Bulls and Gordon Far Apart
It appears that the Bulls and restricted free agent Ben Gordon are not on the same page. All indications are that the team and the shooting guard are far apart when it comes to the terms of a potential deal. Gordon turned down an extension from the Bulls last offseason that was worth around $50 million and he’s probably seeking something in that range now, though the Bulls are unlikely to give it to him. Gordon hasn’t lived up to the team’s expectations that the team had set for him when they selected the UConn product third overall in the 2004 draft. Gordon did average 18.6 points last season and shot 41 percent from three-point range, but he’s a fairly one-dimensional player. He can score, but he’s streaky and undersized.
It looks like this relationship could be coming to an end. Gordon, in all likelihood, will not receive an offer sheet from any other teams. There is a good chance that he signs a one-year qualifying offer and hits the market as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Gordon could be seen as expendable with the addition of Derrick Rose if the team decides to keep combo guard Kirk Hinrich, a management favorite, and shift him to the two. While Gordon can light it up from the outside, he’s also prone for having those 4 for 17 shooting nights as well. The Bulls can afford to let him walk next summer.
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Deng’s Decision to Come Sooner Rather Than Later
A source close to Bulls forward and restricted free agent Luol Deng has said that the 23-year-old plans to make a decision in the next few days regarding his future with the team. With all the cap space in the free agent market pretty much swallowed up, it appears that Deng will receive no offer sheet from an NBA club. Deng is seeking a long-term deal with the Bulls, but may opt for the one-year $4.5 million qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
One has to wonder what the Bulls are waiting for. Deng had a down year last season, yes, but so did everyone else on the team. He and other young Chicago players admitted they were distracted by persistent trade rumors going into last season regarding Lakers star Kobe Bryant. That uncertainty combined with the firing of head coach Scott Skiles would hinder the performance of any 22-year-old. Deng is already a very productive player, averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds in his “down” year, and still has a lot of upside as far as his potential is concerned. Pairing him with Derrick Rose could make for a solid foundation for the franchise to build upon. Pay the man.
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Rose Named to Olympic Practice Squad
Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has been selected to the practice squad that will scrimmage against the U.S.A. Olympic team next week in Las Vegas. Other players selected to the squad include Oklahoma City phenom Kevin Durant and Blazer’s forward LaMarcus Aldridge, among others. The scrimmage team serves as a formidable opponent for the Olympic squad and is full of young, skilled players with plenty of energy.
This should be a great experience for Rose. He’ll be playing alongside some of the best up-and-coming players in the league against the best players in the NBA. Rose will match up against the likes of Chris Paul and Deron Williams on a daily basis and he’s bound to learn a ton from those guys. Rose didn’t get much action in summer league, pulling out after two games with a sore knee, but this opportunity should prove much more useful. Rose should really enjoy playing with his scrimmage team. With all the talent around him, Rose can do what he likes to do most, distribute the ball. It may spoil him a bit, because he’ll be depending on guys like Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah in the regular season to finish.
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Gordon, Deng Running Out of Options
The Bulls have been quiet during free agency thus far, despite the fact that they have two restricted free agents on their roster in Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. There hasn’t been much reported about the team being close to agreeing to a long-term deal with either player. Gordon led the team in scoring last season, averaging 18.6 point per game. Deng, still only 23, averaged 17 points and six rebounds in what was considered a down year for the young forward. Both players definitely took a step back last season, Deng more than Gordon. Deng is probably the best player on the team, besides Derrick Rose, and could be the cornerstone of a franchise.
Both players have been waiting to see if they’d receive offer sheets from other teams this offseason. With everybody’s cap room now swallowed up, save the Memphis Grizzlies who have no intention of spending any money this offseason, it looks like the players have two options. Gordon and Deng can sign long-term deals with the Bulls that are probably worth a little bit lower than they’d like, or they can sign one-year tender offers and become unrestricted free agents next summer. The latter is a risky move for both sides. The Bulls could end up losing one, or both, of the players next year and receiving nothing in return, but Deng and Gordon could have sub-par seasons yet again and do further damage to their market value.
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Odom to Chicago?
There are rumors floating around that the Bulls may enter as a third team in a deal that would send Kings forward Ron Artest to the Lakers. A potential deal involving the three teams would have the Bulls sending Kirk Hinrich to Los Angeles and Tyrus Thomas to Sacramento and receiving Lakers forward Lamar Odom in return. The Lakers would also receive Artest from the Kings and send guard Jordan Farmar and center Chris Mihm to Sacramento.
This would be a good trade for the Bulls. Odom would immediately be one of the best power forwards in the Eastern Conference and supply the Bulls with the low-post scoring they’ve lacked since trading Elton Brand. Hinrich has become expendable since the Bulls drafted Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and has been part of trade speculation for the past few weeks. The trade would also give the Bulls the low-post scoring they passed on when they picked Rose over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley. Odom can really score from inside and out, but he’s also unselfish, which would work well on a team with other stud players who share the ball in Rose and Luol Deng (whom the Bulls are trying to re-sign). These three guys would make up a formative trio that would likely have the Bulls right back in the playoffs.
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Deng Likely to Stay
As teams with cap space disappear one after another, it appears more likely that Luol Deng will be a Chicago Bull this upcoming season. One of the last remaining teams with room under the salary cap, the Clippers, used that space to trade for center Marcus Camby. Los Angeles sent Denver the rights to swap future second-round picks, which basically means that the Nuggets were desperate to cut payroll. The Clippers may have been the last team that would have offered Deng a contract. Deng is a restricted free agent and is seeking a long-term deal.
The only team that has enough cap space to offer Deng a substantial deal is the Memphis Grizzlies, but all indications are that they have no desire to sign any free agents and they’ve already got a stud small forward in Rudy Gay. Most reports have the Grizz holding out for next year’s free agent class, or perhaps the now famous class of 2010. This bodes well for the Bulls. They should lock Deng up to a long-term contract now; they should be able to get him to stick around for less money than if they had to match an offer from another club. Deng has superstar potential and he and Derrick Rose could form the foundation of the franchise.
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Rose Pleads Guilty to Speeding
Number one overall draft pick Derrick Rose has plead guilty to speeding charges. Rose was stopped by authorities in April for driving 106 mph in a 65 mph zone. Rose was fined $1,000 and assigned to traffic school.
I’m hoping people don’t blow this out of proportion. Being the first pick in the draft, Rose is certainly a target for scrutiny, especially because he wasn’t the clear-cut guy, but there shouldn’t be any questions about Rose’s character. Character is one thing you do not have to worry about when it comes to Derrick Rose. Keep in mind, the kid is only 19 years old. Nobody gave LeBron James much of a hard time when he was clocked doing 101 on an Ohio highway. Traffic violations should not factor into how the public views the persona of an athlete. Everyone gets traffic tickets from time to time, especially young men with expensive cars. This incident took place before Rose was drafted, so it’s not like he was putting on a show of good behavior just to be drafted and is now revealing himself as the NBA’s Pac Man Jones. Fans should focus on what Rose does on the court this season and leave his off-court activities alone unless there’s truly something to discuss.
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Rose to Undergo Tests on Knee
The Bulls have planned to run tests on Derrick Rose’s sore right knee. The first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft was rested the final three games of the five-game summer league in Orlando after tendinitis in his knee began acting up. It appeared that there was something a little off about Rose in the two games that he did partake in as the point guard was hesitant and lackluster.
The best thing the Bulls can do for Rose is to give him the necessary rest that he needs. Whatever the timetable may be, avoiding surgery with this kid is paramount. If Rose has to miss out on part of training camp and isn’t prepared to begin the season as the starter, it isn’t the end of the world. The Bulls are not going to win a championship this season, with or without a healthy Rose, but further injury to the knee could cause future problems for the Chicago-native that could jeopardize a future in which the team envisions Rose leading the team to a title. Rose is a stubborn kid who wants to play, so the team will have to convince him that it’s better just to rest now while the games do not count.
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Bulls Rest Rose
The Bulls have shut down number one pick Derrick Rose for the remainder of the summer league due to tendinitis in his knee. The team insists that the condition isn’t a serious injury, but Rose will undergo a precautionary MRI. Rose seemed timid in the two summer league games he did partake in, and this injury probably explains his hesitation. Rose insisted that could have continued in the summer league, but the team told him not to worry about it.
This is a great move by the Bulls. Just one year after 2007 number one overall pick Greg Oden went down with a season-ending knee injury after playing in the summer league, it’s beast to err on the side of caution. As long as the injury is, in fact, not a concern as far as the regular season goes, this decision shouldn’t have any effect on the rookie. Summer league is more about guys trying to earn an invitation to training camp than it is about showcasing your star youngsters. Rose needs to practice with the real team and learn the offense that he’s going to be running. He’s not going to be any worse off in his rookie season for missing three summer league games.
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Bulls Need Thomas to Step Up
The Bulls haven’t had great success in developing their first round picks of the past few years. One promising talent that hasn’t produced much is forward Tyrus Thomas. The Bulls traded the number two pick for Thomas (who was picked fourth by Portland) and Victor Khryapa on draft day in 2006. In his two seasons with the club, Thomas hasn’t developed much of an offensive game and hasn’t been terribly effective on the defensive end. He’s good for a highlight block or dunk here and now, but he hasn’t been consistent or come along the way you’d expect a guy drafted in the top five to do.
Thomas has been showing some positive signs in this year’s summer league though. In yesterday’s game against Orlando, Thomas scored 25 points and pulled down six rebounds; he also added a steal and two blocks. This is the second straight solid performance by Thomas in this year’s summer league, and it could be a sign that he’s turning a corner. The team should be happy that Thomas didn’t attempt a three pointer in yesterday’s game, something he has the tendency to do despite that fact that he doesn’t have the range. He also got to the free throw line 11 times, nailing nine from the stripe. He’s extremely athletic and relied on that ability to net him points on the high school and collegiate level, but that won’t get him far in the pros because everyone is really athletic. He’s looked good in summer league thus far and perhaps he’s ready to take the next step this season.
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