Gordon the Odd Man Out?

Between the luxury tax implications and the team’s general disappointment with some aspects of his game, restricted free agent Ben Gordon is unlikely to receive the large, long-term contact he’s been hoping for.  The Bulls do not want to exceed the salary cap and enter luxury tax territory, which leaves the team approximately $9.8 million to offer the shooting guard per year.  That number is less than the average yearly salary of a contract offered to Gordon by the team last offseason, which he turned down.

Gordon has been the team’s leading scorer for the past three seasons, but The Bulls have been a pretty underwhelming offensive club in that span.  Under former head coach Scott Skiles, the team was a defensive-minded unit that was jump shot-oriented on offense.  The clubs has lacked a consistent inside scoring presence and has depended heavily on outside shooting for points.  Gordon does provide this, but is he really worth $10 million per year?  With a logjam in the Bulls backcourt, Gordon may be the odd man out.  It appears that the team is not looking to move combo guard Kirk Hinrich, which was the initial sentiment following the team’s drafting of Derrick Rose.  The team likely doesn’t want to lose Gordon for nothing, which would be the likely result next summer should he sign a one-year qualifying offer this year.  A sign-and-trade could be their best option.

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