knightni Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines Bulls not planning free-agent fireworks By K.C. Johnson Tribune staff reporter July 1, 2007 A year ago, John Paxson and Scott Skiles traveled to Detroit on the first day of free agency, armed with salary-cap room and a plan to woo Ben Wallace from the rival Pistons. Don't expect the same treatment for, say, Chris Mihm. For starters, the Bulls don't have salary-cap room to toss around millions during the free-agent recruiting period, which began Sunday at 12:01 a.m., although players can't officially sign contracts until July 11. The Bulls will be using their midlevel salary-cap exception (approximately $5.5 million) and biannual veteran's exception (approximately $1.8 million) to kick the tires on the likes of Mihm, Melvin Ely, Joe Smith, Corliss Williamson, Marc Jackson and P.J. Brown. Representatives for several of those players will be contacted Sunday to make sure they know the Bulls have interest. General manager Paxson plans to use some, if not all, of his available free-agent money regardless of what he attempts to accomplish in the trade market. And that's where the free agent situation gets interesting. Forward Andres Nocioni is entering the restricted free-agent market. The Bulls, who own the right to match any offers he receives, would keep him—at the right price. But he also could be used as an asset in a sign-and-trade maneuver as part of a larger deal for a scoring big man. The Bulls will be monitoring the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes closely. They also still have interest in Grizzlies big man Pau Gasol, if he is made available. The only sure thing is Luol Deng isn't included in any discussions. Nothing that happens this summer will equal the big splash of signing Wallace. But expect some movement before the end of the month. Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 Paxson has a lot on his plate this offseason. He still has a few restricted free agents (Nocioni, gordon, deng), and has to find a replacement for, or resign PJ Brown. I would hope for a younger replacement. Of that list: Mihm, Melvin Ely, Joe Smith, Corliss Williamson, Marc Jackson and P.J. Brown. I guess I would prefer Ely out of the bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan101 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 The Bulls don't have anybody that plays the 4 or 5 that I don't think I could beat in a game of horse (Nocioni is a 3) and they are standing pat? Yikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitesoxfan101 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 11:04 AM) Maybe I read a different article, but where did it say the Bulls were standing pat? It's not a secret there isn't a lot of cap space, but it also isn't a secret Pax knows the teams needs, and has said he will address them this off-season. Well I'm not saying they are standing pat, but among that list of mid level exception potential big men are a bunch of veterans who can't shoot at all. This team needs somebody that can play up front and actually make a shot. Everything else doens't matter until they have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo's Drinker Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 can we ship KW and his cheap antics out and bring in someone like pax with a brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 04:34 PM) Well I'm not saying they are standing pat, but among that list of mid level exception potential big men are a bunch of veterans who can't shoot at all. This team needs somebody that can play up front and actually make a shot. Everything else doens't matter until they have that. I'll take a big man who can come off the bench and make a nice post move. I like the Aaron Gray pick -- he's unathletic and isn't going to do a heckuva lot on the defensive end, but he's got some post moves. For cripes sakes, Skiles went to Michael f***ing Sweetney in the Detroit series because he wanted to take of advantage of Webber's defensive abilities (err -- his lack thereof). I don't know this free agent group very well -- is there anybody who would come in relatively cheaply and be able to score in the post a little bit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted July 1, 2007 Share Posted July 1, 2007 If we can get Gasol without ripping apart this team i would be ecstatic. Like some deal based around Nocioni, Gordon, and Noah? or something like that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonik22 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Please sign Jamal Tatum! I would die! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChWRoCk2 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 QUOTE(Sonik22 @ Jul 1, 2007 -> 11:11 PM) Please sign Jamal Tatum! I would die! I would be all for it, at least give him a look, he could definitely D up some of the better guards in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 (edited) Tatum can and will play in the NBA(of course I'm not biased at all), but it wont be with the Bulls. Edited July 2, 2007 by Rowand44 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan562004 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I'm really hoping Pax pulls something off. I think he's done a solid job to this point, but if they just add Noah, they would really be spinning their wheels. As mentioned above, parts of the article seem to say he will do soemthing, probably via trade, I hope that's true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 A 50 win team that also very young. Give them time to grow up a bit. Stand pat. Let Deng and Tyrus develop a post game. Hopefully, by the time Wallace is an expiring Noah will have replaced him anyway. In a year or two when they all have contracts that can actually get us something in return...make some trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(black jack @ Jul 2, 2007 -> 09:55 AM) A 50 win team that also very young. Give them time to grow up a bit. Stand pat. Let Deng and Tyrus develop a post game. Hopefully, by the time Wallace is an expiring Noah will have replaced him anyway. In a year or two when they all have contracts that can actually get us something in return...make some trades. Thats the worst thing Paxson can do. Deng is going nowhere and he should be an All Star this year. Hoping Tyrus Thomas develops while being the (likely) starting PF is just horrific. Of the Free Agent big guys, Corliss Williamson is probably the best low post scorer. He's a veteran, hes pretty athletic, and does everything well, just doesn't do anything really great. He averaged 9 points in only 19 minutes a game last year with the Kings and I'd love for the Bulls to ink him. Other Free Agent big men I'd look at are Milicic (too much $ though), Brian Skinner (good D, great rebounder), Mikki Moore (exploded on the scene, good scorer, too much $), and Jamaal Magloire (former All Star, caught in some bad situations team-wise). If the Bulls don't trade for a good big man, then they'll have to sign someone, because I would be extremely hesitant in handing Tyrus the starting spot right now. As of now, Tyrus, Noah, and Wallace are the only big men on our roster. If we keep just those 3, we'll have the worst offensive group of PF/C ever seen in the league. Edited July 2, 2007 by SoxFan1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted July 2, 2007 Author Share Posted July 2, 2007 It's all about Grinders with Pax too, I'm afraid. He'd take a roster filled with clones of himself if it was possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 QUOTE(SoxFan1 @ Jul 2, 2007 -> 06:07 PM) Hoping Tyrus Thomas develops while being the (likely) starting PF is just horrific. I'm getting sick of your Thomas hate. I've never seen anybody hate on a specific player on their own team as much as you have. And this is from our AIM chats a couple years back when you knew I LOVED T2 and you hated him. Noah, I can understand specifically cause I don't really like him either as a player, but at least I won't hate on the guy. Let him develop/see what he brings to the table or maybe take off the blinders and see how much they have improved especially after at least a 2+ year basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(SoxAce @ Jul 2, 2007 -> 07:00 PM) I'm getting sick of your Thomas hate. I've never seen anybody hate on a specific player on their own team as much as you have. And this is from our AIM chats a couple years back when you knew I LOVED T2 and you hated him. Noah, I can understand specifically cause I don't really like him either as a player, but at least I won't hate on the guy. Let him develop/see what he brings to the table or maybe take off the blinders and see how much they have improved especially after at least a 2+ year basis. I know you love him, and I respect your opinion. So respect mine. And if you haven't seen someone hate a player on their own team as much as me, hop on TalkBulls and watch people rip Kirk Hinrich. I don't like Tyrus of the high praise he gets from people like you. No offense, but the guy hasn't done anything to be handed a starting PF spot in the NBA. Every 12 games, Tyrus score 10 and I hear about how he's a future star and how he is so athletic and deserved 40 minutes a game. Where were the people the other 11 games when he racked up more turnovers and fouls than points and rebounds? I also think you misread my post. I'd rather have Tyrus Thomas getting consistent minutes as the PF backup than having him struggle through playing 30+ minutes a game as the starting PF. Read my posts on TB for more. Edited July 3, 2007 by SoxFan1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I didn't mean they should hand TT the starting PF spot. Signing a FA big is a good idea if possible. Just don't trade anyone for another year or two!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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