Bulls Offseason Thread

[David]

Scoop Jackson (take that FWIW) claims in this clip that LeBron called DRose and had a long conversation with him about playing together.

 

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5187816&categoryid=2459788

[Banedon]

The talk seems like it's getting too hot too early...there's still a month and a half till Lebron can sign with anybody.

[David]

It's entirely possible that he has decided already, though. It's not like he can't pick and choose where he goes. There is nobody who could sign him who wouldn't.

 

 

Do the pitches (come July 1st) mean something? Maybe... but I get the feeling they're about as important as a personal statement on a college app.

[Banedon]

It's entirely possible that he has decided already, though. It's not like he can't pick and choose where he goes. There is nobody who could sign him who wouldn't.

 

 

Do the pitches (come July 1st) mean something? Maybe... but I get the feeling they're about as important as a personal statement on a college app.

 

But lets be honest. He might know where he'd like to go, but he's not making final decisions until numbers are being discussed, which he can't do with anyone (other than Cleveland) until July 1...correct?

 

I just don't think it's as simple as waiting on July 1 to roll around to hand him a jersey.

[UMFan83]

Let LeBron leave/be the one to trade LeBron aside, I have to imagine that the Cavs would value the cap space more than Deng.

 

I'm just not sure what cap space does to help a LeBron-less Cleveland. Yeah they might get someone in a trade but they don't necessarily need cap space to make the trade.

 

It helps them more than bringing in Luol Deng. Maybe if a lottery pick came with it or something, or even just Chicago's 1st that they could package it to get into the lottery, I don't know.

 

They could also get a 3rd team involved that can use Deng, and get something better back in return. Either way, I believe the Cavs won't work out a sign and trade no matter how dumb it might be long term.

[David]

It's entirely possible that he has decided already, though. It's not like he can't pick and choose where he goes. There is nobody who could sign him who wouldn't.

 

 

Do the pitches (come July 1st) mean something? Maybe... but I get the feeling they're about as important as a personal statement on a college app.

 

But lets be honest. He might know where he'd like to go, but he's not making final decisions until numbers are being discussed, which he can't do with anyone (other than Cleveland) until July 1...correct?

 

I just don't think it's as simple as waiting on July 1 to roll around to hand him a jersey.

 

 

What numbers are there to discuss? It's pretty much cut and dry.

[UMFan83]

Someone on RealGM claimed that he heard LeBron say to KG when they were hugging post game "come see me in Chicago". But I don't know it's probably BS. Actually I'm sure it's bs. But it's fun to discuss little signs like this. As a Bulls/Cubs fans, all that's out there to discuss is the Hawks and this. And the Hawks don't play until Sunday.

[David]

I saw that post... I figured he was just kidding.

 

Someone else would've noticed that by now.

[Banedon]

What numbers are there to discuss? It's pretty much cut and dry.

 

Salary...years...possible sign and trade deals....basically all of the logistics that goes along with a big signing.

[David]

What numbers are there to discuss? It's pretty much cut and dry.

 

Salary...years...possible sign and trade deals....basically all of the logistics that goes along with a big signing.

 

 

It's either a max contract or a Bird max contract if Cleveland is willing to do a S&T... and if it's fewer years, as has been speculated, it'll be because LeBron wants it that way.

 

There is no team (with cap space, of course) that won't give LeBron whatever he wants, exactly how he wants it, in terms of a contract.

[David]

I just don't see there being much of a mystery for him about what he would be getting contract-wise.

 

 

The thing that can change things is what the other teams are able to accomplish outside of LeBron, though.

[Banedon]

Fair enough...I didn't realize that it was that cut and dry with big basketball deals.

[BigSlick]

Fair enough...I didn't realize that it was that cut and dry with big basketball deals.

Basketball is well run in that regard, no rookie hold outs, no long extended contract disputes

 

of course its probably easier to do that when there are only 12 players per roster, but whatev

[UMFan83]

"It was well over an hour after his season officially ended, prematurely ended, here at the TD Garden, and LeBron James was still sitting in a corner of what, at this point, was an empty visitors dressing room," wrote Hahn. "The door was closed and it was quiet for the first time since James left the team's hotel that afternoon.

 

"He summoned for his entourage -- 'My team,' as he refers to them, which consisted of agent Leon Rose, ubiquitous attache William 'Worldwide Wes' Wesley, his manager, Maverick Carter and his business partner and friend, Randy Mims -- into the dressing room and had the door sealed again. James didn't emerge until well after midnight, wearing black jeans and a black and white sweatjacket and a black cap with his logo."

 

Also 4 out of the 5 newspapers that cover the Knicks in NY sent their beat writers to cover the game/press conference. Maybe not such a big deal because Boston is so close to NY, but it was significant enough to maybe make LeBron take notice.

[hawkeyecub]

Go to the Clips LeBron.

 

The sign and trade idea to Chicago is nuts. They aren't going to give him more money and aid him in leaving while also keeping him in the division. Especially for Luol [expletive] Deng. Do you guys think this is 2007 again? EDIT: Broussard just said that a sign and trade is the last, last, last resort. They'd rather have the cap space.

 

 

I'm not sure if you mean to tie all those thoughts together, but just to be clear, you're aware that the Bulls don't need to do a S&T to sign LBJ, right? They can sign him outright.

 

Really? I had no idea. So you mean a free agent is free to sign with another team that has the salary cap space to sign him? You just blew my mind.

 

All those thoughts? It was two thoughts. One opinion saying to go to the Clippers and aresponse to the sign and trade.

[SouthSideRyan]

I can't see why Cleveland would accept any S&T deal for Lebron. Unless it's just an overwhelming offer (re: not Luol Deng) you make James turn his back on the city and sign somewhere else outright.

 

Unless they know he's not coming back no matter what.

 

Luol Deng is worth nothing. You'd rather get nothing for Lebron that Deng's albatross contract.

[WrigleyField 22]

While teams can't technically talk with Free Agents until July 1st, they will. They will just make sure not to put anything on paper or through email or basically anything that could be traced. They probably won't talk directly with the player either. They will talk with the agents though. Lebron will likely know far in advance of July 1st whats happening. The only reason there would be a hold up is if a S&T occurs or he wants to wait to see what a team like NY can sign around him.

[davell]

I bet Lebron will be doing a ton of posturing this offseason, knowing that he's probably the key to everyone else's fate. My guess is he's got Wade, Amare, and Bosh on speed dial, going over options, with the idea of 2 wind up in one place and 2 wind up in another. If Lebron wants to go to the Bulls, he'll probably be trying like hell to get Bosh or Amare with him, meaning the Bulls would HAVE to find a way to pull off the sign and trade. If they can't pull it off, then he'd likely move on to option number 2, whether it's the Knicks or Nets. All in all though, the Bulls have the best core to build around, so if Lebron is purely thinking about titles, he'd almost HAVE to start with us, under this scenario anyway.

[David]

Go to the Clips LeBron.

 

The sign and trade idea to Chicago is nuts. They aren't going to give him more money and aid him in leaving while also keeping him in the division. Especially for Luol [expletive] Deng. Do you guys think this is 2007 again? EDIT: Broussard just said that a sign and trade is the last, last, last resort. They'd rather have the cap space.

 

 

I'm not sure if you mean to tie all those thoughts together, but just to be clear, you're aware that the Bulls don't need to do a S&T to sign LBJ, right? They can sign him outright.

 

Really? I had no idea. So you mean a free agent is free to sign with another team that has the salary cap space to sign him? You just blew my mind.

 

All those thoughts? It was two thoughts. One opinion saying to go to the Clippers and aresponse to the sign and trade.

 

 

Calm down there. Who pissed in your Cheerios?

 

 

First of all, I have no idea what you know about the Bulls cap space situation or the NBA salary cap nor is there any reason I should know.

 

Secondly, all I was saying was that I wasn't sure whether or not to interpret those sentences as tied together somehow or simply two completely unrelated thoughts. You went from saying he should sign with LA to saying that the "sign and trade idea to Chicago is nuts." You don't see how a potential interpretation of those two sentences following one another could be, "He should sign with LAC, because there's no way Chicago can sign and trade for him?"

[RedFlash]

Watching Rob Parker and Skip Bayless talk Lebron James made my head hurt. Both said LBJ to Chicago would be stupid on LBJ parts. Their reasoning.....MJ's leacy. This is such an overblown issue.

 

Parker predicts LBJ to the Nets because of his friendship to Jay Z. Yep, LBJ's future will be decided because of a friendship with a rap mogul, according to Parker. Nobody wants to play in Newark, not even the players on the Nets. Now if the Nets were moving to Brooklyn and their new stadium NEXT year, then yeah Nets makes alot of sense, but that 2 year stop over in Newark is a major strike against NJ.

 

Bayless predictes LBJ to Miami because LBJ needs a "Batman" to his "Robin." His words not mine. Miami makes alot more sense then NY or NJ. 1: Miami could have the best coach between the 3 teams. 2: Miami could re-sign Wade, sign LBJ, and then use Beasley as the center piece to either land Amar'e, Bosh, or Boozer. With that said, I just don't see the value of Michael Beasley, imo. You can talk crap about Deng's contract, and that is negative value, but at least Deng has shown he can be a solid NBA player, unlike Beasley who is still label as "potential."

[SouthSideRyan]

Beasley doesn't have an ungodly contract though. And I like him going forward more than I like Deng.

[David]

How exactly is Miami re-signing Wade, signing LeBron, AND trading for Bosh/Amare?

 

Without any real knowledge of Miami's cap situation outside of the fact that they have a max slot, I'm really pretty sure that's not possible.

[Guest]

So the Nets have currently Yi/Lopez/Williams/CDR/Harris + Lee and Dooling. From what I understand, they can win the lottery, use Dallas' pick, sign a max contract, and still have enough to sign another decent FA? Imagine adding LeBron, Wall, someone like Udoh or Ebanks, a shooter with the top pick in the 2nd, and then an FA big. They might win 65 games.

[Magnetic Curses]

i don't think lebron wants to play 3 years in newark, though

[Magnetic Curses]

but i DO get the "anyone but the bulls" sentiment.