Gordon Ready to Sign Qualifying Offer

After a summer-long saga, Bulls restricted free agent Ben Gordon is expected to sign the one-year qualifying offer he received from the team this offseason.  The deal is worth approximately $6.4 million and will allow Gordon to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.  The team reportedly offered Gordon a six-year deal worth around $50 million earlier this offseason, but Gordon thought he was worth franchise player money.  After the Bulls signed Luol Deng to that sort of deal and were unwilling to award Gordon with a similar contract, negotiations seemed to stall between the two sides.

This blogger thinks that the Bulls have been nothing but fair to Gordon and he has been responsible for the contract stalemate this summer.  Last summer, the Bulls offered Gordon a five-year contract in the same financial range as the six-year deal they offered the shooting guard this offseason, but he rejected that as well.  Gordon apparently thinks he’s the best player on the team, though the organization doesn’t appear to agree.  Gordon’s one-dimensional offensive game, size limitations for his position and inconsistency have given the Bulls pause in offering him a huge deal, and for good reason.  There is a chance that Gordon has received the two largest contract offers of his career, and he’s rejected them both.

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Bulls 17th in Initial Power Rankings

ESPN.com’s Marc Stein has released his initial power rankings for the 2008-2009 NBA season.  The Bulls head into the season ranked 17th after finishing last year ranked 23rd.  “Returning to the top eight when PG and coach have no experience won’t be easy.  A guards glut and the usual low-post void won’t help.  Can’t be harder than winning the Rose lottery with the ninth-best chances, though.”  The thinking in this ranking is naturally that Derrick Rose isn’t going to be able to turn things around for the Bulls in one day.  As discussed at length on this blog, making the transition from the collegiate ranks to the pros is notoriously difficult for point guards.

This is probably a pretty fair ranking for the team.  Coming in as the ninth-highest ranked team in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls do have playoff potential.  A lot of how this team performs will hinge on whether Luol Deng can have a bounce back season, and his performance in the Eurobasket has indicated that he will, and how well Rose and rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro can adjust to their new roles.  The Bulls could be a much improved team in the second half of the season.
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Bulls 26th in Power Rankings of 2002-06

ESPN.com has released a list that ranks all the teams in the NBA based on its weekly power rankings since 2002.  The Bulls come in at disappointing 26.  “There really isn’t much separating No. 26 Chicago’s average rank (19.28) from the team sitting in the No. 20 slot (Philadelphia at 18.44). But the Bulls’ numbers unquestionably absorbed considerable (and deserved) punishment last season when — in a rare scenario for teams down here — they were widely expected to contend for the East title and wound up as a complete nonfactor in the playoff chase by winning just 33 games,” the comment on the Bulls reads.

It’s not really a big surprise to see the Bulls low on this list.  It may have been lower than this blogger would have put them, but you can chalk up a lot of this position to the true Baby Bulls years where the team was being built around Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.  Draft day in 2001 saw the Bulls ship their best player since MJ, Elton Brand, for a high draft pick.  The Bulls then used two top five picks to select the two high schoolers as the cornerstones of the franchise.  It looked like a decent idea on paper that had tons of upside, but it also resulted in the Bulls hanging out in the Eastern Conference’s cellar for a few years before shipping both players.

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Next Summer May Not Be Much Kinder to Gordon

Bulls restricted free agent Ben Gordon is going to have to make a decision on his future with the organization.  The Bulls have made an offer suitable with his perceived market value, his value in the eyes of NBA general managers, that is, not his own.  He’s not going to receive a big contract from any other team, foreign or domestic, and the Bulls appear to be standing firm on their six-year $50 million ceiling.  It’s understandable that Gordon may not want to remain with the Bulls because of the crowded backcourt situation.  With Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha on the roster, there isn’t going to be tons of playing time for Gordon.  He’d probably be able to get 20 to 30 minutes a night among the glut of guards, but he feels he’s a star and would naturally want more PT.

Gordon could try to ride the season out by accepting the $6.4 million one-year qualifying offer the Bulls have offered, which would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer and enable him to seek the big, long-term dollars he wants then.  But the 2009 free agent class boasts unrestricteds like Shawn Marion, Allen Iverson, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom, a restricted list that could include Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger and David Lee and players with early termination options that includes Kobe Bryant.  It would seem that Gordon could easily get lost in the shuffle next summer and receive offers substantially less in dollars and years than what the Bulls are offering him now.

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Deng Shining in Eurobasket

Great Britain had to spend nearly half a million dollars on an insurance premium to allow Bulls forward Luol Deng to play for the team in this year’s Eurobasket and it appears that it was money well spent.  Not expected to make it past the qualifying round, Great Britain defied most prognosticators, thanks largely in part to Deng’s averages of 24.2 points, 5.8 boards, 3.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.  Deng didn’t have much time to get situated with the team, as he was able to attend just two team practices before play started, but it didn’t seem to matter much.  Deng dropped 30 in a near upset of Isreal, immediately solidifying himself as the team’s best player.

Bulls fans have to like what they’re seeing from Deng in the Eurobasket.  He was awarded a hefty contract from the Bulls this offseason and the team will look for him to be their franchise player alongside rookie Derrick Rose.  Deng took a bit of a step back last season, but admitted being distracted by the early season rumors that he was going to be packaged in a deal for Lakers star Kobe Bryant.  With his future with the Bulls secured, this blogger is expecting a bounce-back season from Deng in the 2008-09 campaign and a potential All-Star selection.

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Ball in Gordon’s Court

With NBA training camps opening in about a week, the Bulls and restricted free agent shooting guard Ben Gordon appear to be at a stalemate.  It was been recently reported that there has been no movement on either end in recent weeks, aside from some bluffing on the Gordon end.  The Bulls have made their final offer to Gordon, to the tune of six years and $60 million.  Gordon seems to think he’s worth much more than that, in fact, more than Luol Deng.

The ball is entirely in Gordon’s court at this point, and he essentially has three options.  He can accept the six-year deal, one that appears to be of fair market value for the undersized two guard.  He could also accept the one-year qualifying offer, worth around $6.5 million, that the Bulls have made and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.  His final options would be to make a similar play as Anderson Varejao did last summer with the Cavs and hold out into the season in hopes of securing a bigger deal (Varejao was unsuccessful in getting more money).  Gordon should take a look at all three options and realize that only the first two are viable, and that the first one is his best option.

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Foreign NBA Teams?

Could the Bulls and other NBA teams soon be traveling overseas to play regular season games?  ESPN.com recently published an article forecasting where the NBA may expand to next.  Several cities outside of the United Sates were pegged as potential destinations for an NBA team, including London, Berlin, Athens, Madrid, Moscow, Mexico City, Paris and Rome.  As far as U.S. cities go, recently deserted Seattle received the most votes, with Las Vegas, Kansas City, Anaheim, Newark and St. Louis also being named as options.  The NBA currently has 30 teams, with the most recent city to get a team being Oklahoma City.

Thought it would be hard to imagine Derrick Rose and Luol Deng flying to Berlin to play a game in the middle of the week, this is a possibility that cannot be ruled out.  The NBA knows that the game of basketball is popular outside the United States, and the league seems to be running out of viable domestic NBA cities.  The logistics of travel and scheduling are certainly questionable, but those aren’t insurmountable hurdles.  It should be interesting to see if the NBA becomes more agreeable to giving a team to a European city if one of their prime stars leaves for a Euro club in the next few years.

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Even Rose Needs Work

ESPN.com’s David Thorpe recently wrote an interesting article highlighting things to watch for from each rookie this season.  He didn’t have much criticism for Bulls rookie Derrick Rose, but did note a few things.  “Rose’s most glaring weakness in both the NCAA Finals and his brief stint in summer league was his inability to exploit ball screens set for him.  They are not typically found in the dribble-drive motion offense that he ran for Memphis, so it’s not surprising that he was easy to defend in July.  Studying the options he has as a ball handler and practicing them each day should get him up to speed quickly.”

This is an excellent point and just one specific thing that Rose will experience in his transition from college to the pros.  Making the jump is notoriously difficult for point guards, who have the most responsibility on the floor.  Rose is definitely not a finished product and is the kind of humble kid that will not have any qualms with admitting he needs work.  Rose has been praised for his work ethic throughout his high school and, though short-lived, collegiate career.  If he maintains that dedication to the game, the sky is truly the limit for the Chicago native.

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Reinsdorf Expects Gordon to Remain a Bull

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf recently said that he expects shooting guard and restricted free agent Ben Gordon to stay with the team after a tumultuous offseason between the two sides.  “I expect Ben Gordon to be playing for the Bulls this year, one way or another,” Reinsdorf said in a Chicago Sun-Times article.  “I don’t know if it will be resolved before training camp, but I do expect him to be playing for the Bulls.”  Contract talks between Gordon and the team have reportedly stalled and there have been rumors about Gordon seeking ways to leave the club.  “It has to be resolved,” Reinsdorf added.  “You know, we have a business disagreement relating to the money, but he’s still a Chicago Bull, and I expect him to play for the Bulls.  I expect him to play hard, and I’d be surprised if it’s anything other than that.”

At this point, the only conceivable way that this blogger can see Gordon in a Chicago Bulls uniform this season is if he, albeit reluctantly, signs the $6.4 million qualifying offer that has been on the table since the offseason began.  If Gordon is seeking long-term dollars from any organization, foreign or domestic, it appears he’s going to have to wait until next summer.

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Bulls’ Draft Pick Signs with Nuggets

Sonny Weems, a player selected in the second round of this year’s NBA draft by the Bulls has signed with the Denver Nuggets.  The Bulls traded the Arkansas product to the Nuggets for a second-rounder in next year’s draft.  The pick the Bulls received could be a pretty good second round pick as the Nuggets look poised for a season of demise.  The Bulls did not need to employ the services of Weems, as their bench looks pretty strong and is already filled with young players.

As the depth chart stands right now, the Bulls’ second team is listed as Derrick Rose, Thabo Sefolosha, Andres Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas and Aaron Gray.  Rose speaks for himself.  Sefolosha is a good player that can play either the two or three position; he’s a good defender and has a developing offensive game.  Nocioni is a starter on a lot of teams, but not one that has Luol Deng on the roster.  He’s a hustle player who gives it his all and has a nice all-around offensive game.  Tyrus Thomas is a player who needs to prove he’s more than just an athletic freak.  He makes a lot of highlight plays, but he’s still wildly inconsistent on the offensive end.  Aaron Gray looks like he’s developing into a solid backup center that brings good size and a solid skill set to the table.

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