Central Notes: Bulls, Gibson, Pistons, Allen
Here's a look at the latest out of the Central Division..
- The Bulls and Taj Gibson have been talking about a possible extension since June, but the forward says that he isn't preoccupied with the contract talk, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Yesterday, it was reported that the two sides are "getting closer" on agreeing to a long-term extension. For his part, Gibson has said that he would like to remain in Chicago.
- For the Pistons to have success in 2012/13, they'll need further development from their young players and an immediate impact from the newcomers, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Forward/Center Greg Monroe is among those who need to take the next big leap in Goodwill's view.
- Despite his brother Tony Allen's ties to Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, Ryan Allen is a long shot to make Chicago's roster, as Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com writes. However, it helps that like his older brother, the younger Allen also very defensive-minded – an obvious plus with Thibodeau.
Bulls, Taj Gibson Making Progress On Extension
Bulls fans received some good news today when the team announced that head coach Tom Thibodeau had agreed to a four-year extension to remain in Chicago. According to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com, Thibodeau may not be the only one extended by the Bulls this month. Sam tweets that Taj Gibson and the Bulls are "getting closer" to a long-term extension.
This isn't the first time we've heard optimism about the possibility of Gibson and the Bulls reaching an agreement on a new contract before Halloween. On September 22nd, agent Mark Bartelstein told Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he was confident about getting a deal done, and that his client "loves being a Bull."
When the Bulls let Omer Asik sign with the Rockets earlier this offseason, there was speculation that an anticipated long-term deal for Gibson was part of the reasoning behind the team's decision. Ryan Raroque of Hoops Rumors examined Gibson's extension candicacy shortly after Asik left, concluding that a deal worth about $6MM annually could work for both sides. I wouldn't be surprised if Gibson scores a payday even a little higher than that.
Charania On Gibson, Thibodeau, Extensions
Mark Bartelstein, the agent for Taj Gibson, has been negotiating with Bulls GM Gar Forman about an extension for his client for most of the offseason, and Gibson and his camp are confident about getting a deal done before the October 31st extension deadline, reports Shams Charania of Real GM.com.
“Both sides have the same interests: They value Taj and Taj loves being a Bull,” Bartelstein said.“He hopes to stay in Chicago. Both sides want a long-term marriage.”
Bartelstein's comments are similar to what he said in a report yesterday by Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. Sam also noted that the Bulls are high on Gibson, though the hefty contract of fellow power forward Carlos Boozer complicates matters.
As for Thibodeau, he and the Bulls continue to talk, but Charania hears no deal is imminent, as the Bulls are still haunted by the $4MM they had to pay off on Scott Skiles' contract after they fired him in 2007. There are whispers that owner Jerry Reinsdorf doesn't believe coaches make much of a difference, and some in the organization think Thibodeau performed poorly in the team's first-round loss to the Sixers this year.
Thibodeau is entering the final season of his deal after the Bulls picked up his option for 2012/13 a few months ago. Thibodeau and Gibson hae a strong relationship, as Charania writes, and Thibodeau has indicated Gibson will see more playing time this year.
Bulls Rumors: Pargo, White, Allen, Gibson
The Bulls find themselves in a pickle as training camp approaches, with a $73.55MM payroll that bumps up against a hard cap of $74.3MM invoked when they exceeded the taxpayer's mid-level exception to sign Kirk Hinrich. That gives them enough room for a rookie on a minimum-salary deal of $473,604, and they might be able to squeeze in a one-year vet at the $762,195 minimum, depending on the accuracy of their reported salaries. Aside from that, they'll have to get rid of one of their contracts to add anyone else to the regular season roster. The team could swing a trade or waive Nate Robinson and his partially guaranteed contract to find a place for Andre Emmett, a player with two years of experience who'll be in training camp on a non-guaranteed deal. Still, the team appears to continue to look around for additional free agent help, as Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com chronicles.
- Sam hears that free agents Jannero Pargo, D.J. White and Ryan Allen are joining many of the Bulls for voluntary workouts in Chicago leading up to the opening of camp. Allen is the brother of Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, and is a native of Chicago. Pargo is having discussions with a few NBA teams, as we heard yesterday, and White is reportedly drawing interest from multiple teams overseas.
- Taj Gibson indicated earlier this month that talks were under way about an extension, and agent Mark Bartelstein confirms that to Sam. "It's something we've been talking about for a while," Bartelstein said. "(GM) Gar (Forman) and I have been putting a lot of work in. Taj would love to be a Bull for a long time, there's no question about that."
- The Bulls place a high value on Gibson and privately "acknowledge he's a keeper," Sam writes, but the presence of Carlos Boozer, who has three years and $47.1MM left on his contract, at his position complicates matters. The Bulls have an October 31st deadline to extend Gibson and keep him from becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
Bulls Exploring Extension For Taj Gibson
While the Bulls' hard cap for 2012/13 makes it difficult to add any more players without first clearing salary, it doesn't stop the team from negotiating contract extensions for its current players. The club's primary extension candidate is Taj Gibson, who suggests to Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that talks about a possible extension are underway between the Bulls and Gibson's representatives.
"They're talking about that stuff now," Gibson said. "I'm not even thinking about that. A lot of people always talk about that all year long, all season long. I don't really worry about it. I won't really be thinking about it. I'm just going out there and playing my game."
Heading into the final year of his rookie contract, Gibson will earn just $2.16MM in 2012/13, but is set for a sizable pay raise next summer, whether or not he reaches free agency. The Bulls' decision to let Omer Asik walk this summer seems to indicate the club will allocate its long-term resources to other players, such as Gibson.
When Ryan Raroque of Hoops Rumors examined Gibson as an extension candidate in July, he wrote that a multiyear contract worth in the neighborhood of $6MM annually could be a reasonable deal for both sides. The Bulls and Gibson have until October 31st to work out an extension — if they can't reach an agreement, the 27-year-old will become a restricted free agent after the season.
Odds & Ends: Lillard, Leonard, Reggie
Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.com offered his thoughts on ProBasketballTalk.com's Kurt Helin making the prediction that Damian Lillard would be a good guess for Rookie of the Year award. Golliver essentially agreed with Helin, mentioning that in addition to the explosiveness he displayed at the Las Vegas Summer League, Lillard already displayed more polish than Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose showed as rookies. Despite the level of point guard play to be substantially better than what Lillard faced this summer, Golliver also mentions that the Trail Blazers' lottery pick is in a prime position to succeed alongside veterans such as LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum. Here's more of what we're hearing tonight…
- Trail Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard says that he's become physically stronger this summer and that he's starting to make a good connection with his fellow rookie teammates Damian Lillard and Will Barton, according to Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.
- Pacers' legend Reggie Miller talked about joining his sister Cheryl in the Hall of Fame and briefly touched upon what his future holds (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports). In another piece, IndyStar.com provides an interactive timeline of Miller's storied NBA career. Lastly, Mike Wells of IndyStar.com wonders where Reggie ranks in terms of the best NBA shooting guards of all time.
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson believes that the team can still be competitive while Derrick Rose is recovering and also talks about his role for the upcoming season, says Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York writes that Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire joined Allan Houston, Etan Thomas, and Chris Broussard among others in Harlem last Friday to speak about fatherhood.
Nugent On Bulls’ Future
Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld has a new column discussing the Chicago Bulls' playoff hopes for the 2012/13 season, as they cope with the loss of Derrick Rose to a torn ACL:
- Nugent believes the losses of Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, and Ronnie Brewer will weaken Chicago's bench, as Taj Gibson will be left as the sole remaining member of the unit that many believed was the best bench in the NBA last season.
- Nugent considers Marco Belinelli to be a downgrade from Korver as the team's designated three-point specialist.
- While Kirk Hinrich has proven a capable veteran presence, Nugent points out that injuries have been a concern with the Bulls' newly signed point guard.
- Regardless, Nugent expects the Bulls to make the playoffs this season, even if much of their title contention hope rests with Rose's recovery timetable.
Extension Candidate: Taj Gibson
With a barrage of new additions to the Bulls bench at the expense of cutting ties with nearly all of last year's second unit rotation players, Taj Gibson will be the only familiar face left of last year's group nicknamed the "Bench Mob" to return for 2012-13. The upcoming season marks the final year of Gibson's rookie-scale contract, but from what we've recently heard, Chicago has turned their attention toward extension talks.
Gibson joins Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah as veteran players who have remained with the Bulls since being drafted, and he appears to have carved out a comfortable role on the team. Along with an impressive rookie 2009-10 campaign in which he averaged 9.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG, and shot 49.4% from the field, Gibson has produced career averages of 7.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.3 BPG, and 48.5% FG shooting over his three seasons in Chicago. There haven't been any significant drop-offs in his numbers over a total of 27 playoff games (7.0/5.2/1.3/50%), which demonstrates his ability to remain consistently productive in meaningful games as well.
For strictly basketball reasons, it makes absolute sense that the Bulls would want to retain Gibson for the long-term. The determining factor lies in the type of contract extension that they believe the former USC Trojan should receive. I would say a good approach would be to look at some of Gibson's contemporaries to propose a fair number.
Omer Asik, whose contract with Houston will pay him about $8.36MM per year over three years, played a total of two seasons with the Bulls and averaged 2.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 0.8 BPG while shooting 52.9% from the field. Brandon Bass, who appears to have found his niche in Boston, just signed a three-year, $20MM extension to stay with the Celtics after posting career highs of 12.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and nearly one block per game last season. Lakers forward/center Jordan Hill, who was drafted 18 spots ahead of Gibson in 2009, had recently signed a two-year, $8MM deal to remain with the Lakers. While I would not expect a potential extension to be as low as an average of $4MM annually, I would think that the Bulls would at least be willing to entertain negotiations at a number starting above that. I'd say a two or three year deal for around $6MM annually would be very reasonable.
Even with their new additions, the Bulls are still slated to have a decent amount of cap space for the 2014-15 NBA season, as the contracts they've handed out this summer have either been one or two-year deals. As of today, Chicago only has Rose, Deng, and Noah under guaranteed contracts for 2014-15, totaling to about $48.8MM. Depending on the salary number, a deal that starts at two years for Gibson could significantly cut into the team's flexibility in that second year. However, that number may not be considered as hindering in 2015-16, when the payroll is only currently committed to Rose and Deng for a total of $32.4MM.
Gibson just turned 27 last month, and I feel that what you've seen from him is what you will continue to get. He's as solid a role player you can find in the NBA, rebounds and defends well, has shown his ability to finish strong at the rim, and can hit the mid-range jumpshot at a decent rate. His 7'4'' wingspan allows him to play much bigger than his listed height of 6'9'' and he displays fluid athleticism. Although his numbers could most likely reach double-double territory with more playing time and/or a starting role, I think it's quite possible that he's hit his ceiling in terms of his abilities. It appears that a player like Asik was paid for what he could become, whereas Bass was paid for what he will continue to be. I'd say Gibson fits in with the latter.
Bulls Notes: Rose, Asik, Belinelli, Gibson
In his latest piece for the Chicago Tribune, K.C. Johnson recalls a statement Bulls GM Gar Forman made less than a month ago, on draft night: "Our decisions this summer will be basketball decisions, not financial decisions." Based on the Bulls' moves so far this offseason, particularly with the team on the verge of losing Omer Asik and getting nothing in return, it's hard to argue that finances haven't been strongly considered, as Johnson writes. Here are a few Bulls-related updates from his column:
- Derrick Rose will "likely" be out until March, according to Johnson. We'd heard before that Rose probably wouldn't be back until the new year, but if the March ETA is accurate, that would mean the star point guard would miss most of the regular season.
- The Bulls still plan to clear major cap space for the summer of 2014 to be a player on the free agent market. Luol Deng's contract will expire that summer, and Carlos Boozer will likely be amnestied by then, leaving Rose and Joakim Noah as the only big investments left on the team's books. If Chicago is hoping to clear enough space for a maximum-salary player that summer, it's a little easier to understand why the club wouldn't want Asik's $14.9MM salary for 2014/15.
- Speaking of Asik, the Bulls still haven't officially informed the Rockets of their decision on the center's offer sheet, but league sources tell Johnson that Rockets management believes Houston will land Asik.
- The Bulls "appear close" to signing Marco Belinelli, as we heard on Friday. As Johnson points out, spending the bi-annual exception on Belinelli would hard-cap the Bulls at about $74.3MM this season, and with payroll already approaching that figure, I'd be surprised if the team imposed that kind of inflexibility on itself. We'll see if the Bulls can land Belinelli for the veteran's minimum instead.
- Extension negotiations for Taj Gibson are "next on the docket" for Chicago, says Johnson.
- Johnson adds that one factor to watch this year as the Bulls weigh "basketball decisions" and "financial decisions" is whether the team spends the $5MM trade exception acquired in the Kyle Korver deal.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Villanueva, Warriors, Bulls
As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:
"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."
While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here: