Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Open To Sign-And-Trade Offers For Nwaba

July 3rd, 2018 at 2:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls and restricted free agent David Nwaba are at a stalemate in negotiations, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that the club is open to sign-and-trade offers for Nwaba. The 25-year old wing has received interest from several teams, Scotto notes.

While a team typically doesn’t have a ton of leverage when looking to accommodate a sign-and-trade, the restricted nature of Nwaba’s free agency gives the Bulls some options. A rival suitor interested in signing the RFA may be willing to send an asset Chicago’s way in order to secure Nwaba’s services, rather than risking an offer sheet that the Bulls could match.

A club that acquires Nwaba – or any other player – in a sign-and-trade deal would be hard-capped at $129.817MM for the 2018/19 league year.

Nwaba earned a rotation role for the Bulls in 2017/18, averaging 7.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 70 games (23.5 MPG). While the 25-year-old’s offensive game is somewhat limited, he’s a strong perimeter defender.

A little less than a month ago, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports identified Nwaba as an under-the-radar candidate to earn a solid deal in free agency, suggesting that the swingman could land $5MM+ annually. It will be interesting to see if Nwaba meets that projection with cap room drying up around the NBA.

Bulls Sign Carter, Hutchison To Rookie Deals

July 3rd, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have made it official with their two first-round picks, announcing today in a press release that Wendell Carter Jr. and Chandler Hutchison have both signed their rookie contracts.

Carter, the seventh overall pick in the 2018 draft, was somewhat overshadowed in his freshman year at Duke by teammate Marvin Bagley III, but had a strong season for the Blue Devils, averaging 13.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. He projects as the Bulls’ long-term starting center alongside power forward Lauri Markkanen in the frontcourt.

As for Hutchison, the 6’7″ swingman played his college ball at Boise State, and is coming off a 2017/18 season in which he averaged an impressive 20.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 3.5 APG with a .475/.359/.728 shooting line. The No. 22 pick will look to earn minutes in Chicago’s wing rotation in his rookie year.

Carter’s new four-year deal will be worth approximately $22MM, while Hutchison will be in line for a four-year total of about $10.79MM. The terms of both deals are dictated by the NBA’s rookie scale. Each contract will also have two guaranteed seasons, with team options in years three and four.

Free Agency Notes: George, MCW, Booker, Parker

July 1st, 2018 at 3:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Thunder and Paul George agreed to a four-year deal worth $137MM at the start of free agency and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team will have the option to offer George an even bigger raise in two years.

Under the new CBA, the team can offer George an extension after the second anniversary of the deal, meaning PG13 can sign a four-year max deal in 2020 that locks him in for seven seasons. The total value of the potential seven-year pact would come in at an estimated $290MM based off of future salary cap projections.

The team’s ability to re-sign George was shocking to some, as many expected the 5-time All-Star to leave OKC for Los Angeles, a city he’s been linked to for quite some time. It’s possible that the team’s ability to offer the max extension at the halfway point of the four-year contract was part of George’s motivation to stick around, though that’s merely my speculation.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Rockets will meet with Michael Carter-Williams, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). While Houston appears to be looking into ancillary parts for its team, the franchise hasn’t given up hope on pursuing LeBron James.
The Jazz and Pelicans have both expressed interest in Trevor Booker, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link). The Wolves, Rockets, Knicks, and Spurs also have an eye on the big man.
The Bulls have interest in Jabari Parker, Kennedy tweets. Chicago is one of several teams expected to pursue the former No. 2 overall pick.
The Wolves are looking to sign Dante Cunningham, sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Minnesota has eyes for a bevy of veteran free agents to fill it’s five open roster spots.

Hawks Among Those Interested In Zach LaVine

July 1st, 2018 at 12:17am CST by Austin Kent

Count the Hawks among those interested in Bulls guard Zach LaVine, Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. They’ll join a handful of suitors that also includes the Kings, as we wrote about earlier this week.

Atlanta, like Sacramento, will have plenty of cap space to throw at the restricted free agent. A bidding war between clubs well short of the cap, coupled with the 23-year-old’s hypothetical ceiling, could drive the former slam dunk champion’s forthcoming contract through the roof.

While there are concerns about LaVine’s health following an ACL tear in early 2017, he remains a world-class athlete that averaged 18.9 points per game half-way through 2016/17 before succumbing to the injury.

LaVine performed admirably in just over a third of a season with the Bulls but Chicago may pause at the thought of matching a max or near-max contract offer sheet should either the Hawks or Kings decide to go that high.

It’s worth noting that Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk has been particularly conservative financially throughout his short tenure with the franchise. That said, the chance to net a potential All-Star young enough to build around may prove too much to resist.

NBA Sets Salary Cap For 2018/19

June 30th, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has set the salary cap for the 2018/19 league year, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the cap will be $101,869,000. The luxury tax threshold will be $123,733,000, Charania adds. Meanwhile, the minimum salary floor will be $91,682,000, according to the NBA.

The finalized cap figure comes in just slightly higher than what we expected. For virtually the entire 2017/18 league year, the NBA had projected that the cap for next season would be $101MM, with a luxury tax line of $123MM. The official figures are slightly higher than that, which is good news for teams looking to maximize their cap room, as well as clubs headed for tax territory.

As we detailed earlier this week, many other cap figures, including minimum and maximum salaries and several exceptions, are tied to the percentage of the salary cap increase. Here are some in-depth details on those numbers:

Here are a few more key cap-related figures:

Estimated average salary for 2018/19: $8,838,000 (Twitter link via Larry Coon)
Maximum starting salary for certain veteran extensions: $10,605,600 (Twitter link via Jeff Siegel)
Maximum cash a team can send, receive in trades in 2018/19: $5,243,000 (Twitter link via Coon)
Tax apron: $129,817,000 (Twitter link via Coon)

Meanwhile, the NBA has also issued updated cap projections for the next two seasons, per Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Those projections are as follows:

2019/20: $109MM cap, $132MM tax line
2020/21: $116MM cap, $141MM tax line

According to cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter link), the Cavaliers ($50.7MM), Warriors ($32.3MM), Thunder ($25.4MM), and Wizards ($7MM) finished the 2017/18 season as taxpayers, while the Bulls ($3.4MM) and Mavericks ($3.3MM) were charged for finishing below the salary floor.

Jabari Parker Likely To Leave Bucks?

June 30th, 2018 at 1:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings are just one of the teams expected to make a run at Jabari Parker, and some executives within the league view the former No. 2 overall pick to be among the small tier of players below stars such as LeBron James and Paul George.

“Hey, he’s a good player; I mean he’s a really good player,’’ an NBA executive told Gary Woelfel (via Woelfel’s Press Box). “And he’s young.’’

Parker is a restricted free agent, meaning the Bucks can match any rival offer he receives. One longtime NBA executive expects the 23-year-old to see a rather lucrative deal.

“I think some teams will give him $20MM [per season] and there might be some teams that will make it tough on Milwaukee to match and offer him even more,’’ the NBA official tells Woelfel.

“I think Milwaukee would like to keep him for $16MM or something around that figure, trying to use his injury situation to their advantage. But there are teams that need a big-time scorer and nobody doubts he’s a big-time scorer.’’

Another NBA executive speculated that the Sixers could make an offer for Parker should they fail to land a bigger target like James, George or Kawhi Leonard. Woelfel names the Bulls, Jazz, Pacers, Hawks, Suns, and Nets as possibilities as well.

Other NBA executives who spoke with Woelfel believe a sign-and-trade is a more likely scenario for the combo forward. That route would be Milwaukee’s preference rather than being forced to decide between signing Parker to a player-friendly contract or losing him for nothing. “It’s no secret” that the Bucks would be open to receiving an upgrade at point guard or center in such an agreement, Woelfel adds.

The Rockets and Clippers are both high on Parker and could be possibilities if a sign-and-trade were to occur, though it would be hard for Houston to complete a deal and stay under the tax apron if the team retains its own key free agents. Los Angeles and Milwaukee had discussions about Parker at last year’s trade deadline.

Parker likes Milwaukee and he reportedly paid around $1.5MM to redo the warehouse he currently lives in, according to Woelfel’s sources. Those same sources tell the scribe that despite Parker being comfortable in his current situation, it’s more likely he leaves then stays.

“He loves the people there; he loves the city,” the source said. “But I don’t see him staying there. If you’re asking me, it’s 75-25 he goes to another team.’’

Many dominos, such as James coming out of his decision cave, are likely to fall before Parker inks his next contract with a source estimating that a deal won’t take place until late-July or early-August.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Rodney Hood A Plan B For Bulls?

June 29th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

While Rodney Hood saw his value slip over the course of the 2017/18 season, he remains a priority for the Cavaliers, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who hears from a source that Cleveland intends to keep the RFA guard. The Bulls view Hood as a potential Plan B if they lose Zach LaVine, but the Cavs plan on matching an offer sheet from Chicago or any other team, per Deveney.

Bulls Among Suitors For Jerami Grant?

June 29th, 2018 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls, Pacers, and Magic are among the teams expected to push the Thunder for free agent forward Jerami Grant, a source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Grant emerged as a key bench piece for Oklahoma City in 2017/18, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .535 FG%. However, the Thunder may be hard-pressed to retain him if Paul George returns, since the club would be well over the tax line, making a competitive offer for Grant worth exponentially more expensive due to potential tax penalties.

Lowe’s Latest: James, Thunder, RFAs

June 28th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers may not necessarily need a star in place to lure LeBron James, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a massive round-up of free agency notes. If James were to sign in Los Angeles alongside the team’s existing young stars and plethora of cap space they’d immediately become one of the league’s most appealing destinations for the next 12 months.

The comment comes in response to the notion that the Lakers are growing desperate to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs prior to James’ opt-in deadline tomorrow at 10:59pm CST. As things stand, both the Celtics and Sixers appear poised to offer better packages than what Lowe speculates L.A. might.

The King’s decision will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors, for example, were to watch James head to the West, it would make keeping their current core in place more appealing considering that their path to the Finals would be hypothetically easier.

Here’s a taste of the rest of Lowe’s findings:

If the Thunder can convince Paul George to return to Oklahoma City, it will be a monumental victory for general manager Sam Presti. If he leaves, the club would be forced to at least think about blowing the current squad up and trading Russell Westbrook.
Only six teams have notable amounts of potential cap space and half of those – the Hawks, Bulls and Kings – are telling teams that they’re interested in using that space to absorb bad contracts and pick up assets.
It’s unclear that there will be much of a market for Derrick Favors beyond, potentially the Mavs. It may make more sense for the big man to stay with the Jazz after finally starting to click alongside Rudy Gobert in Quin Snyder‘s offense last season.
The two best candidates to sign a qualifying offer this summer and approach next summer as unrestricted free agents are Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe writes that Nurkic turned down a “rich” four-year extension last fall but might have a hard time finding a team willing to offer more than the mid-level exception this summer.
It stands to reason that Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker will yield significant offers from the Magic, Bulls and Bucks respectively but none of those teams have reason to offer a max contract right away.
The Pacers could make life harder for the Magic by putting together an offer in the $20MM range for Gordon. Lowe writes that there has been “mild discontent for years” about Gordon’s role in Orlando’s offense.
The Nuggets tried “feverishly” to trade for a second first-round pick last Thursday in the hopes of nabbing Zhaire Smith. Denver’s 2019 first-rounder was on the table in those talks.

For more free agency notes, including some potential contract extension candidates and the reasoning behind Nikola Jokic not getting a player option in the fifth year of his new deal with the Nuggets, check out the full feature at ESPN.

Bulls, Bobby Portis Discuss Rookie Scale Contract Extension

June 28th, 2018 at 6:07pm CST by clarkcrum

Per the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, a player is not permitted to sign a rookie scale contract extension until after the July Moratorium ends at noon on July 6. However, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Bulls have already discussed a multiyear contract extension offer with big man Bobby Portis.

Portis, 23, has until the day before the 2018-19 season begins to sign a rookie scale extension. If he declines to do so, the Bulls will be able to make him a restricted free agent next summer by extending him a qualifying offer, currently projected to be worth just over $3.6MM.

The Bulls have drafted promising young big men Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter with top-10 picks in both of the last two drafts. Yet, Johnson’s report clearly demonstrates that the Bulls see Portis as a reliable and important backup moving forward after he averaged a career-high 13.2 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 73 games with the Bulls during the 2017/18 season.