One Year of Gordon

It’s been an odd offseason to say the least for Ben Gordon.  It appears he went into the offseason expecting to land his first marquee dollar contract, but as the summer wore on it became clear that no deal in excess of $70 million was coming.  Gordon did turn down a hefty offer from the Bulls, reportedly worth about $60 million.  The shooting guard, though, wanted money similar to what Bulls forward Luol Deng received.  Now that Gordon has accepted the $6.4 million qualifying offer, he has all but put an end to his future with the team.  He’s headed for unrestricted free agency next summer and it seems like he’s driven by dollars and will go to the highest bidder, not likely to be the Bulls.

What kind of role can we expect from Gordon this season?  He’s still the most talented scorer on the team, albeit an inconsistent one at times.  The Bulls have a glut of guards, so playing time might become an issue as the season rolls on.  Will the Bulls look to him as their go-to guy on the offensive end even though he’s probably going to be gone after the season?  It’s been reported that there are no hard feelings between Gordon and the club, but will the relationship change as the season unfolds?  His role depends on whether the Bulls are a win now team or a building for the future team.  They could be either and it will take part of the season to figure out which.

Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.

Gordon Signs Qualifying Offer

After a long and tenuous saga filled with prognostication, contract stalemates, bluffs, counter bluffs and just about everything else you can think of, Ben Gordon has made a decision.  Yesterday Gordon signed the Bulls’ one-year qualifying offer, worth about $6.4 million.  Gordon, the third overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, rejected a five-year $50 million offer last summer and rejected any long-term offers he received from the team this offseason, reportedly for similar dollars per season.  Gordon has led the team in scoring the past two seasons and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

“Ben is excited to be with the Bulls again this season and is looking forward to being the best teammate he can be,” Raymond Brothers, Gordon’s agent, was quoted as saying in a Chicago Tribune article. “And he will keep the window open to negotiate with the Bulls next summer.”  This blogger finds it difficult to believe that Gordon will ever wear a Chicago Bulls uniform after the conclusion of the 2008-09 season.  Gordon thinks he is a franchise-type player and it seems that the Bulls do not, and neither does the rest of the league judging by the lack of a major offer for Gordon this summer.  He will have the opportunity to prove his worth this season, though, albeit in a crowded Bulls backcourt.

Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.

Training Camp Underway

As the Bulls began two-a-days yesterday and are scheduled to continue them through Saturday, it’s clear what rookie head coach Vinny Del Negro plans to make the theme of training camp, unity.  The Bulls reportedly broke their first practice yesterday with the word “together.”  Del Negro also paired players up for the team’s lunch period, giving each tandem a series of questions to ask each other.  “We’re doing a lot of different things,” Del Negro was quoted as saying in a story in the Chicago Sun-Times.  “The better they get to know each other, the better they’ll want to fight for each other. That’s what it’s all about: getting everybody on the same page as quick as possible. You’re all together, pulling in the same direction. I’m big into, when they walk into the building, being focused on what their job is.”

Despite the fact that this is a strategy implemented by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans, this blogger likes how Del Negro is running camp, albeit after one day.  Unity is a concept that only the best teams in the NBA have, something that seems to get lost somewhere between high school ball and the pros often times.  Del Negro is off to a good start.

Get all your Chicago Bulls tickets at Stubhub.com.