Bulls Rumors

Central Notes: Lopez, Butler, Wood, Van Gundy

Robin Lopez is among several Bulls players reporting for training camp who may not be with the team all season, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times. The veteran center is an attractive trade chip with a $14.3MM expiring contract. First-rounder Wendell Carter seems destined to become the starting center at some point, and Lopez doesn’t fit in with Chicago’s rebuilding project at age 30.

Lopez was sent to the bench late last season as part of the Bulls’ tanking effort. Cowley relays that he was upset about the move, but refused to complain publicly about not playing.

“It was rough for me, but I get it, I understood it,’’ Lopez said. “I always want to be out there playing on the court. I want to be playing obviously, but we’ve got a great group of guys here. I think the future is bright and I think I can be a part of it in some way.’’

Cowley identifies free agent addition Jabari Parker as another player who could be moved by the trade deadline. With a $20MM team option for next season, Parker could be seen as a low-risk addition for a contending team.

There’s more today from the Central Division:

  • The Bucks shouldn’t be overlooked as a possible destination for Jimmy Butler, tweets Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness 5 News in Minneapolis. Butler went to Marquette and still has ties to the Milwuakee area, Wolfson notes, plus the Bucks are moving into a new arena and would have a shot at winning the East with Butler on board.
  • Christian Wood received a $100K guarantee in his training camp deal with the Bucks, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Milwaukee already has 14 players with guaranteed contracts, so Wood will be competing for the final roster spot with Tyler Zeller, Shabazz Muhammad and Tim Frazier.
  • At age 59, Stan Van Gundy doesn’t feel ready to retire, but his wife doesn’t want him to coach anymore, relays Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Van Gundy is without a job as training camp opens after the Pistons fired him as head coach and president of basketball operations in May. “I don’t care who you are, what job you are in, when you’ve worked at something for a long time and tried to become good at it and everything else, it’s not easy to walk away — particularly when it’s not on your own terms,” Van Gundy said. “Kim’s major thing is that I’m not happy [during seasons]. You don’t need to do it, so why are you going to do something that doesn’t make you happy.”

Bulls’ Omer Asik Out Indefinitely With Arthritis

Bulls‘ center Omer Asik is out indefinitely with inflammatory arthritis, the team announced. Asik has been receiving medical treatment but his return to basketball activities is yet to be determined, the announcement noted.

Asik, 32, was re-acquired by Chicago in February as part of the deal that sent Nikola Mirotic to the Pelicans. The Turkish big man only appeared in four games with the Bulls, averaging 1.0 PPG. Asik  — originally drafted by the Trail Blazers but immediately traded to the Bulls in 2008 — started his career in Chicago, playing for the Bulls in his first two NBA seasons.

In 152 career games with the Bulls, Asik has averages of 2.9 PPG and 4.4 RPG.

Bulls Sign Kaiser Gates To Training Camp Deal

SEPTEMBER 18: Gates’ deal with the Bulls is now official, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

SEPTEMBER 14: Kaiser Gates has agreed to a training camp contract with the Bulls, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

Gates was part of the Bulls’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League, scoring 6.7 PPG. He went undrafted out of Xavier, where he averaged 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a junior. He shot 37.8% from 3-point range last year.

The signing of Gates will bring the Bulls up to 19 players, one short of the roster limit for training camp. They have 14 guaranteed contracts.

 

Bulls Sign JaKarr Sampson To Camp Deal

SEPTEMBER 18: The Bulls have officially signed Sampson, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

SEPTEMBER 14: The Bulls will fill their final roster spot heading into training camp by signing JaKarr Sampson, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

Sampson is a three-year veteran who has spent time with three NBA teams. He played 22 games for the Kings last season, averaging 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per night. Sampson started his career with the Sixers, then joined the Nuggets after being waived in 2016.

The addition of Sampson comes on the heels of a reported deal with Kaiser Gates, a rookie out of Xavier.

Knicks' Pursuit Of Irving Could Impact Bulls

  • The Knicks’ desire to sign Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving could have a negative impact on the Bulls’ free agency plans next summer, according to an NBC Sports Chicago post. The Knicks have reportedly made Irving their No. 1 target in free agency and it’s been previously rumored that Irving and Jimmy Butler might join forces. If the Bulls wanted to bring back Butler after trading him away last summer, Irving’s potential interest in the Knicks could sidetrack that plan, the report adds.

2018 Offseason In Review: Chicago Bulls

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.

Signings:

  • Standard contracts:
    • Zach LaVine: Four years, $78MM. Matched Kings’ offer sheet. Re-signed as restricted free agent using Bird rights.
    • Jabari Parker: Two years, $40MM. Second-year team option. Signed using cap space.
    • Antonio Blakeney: Two years, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
  • Two-way contracts:
  • Non-guaranteed camp contracts:

Trades:

Waiver claims:

Draft picks:

Departing players:

Other offseason news:

  • Announced a series of promotions in basketball operations department.

Salary cap situation:

  • Used cap space; now over the cap.
  • Carrying approximately $102.6MM in guaranteed salaries.
  • Full room exception ($4.45MM) still available.

Check out the Chicago Bulls’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.


Story of the summer:

It’s easy to forget that this time two years ago the Bulls were embarking on an ultimately futile attempt to compete within the window of Jimmy Butler‘s prime. Fast forward to today and things are about as promising as they possibly could be for a team that still won’t crack 35 wins.

What’s different about the Bulls this summer is that we’re looking back on the package John Paxson and Gar Forman landed in exchange for Butler entirely differently. Now, frankly, the fact that the club managed to yield Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine in exchange for their outgoing star is hard to believe, let alone incredibly underrated guard Kris Dunn as well.

Sprinkle lottery pick Wendell Carter Jr., per-minute god Bobby Portis and the No. 2 pick of the absurdly hyped 2014 draft class (who we will talk about later) and you have some serious cause for optimism. The Bulls have a roster packed with intriguing, hypothetically great assets. This is the honeymoon phase of any good rebuild.

Read more

Central Notes: Parker, G. Robinson, Bullock, McMillan

Signing Jabari Parker away from the Bucks was a low-risk, high-reward move that could significantly raise the Bulls‘ talent level, writes Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders in that site’s season preview for Chicago. Parker got a two-year, $40MM deal that Milwaukee elected not to match. However, only the first season is guaranteed, so the Bulls can treat it like an expiring contract if things don’t work out.

Parker provided some reasons for optimism last season after returning from ACL surgery on his left knee. He averaged 12.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 31 games while shooting 48% from the field and 38% from 3-point range. There are still questions about his defense, which may improve after a summer off to rest the knee, and he will have to adjust to the small forward spot in Chicago.

In the same preview, the Basketball Insiders crew tabs rookie Wendell Carter as the Bulls’ best defensive player and states that Fred Hoiberg is finally getting to coach the style of team he envisioned when he took the job.

There’s more today from the Central Division:

  • Glenn Robinson III’s 3-point shooting may help him win a starting job with the Pistons, Keith Langlois of NBA.com notes in a mailbag column. Robinson and Stanley Johnson are the only natural small forwards on Detroit’s roster, and while Johnson is the better defender, Robinson has the size and athleticism to help on that end of the court. New coach Dwane Casey plans to emphasize 3-pointers, which gives Robinson a chance for significant playing time, whether as a starter or reserve.
  • The Pistons could have a tough time keeping Reggie Bullock next summer without making some roster moves to free up cap space, Langlois adds in the same piece. Bullock and  Johnson are both headed toward free agency, but Johnson will be restricted if Detroit makes a qualifying offer. Bullock will be seeking a raise from this year’s $2.5MM salary, and the team already has nearly $105MM committed for 2019/20.
  • Nate McMillan became just the second coach in Pacers history to receive a contract extension when his new deal was announced this week, observes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. McMillan far exceeded expectations last year in leading Indiana to a 48-win season after the team traded away Paul George.

Paxson's Title Changes; Promotions Announced

  • Jim Paxson’s title with the Bulls has been changed from director of basketball operations to director of pro personnel, the team announced in a press release. The Bulls also promoted Brian Hagen to associate GM, Steve Weinman to assistant GM and and Miles Abbett to manager of minor league scouting and analytics.

Bulls Surprised Bucks With Jabari Parker Offer

  • Mike Budenholzer may be having “buyer’s remorse” over taking the Bucks‘ head coaching job after the loss of free agent Jabari Parker, suggests Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox in his latest podcast. He adds that the entire organization was counting on Parker to stay and never expected him to get an offer in the $20MM range like the Bulls gave him.

Rhodes: Bulls A Potential Surprise Team

  • Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders examines some potential surprise teams for the 2018/19 season, suggesting that the Bulls, Mavericks, Pistons, Clippers, and Suns are candidates to exceed expectations.