Ben Gordon to sign qualifying offer
The Chicago Bulls are set to open up training camp tomorrow, and guard Ben Gordon has yet to sign an extension. It is reported that he will sign a one year qualifying offer keeping him with the Bulls for at least one more season.
He must sign the one year, $6.4 million dollar contract by Wednesday to become an unrestricted free agent. This will be the second straight offseason Gordon and the bulls have been unable to come to contract terms. Last year Gordon turned down a 5 year deal worth around $50 million.
This leaves some interesting questions to what Ben Gordon’s role will be with Chicago this season. The Bulls have a young bunch of players who need a lot of playing time in order to continue to develop individually and as a team. As been Gordon will most likely only be with the team one more year, it will be interesting to see how rookie head coach Vinny del Negro will work him into the lineup.
The Bulls were unable to come to a sign and deal trade with Gordon and other teams this off season, but perhaps his name will come up in trade talks again around the trade deadline if it becomes apparent he will not return next off season.
Ending coming soon for Bulls, Gordon
Reports out of Greece have a Moscow team having Ben Gordon been offered at one year, $5 million dollar contract. That would be similar to a $7.8 million dollar contract in US dollars. The Gordon party made a counter offer to that, asking for $7 million, or roughly $11 million US dollars. It has not been reported if they have accepted that offer yet, but it is expected to be announced some time today.
Expect the Bulls to make a final move for Gordon, either to trade or resign to a contract he agrees more with, or watch him go. The move would free up some room at the guard position, but the Bulls would lose a great outside scorer. Any trade that would be made, would probably have to involve Larry Hughes or Andres Nocioni, to work under the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Many teams are not interested in Hughes or Nocioni’s long term, high priced deals though.
Ben Gordon would be able to join any European team, and not count as one of their allowed two American players because of his citizenship in Great Britain.
Ben Gordon Update; Huhges on the trade block
Ben Gordon: He continues to refuse the one year qualify offer to stay with the Bulls through 2008-09. It is reported that he has been offered as much as $60 million by the Chicago Bulls but refuses to sign take anythings less than $9 million a year.
Trade Talk: In recent trade talk, it is pretty apparent that the Bulls would like to move Larry Hughes to free up his long term deal and cash. The Bulls may be willing to accept next to nothing in order to move him… Andres Nocioni’s name continues to come up in trade talk around the league.
Chicago Bulls collapse from the ‘golden’ years
Remember just a little bit over ten years ago… (more…)
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.
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