Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Hornets, Quickley, Bulls, Dobner

June 29th, 2023 at 8:44am CST by Arthur Hill

A report last Thursday that the Hornets were giving renewed consideration to taking Scoot Henderson with the No. 2 pick was a late attempt to get the Trail Blazers to trade up, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said on the Basketball Illuminati Podcast.

“I don’t think this was done (with) betting markets, conspiracy, blah, blah, blah,” Fischer said (hat tip to Real GM). “I think the Hornets tried to get a little savvy.”

Fischer points out that Charlotte general manager Mitch Kupchak tried a similar tactic in 2015 when he had the No. 2 pick as GM of the Lakers. Kupchak was deciding between D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor and didn’t communicate to their agents what he planned to do.

“I believe the Hornets did not tell Brandon Miller or Scoot until right on the clock that they were going either direction to continue that misdirection, mystery or whatever you call,” Fischer added. “I think it was a concerted effort by the Hornets to drum up some trade interest there.”

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

An NBA executive tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that he thinks Immanuel Quickley will want “nine figures” over four years in his extension talks this summer. The Knicks guard helped his bargaining position with an outstanding third season that saw him finish second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. “I can’t say the Knicks will go that high but they might have to,” the executive said. “He is not a guy you want to send to restricted free agency.”
The Bulls didn’t address their need for outside shooting in the draft, so they’re likely to look for shooters in free agency, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. Chicago’s only pick was Julian Phillips, who shot 23.9% from behind the arc on 46 attempts last season at Tennessee. The Bulls ranked last in three-point attempts per game the past two years, and general manager Marc Eversley believes recently hired shooting coach Peter Patton will help. “Peter comes to us not only as a shooting coach but somebody who can oversee our player development function,” Eversley said. “… And we feel like he can help the overall look and feel of how we play the game and shoot the ball.”
Sidney Dobner will be the first female assistant coach in the history of the Bucks, the team stated in a press release announcing Adrian Griffin‘s staff. This will be Dobner’s sixth season with the franchise.

Bulls Trade Into Draft, Select Julian Phillips At No. 35

June 28th, 2023 at 7:06pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

JUNE 28: The deal is official, according to the Wizards, who announced that they received the Bulls’ 2026 and 2027 second-round picks in the swap.

JUNE 22: The Bulls are trading into the second round of tonight’s draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) reports.

Per Charania, Chicago flipped two future second round draft picks to the Wizards for Washington’s No. 35 pick, which it will use on Tennessee small forward Julian Phillips.

The 6’8″ forward was an SEC All-Freshman selection during his lone college season in 2022/23. Across 32 healthy games, including 25 starts, the 19-year-old averaged 8.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.5 BPG.

As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter) notes, Phillips logged a 43-inch vertical at this year’s draft combine, the best among this rookie class. He also boasts a 6’11 1/2″ wingspan. Like several other recent draft picks by team president Arturas Karnisovas, Phillips is big for his position and fairly athletic, but lacks a consistent jump shot.

Even though the Bulls took the fewest three-point attempts of any team in the league last year and desperately need more volume shooting, it appears the team will need to look elsewhere this offseason to address that clear need.

Raptors Notes: VanVleet, Poeltl, Siakam, Anunoby, Wieskamp

June 28th, 2023 at 5:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

In a look at where the Raptors stand heading into free agency, Eric Koreen of The Athletic expects the team to re-sign both Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl, although it will be expensive to do so. Koreen projects a four-year, $130MM contract for VanVleet and a three-year, $63MM deal for Poeltl. That would give Toronto $164.8MM committed to 12 players for the upcoming season, leaving no way to fill out the roster without exceeding the projected luxury-tax threshold of $165MM.

The Rockets may be ready to offer VanVleet a maximum-salary contract, but they reportedly want to limit it to two years. Toronto’s willingness to commit to a longer deal could be enough to convince him to stay, although Koreen also explores sign-and-trade possibilities with the Bulls, Timberwolves and Nets.

The Thunder and Spurs appear to be the best options for Poeltl, Koreen states, although he’s not sure if either franchise will offer a big-money deal to a center with limited shooting range. Koreen also cites the Bucks, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks as teams that might pursue a sign-and-trade.

There’s more on the Raptors:

Draft night was probably the best time to work out a trade involving Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, Koreen adds. A recent report that Siakam may not be open to re-signing with any team that trades for him should cool off his market, but Koreen expects Toronto to still get offers for Anunoby. He also believes it’s likely that both players will start next season with the Raptors, but they probably won’t agree to extensions this summer.
Anunoby has selected CAA Basketball as his new representative, the agency announced (via Twitter). If Anunoby doesn’t sign an extension, he could become a free agent in 2024 by turning down a $19.9MM player option.
Joe Wieskamp and the Raptors have reached an agreement to extend the guarantee date for next season’s contract to July 18, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The front office wants to see how he performs during Summer League before committing to another season, adds Murphy, who believes Wieskamp may get a small partial guarantee on the deal for agreeing to the change.

Bulls Sign Nikola Vucevic To Three-Year Extension

June 28th, 2023 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

3:12pm: The Bulls have issued a press release officially announcing Vucevic’s extension.

“During his time in Chicago, Nikola has proven that he is a special player both on and off the court,” executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said in a statement. “He has produced at an elite level since we acquired him and will remain an integral part of our foundation moving forward. Nikola’s willingness to do whatever is asked of him to help us win, while also being an established veteran leader for our group, makes him a valuable component of the culture of our organization. He is a consummate professional and tremendous teammate, which plays a big role in making us an attractive destination for other players. We are excited to have him continue to be part of our journey.”

2:42pm: The Bulls and Nikola Vucevic are nearing an agreement on a three-year, $60MM contract extension that would keep the veteran center off the free agent market, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Vucevic, 32, was acquired by the Bulls at the 2021 trade deadline in a deal with Orlando. Since arriving in Chicago, he has averaged 18.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game with a .492/.342/.812 shooting line in 181 total regular season appearances (33.2 MPG).

Vucevic isn’t an elite defender, but he’s a talented scorer and rebounder who has been remarkably consistent during his first two full seasons with the Bulls — he averaged 17.6 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 3.2 APG in both 2021/22 and ’22/23.

Like fellow big man Naz Reid, Vucevic had been extension-eligible this season, so he didn’t have to wait to reach the open market this weekend if his goal was to re-up with his current team.

The Bulls were considered a good bet to reach a new deal with Vucevic before or during free agency for multiple reasons. For one, their guaranteed contracts and the cap holds for restricted free agents Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu would almost certainly make them an over-the-cap team with or without Vucevic on the books, so they wouldn’t have had a clear path to replace him at the same salary slot if they’d let him walk.

There has also been a sense, as Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote today, that Chicago didn’t love the idea of letting Vucevic go after paying such a steep price to acquire him from the Magic two years ago. That trade netted Orlando a pair of lottery picks – Franz Wagner and Jett Howard – in addition to young center Wendell Carter.

Assuming they officially finalize an extension with Vucevic by the June 30 deadline, the Bulls can shift their focus to free agency, where they’re expected to re-sign guards White and Dosunmu, according to Fischer. A new deal for unrestricted free agent Patrick Beverley is also a possibility, Fischer adds.

The Bulls project to be about $27MM below the luxury tax line after signing Vucevic, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, though that estimate could vary depending on the exact structure of Vucevic’s extension, as well as Andre Drummond‘s player option decision. Once he officially signs, Vucevic will become ineligible to be traded for six months.

Meanwhile, an already-thin group of free agent centers will take another hit with both Vucevic and Reid off the market. Jakob Poeltl and Brook Lopez are the headliners at the position, with veterans like Mason Plumlee and Dwight Powell among the solid second-tier targets for teams in need of size. However, there aren’t a lot of reliable veterans available beyond those top few guys.

Trade Rumors: LaVine, Garland, Rockets, Clippers, Blazers, Bucks

June 28th, 2023 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have engaged with “several” teams about the possibility of a Zach LaVine trade this offseason, but haven’t gotten serious about moving the high-scoring guard, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

As Fischer explains, LaVine’s pricey long-term contract will make potential trade partners wary about giving up a substantial package of players and draft picks, but the Bulls would be seeking a return that far outweighs what Washington got for Bradley Beal last week.

Fischer names the Knicks and Mavericks as possible teams to watch for LaVine, but immediately throws cold water on the likelihood of either club emerging as a legitimate suitor in the near future. New York seems to be taking a more patient approach to building its roster, according to Fischer, who adds that Dallas was viewed as a more serious threat for LaVine before acquiring Kyrie Irving as a co-star for Luka Doncic.

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:

Despite some speculation to the contrary, the Cavaliers haven’t had any discussions about trading Darius Garland and have no intention to move the All-Star point guard, sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The Cavs appear focused on pursuing roster moves that don’t involve trading any of their four cornerstone players (Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen).
In addition to Kenyon Martin Jr., the Rockets have gauged potential trade interest in young players like Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher, sources tell Fischer.
Norman Powell and Marcus Morris have both been mentioned in recent days as trade candidates. According to Fischer, the Clippers have been canvassing the league to see what a package of both players might return.
No clear suitors have emerged for guard Anfernee Simons, who looks like the Trail Blazers‘ most obvious trade chip, says Fischer. According to Fischer, the Blazers and Cavaliers had some brief talks about Nassir Little prior to the draft, but didn’t gain any real traction toward a deal.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast that the Bucks had some “relatively serious” internal conversations about John Collins before he was dealt to Utah. “I do think Milwaukee is looking around for, like, ‘Can we get a little injection of randomness? (An) injection of, like, bounce and athleticism, and just change?'” Lowe said. “Maybe just change more than anything else. But I don’t think (the Collins interest) went anywhere serious.”

Cameron Johnson, Coby White Among Players Receiving QOs

June 28th, 2023 at 7:28am CST by Luke Adams

A series of players have been issued qualifying offers by their respective teams, making them restricted free agents, according to RealGM’s official NBA transaction log.

Nets forward Cameron Johnson and Bulls guard Coby White are among the most notable QO recipients within the last couple days. Johnson’s qualifying offer is worth $8,486,620, while White’s is worth $7,744,600.

For many restricted free agents, qualifying offers essentially function as placeholders, giving the team the right of first refusal on the player as long as that QO remains on the table.

It’s also a one-year contract offer that the player is free to accept at any time, which is a more viable route for some RFAs than others — Johnson, for instance, looks like a safe bet to secure a lucrative multiyear deal, so it would be a major surprise if he simply accepted his $8.5MM qualifying offer.

Besides Johnson and White, here are some of the players who have received qualifying offers this week and are now restricted free agents, per RealGM:

Ayo Dosunmu, Bulls ($5,216,324)
Jock Landale, Suns ($2,219,706)
- Note: This is a projected amount. Landale’s QO will be worth $200K more than his minimum salary.
Trent Forrest, Hawks (two-way)
Terry Taylor, Bulls (two-way)
Collin Gillespie, Nuggets (two-way)
Jack White, Nuggets (two-way)
Kendall Brown, Pacers (two-way)
Moussa Diabate, Clippers (two-way)
Saben Lee, Suns (two-way)

The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers is Thursday, so we’ll likely get many more updates on QOs being extended to players today and tomorrow.

Stein’s Latest: Reid, Spurs, Pistons, Johnson, Rose, Porzingis, Jazz

June 26th, 2023 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs were among the teams who were interested in signing Timberwolves big man Naz Reid before he agreed to a three-year, $42MM extension, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.

San Antonio was seeking a veteran center to ease the burden on No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama during his rookie season. However, the Spurs may have only planned to offer Reid a one-year deal.

The Mavericks were among the teams with the full $12.4MM mid-level exception available who were known to have interest in Reid, Stein adds.

Here are some more tidbits from Stein:

The Pistons’ interest in Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, which has previously been reported by Stein, is genuine, he reiterates. There’s rising belief around the league that he’s their No. 1 free agent target, even though the Nets have the right to match. Detroit is projected to have over $30MM in cap space.
The Suns, Bucks and Bulls have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Derrick Rose, according to Stein. The Knicks declined to pick up their $15.6MM option on Rose for next season. However, Rose’s time in New York isn’t necessarily over — the Knicks may re-sign him at a lower number if his other options don’t pan out, Stein says.
If Kristaps Porzingis had chosen to decline his player option, the Jazz were prepared to make offer for more money than the Celtics can give him via a two-year, $77MM extension, per Stein. They were also interested in being the third party to facilitate the trade between the Wizards and Celtics. Boston was Porzingis’ preferred destination, however.

Bulls' Talks Involving LaVine, DeRozan Were "Due Diligence"

June 24th, 2023 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Bulls discussed Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan with “multiple” teams leading up to the draft, but he describes those talks as mere due diligence rather than anything substantial.

Bulls Notes: Ball, Free Agency, White, Dosunmu, Jordan

June 23rd, 2023 at 1:24am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

It doesn’t appear that the Bulls will be getting their starting point guard Lonzo Ball back anytime soon. In remarks made to reporters after Thursday’s draft, team president Arturas Karnisovas poured cold water on the idea that he could return to the hardwood in 2023/24 at all.

“Going into the offseason, our [expectation] is that he’s not coming back next season,” Karnisovas said, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.

Since agreeing to a four-year, $80MM sign-and-trade deal with Chicago in the summer of 2021, Ball has appeared in a grand total of 35 contests for his new team.

If he so chooses, Karnisovas could opt to file for a disabled player exception. The exception would be worth half of Ball’s salary and would give the Bulls another tool to sign or trade for a replacement. It would only be granted if Ball is deemed more likely than not to remain sidelined through June 15, 2024.

There’s more out of the Windy City:

Speaking of free agency, Karnisovas indicated that he hopes to add more long range shooting to the Bulls’ spacing-challenged roster this summer, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “We’re trying to change our shooting profile,” Karnisovas said. “Being last in the league in rate from 3 and 3-point makes, we’re going to try to address that in the offseason.”
According to Johnson, Karnisovas also indicated that Bulls ownership is amenable to entering the luxury tax in pursuit of improvement, something the team has only ever done once. The Bulls’ president of basketball operations also suggested that Chicago would extend qualifying offers to guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, making them restricted free agents. White showed significant strides at the end of the 2022/23 season, and makes sense to retain. Dosunmu, meanwhile, regressed considerably during his second season, to the point where he became virtually unplayable in Chicago’s two play-in contests this spring, suiting up for an average of 5.5 MPG.
With former Hornets majority owner Michael Jordan in the midst of selling the franchise, it’s high time he bought a stake in the team where he became a Hall of Famer, opines Jon Greenberg of The Athletic. Jordan intends to continue to hold a minority stake in Charlotte for now, but Greenberg argues that the former Chicago shooting guard could divest from the Hornets to buy a solid share of his old team. As Greenberg notes, nowhere is Jordan more beloved than in the city where he cemented his legend, winning six titles in eight seasons while being widely heralded as the greatest player ever.

LaVine’s Reps Don’t Want Him Traded To Knicks

June 22nd, 2023 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach LaVine‘s representative oppose a potential trade to the Knicks, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports.

The Bulls’ star swingman is represented by superagent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, while the Knicks have a reputation of favoring clients of CAA, the agency that employed Leon Rose before he took over as New York’s president of basketball operations.

Paul has told confidants for over a year he prefers not to have a client play for the Knicks, according to former Knicks beat reporter Marc Berman (Twitter link). Cam Reddish‘s stint with the Knicks didn’t help matters, as he’s also represented by Klutch Sports. The frosty relationship between Rose and Paul developed during the LeBron James saga — Rose was James’ agent before switching to Klutch.

New York, which didn’t have a first-round pick in Thursday’s draft, has reportedly been seeking ways to acquire another star. LaVine would certainly upgrade their offense — he averaged 24.8 points and 4.2 assists. However, he also brings a huge long-term salary concern for would-be trade partners. He’s entering the second year of his five-year, $215,159,700 contract.

The Knicks can put together an impressive package of picks and young players if the right deal comes along. They were reportedly involved in negotiations with the Wizards for Bradley Beal. A source told Bondy that the Knicks were not having ongoing discussions with the Clippers regarding a potential trade for Paul George. The Knicks reportedly had interest in George, then reconsidered given his age and injury history.