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.

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.

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.

Basketball in Chicago was something truly special. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen ruled the NBA. The Chicago Bulls won 72 games in a season. The Chicago Bulls won championship after championship (except for 2 years).

What has happened since then…

Basketball in Chicago has been full of potential, year after year, that never amounts to much. The Chicago Bulls have had lottery draft pick over and over again. With many selections amounting to nothing, or being traded After failing to make the playoffs from 1998 till 2004, the Bulls turned it around. Finishing with a record above .500 for 3 straight seasons, but only winning one playoff series. In 2007 they finished with their best record since Jordan was a part of the team. The Bulls entered 2008 full of expectations, only to finish 16 games below .500.

This is just a quick look back at the last ten years for the Bulls. Hoops4life, over at Bleacher Report, wrote a more in-depth look back, including looking at past moves that didn’t turn out for the best.

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 is a restricted free, and has told the Bulls they have two weeks to sign him to a long term contract or he will leave the team following the season. He will sign the one-year qualifying offer of $4.5 million and test the free agency market after the season, according to Yahoo!

The Chicago Bulls attempted to resign both Deng and Ben Gordon to long term contacts last October. The team offered each about $55 million for four years.

Deng is going to be playing for Great Britain in the summer Olympics this summer and reports to the team in two weeks.

Last season he averaged 17 points per game and 6.3 rebounds.

July 1st: News broke that Chicago Bulls top draft pick Derrick Rose has already gotten into a little bit of trouble with the law. Rose was allegedly clocked speeding down I-88 in Chicago at 106 mph in a 65 mph zone on April 29th. He will appear in court in Kane County, Illinois on July 11th. Rose was driving a 2008 Land Rover.

July 3rd: The Chicago Bulls named the coaching staff that will surrounded Vinny Del Negro. The Bulls hired former head coaches and assistant coaches Del Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff, and Bob Ociepka. They also retained assistant Pete Myers. This is a very experienced staff, which should help out the first year head coach.

July 4th: Chris Duhon has agreed in principle to a 2 year contract with the New York Knicks. It has been rumored for a few days that the Knicks were interested in Duhon. Duhon is a restricted free agent, meaning the Bulls may match the offer made by the Knicks and would be able to retain Duhon. The drafting of Rose makes it unlikely the Bulls will match the offer though, as this would cause to much of a jam at the position with Kirk Hinrich still on the roster.

Be the first with a Derrick Rose jersey, check out the BullsHome.com Shop!

With the draft now less than 24 hours away, and maybe less depending on when you read this, we want to give you a place where you can get everything you need to know heading into the draft. So in case you have been out of the loop for the last month, heres some links to get you up to date and prepared for tonight’s draft:

BullsHome.com Rumors and Scenarios

• Trade Rumor: Hinrich and Nocioni for Elton Brand: An early rumor that occurred shortly after the Bulls aquired the number one pick was the possibilty of this trade. If the Bulls were to draft Rose they would have to make some room at the guard position and Hinrich could be the man to go.
• Scenarios if the Bulls Draft Rose: As stated above, the drafting of Rose could be followed by a trade or two to fill up some room. Here is a list of a few other possible moves.
• Scenarios if the Bulls Draft Beasley: If the Bulls do decide to go with Beasley, there are a few things that could happen. Adding Beasley could cause a little bit of a jam at the forward position and would not upgrade the point guard position. Here is a list of a few possible moves if Beasley is selected.

The Signing of Vinny Del Negro

• Vinny translates to Rose?: The Bulls went with former point guard Vinny Del Negro to fulfill the position of head coach. Does the signing of Del Negro say anything about the possibilities of drafting a point gaurd?

Top 10 Chicago Bulls Draft Picks

• Picks 10-6 & Picks 5-1: Here is a two part list of the top 10 draft picks by the Chicago Bulls all time.

Mock Drafts- here are a few mock drafts from around the internet

• Chad Fords Latest Mock Draft
• Long list of YardBarker! Mock Drafts

As draft day is upon us, I hope this list of links will help you be prepared for however you decide to celebrate the 2008 NBA Draft and the newest player of the Chicago Bulls!

Negro played for several teams during his 14 year NBA career. Negro was drafted by the Kings in 1988 and retired as a Sun in 2002. He also spent two years from 1990-92 playing in Europe. Negro was a point gaurd/shooting gaurd during is playing career.

The hiring of Negro offers a few questions and maybe a glimpse into the future on what the Bulls off-season still has to come.

The Bulls have several young big men on their roster with potential such as Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Arron Gray. Adding another big man, such as Michael Beasley, would create a jam at the position. Also, would you really want a former journey man point guard like Negro mentoring a 19 year old forward?

This leaves the other option with the number one pick, a point guard from Chicago. Derrick Rose is a point guard with tons of athelticism and can shot the ball. Rose also has plenty of height for the position at 6 feet 4 inches. Sounds kind of like the point guard/shooting guard head coach? Rose would be the perfect fit the Bulls offense, and for what Negro’s plan may be. Negro played for five different NBA teams and two different teams in Europe. Negro should have plenty of experience with differnt offenses and should be able to put together a game plan that will fit the young bunch of players on the Bulls roster.

Although the Bulls have not made any noise to who they will draft next week other than Rose and Beasley being the final two, the hiring of Vinny Del Negro may translate into the drafting of Derrick Rose.

The Bulls are also still considering Kings assistant Chuck Person.  Person was brought in for a second interview earlier this week and looks to be the favorite if the Bulls pass on  Collins.

Lets hope they give Flip a look.