Parker Bullish About Young Bulls’ Chemistry
Some may look at the signing of Jabari Parker as a bit of a double-edged sword, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, but Parker sees his addition to the Bulls as another weapon for head coach Fred Hoiberg to utilize as opposed to another body who may take shots away from the threesome of Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and Lauri Markkanen.
“Those days we had in the gym two weeks ago were very central for us and especially for me,” Parker said. “I got a chance to see those guys up front. It’s different playing with them than against them. I finally got a chance to know here I need to be on the floor and my strengths and things I need to work on.”
“It’s going to take time, like anything else. I can’t put a date on it. But once we figure out each other and start to jell, we’ll see results. Chemistry is key with those guys. The ball is going to be in their hands a lot. Hopefully I can feed off them.”
Luckily for the Bulls, Parker, Markkanen, and LaVine all shoot at roughly the same frequency. For his career, Parker has taken 12.6 shot attempts per game, while Markkanen attempted 12.7 shots per game as a rookie and LaVine has averaged 11.7 attempts in the NBA since being drafted in 2014. Meanwhile, Dunn will be tasked with making sure the ball gets distributed as needed.
“Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been playing with these guys, getting a feel of each player,” Dunn said. “I have great chemistry with Lauri. Zach, he’s easy to play with because he’s a knockdown shooter. Jabari, he’s an unselfish player, a slasher. And Wendell (Carter Jr.) is another unselfish player who doesn’t need the ball.”
Dunn, LaVine, Parker, and Markkanen will likely all start next to veteran Robin Lopez, but Carter’s minutes should increase as the season goes on, with sixth man Bobby Portis rounding out the team’s young core. Parker will also be able to slide to power forward and play alongside Portis or Carter when Markkanen is on the bench.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Portis, Defense
Having secured a $78MM payday in July, Zach LaVine will face extra scrutiny in 2018/19, but the 23-year-old guard isn’t feeling any added pressure to prove that he’s worth the Bulls‘ investment, as K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune details.
“I don’t have to validate anything,” LaVine said. “I feel I’ve earned everything I’ve gotten. … Added pressure? Man, I’m the hardest critic out of everybody on my own side. I’m just excited because I know I’ve had a really good summer. I know how good we can be.”
As LaVine observes, the current Bulls’ group hasn’t won anything yet, so the team will enter the season looking to defy prognosticators who view Chicago as a sub-.500 squad.
“We hear the outside expectations, but I think we use that as fuel,” LaVine said. “We’re going to get off to a hot start with training camp coming. We’ve all been here and it’s going to be fun. That’s why I think we’re all able to get a jump on the season because we’re all healthy now.”
Here’s more out of Chicago:
- The Bulls face an October 15 deadline to lock up Bobby Portis to a rookie scale extension, and it appears the team is making an effort to get something done. GM Gar Forman, who said the Bulls view Portis as “part of our core,” indicated on Monday that the club has met with Portis’ agent several times about a possible contract (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson). Portis would be eligible for restricted free agency in 2019 without a new deal in place.
- The Bulls invested heavily in offense this summer by matching LaVine’s offer sheet and signing Jabari Parker, but they’ll only go as far as their defense takes them in 2018/19, writes Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago. “There’s no reason in the world we shouldn’t be able to go out and make things tough for the other team,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said of the Bulls’ defense. “It’s not about one individual. It’s about getting all five on the same page and building the habits.”
- In case you missed it over the weekend, Bulls center Omer Asik has been ruled out indefinitely due to inflammatory arthritis.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Redick, Pacers, Cavs, Hood
Before the Bulls signed Jabari Parker to a two-year, $40MM contract, they discussed using their salary cap room to accommodate a possible salary-dump deal with the Nuggets, sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Denver ultimately made that trade – which involved Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur – with the Nets instead of Chicago.
Lowe suggests that many rival executives would’ve preferred to do the deal the Nets did, acquiring a first- and second-round pick rather than adding another defensively challenged wing after having re-signed Zach LaVine. However, Lowe offers a counter, writing that many NBA teams and observers have been “guilty of fetishizing” those deals that see a team acquire a draft pick along with an unwanted contract. Sometimes, Lowe writes, it makes more sense to “chase talent” instead.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Zach LaVine spoke to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com about his experience in restricted free agency and his enthusiasm for the Bulls‘ “offensive versatility.”
- In an episode of The J.J. Redick Podcast, host – and Sixers guard – J.J. Redick admitted that he came close to a deal with the Pacers when he was a free agent earlier this month (link via Jordan Guskey of The Indianapolis Star). Redick ultimately re-signed with the Sixers on a one-year, $12.25MM deal, while Indiana completed a very similar contract with Tyreke Evans.
- The Cavaliers are believed to be interested in signing Rodney Hood to a three-year contract, writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. However, it’s not out of the question that Hood signs his qualifying offer with an eye on unrestricted free agency in 2019. Pluto also passes along some notes on Kevin Love‘s extension and Cleveland’s projected rotation in his latest Scribbles column.
- Ed Stefanski has revamped the Pistons‘ front office in recent months, but he still wants to make one more hire, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, who writes that the club is on the lookout for an executive who will oversee analytics and salary cap management.
Pacific Notes: Beasley, James, Livingston, Temple
In a somewhat surprising move, the Lakers plan to sign veteran forward Michael Beasley to a one-year, $3.5MM deal, using a significant portion of their room exception. Beasley enjoyed a rejuvenated season with the Knicks in 2017/18, averaging 13.2 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 74 games (30 starts).
Beasley reportedly had opportunities to sign with teams that offered more playing time, but a tough free agent market made the $3.5MM salary hard to pass up, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. Also, Beasley has familiarity with LeBron James, as he played alongside the four-time NBA MVP with the Heat.
Since the Lakers signed James away from the Cavaliers, the team has further added Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and now Beasley. While it may not be the super team fans had hoped for, it’s an interesting conglomerate of talent.
Check out more Pacific Division notes:
- Speaking of James, he made his first public appearance last Sunday to watch his new team in action at NBA Summer League. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report spoke to several Lakers’ executives who were on hand and discussed the prospect of James in Los Angeles and his role on the team. One executive actually believes the Lakers’ best lineup would be with James at center.
- Shaun Livingston has been a valuable reserve for the Warriors as the team has dominated the NBA the past half-decade, winning three championships in the past four years. Michael Scotto of The Athletic (subscription required) spoke to Livingston during his basketball camp in New York City, where Livingston addressed the Warriors’ success and the perception that Golden State has “ruined” the league with their super team.
- Ever since Zach LaVine‘s offer sheet was matched by the Bulls, the Kings have not made any major additions to the team this offseason. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that the Kings’ low-key approach thus far is okay and helps the team in the future.
- The Grizzlies sent $1.5MM to the Kings as part of the trade for Garrett Temple , tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. That figure is the equivalent of Deyonta Davis‘ salary, which would therefore be covered by Memphis if the Kings choose to waive him.
Clark Crum contributed to this post.
Central Notes: LaVine, Pacers, Cavaliers, Calderon
Fresh off the Bulls officially matching the Kings’ fully guaranteed, four-year $78MM offer sheet to Zach LaVine, the 23-year-old combo guard says he is ready to prove all of the doubters wrong who wonder whether he is worth the nearly $80MM in guaranteed money that he will earn from the Bulls, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.
“I’m my hardest critic,” LaVine said Sunday during the Bulls’ summer league game against the Lakers in Las Vegas. “There’s nothing that any of you guys can say to me that I [don’t] take harder upon myself. I go back and critique my game every year. I’m used to people sleeping on me, and I’m also used to waking them up as well. I’m happy that I have this contract, and I’m happy that I have a little extra motivation to go out there and prove it to some people that don’t believe in me.”
“At the end of the day, I believe in myself, I believe in my work, and I’m going to show the city of Chicago it’s a good choice and I’m here to stay. I’m going to be their guy, and I’m ready to do whatever to help this team get back to that spot.”
And despite saying publicly that he was disappointed the Bulls hadn’t done more to lock him in as a restricted free agent when the free-agency period opened, LaVine backtracked from those comments after the deal with the Bulls became official, saying that he simply meant he never wanted to sign an offer sheet because he wanted to stay in Chicago so badly.
“I think a lot of that got taken out of context,” LaVine said. “The main thing that I wanted to get my point across was I wanted to just deal with Chicago. I never wanted to get [to] a point of [having to sign] an offer sheet. Regardless of whatever happened, I’m going to put that behind us. I’m happy as hell that I’m going to be able to play for the team that I want to play for.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers found unexpected success this past season and the front office deserves credit for avoiding complacency, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com opines. Indiana brought in Kyle O’Quinn, Tyreke Evans, and Doug McDermott on mid-sized deals, all moves designed to help them compete in a now-weakened Eastern Conference.
- The Cavaliers, who are still searching for another assistant coach on head coach Tyronn Lue‘s bench, interviewed Warriors assistant coach Willie Green and Sixers assistant coach John Bryant recently, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Green has since re-upped with Golden State.
- Because he signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract, Jose Calderon likely could have chosen to play wherever he wanted to this upcoming season, opines Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. But he ended up picking the Pistons simply because he believes they can be a good team. And although he’ll likely slot in behind Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith on the depth chart, it’s possible new coach Dwane Casey could play two point guards at the same time, thereby opening up playing time for Calderon.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Bulls Match Kings’ Offer Sheet For Zach LaVine
As expected, the Bulls have officially matched the offer sheet the Kings presented to Zach LaVine, the team announced on Twitter.
The contract, which is fully guaranteed with no options, will pay LaVine $78MM over the next four years. It also includes financial protections for the Bulls in case LaVine experiences further problems with his surgically repaired left knee. Under NBA rules, the Bulls cannot trade LaVine without his consent or send him to the Kings under any circumstances for an entire year, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.
“We were excited last summer when we got a dynamic athlete in Zach LaVine through the trade,” said Bulls executive John Paxson, “and we’re excited now that we get to keep him.” (Twitter link from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.)
LaVine was the centerpiece of a deal that sent Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves on the night of the 2017 draft. Chicago was willing to gamble on LaVine even though he was coming off a torn ACL. He sat out the first half of his first season with the Bulls, then averaged 16.7 PPG in 24 games after recovering.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Grant, Payne, Stone
The Bulls will be investing in an unknown commodity by matching the Kings’ four-year, $78MM offer sheet for Zach LaVine, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. Chicago’s most recent offer to LaVine was only about $2MM less per year than the deal with the Kings, so it’s not a great financial burden for the team to take on. The bigger question is what kind of player LaVine will be after an ACL tear limited him to a combined 71 games over the past two seasons.
The 23-year-old got into just 24 contests in his first season with Chicago and wasn’t particularly effective. LaVine averaged 16.7 points per game, but shot a career-low 38.3% from the floor and the Bulls were outscored by 7.2 PPG while he was on the court. Friedell states that LaVine hasn’t progressed beyond what he was when he entered the league, an athletic marvel who lacks efficiency on offense and consistency on defense.
The Bulls may also have to repair their relationship with LaVine, who said he felt more wanted by the Kings in free agency. The front office believes it has to match LaVine’s offer sheet so it won’t lose the centerpiece of the Jimmy Butler trade, Friedell adds, but it isn’t certain that it’s getting a player to build around for the next four seasons.
There’s more news out of Chicago:
- An escalating salary cap will make LaVine’s new contract look better in future years, notes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Conflicting reports give LaVine a starting salary of either $18.1MM or $19.5MM, which would be either 17.8% or 19.1% of the salary cap, and that percentage will fall in future years as the cap continues to rise. Johnson also notes that the Kings did the Bulls a favor by putting substantial injury protection for themselves in the deal in case LaVine has more problems with his left knee. Chicago’s front office didn’t suggest that in its negotiations out of fear of angering LaVine and his representatives.
- Tonight’s decision to trade Jerian Grant was a sign of confidence in Cameron Payne as the backup point guard, Johnson adds in a separate story. The Bulls will save about $1MM in swapping Grant for Julyan Stone and another $1,656,092 by waiving Stone before his August 1 guarantee date. Injuries have limited Payne to just 36 games since being acquired from the Thunder at the 2017 trade deadline.
- The Bulls will create a $2.6MM trade exception in tonight’s deal, tweets salary cap specialist Albert Nahmad. The team can open as much as $29MM before officially matching LaVine’s offer sheet by waiving Paul Zipser and Sean Kilpatrick (Twitter link).
Zach LaVine Signs Kings’ Offer Sheet; Bulls To Match
9:10pm: The Bulls plan to match the offer sheet, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The cap hit for the Bulls will be $19.5MM annually, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
7:04pm: Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine has agreed a four-year, $80MM offer sheet from the Kings, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. Chicago has 48 hours to match the offer for the restricted free agent.
The offer includes a full guarantee with no options, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
The Bulls made LaVine an offer, but not nearly for the amount Sacramento placed on the table, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears.
“I’m disappointed that I had to get an offer sheet from another team. But Sacramento stepped up and made a strong impression,” LaVine told Spears. “It appears that Sacramento wants me more than Chicago.”
Spears reports the offer as $78MM. In any case, Chicago will have to pony up to retain the talented wing.
LaVine averaged 16.7 PPG in 24 games last season after returning from a torn left ACL. He was traded last offseason by the Timberwolves in the Jimmy Butler blockbuster.
The Kings are the first rival suitor to make a concrete offer to a restricted free agent this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
FA Rumors: LaVine, Parker, Jefferson, Beasley
While the Bulls and Zach LaVine aren’t necessarily close to a deal, the team has had communication with LaVine and his representatives, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. According to Johnson, the Bulls assured LaVine that speculation they wanted to do a $14MM-per-year deal wasn’t accurate, and have “proactively” negotiated in good faith with his camp on a deal that could be in the range of $18MM annually.
That seems like a very reasonable number for LaVine, particularly since only two other teams can currently offer a deal worth anything close to that, and neither of those teams seems to be pushing hard for the Bulls guard. As Johnson details, the Bulls don’t want to let LaVine get away and aren’t eager to have him play on his qualifying offer, so it seems like there’s a good chance the two sides will eventually get something done.
Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- The market for Bucks RFA Jabari Parker hasn’t materialized like he hoped, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports, noting that there may be some league-wide concern about Parker’s attitude and health.
- After being waived by the Pacers, Al Jefferson is considering playing overseas for the 2018/19 season, Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said today (Twitter link via Tony East of 8 Points, 9 Seconds).
- Michael Beasley hasn’t heard from the Knicks since free agency began, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Beasley, who is drawing interest from a couple teams, is “disappointed” in the lack of interest from the Knicks, but understands that they’re “going young.”
- Longtime NBA forward Dorell Wright is finalizing an agreement to sign with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick.
Kings To Focus On Trade Market With Cap Room?
The Kings are one of three NBA teams with significant cap room still available and have been linked to big-name restricted free agents like Jabari Parker and Zach LaVine within the last week or two. However, rather than making a bid for an RFA, Sacramento may take another route with its cap space.
According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, the Kings intend to focus on the trade market, hoping to use their cap room to absorb an unwanted contract or two and collect extra draft assets. The ideal scenario for the team, Jones suggests, would be to acquire a veteran small forward in a trade and pick up a 2019 first-rounder, since Sacramento’s own 2019 pick is headed to the Celtics or Sixers.
While Jones confirms that Sacramento has expressed interest in Parker and LaVine, the prospect of reshaping the roster around either player, plus the uncertainty surrounding an offer sheet – which could be matched by the Bucks and Bulls, respectively – may ultimately discourage the club from pursuing either RFA. The Kings also view Parker as a power forward and aren’t looking to add more players at that spot, Jones notes.
The Kings have been on the lookout for a small forward in free agency, offering slightly more money to Mario Hezonja than the $6.5MM he’ll reportedly receive from the Knicks. However, if the team can add a small forward in a trade that also includes another asset or two, it may be a win in both the short- and long-term for the franchise.
While Jones doesn’t identify any specific trade partners the Kings may talk to, Bobby Marks’ list of clubs with the highest projected 2018/19 team salaries gives us a pretty good idea of which teams might be looking to cut costs.
The Thunder are one possible trade partner, though Alex Abrines and Kyle Singler may not appeal much to the Kings, and Carmelo Anthony is unlikely to approve a trade to Sacramento. The Raptors could be an intriguing fit if they’re looking to get out of the tax, or at least to reduce their projected tax bill — Norman Powell is believed to be available, and C.J. Miles could be too.