Nazr Mohammed has played well in limited minutes during the first three games of the Bulls' first-round series against the Nets, and that appears to have GM Gar Forman hoping the 35-year-old big man will be back with the team next season. Forman told Mohammed on Friday that he should "buy, not rent," as Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune writes. Mohammed, a Chicago native, seemed pleased to hear it, saying he'd love to end his career in the city where he grew up.
Mohammed has averaged 13.3 minutes per game in the playoffs this year, giving the ailing Joakim Noah some rest, and has made six of his nine shots from the floor. That's in contrast to a regular season when Mohammed shot just 36.7% in 11 MPG, his worst field goal percentage since his rookie season. Still, his per-game plus-minus was just -0.2, meaning the Bulls were at least able to tread water while he was on the floor, a decent result for a minimum-salary signee. Despite his age and relatively short 6'10" stature, as centers go, he averaged 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes, better than his career rate of 1.4.
The Bulls probably don't envision bringing Mohammed back on anything more than another minimum-salary contract, especially since he seems motivated to stay in his hometown. If they do give him a raise, they could use his Non-Bird rights to extend him a contract worth up to 120% of his salary this season, which would mean an offer of $1,622,617.