

Thunder coach Scott Brooks is Smith's godfather, Freeman points out, and Brooks has expressed confidence in Smith's ability to make it as an NBA player, despite the former Duke standout's inability to consistently become a part of Portland's rotation. Still, Oklahoma City seems well-stocked with backup guards, as they have Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb on guaranteed contracts for next season, along with DeAndre Liggins on a non-guaranteed deal. The Thunder will need to either re-sign or replace Kevin Martin, but Smith probably isn't someone they'd want to fill Martin's sixth-man role.

The Bulls and Hawks will probably have more room for Smith, who could have trouble commanding a salary much higher than the minimum. He's averaged just 3.3 points in 9.9 minutes per game for his career, numbers that have dipped to 2.8 PPG and 7.2 MPG this year. A team may be willing to use a portion of its mid-level exception on him, given his potential as a former first-round draft pick and first-team All-American in college, but he can't expect too much of a raise on the $1.366MM he's earning this season.

Bulls Won’t Sign Nikola Mirotic Until 2014

April 11th, 2013 at 7:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

There's "no possibility" the Bulls will sign 2011 first-round draft pick Nikola Mirotic this summer, GM Gar Forman said today on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 radio. ESPNChicago.com rounds up Forman's comments about Mirotic, who's currently playing in Spain for Real Madrid. Forman said the Bulls will wait until the summer of 2014 because the rookie-scale amount the team would be limited to offering this summer wouldn't match what he's making overseas.

Mirotic was the 23rd overall pick in 2011, so if he signed this summer, he could get a first-year salary of up to 120% of the $1,038,900 rookie-scale amount for this year's 23rd pick. That would come to $1,246,680. But, if the Bulls wait until next summer, three years after they drafted him, the collective barganing agreement would allow them to ignore the rookie-scale amounts and use whatever cap space or exceptions they have at their disposal.

The Bulls see the 6'10" Mirotic as a power forward in the NBA, and Forman called the 22-year-old's ceiling "incredible." Mirotic has won the Euroleague's Rising Star Award two times, and Forman said he's about to win the honor again.

"He shoots it from 3, can handle it, good mobility," Forman said. "And he's a tough, tough kid."

The Grizzlies faced off against Real Madrid in the preseason, and after the game, Zach Randolph said Mirotic reminded him of Dirk Nowitzki and, to a lesser degree, Danilo Gallinari.

Eastern Notes: Young, Lowry, Bulls, Heat

April 10th, 2013 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

With just a handful of games left in the 2012/13 regular season, only one postseason club in either conference is locked into its playoff seed — the East's top team, the Heat, remain a comfortable 10 games up on the second-place Knicks, despite the fact that New York has won 13 consecutive contests. The Bucks aren't locked into that No. 8 seed in the East yet, but they'll likely end up there, meaning last night's game in Miami, in which the Heat beat Milwaukee 94-83, figures to be a playoff preview.

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

When he hits free agency this summer, a long-term contract will be a priority for current Sixers guard Nick Young, as he tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
Kyle Lowry called his first year with the Raptors frustrating and disappointing, but believes the team has the talent to bounce back next season, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. As Smith notes, Lowry's contract for 2013/14 is mostly non-guaranteed, but after giving up a likely lottery pick for Lowry and trading Jose Calderon, the Raptors are a mortal lock to bring back the former Rocket next season.
Given Jimmy Butler's emergence, the Bulls should "think long and hard" this offseason about whether to consider shopping Luol Deng, says Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.
Earlier this week, Heat president Pat Riley suggested that he wants to keep Miami's Big Three intact for years to come and "have one of those 10-year rides." Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explores Riley's comments in his latest mailbag.
Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, who may be on the hot seat this summer, expressed some annoyance to Terry Foster of the Detroit News about the way many of his coaching colleagues are criticized.

Bulls Sign Malcolm Thomas To Two-Year Deal

April 8th, 2013 at 12:58pm CST by Zachary Links

12:58pm: Thomas' deal has guarantee dates that can push the deal through next season, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM.

12:09pm: The Bulls announced today that they have signed forward Malcolm Thomas for the remainder of the season. Thomas originally signed a 10-day contract with the Bulls on March 19th and inked a second one after that expired.

The 6-9, 225 pound forward has seen time in just two games for the Bulls and scored four points in total. The 24-year-old hasn't seen significant burn just yet, but he serves as insurance for big men Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. Thomas is the 15th man on Chicago's roster, meaning that there is no more room for additional signings.

Central Notes: Cavs, Scott, Maggette, Rose

April 8th, 2013 at 8:42am CST by Zachary Links

Last night, Cavs guard Kyrie Irving was asked if he'd be disappointed to see coach Byron Scott go and essentially issued a no comment. Scott is definitely on the hot seat as the season comes to a close, but will he survive? Here's more on that and other notes out of the Central..

Scott could be hanging on to his job with his fingertips, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald (on Twitter). While many people are weighing in on whether Scott should keep his job, the only opinions that truly matter are those of Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert and GM Chris Grant. However, they're not saying anything publicly either. If they make a move, Finnan suggests that Nate McMillan and Stan Van Gundy would be strong candidates.
Tom Van Riper of Forbes released a list of the NBA's most overpaid players and ranked the Pistons' Corey Maggette sixth. Van Riper notes that Maggette has never played a full 82-game season in his 14-year career and even though he can score, he has career averages of 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 45% shooting. The Knicks' Carmelo Anthony is at the very top of the list, which is especially surprising given his recent play.
Derrick Rose still isn't ruling out playing this season, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The guard also says that playing on a minutes limit wouldn't bother him.

Eastern Notes: Thibodeau, Pargo, Teletovic, C’s

April 4th, 2013 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

With seven playoff spots clinched and the Bucks likely to lock their spot up as soon as this weekend, there won't be much late-season drama in the Eastern Conference. But seeding is still on the line, and a win for the Bulls tonight over the Nets would increase the likelihood of the two teams playing each other in the first round later this month. As we look forward to that game, let's check out a few notes from around the conference….

Although he and the Bulls agreed to a contract extension way back in October, it took head coach Tom Thibodeau a while to actually sign his new contract, with multiple reports in February and March indicating that he had yet to do so. Thibodeau confirmed today, however, that he has signed the agreement, telling Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com that the delay was a non-issue.
Jannero Pargo inked a deal yesterday to remain with the Bobcats for the rest of this season, but he'd like to stay in Charlotte beyond this year, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. It's not clear yet whether Pargo's deal with the Bobcats includes a non-guaranteed option for 2013/14, as many late-season agreements do.
Despite spending the first few years of his career overseas before making the jump to the NBA, Nets forward Mirza Teletovic has no intention of returning to Europe, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes.
One player who is heading overseas is Samardo Samuels, who was waived by the Cavaliers earlier this season. Despite reportedly drawing some interest from the Nets and others, Samuels didn't land with another NBA team, and is close to signing with Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Celtics president Danny Ainge is also overseas this week, having traveled to Europe on a scouting trip, says Aris Barkas of EuroHoops.net. According to Barkas, Ainge was in Volos, Greece to watch 18-year-old prospect Giannis Adetokunbo, who is expected to enter this year's draft.

Odds & Ends: Sims, Babby, Aminu, Robinson

April 2nd, 2013 at 12:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Mavericks/Lakers game tonight will have a serious impact on the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, it's not the only noteworthy game on the schedule. The Knicks and Heat have comfortably clinched playoff spots, but New York is still vying for the second seed in the East, while the Heat are looking for a split of the season series with the Knicks. As we wait for those teams to tip off in Miami, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:

Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside passes along word that Henry Sims will leave the D-League's Erie BayHawks to play in the Philippines. The Hornets signed Sims to a 10-day contract a month ago, but decided not to re-sign him when the deal expired.
Suns president Lon Babby is in the final year of his contract, and Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic wonders whether he'll be back in Phoenix next season, since Babby's future with the team may be linked to the futures of head coach Lindsey Hunter and GM Lance Blanks.
Grantland's Zach Lowe unveils his "I can't believe he's this relevant" All-Stars, which includes a number of players who will hit free agency this summer, including Luke Walton, Marco Belinelli, and Kenyon Martin.
With Al-Farouq Aminu headed for unrestricted free agency in July, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune asks Hornets fans whether the team ought to re-sign him to a new contract for 2013/14.
Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald makes the case for why it may make sense for the Bulls to re-sign Nate Robinson this summer.
In his latest mailbag, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel discusses whether the Heat will have the flexibility to bring back Chris Andersen next season.