Interesting situations for 2008 Bulls

Heading into the 2008 season the Chicago Bulls have a lot of question marks, but they are all necessarily bad question marks.

First, lets say Ben Gordon is playing elsewhere in the upcoming season. This makes the back court a little less crowded, but even though he was not a true shooting guard, who will be the shooting guard now? This puts a lot of pressure on different players, in other roles, to step up their game. Kirk Hinrich, will fell even more pressure than he already should, to return to his form before a down season in 2007. Big men such as Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray will have pressure turned towards them to begin performing well on a daily basis. And Thabo Sefolosha may finally get his chance to show we he can do on a more regular basis.

Which leads to the question of who will get playing time in the crowded positions? During the ‘Skiles Era’ there was always players that were in the ‘doghouse.’ He seemed to prejudge players before giving them a chance, such as Tim Thomas and Dikembe Mutombo. The new coaching staff should look to give evreyone an equal chance during training camp coming up in the next couple weeks to show what they can do. Putting players in different roles during pre-season to see where they are best suited in his system. This will give players such as Thomas, Noah and Thabo a new beginning. IF everyone knows their defined roles heading into the season, they should be prepared on a night-by-night basis when and where they will be needed.
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Ben Gordon says he’s done as a Bull

Contract negotiations between Ben Gordon and the Chicago Bulls appear to have come to a halt.

“I guess it’s safe to say I’ve played my last game in a Bulls uniform,” Gordon said, reported ESPN.

Ben Gordon was offered a 5 year, $50 million contact last off-season, and the Bulls recently signed Luol Deng to a 6 year deal worth $71 million.  Gordon believes he deserves to be the highest paid player, sighting having lead the team in scoring in three out of his four NBA seasons (including last year, 18.6 ppg).

Gordon and his agent have been exploring other options.  Him and his agent have been talking with others team that could possibly work with the Bulls to put together a sign and trade.  Another option is to follow other players to Europe.  Gordon is a citizen of London, and would be open to the idea if all else fails.

In other news:

Luol Deng’s new contract may prevent him from playing in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

HoopsWorld reported that the company that insures NBA players contracts has decided not to cover Deng’s contract if he is injured by a back injury.

Ben Gordon: Will he stay or will he go now?

The signing of Luol Deng has raised a lot of questions to the future of Ben Gordon. The Chicago Bulls inked Deng last week to a six year deal worth at least $72 million, with Gordon still to be signed. The most the Bulls can offer Gordon, without going over the luxury tax, is around $8 to $9 million a year. Gordon, the leading scorer for the team over the last three seasons, believes he is worth more than that, especially considering Deng’s contract puts him at $12 million a year.

The Chicago Bulls already have an overcrowded back court and building a young team around a point guard doesn’t bode well for a crowded back court. Gordon would like to stay with the Bulls, but someone is going to have to be moved. The most the Bulls can offer Gordon without being taxed is six years at roughly $58 million. Is this all Gordon is truly worth though?

There is no question that Ben Gordon can score. He has lead the Bulls in scoring for three consecutive seasons. As Bethlehem Shoals of “The Sporting Blog” put it though “he’s (Gordon) always been most effective off the bench. And no matter what he works on over the summer, he remains a man without a position or the dynamism necessary to overcome it. He’s an undersized Michael Redd, or Arenas sans ability to control the ball.”

Ben Gordon has two options he can pursue here. Gordon is a restricted free agent, and can only go elsewhere if someone offers him a contract and the Bull option not to match the offer. If the Bulls and Gordon do not reach a deal by the end of the free agency period he must sign a one-year tenure contract that will keep him with the team through next season, when he will then become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) next offseason. If this is what things come down to, look for his playing time to drop. The Bulls have a young team with great potential that needs to play to become better and more mature. Knowing that Gordon would not be returning after becoming an UFA, the Bulls should look to use the players that will be here for some time to gain experience.

Another option of Gordon’s could be to look Europe. He is part-British and has citizenship in England. This summer four international players who had previously played in the NBA returned to teams in Europe, Atlanta Hawks free agent Josh Childress and New Jerseys Nets free agent Bostjan Nachbar have signed three year contracts with European teams and another team is close to signing Cleveland Cavs guard Delonte West to a two year deal. So the option is there, and Gordon could easily become the highest paid player in Europe if he chooses to.

Deng signs long term deal in different fashion

The Chicago Bulls were able to ink the 6-9, 23 year-old forward to a long term deal before he left for the Olympics.

Luol Deng signed a 6 year deal with the Bulls worth $71 million in guaranteed money, that could be worth up to $80. The Deng deal was done in a different way though as Gar Forman was responsible for the negotiations, director of player personnel, rather then John Paxson.

Jerry Reinsdorf really wanted to see Deng in a Bulls jersey for many years to come, and talks were getting slow and close to the deadline made my Deng’s party with Paxson. Signing a long term deal the season after being named team caption brings a lot of pressure and responsibility to Deng, something he believes he is prepared for.

“This brings a lot of responsibilities,” he said. “Those are responsibilities I’m looking forward to, on and off the court. I take basketball very seriously and I look forward to putting the team on my shoulders.”

Now that Deng is signed, the Bulls need to pursue inking guard Ben Gordon to a long term deal, or risk losing him following the 2009 season.