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Free Agent Stock Watch 2020: Central Division

January 31st, 2020 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Central Division:

Christian Wood, Pistons, 24, PF (Up) – Signed to a two-year, $3.16MM deal in 2018
There aren’t many waiver claims in the NBA but Detroit got itself a bargain when it snared Wood after the Pelicans made him available. Wood won a training camp battle with veteran forward Joe Johnson for Detroit’s final roster spot and has turned into a valuable rotation member. He’s averaging 10.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 17.4 MPG, including a 20-point, eight-rebound outing against the Nets on Wednesday. A lack of maturity and focus were the reasons Wood bounced around the league for a few years but he’ll get a much bigger contract as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Shaquille Harrison, Bulls, 26, PG (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.62MM deal in 2019
Harrison won a battle for Chicago’s final roster spot and eventually had his salary guaranteed. Harrison, who worked his way through the G League ranks before making his NBA debut two seasons ago with Phoenix, has only seen spot duty this season. In his last 16 appearances, Harrison has not played more than 11 minutes. He was a much bigger factor last season when the Bulls were banged up, appearing in 73 games, including 11 starts. The Bulls can make Harrison a restricted free agent by extending a qualifying offer of $2MM but he doesn’t appear to be in their long-range plans.

Brandon Knight, Cavaliers, 28, PG (Down) – Signed to a five-year, $70MM deal in 2015
Knight’s career has been sidetracked by injuries and once again he’s out of action due to left knee soreness. Knight’s $15.6MM expiring contract could still be used in a major deal but even when he’s able to suit up, he rarely receives playing time. The addition of Dante Exum pushed him further down the bench. In his last two appearances in mid-January, Knight totaled one point in 38 minutes. The former lottery pick, who averaged 19.6 PPG for Phoenix during the 2015/16 season, will likely have to settle for a veteran’s minimum deal this summer.

JaKarr Sampson, Pacers, 26, PF (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $1.7MM deal in 2019
Sampson got a chance to start on Wednesday with Myles Turner sidelined by the flu. Otherwise, playing time has been scarce for the journeyman forward, who has also played for Philadelphia, Denver, Sacramento and Chicago during his NBA journey. He spent a good chunk of time last season in China and the G League. Sampson has appeared in 17 games this season, including 10 starts. Signed to a veteran’s minimum contract in August, Sampson will be an unrestricted free agent once again this summer. He’ll probably be looking at similar offers this July.

Dragan Bender, Bucks, 22, PF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $3.5MM deal in 2019
The former top five pick made a minimal impact in his three seasons with the Suns. He’s been even less of a factor with the Eastern Conference’s top team, appearing in seven games. He’s played four games this month as an injury fill-in but contributed just 11 points with four turnovers in 62 minutes. Bender has spent quite a bit of time in the G League and perhaps his biggest accomplishment this season was staying on the roster and getting his salary guaranteed. His $1.82MM salary for next season is not guaranteed and it’s likely Bender will return to the free agent market for the second straight offseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bulls Notes: Boylen, Hutchison, Harrison, Rose, Deng

November 21st, 2019 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

The 5-10 Bulls are off to a somewhat disappointing start to the 2019/20 season, but head coach Jim Boylen‘s standing within the franchise remains strong, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Asked about where things stand between him and team management, Boylen acknowledged that the club has been frustrated by its start and is seeking more consistency, but said the Bulls’ higher-ups have his back.

“Since I’ve been here I’ve never felt more supported than I am right now,” Boylen said. “From ownership, management, and [vice president of basketball operations] John [Paxson]. We talk every day and we communicate, and we’re in step. We’re in step in a lot of ways, and we’re also in step in our frustration where we would like to play better more consistently.”

Here’s more out of Chicago:

Chandler Hutchison, who had taken on an increased role in Otto Porter‘s absence, has an injury of his own. As Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets, Hutchison missed Wednesday’s game due to sore shins and there’s no set timetable for his return, per Boylen.
Shaquille Harrison, the only player on the Bulls’ roster without a fully guaranteed salary for 2019/20, started in Hutchison’s place on Wednesday and is making a case to have his minimum-salary deal guaranteed. Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago has the story on Harrison’s impressive 15-point, 11-rebound outing vs. Detroit.
In an appearance on NBC Sports Chicago’s Bulls Talk podcast, Derrick Rose looked back on his time in Chicago and speculated that if “load management” had been common at the time, it may have helped extend his tenure as a Bull (video link).
Luol Deng, who signed a one-day contract to retire as a Bull earlier this year, was celebrated by the team on Wednesday and explained why he wanted to return to Chicago to make his retirement official. “It’s what made sense,” Deng said, per Woodyard at ESPN.com. “Chicago means a lot to me when you look back, just at my career as a basketball player coming here as a young man, 19, but it’s a lot of history here and I wanted it to end the right way. The best way to do it is with familiar faces and people that know me very well.”

Bulls Waive Doyle, Simon, Shittu

October 19th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bulls have waived guards Milton Doyle and Justin Simon and forward Simisola Shittu, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

These moves reduce their opening night roster to the maximum 15 players. All three players were on non-guaranteed contracts and were deemed most likely to be waived.

Chicago has no plans to add a player off the waiver wire, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson, which is good news for Shaquille Harrison, whose $1.62MM contract was only guaranteed for $175K. He’ll receive a full guarantee if he remains on the roster through January 10th. All of the other 14 players on the regular roster have fully guaranteed deals.

The Bulls will add another two-way player in the coming days and that player will likely be someone from outside the organization, according to Johnson (Twitter links). Adam Mokoka has the other two-way contract.

Doyle played with the Nets on a two-way contract two seasons ago and spent last season with the Spanish team Murcia. Simon and Shittu are undrafted rookies who will likely join the team’s G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls.

Bulls Notes: Young, Point Guards, Hutchison, WCJ

September 30th, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Thaddeus Young played in the postseason in each of his last three seasons in Indiana, and has appeared in the playoffs in eight of his 12 NBA seasons in total. However, as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, he opted to sign with the Bulls, who were coming off a 22-win season.

Speaking today to reporters, including Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link), Young said he received interest from potential championships contenders in free agency, but liked the idea of becoming a veteran leader in Chicago. According to Young, he intends to bring energy and veteran leadership to the club and to be the sort of player who can speak up in the locker room and hold everyone accountable (Twitter link via Strotman).

While joining the Bulls may have appealed to Young for the reasons he mentioned, it’s probably also safe to assume that most of those title contenders who expressed interest in him this summer weren’t able to match the $13MM+ annual salary he received from Chicago.

Here’s more from the Bulls on Media Day:

Head coach Jim Boylen said the point guard situation in Chicago will “work its way out” in terms of minutes and that the Bulls’ players have embraced the competition, tweets Strotman. Tomas Satoransky, Coby White, Kris Dunn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Shaquille Harrison are all expected to be in the point guard mix.
The Bulls’ goal in 2019/20 is to make the playoffs, Boylen declared today (Twitter link via Strotman). The club finished 19 games back of the No. 8 seed last season.
Chandler Hutchison, who suffered a hamstring strain earlier this month, is “going to be out for a little bit,” per head of basketball operations John Paxson (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune). Paxson also noted that Luke Kornet has turf toe and will miss a few days.
Wendell Carter Jr., on the other hand, said today that he feels 100% – and better than he has for the last five or six years – after undergoing core muscle surgery during the offseason, tweets Strotman.

Bulls Notes: Satoransky, Porter, Blakeney, Harrison

September 7th, 2019 at 5:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls believe they pulled off a steal by landing Tomas Satoransky in a sign-and-trade with the Wizards, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago gave up a pair of second-round picks for the fourth-year combo guard after reaching a three-year, $30MM agreement with him in free agency. Satoransky was a restricted free agent, but his price tag was too high for Washington to match in the face of salary cap concerns.

Satoranksy averaged 8.9 points and 5.0 assists in 80 games last season and took over as the Wizards’ starting point guard after an injury sidelined John Wall midway through the season. But Bulls coach Jim Boylen said the intangibles that Santoransky brings are just as important.

“In my conversation with (vice president of basketball operations John Paxson) and (general manager Gar Forman), it was about what kind of character we can bring in that can still play, that can help us win because what we’ve needed is durability and availability. We haven’t had that,” Boylen said. “In looking out over the free agents and the guys we felt we could get, just looking at where Washington was and what they were trying to do, having some (cap) issues, he was the guy we targeted for all those characteristics I believe in.’’

There’s more from Chicago:

The Bulls had a strong advocate for Satoransky in former teammate Otto Porter Jr., Crowley adds. Porter, who was acquired from Washington in a February trade, was also deemed expandable because the Wizards were looking to trim salary. “Otto loved him, and ‘Sato’ loved Otto,’’ Boylen said. “Otto is a big part of this team. His trade is not talked about enough. We were 7-5 in February because, first of all, we got rid of (Jabari Parker), and we added a guy who brings synergy and chemistry. Otto has that synergy and chemistry with ‘Sato.’’’
The impending release of Antonio Blakeney is good news for Shaquille Harrison, who is now ticketed for the 15th roster spot, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Harrison is entering his second season with the Bulls after putting together a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in 73 games last year. He is scheduled to make $1,620,564 this season, but carries just a $175K guarantee until January 10, when all NBA contracts become fully guaranteed.
Once Blakeney hits waivers, he’ll be eligible to be claimed by any team except for the Warriors and Heat, who are both have hard cap restrictions, according to Marks (Twitter link). If he is claimed, Blakeney’s contract will carry a $1.6MM cap hit.

Contract Details: Portis, Theis, G. Hill, Harrison

July 19th, 2019 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

As we previously relayed, most of the new Knicks that signed multiyear contracts with the team this month received modest partial guarantees in the final year of their respective deals. Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington, and Reggie Bullock each have $1MM partial guarantees for 2020/21, while Julius Randle has a $4MM partial guarantee in 2021/22.

The only newly-signed member of the Knicks whose deal includes a team option – rather than a non-guaranteed final year – is Bobby Portis, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Portis will earn a guaranteed $15MM salary in 2019/20 with a $15.75MM team option for 2020/21.

Meanwhile, Marcus Morris is the only Knicks free agent addition who didn’t get a multiyear contract at all, as Pincus notes. Morris will earn a flat $15MM salary on his one-year deal.

Here are a few more contract details from around the Eastern Conference:

Daniel Theis‘ new two-year, $10MM deal with the Celtics is only guaranteed for the first year, according to Pincus. Theis’ $5MM non-guaranteed salary for 2020/21 would become guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 3, 2020.
Pincus also provides the specific details on the partial guarantee in year three of George Hill‘s new contract with the Bucks. After earning a total of $18.72MM in his first two seasons, the veteran guard has a $1.28MM partial guarantee in 2021/22 that increases his overall guarantee to exactly $20MM. If he remains under contract through July 1, 2021, Hill’s third year would be worth $10.05MM.
Having re-signed with the Bulls on a new one-year, minimum-salary contract, Shaquille Harrison received a partial guarantee worth $175K, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Harrison will also get a de facto no-trade clause as a result of signing a one-year deal with his previous team.

Bulls Re-Sign Shaquille Harrison

July 18th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

1:00pm: The Bulls have officially re-signed Harrison, the team announced today in a press release. The club also confirmed that its deal with Luke Kornet has been completed.

8:11am: Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison will re-sign with the team that waived him earlier this month, having agreed to a one-year deal with the Bulls, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games for Chicago last season, averaging 6.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 1.9 APG with strong defense in 19.6 minutes per contest. Despite having a regular rotation role, he became a cap casualty when the club needed to clear enough space to finalize its deals with Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky.

The Bulls drafted Coby White, acquired Satoransky via sign-and-trade, and re-signed Ryan Arcidiacono this offseason, so Harrison will join a crowded backcourt that also features Kris Dunn and Antonio Blakeney. K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets that the club has discussed waiving Blakeney and is open to trading Dunn, so it’s possible there will be a 15-man roster spot available for Harrison, but for now it looks like an uphill battle.

One factor working in Harrison’s favor is the Bulls’ head coach. According to Johnson (via Twitter), the former Tulsa standout is a Jim Boylen favorite.

Financial terms of Harrison’s new contract aren’t yet known. Although a minimum-salary deal seems likely, Chicago does have some of its room exception available.

Bulls Release Shaquille Harrison, Walt Lemon Jr.

July 6th, 2019 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls have waived Shaquille Harrison and Walt Lemon Jr., according to a press release from the team. Chicago needed the cap space to finalize the signings of free agents Thaddeus Young, which is now official, and Tomas Satoransky, who is still waiting to sign his deal. Harrison and Lemon both had non-guaranteed contracts that would have paid them $1,588,231 next season.

Harrison, 25, appeared in 73 games this year, starting 11, after signing with the Bulls last summer. He posted a 6.5/3.0/1.9 line in about 20 minutes per night.

Lemon, 26, got into six games after signing with Chicago in late March. He started the season on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but never played for them before being released in November.

Bulls Notes: Rose, Lopez, Markkanen, Harrison

March 28th, 2019 at 1:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Derrick Rose‘s latest injury decreases the chances that the Bulls will try to sign him next season, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune in an question-and-answer column. The Chicago native and former MVP revived his career in Minnesota this season, averaging 18.0 PPG and shooting 37% from 3-point range in 51 games. However, his season ended early again due to bone chips in his right elbow that required surgery last week.

Rose will be a free agent this summer after signing a one-year deal with the Timberwolves, and there was talk that the Bulls might be interested in pursuing him to settle their issues at point guard. In light of the injury, however, Johnson suggests Ricky Rubio, Darren Collison and Patrick Beverley as better targets.

There’s more Bulls news to pass along:

Chicago probably won’t be able to re-sign veteran center Robin Lopez, Johnson writes in the same column. Even though there’s some mutual interest, Lopez will be seeking a situation that offers regular playing time, and Wendell Carter is the Bulls’ center of the future. Coach Jim Boylen has also mentioned the possibility of using Lauri Markkanen at center and Otto Porter at small forward against smaller lineups, which leaves few available minutes for Lopez. Johnson notes that Bulls management likes team-first veterans, so they would try to find a similar player if Lopez leaves.
Injuries continue to derail the Bulls’ rebuilding process, observes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Markkanen is the latest player to be shut down for the rest of the season after “an episode of rapid heart rate and fatigue.” A source told Cowley that Markkanen was experiencing a rapid heart rate in the locker room during Tuesday’s game. His condition improved after showering and eating, but he became light-headed while waiting for the bus to the airport. Markkanen was limited to 68 games as a rookie because of back issues and managed only 52 games this year after being sidelined at the start of the season with an elbow injury.
Shaquille Harrison has proven he belongs in the NBA during his time with the Bulls, contends Michael Walton of NBC Sports. Harrison’s defensive prowess is well known, but he has been improving as a scorer, pouring in a game-high 21 points last night. Chicago faces a decision this summer as Harrison’s $1,588,231 salary for next season will become guaranteed on August 15.

Bulls Notes: Blakeney, Tanking, Dunn, Valentine

March 25th, 2019 at 9:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Injuries to starting Bulls guards Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine give their backups a chance to improve their prospects of making the roster next season, Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Shaquille Harrison, Ryan Arcidiacono, Wayne Selden and Antonio Blakeney will get increased playing time.

Arcidiacono started the season slowly but is shooting 52% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc since the All-Star break, Strotman notes. The club can make him a restricted free agent by extending a $1.82MM qualifying offer.

Harrison, whose $1.59MM salary for next season is not guaranteed, is averaging 10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.0 SPG while starting the last three games.

Blakeney’s $1.59MM contract is guaranteed for next season but that doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed to be on the team next season, according to Strotman. He’s shooting just 42% from the field and averaging just 0.6 APG.

The Bulls can make Selden a restricted free agent by extending him a $1.93MM qualifying offer.

We have more on the Bulls:

The team appears to be in full tank mode entering the final eight games this season but coach Jim Boylen denies it, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “We’re trying to build a competitive spirit, a team that’s going to honor that Bulls across their chest and play for the city,” Boylen said. “We don’t feel shutting people down is a way to build that.”
Dunn is unlikely to play on Tuesday due to a back injury. He tried to tough it out against Utah on Saturday and earned kudos from his coach, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes. “I want to give Kris credit for playing,” Boylen said. “He had more kinesio tape on him than a mummy. He tried to play and give us what he could. I love the fact that he tried it.”
Not only do the Bulls want rookies Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison to play on their summer league team, they’ll also ask Denzel Valentine if he’s interested in participating, Johnson reports in another article. Valentine has not played this season following surgery to reconstruct his left ankle. The Bulls have discussed playing in both the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and the Utah Jazz Summer League in Salt Lake City, Johnson adds.