Gar Forman Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls Notes: Lineup Changes, Payne, Forman

February 22nd, 2018 at 3:13pm CST by Luke Adams

With 25 games left in their season, the Bulls are focusing on the future, as VP John Paxson explained to reporters on Tuesday (link via Sam Smith of Bulls.com). That means that Cristiano Felicio will move into the starting lineup on Thursday in place of veteran center Robin Lopez, while David Nwaba will supplant Justin Holiday.

“The hard part from our standpoint is you can’t play 12 guys. Nine or 10 is the most,” Paxson said. “We’re going to start looking at blocks of games where we’ll be having a few guys who haven’t been playing much or at all have a significant role. The whole goal in our position is to evaluate what we have on this roster.

“The hard thing when you do things like this is you’re asking certain people to sacrifice roles and minutes,” Paxson continued. “It’s veteran guys. That’s never an easy thing. As I told them, I, along with [GM] Gar [Forman], we’re entrusted with the future of the organization. So these last 25 games, we’re going to evaluate what we have on this roster by playing more the guys we haven’t seen much this year.”

Let’s round up a few more Bulls notes…

Cameron Payne, who has missed the entire season with a foot injury, is set to make his 2017/18 debut on Thursday, writes Madeline Kenney of The Chicago Sun-Times. Payne figures to cut into Jerian Grant‘s playing time.
With John Paxson once again addressing reporters on Tuesday, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times explores where Gar Forman has been “hiding” this season. According to Cowley, Paxson comes across as more “honest and transparent” than Forman, which is why the VP has handled most of the team’s media responsibilities this season. However, Forman is still very much involved in basketball operations and is by no means being pushed out of the organization.
Justin Holiday is trying to take his reduced role in stride, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. “I have to deal with it, be professional about it,” Holiday said. “Regardless of the situation or the reason, I have to carry myself a certain way because that’s how I do things. How I react and carry myself in this will be a good leadership situation for the young guys to see and follow the example if it does happen to them.”
The $600K fine Mark Cuban received for publicly discussing the benefits of losing is exactly why Paxson and other members of the Bulls organization will dance around the subject of tanking, says Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago.

Bulls Owner Talks Front Office, Team, Rebuild

December 20th, 2017 at 10:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Bulls hierarchy hasn’t always been clear with VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson and GM Gar Forman each taking on various responsibilities during their respective tenures. However, despite the unconventional approach, owner Jerry Reinsdorf is confident that the franchise has the right management in place.

“I picked Paxson to rebuild when [Jerry] Krause left [in 2003] because he’s a leader. Nothing has changed,” Reinsdorf tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. “He’s a fine evaluator of talent. He’s a long-term thinker. He works well with the general manager. He works well with coaches. I’m a John Paxson fan.”

Paxson has traveled with the team all season in an attempt to create transparency and accountability while offering support to players and coaches. Forman has spent much of his time on the road, scouting prospects in search of future talent and taking on other traditional front office responsibilities.

“Forman is great with agents,” Reinsdorf said. “John hates to deal with agents. Gar is good at negotiating with the other general managers, but John was good at that too. Gar is great at cap knowledge and planning ahead. He’s an extremely detailed guy. That’s why we have the two jobs. And that’s a trend that teams are moving too. They realize you need two different skill sets.”

Forman served as the face of the front office during the Derrick Rose era, giving up that unofficial title to Paxson as the team went into a rebuild. Reinsdorf believes Forman has consistently done a great job, though Paxson is more of a media darling than the GM is.

“I think John plays well publicly, more than me or Gar,” the owner said. “People tend to like John. They trust him. He’s the guy next door. People look at Gar and me and we’re not warm and cuddly like John.”

Reinsdorf, who also owns the Chicago White Sox, will turn 82 years old in February and that begs the question: Why sign off on another rebuild?

“I figure I have at the most 15-20 years left and I’d like to win again,” Reinsdorf said. “I don’t like being caught in the middle.

“I think the rebuild is going great. We don’t want to be fooled by winning six games in a row. But we’re seeing our young players step up. We’re seeing [Nikola Mirotic] show what we thought we had in the first place. [Kris Dunn] is coming on. [Bobby Portis] is having a good year. And [Zach LaVine] hasn’t even played yet.

“I think Gar and John have put together the core of something good. Now it remains to be seen [if we] can take the next two steps, mediocrity and being good, without being stuck too long in mediocrity.”

Bulls Notes: Front Office, Wade, Mirotic, Portis

October 24th, 2017 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

In an in-depth and well-researched piece for ESPN, Nick Friedell examines how the Bulls went from a title contender to one of the NBA’s worst teams within the last several years. Friedell’s report, which begins by revisiting Derrick Rose‘s first major injury back in 2012, provides plenty of interesting tidbits along the way, touching on the tension between Tom Thibodeau and the front office, Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah, Dwyane Wade and his young teammates, and Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic.

As Friedell details, there has no been no shortage of issues in Chicago in recent years, with even the most successful seasons during that stretch including a few sour notes. For instance, sources tell Friedell that executives John Paxson and Gar Forman felt like they didn’t get enough credit for the roster they built during the Thibodeau years.

Friedell’s whole piece is worth a read, but here are a couple more details from it, along with more Bulls notes:

When the Bulls landed Wade last summer, Forman conveyed the impression that the front office had been planning its pursuit of Wade for weeks. In reality though, according to Friedell, the Bulls were “shocked” that they had an opportunity to pry Wade away from the Heat, and altered their rebuilding plans when it became clear they could sign him.
Via Freidell, here’s what Paxson had to say about the perception that the Bulls could have done better than the Timberwolves’ package in a Butler trade: “Teams would call us all the time and probe about Jimmy and that type of thing. But no one ever made us any type of legitimate offer. In fact, most teams, when they would make an offer, it was somewhat insulting. So we always listened, which teams do, but it really came down to, could we start to rebuild with some quality young players? And hope that knowing what our future holds, it’s going to be painful at times. But if we get into these next few drafts at a fairly significant level, the hope is that pairing what draft picks we have going forward and the players that we got in this deal, we can get back sooner rather than later.”
In a separate article for ESPN, Friedell notes that the fight between Portis and Mirotic denied the Bulls the opportunity to push an optimistic and hopeful narrative about the team’s rebuild to open the season.
Although Portis privately and publicly apologized for punching Mirotic, there are growing concerns that the relationship between the two players may be much more difficult to repair, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. Mirotic hasn’t returned any of Portis’ calls or texts, says Cowley.

Bulls Notes: Wade, Hoiberg, Forman, Dunn

September 17th, 2017 at 10:27am CST by Arthur Hill

Dwyane Wade hasn’t contacted the Bulls’ front office about his desire for a buyout and is hoping the team makes the first move, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Wade made his feelings clear that he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project after Chicago traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota in June. However, he is reluctant to give up much of the $23.8MM salary for the upcoming season that he opted into and apparently believes he can get a better deal if Bulls management takes the initiative on buyout talks.

A recent report said Wade hasn’t been in contact with anyone from the front office since the Butler deal and that he felt misled because he was given assurances that the Bulls would try to remain competitive before he opted in. At 35, Wade is by far the oldest and most expensive player on Chicago’s roster and he clearly doesn’t fit the team’s youth movement. How far each side is willing to continue before buyout talks begin will be among the most interesting storylines of the new season.

Cowley shares more information out of Chicago:

Expectations will be different for coach Fred Hoiberg with the revamped roster, but he still has to show progress to keep his job. Hoiberg has been under fire from fans and the media since coming to Chicago two years ago and was publicly criticized by Butler early in his first season. Cowley calls it “sink-or-swim time” for Hoiberg, who has to turn a young roster into the type of team he envisioned when he was hired.
GM Gar Forman’s fate is probably tied to Hoiberg’s, Cowley adds. Forman, who made the decision to bring Hoiberg out of the college ranks, is already unpopular with Bulls’ fans, some of whom paid to put up a billboard in July calling for the firing of him and president of basketball operations John Paxson.
Kris Dunn, part of the package acquired in exchange for Butler, has an open path toward being the starting point guard. The fifth pick of the 2016 draft, Dunn had a disappointing rookie season in Minnesota, but the Bulls have no obvious successor to Rajon Rondo.
The Bulls are happy with what they have seen from first-round pick Lauri Markkanen during summer league and EuroBasket. The seventh overall selection will be “a key foundation piece” of the rebuild.
Robin Lopez is the team’s most valuable trade commodity and seems likely to be moved during the season. The 29-year-old center averaged 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in his first season with the Bulls after being acquired in a deal with the Knicks.

Central Rumors: Shumpert, Korver, Bulls, Forman

July 2nd, 2017 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

While trade talks between the Cavaliers and Rockets involving Iman Shumpert appear to have lost momentum, Cleveland continues to try to find a landing spot for the swingman, indicating that there are other possible trade partners, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. According to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, the Raptors, Timberwolves, Lakers, and Kings have expressed some level of interest in Shumpert, though it’s not clear how many of those clubs remain in pursuit.

As we wait to see if the Cavs can find a taker for Shumpert, let’s round up a few more Central notes and rumors…

The Cavaliers have made a contract offer to Kyle Korver, according to Vardon. The terms of that offer aren’t known.
After a Saturday report indicated that the Bulls have conveyed interest in Justin Holiday, Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link) hears from a source that Chicago is one of the teams that has made Holiday a contract offer. The Knicks haven’t formally put an offer on the table for Holiday, but the situation is fluid, says Berman.
The Bulls may end up re-shuffling their front office this offseason, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Cowley, GM Gar Forman could be the odd man out if the team restructures its management hierarchy, while John Paxson‘s brother Jim Paxson – the Bulls’ director of basketball operations – may take on more responsibilities.

Bulls Notes: Rondo, Hoiberg, Butler, Mirotic

May 3rd, 2017 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman spoke to the media in a Wednesday press conference that lasted the better part of an hour. Although Paxson and Forman didn’t exactly lay out their offseason blueprint, several of their answers provided hints about the Bulls’ next steps.

For one, Paxson praised Rajon Rondo and said there’s a “really good chance” that the team will retain the veteran point guard for next season, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As we outlined this morning in our Offseason Cap Digest for the Bulls, Rondo’s $13.397MM salary is currently only partially guaranteed for $3MM, so Chicago could save more than $10MM by cutting him — but likely won’t.

Here are more items of note from today’s presser, with all links via Friedell unless otherwise indicated:

Paxson reiterated today that Fred Hoiberg will return as the Bulls’ head coach next season (Twitter link).
Although Paxson acknowledged that Jimmy Butler doesn’t necessarily fit into Chicago’s desire to play with pace, he said the Bulls “know his value”and that Butler is “far and away our best player” (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune and Friedell).
The Bulls will sit down with Butler and Dwyane Wade – who has a player option – within the next few weeks to discuss their respective futures (Twitter links).
Both Paxson and Forman spoke about the importance of establishing more consistent roles for players next season, particularly for the Bulls’ young guys (Twitter links).
The Bulls value Nikola Mirotic, according to Forman, who made it clear that there’s mutual interest between the two sides in getting a new deal done for the RFA-to-be (Twitter links).
Asked about coaching staff changes, Paxson said the team is “in the process of looking at everything.” With Hoiberg a lock to return, any changes made would be to the assistant coaches (Twitter links via Johnson).
The Bulls want to add shooting and athleticism this summer, according to Paxson (Twitter link).
The Bulls continue to stress the idea of maintaining flexibility for 2018 and beyond. Paxson suggested that it would be “difficult” to make significant changes to the roster this summer, while Forman talked about the advantage of saving cap room rather than committing to multiple long-term deals right away (Twitter links via Friedell and Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).

John Paxson’s Role May Expand In Chicago

May 1st, 2017 at 11:37am CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls are considering front office changes this offseason, which may include more day-to-day control of the team for vice president John Paxson, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

That ties into a story from K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who suggests that “subtle” front office changes are in the works. Organizational meetings are planned for this week, and management may hold a press conference to announce the moves as soon as tomorrow.

Johnson notes that the Tribune reported in February that Paxson and GM Gar Forman were safe in their jobs even if the Bulls missed the playoffs. Chicago rallied to claim the eighth seed, then took a 2-0 lead over the Celtics before being eliminated in six games.

Forman has promised that coach Fred Hoiberg will return in the fall to begin his third season, even though he has become the target of fan wrath. The crowd at Game 6 was loudly chanting “Fire Hoiberg” as the final minutes ticked away.

Behind the scenes, the Reinsdorf family still has faith in its management team, but team president Michael Reinsdorf is an advocate for more debate on key decisions. Paxson’s brother, Jim, a former GM of the Cavaliers, is someone who could be given a stronger voice in the organization.

Bulls Notes: Butler, Rondo, Payne

April 29th, 2017 at 9:03am CST by Austin Kent

As the dust settles on Chicago’s elimination from the NBA postseason, the topic of conversation shifts from their impressive early series performance against the Celtics to what they’ll do in the offseason. Jimmy Butler, for what it’s worth, tells Nick Friedell of ESPN that he’d like to remain with the Bulls.

Butler is well aware of the fact that he’ll be featured heavily in trade rumors this offseason but went so far as to say that he hoped the Bulls front office would retain potential free agent Rajon Rondo. The Bulls have a player option on the second year of the veteran guard’s contract.

“He’s been huge for us this year,” Butler said. “[…] But I don’t know what the future holds for anybody. So I’ll sit back and wait on that time to come.”

The 27-year-old swingman put up 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for the Bulls despite the notoriously chaotic campaign and has said all the right things when it comes to his future in Chicago.

Whether the Bulls front office decides to keep the core that looked so promising in Games 1 and 2 of their first-round series together for another crack at Eastern Conference success in 2017/18, however, remains to be seen.

There’s more from Chicago:

It was a frustrating season for Bulls fans, one they can blame on executives Gar Forman and John Paxon. ESPN’s Nick Friedell recently wrote about how the front office hasn’t exactly stuck to the message they initially broadcast to fans about a pending rebuild.
Count The Vertical’s Shams Charania among those looking to make sense of the Bulls’ options heading forward. Much of what unfolds could depend on Dwyane Wade‘s player option, which at this point remains up in the air. Per Charania, Wade and Jimmy Butler will eventually discuss the decision “face-to-face”.
A series of ESPN Insider panelists recently discussed the looming decisions that the Bulls will have to make. Despite a dramatic 2016/17, the consensus believes we’ll see a similar roster in 2017/18 once the front office picks up Rajon Rondo’s option and Dwyane Wade takes his.
The Bulls still need a point guard for their future, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. “It’s tough. We’re asking guys to play roles they haven’t played all year,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said of asking players like Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Canaan and even Paul Zipser to bring up the ball in their elimination game Friday.
The carousal of point guards that the Bulls trotted out this season didn’t impress Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman. The Thunder columnist wrote about how Cameron Payne – the supposed primary factor in the Taj Gibson deal – was Chicago’s fifth-string point guard.

Bulls To Hold Post-Playoff Meeting With Butler

April 28th, 2017 at 8:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bulls plan to meet with Jimmy Butler after the playoffs to express their support for keeping him, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

The session will be separate from routine exit interviews, and Cowley describes it as an attempt to repair a deteriorating relationship. John Paxson, the team’s vice president of basketball operations, will attend the meeting, but it’s uncertain if GM Gar Forman will be there.

Butler was reportedly angered after hearing his name mentioned in trade rumors around the deadline and last year’s draft. He received a $95MM contract extension two years ago, but never felt like the team really committed to him.

He was also upset when Paxson said in a press conference after the trade deadline, “You build with players. We are building with Jimmy right now.’’ Butler became determined to lead the Bulls to the playoffs and show the front office that he was the type of player to build around, not just with.

A source told Cowley that Butler has communicated to the front office and to teammates that he wants to stay in Chicago. He is expected to repeat that sentiment in the upcoming meeting, with a warning that the Bulls should stop leaking his name in trade rumors if they really want to keep him.

Butler is signed for two more seasons with a $19.84MM player option in 2019/20.

Bulls Notes: Valentine, Payne, Wade

February 25th, 2017 at 8:52am CST by Austin Kent

The Bulls didn’t end up shipping off Jimmy Butler at the deadline, as had been rumored, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t thinking about their future. General manager Gar Forman spoke with ESPN Chicago Friday about the organization heading forward. Forman noted that the trade the club did make (Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott for Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow and Joffrey Lauvergne), will free up more time for rookie Denzel Valentine.

In the same conversation Forman reveals that they tried to trade for Payne on draft night last June but were unable to. He mentions that they “absolutely loved” him coming out of the draft and think he’ll be a player for their future.

Later in the discussion, when the topic turned to Fred Hoiberg, Forman said that he foresees the head coach coming back to in 2017/18. For more insights about the Bulls, consider listening to the full 20-minute chat at ESPN.

There’s more out of Chicago:

Veteran guard Dwyane Wade doesn’t have a clear read on whether or not the Bulls’ front office would want him to pick up his player option this summer and return to the team for 2017/18. “I haven’t had that conversation about next season with the guys,” he told Nick Friedell of ESPN. “[…] I take my option seriously and I always look into what’s the best thing for me to do.” For now, Wade adds, he just wants to play basketball.
The Bulls will have a better idea of what shape their rebuild will take this offseason, writes Neil Johnson of ESPN Analytics (Insider). Johnson asks if the Bulls can truly rebuild around Jimmy Butler or whether, by retaining him, they’re delaying the inevitable.
For what it’s worth, Jimmy Butler told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that he has faith in the Bulls’ front office and is exactly where he wants to be.
Newly acquired guard Anthony Morrow caused a bit of a stir when it was announced that he’d wear No. 1 with his new club. The veteran quickly changed course when Bulls fans protested at the thought of him wearing Derrick Rose‘s former number.