We're still not entirely sure whether the Celtics will look to re-sign most of their own free agents this summer or whether more significant changes are in store, but Sam Smith of Bulls.com suggests one potential target for Boston. According to Smith, the Celtics are considering making a "strong offer" to restricted free agent Omer Asik.
Despite an early and disappointing end to this year's season, Bulls GM Gar Forman remains optimistic about his team's long-term future. Forman appeared on BullsTV this week to answer fans' questions, and opened up a little on a few topics, including his plans for the draft, Derrick Rose's rehab, and the futures of a couple young big men. Here are some of the highlights from the GM, courtesy of Adam Fluck at Bulls.com….
In a new column, Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times addresses several major questions the Bulls will face this offseason:
- Despite his on-court regression in his second season, the Bulls are expected to match all offers on restricted free-agent center Omer Asik.
- Chicago will likely not pick up their options on all three of C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer, and Kyle Korver, because they want to clear cap space to re-sign Taj Gibson after next season.
- Hayes speculates that John Lucas III may develop into more of a three-point specialist than a backup point guard, which will likely make him cheaper to retain.
Only twice in NBA history has the Eastern Conference's #8 seed defeated the #1 seed, and both instances occurred in lockout-shortened seasons. The eighth-seeded 76ers followed in the footsteps of the 1999 Knicks last night, knocking off the top-seeded Bulls to advance to the second round. Of course, against a Chicago team that was missing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, the Sixers' victory didn't feel like a huge upset. Still, the East's top regular-season team has been eliminated and is looking ahead to the offseason. Here are the latest Bulls updates:
- Noah and Carlos Boozer insist that the Bulls can win as currently constructed and hope the roster remains intacts, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that the Bulls, despite their devastating injuries, have created a hard-working identity that the city can, and should, embrace.
- GM Gar Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson told Ronnie Brewer that they'll do all they can to bring him back next season, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago. Brewer has one non-guaranteed year worth $4.37MM remaining on his contract.
- In a piece for ESPNChicago.com, Friedell writes that Carlos Boozer isn't a trade candidate since "no one wants to deal with that contract." Amnestying Boozer is also unlikely, says Friedell.
- SI.com's Zach Lowe takes a more in-depth look at why using the amnesty clause on Boozer doesn't make sense for Chicago unless corresponding moves are made.
- The Bulls will look to rebound next season, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, noting that the team plans to match offers for restricted free agent Omer Asik this summer.
- Sam Smith answers readers' Bulls-related questions in a massive mailbag for Bulls.com.
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Thursday night:
- The Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd expects (link via Twitter) the Cavaliers to have interest in Bulls center Omer Asik this summer. Asik will be a restricted free agent.
- USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told Marc Stein of ESPN.com that no new players will be added to the London Olympics team roster to replace injured players such as Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge.
- David Mayo of MLive.com has quotes from Pistons owner Tom Gores, who says more moves are necessary to bring Detroit back to respectability.
In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below:
- The Rockets are discussing more than half their roster in trades, having offered around Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, Hasheem Thabeet and Courtney Lee. According to Kyler, Houston would trade any combination of those players to acquire Chris Kaman.
- The Bulls want Lee, but aren't likely to meet the Rockets' asking price, which would mean parting with Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. The Pacers and Timberwolves are also eyeing Lee.
- Houston has a standing offer out to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, but it doesn't include Kyle Lowry, so nothing is expected to happen there.
- If the Blazers' three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Lakers involving Jamal Crawford falls through, Portland may have a backup trade in place with the Pacers.
- The Magic won't be able to make a move for Josh Smith, which isn't a surprise. One league source tells Kyler the Hawks want an All-Star frontcourt player in exchange for Smith, so a deal is very unlikely.
Part of the problem trading Dwight Howard is that the Orlando Magic remain largely underwhelmed with the trade offers presented by the teams on the list of Howard's preferred destinations. The Magic should be seeking a deal not unlike the ones made for Carmelo Anthony or Derron Williams a season ago. Howard is a far more impactful player than both Anthony and Williams so its understandable the Magic have a pretty high ceiling for where the market is set.
It's also understandable that, after watching the Knicks and Nets gut their respective teams, the team receiving Howard would want a long-term commitment. The problem is the teams Howard has said he would be willing to commit to do not have the assets to make the deal.
Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that the Magic's preferred trade partner remains the Chicago Bulls. The deal listed by Berger would send a combinatino of Omer Asik, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and the Charlotte Bobcats lottery-protected-through-2016 first round draft pick for Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.
A Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard pairing could make the Bulls and even more formidable duo than the Miami Heat's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but there are several reasons preventing the Bulls and Dwight Howard from happening.
The first, as Berger points out, is that the Bulls are doing just fine without Howard and would never risk that without a long-term commitment.
The second: why would the Magic make that deal? Deng, Boozer, and Asik are all above average players. Boozer is a very good post option against certain matchups, Deng can provide a little bit of everything at a better than average level for 35-plus minutes a night, and Asik is one of the most underrated defensive players in the NBA.
But such a deal still leaves the Magic with many of the same problems, most notably lacking a perimeter player that can create shots for himself and others. Furthermore, Boozer and Deng have reached the extent of their talents and Asik is likely not too far from the ceiling of his.
The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen assesses the state of the Rockets as the deadline approaches:
- Head coach Kevin McHale admits that the trade rumors are getting in the heads of players, but notes that it's like that for every team in the league.
- In Feigen's estimation, the Rockets are among the teams aiming to bring in an impact player—if not Dwight Howard, then possibly Gerald Wallace or Omer Asik.
- Unlike last year, when they had Shane Battier as a trade piece, the Rockets don't have any notable expiring contracts outside of Courtney Lee and Goran Dragic.
Derrick Rose, who's been nursing a sore back, is sitting out the Bulls game against the Bobcats tonight. When he's been in the lineup, Rose has been seeing heavy playing time of late, as has Luol Deng and his creaky wrist. Longtime Bulls beat writer Sam Smith of NBA.com answered questions from readers concerned with overuse. Smith says as long as a player is healthy enough to play in the game, he's healthy enough to play a full load of minutes. That's an opinion shared by Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and, according to ESPNChicago.com, GM Gar Forman.
Here are some more highlights from Smith's piece:
- The Bulls are unlikely to sign another shooting guard soon, despite the absense of Richard Hamilton. Relief could come closer to the trade deadline. J.R. Smith would not be a viable option.
- The success the team's been enjoying this year runs counter to the idea that they should blow it up to acquire Dwight Howard. Smith would like for the Bulls to see how far they can go as currently constituted before making a drastic move.
- Omer Asik's minutes are dwindling and he'll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, but Smith believes there's no reason to consider trading him at this point and hurting the team's depth.
- Don't expect to see Chris Kaman in a Bulls uniform anytime soon. Just as there's no need to mess with success to acquire Howard, Smith says, there's no impetus to break up the team for Kaman.