K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune has more on Ben’s supposed $11 million promise from the Pistons: “So, Ben Gordon, do you or your agent have a backroom agreement to sign with Detroit when the free-agency period begins July 1? ‘You can’t even negotiate until July 1, so that’s just rumors,’ Gordon said Wednesday at his basketball camp in Lisle. ‘I really don’t know what’s going to happen.’ … Even if true, nobody would confirm this development because it would represent a violation of league rules. But free agents verbally agree to terms on the first day of free agency all the time, which suggests either parameters for deals privately get discussed prematurely or the official offers are so large as to blow the player away.”
To sum up: There may or may not be a secret deal, but we’ll never know because it’s against the rules and the involved parties would deny it anyway. For his part, BG says he wants to remain a Bull, win “a couple of championship rings” with the Bulls, and then retire a Bull. But, well, you never know.
“I’ve been pretty consistent with what I’ve said: The NBA is a business. Regardless of what happens, you have to separate the business side from your emotions. And I did that. Things didn’t go my way but that didn’t stop me from approaching my job the same way and loving the game of basketball. There are a lot of people in worse situations than me, so there’s really no need to be stressed about it or have bad blood. … One thing I’ve learned for sure in the NBA is you don’t have a deal until something is signed. Come July 1, I’m excited to see what’s out there. I’m excited with the possibility of getting a long-term deal.”
It’s true. Ben was great last season. He didn’t sulk or pout. Instead, he played his butt off and helped get his team into the playoffs. And I can’t really blame him for not getting all misty-eyes about whether the Bulls were going to re-sign him. At this point, he’s done everything a player in his position could have done, and now he has to play the waiting game…along with the rest of us.
I think the bulls should not waste their time on trying to sign Ben Gordan. All they need to focus on is trying to make a deal for Chris Bosh without losing key players, that way they have a chance to win a championship.
wake up people,the bulls are not ,i repeat, are not going to go after BG with deng on the books.i also think they go point with#16 and the kid calethes with #26,who is signed to play in greece at least for 1 year,which will free up 1st round money in preparation for the monster class of 2010 or a off-in season trade for bosh.
I completely agree with ya Garcia. We need a post player that can score every game just not once every few games.
ignoring the completely inane comments above, all i’m gonna say is that I agree with the end of your post– whether you like BG or not and whether you like his game or not, you really have to hand it to him for being so professional this past season. A lot of players would’ve sulked when being inexplicably benched (so they could start Thabo of all people) at the start of the year and after getting jerked around all summer by management (especially in light of the confirmation that BG tried to sign the 6/54 contract before camp opened only to have the Bulls tell him that the offer was pulled), but Gordon continued to work as hard as he always has, to be a supportive teammate, and to play his hardest.
Mike C. …Agreed. While I strugle with placing a dollar value to his talents as a ball-player, I am absolutely impressed with his attitude & work ethic. I wish this were an easier decision for all sides, because Ben is the type of person I want to root for.
Gordon is a likable player and dynamite scorer. Defense aside, he’s amazing.
Problem is, Defense is kinda important. Hinrich can’t guard both guard spots at the same time, and Rose isn’t much better than BG, so where are the Bulls going to get defensive production in their backcourt?
Ben wants to be paid more than 10mil/year. Maybe he should- somewhere- but that’s not a good deal for Chicago. I just don’t think he’s worth that kind of money. If the Pistons want to pay him 11mil and give us Rip? Sounds good to me.
i think ben is worth big bucks or a big trade hes meant alot to the bulls i really dont want to see him go but thats bussiness and the bulls will have to move on if he goes i hope the bulls can pick up a key player that can change them around next season man i wish that we were back in the 90s were i knew we were in the playoff without a doubt and winning the championship does were the days
I feel the Bulls need to sign and trade him. I feel the Bulls have other players that can fill BG spot. He is a great shooter, but is streaky. If you sign and trade him, we have a better chance of getting a better big. Lets face it, Gordon doesn’t want to be in Chicago, lets not let him leave for free, lets get something out of him
BG we need to get him back! we also need a post player and I think dat da BULLS are paying 2 much for Deng hes not even all dat he missed most of dis season!
Dats not good at all he needs to get out of Chicago! den in da draft we could go for a small forward and a power forward to help tyrus….
I have followed Ben Gordon since he played with Emeka Okafor at UCONN and I believe that the Bulls do need him. He has been consistant throughout his entire NBA career. His work ethic and dedication can only assist in the development of Derrick Rose. Rose and Gordon have shown that they have good team chemistry together. Gordon wants to win most importantly and he showed that in the playoffs. I believe that the success of the Bulls is much deeper than signing Gorden and just getting Bosh. It is obvious that the Bulls need a more dominant pressance in the middle and Chris Bosh would fit well with the Bulls but just Rose and Bosh cannot and will not win you a championship. I think that Deng is overated and overpaid. Maybe setup a deal with Deng, Hinrich, and a first round pick. Deng was hurt during the playoffs but when has he really dominated a game? Basically keep Gordon, trade Hinrich, DENG, and maybe a pick or another player, pick up a back up point guard and get Chris Bosh. Imagine a starting line of Rose, Gordon, Salmons, Thomas, and Bosh. Could well be a championship team.
Bulls should do this if they want a good chance at getting a championship win.
1st- Trade Deng, Tim and Tyrus Thomas to the Suns for Shaq.
2nd- Sign Gordon for a 1 year deal worth like 10 million.
3rd- Draft BJ Mullens with the 16th pick.
4th- Draft DeJuan Summers with the 26th pick.
5th- After the season ends with Shaq’s expiring contract which will clear up space to maybe get a D Wade in free agency once Gordon is gone.
You have to decide what you want to be. If you resign Ben and with continued improvement from Tyrus and Joahkim, and Deng returning to his form of 2 years ago, the Chicago Bulls can be a playoff team. If you don’t resign Ben and takes steps to clear payroll (trade Dend and/or Hinrich, don’t resign Ben or another free agent this year)you have a chance to get Wade, Bosh or Lebron (Yao is staying in Houston)and become a perennial championship contender. Speaking of which, who would you guys rather have Wade or Bosh? Thinking of a Wade/Rose backcourt makes me drool almost as much a pick and rolls with Bosh/Rose for the next 7 years. Noah,Tyrus,Salmons,Wade,Rose or Bosh,Noah,Salmons,Rose, (small forward/guard) with Tyrus off the bench. Hmm, delicious dreaming
Let us all stop dreaming for a second and think worse case scenario. If the Bulls was to resign Ben Gordon and pick up a player in the draft that can dominate in the post in 2-3 years the Bulls could be very well playing in the East finals (maturity needed for our young guns).
Here’s what’s needed for us to stay the course, and still not make it impossible for us to make a trade and still have a supporting cast after the trade. The Bulls needed to draft B.J. Mullens at the 16th pick, here’s why. This kid is a freshman that lacks muscle and experience. Give him 2 years and he can very well be that post guy that Chicago needs as well as that pick and pop guy that Rose can use. Pick 26 in the draft should be Calethes, he is compared to a taller Kirk Hinrich, cant confirm that, but here’s the catch. Like Joe Mondo stated in his Blog he is signed to Greece for a year, so it benefits us in two ways. One, he can develop in Greece by getting more PT and he want take up any money for the 2010 free agency, after that resign Ben Gordon. That’s worse case scenario without all the dreaming and we would be one of the youngest dominating teams for years to come.
Now lets start to dream, with drafting B.J. Mullens it frees up us losing one of our bigs (Noah or Tyrus either can go I like them both). We can also trade Kirk Hinrich now that we have a Calethes. With Kirk and Noah or Tyrus, Im sure we could pull the trigger on Bosh or Stoudemire.
Scenario 1 Line up Scenario 2 Line Up
Derrick Rose Derrick Rose
Ben Gordon Ben Gordon
Luol Deng Luol Deng
Tyrus Thomas Bosh or Stoudemire
Joakim Noah Joakim Noah
Bench Bench
Kirk Hinrich Lindsey Hunter
John Salmon John Salmon
Tim Thomas Tim Thomas
B.J. Mullens B.J.Mullens
Brad Miller Brad Miller
Nick Calethes (Greece) Nick Calethes (Greece)
Even though I like BG if they lose him it wont get. But what if they trade him and Deng or Noah for Amar’e Stoudemire. To me that sounds even better then Wade or Bosh. Rose/Kirk/Solmons/tyrus/Stoudemire……
Guys, you can’t be serious. I am a true Bulls fan and Ben Gordon has been slapped in the face several times by the Bulls and yet he NEVER complains. Why would he agree to a contract paying less than Deng or Hinrich? I like Deng but at best he would be a great sixth man on a contender, his defense is subpar. Hinrich does try hard on defense put can’t keep up with any talented guards at his position and could never fill BG’s shoes. Lets watch him try to guard Ben, could he stop him?(NEVER) The future can be bright in Chicago but they first need to sign the vital organ of the team. The HEART “Ben Gordon”!!! The rooks future looks good and at times he is explosive, but he did freeze up late in the playoffs and avoided the ball on offense, just watch the end of the last 2 games, he has no heart yet. The starting line up needs to include Ben,D.Rose,Miller,and (Salmons or Deng) not both and someone who isn’t already on the team. One of those guys need to be packaged up with anyone to bring a solid PF or Center. The Noah/Thomas duo will be no better than Curry/Chandler experiment.
i think gettin rid of Ben is goin to be a Mistake. say you let go of Ben then Kirk go that leaves Derrick, #16 and #26 at the back court while it could be bosh amare and the rest of the froncourt, wers the Go-to-guy when u need him at crunch time? so i think keep Ben, explore trades with 26# and jerome james, or tim thomas ( i think hes 50/50)
Ben Gordon is an overachieving NBA sixth man offensive specialist. Period. Every team in the league needs one. But not at $10 million plus, per season! He is too short to play the 2. He is too shot happy to be a 1 (and he cant pass). Oh, and did I mention he cant play defense. He is a streaky on-off shooter that is best suited off the bench. Let him walk, you have 2 draft picks to work with to land either a legit 2 or a 4. Move John Salmons to play the other 2 or 3 position. Find a taker for Kirk Hinrich. I hear the Blazers are interested, and so were the Timberwolves. They have expiring contracts and or role players to be had in exchange. I hear Rip Hamilton is available, why not give it a shot. A lineup of Rose, Hamilton, Salmons, Thomas, and Noah sounds pretty good.
i havent always been a big ben gordon fan but this year in the playoffs he proved his value to the team and gave us alittle of that excitement he brought when he came in as a rookie drainin clutch j’s and i thought to myself finally we have a ballplayer.
im a diehard bulls fan and i cant remember who played the 1 and 2 before ben and kirk. the thing that is most impressive about bulls fans is our loyalty and loyal people pay homage when its due and ben has earned his money how the bulls give it to him idk but he has earned it. he showed himself to be the heart of the team during the playoffs matching almost every celtic shot single handedly. u cannot lose a guy like that on your team and not take a step backwards he still has a ways to go but to think about his time with the bulls and who else would you want to take the last shot in a game.
trade deng or whatever but the man put in his work
come on people do u really think deng was worth that big contract,not at all very overrated.We need to use the 16th pick for the kid out of north carolina the shooting guard wayne ellington at 6’4″ a tremendous shooter we cant go wrong
you guys keep saying ben gordon isn’t worth 10 million, he lead the bulls in scoring the last 3 seasons. what have deng done, besides sat on the bench with a suit on. ben gordon also played with a hamstring in the playoffs. he is comitted to the bulls and he need to be rewarded. stop talking about size and open up his chest and look how big his heart is.
Ben Gordon is one of the best scorers in the league, how many big shots he made in that Boston series and for his short career. I like Kirk but him and Mr. soft (Deng) has to go. But them in a package deal and maybe we can get a post player. That would also open up some cap to try and sign Carlos Boozer. Forget about 2010 it’s not promise the bulls will get Wade Bosh or any of those free agents. the Bulls has two good drafts picks they can also offer, they have a lot to play with too make a big move.
im tired of this talk about Ben he wants to move on because of the money and a ring and this is what the bulls should do to win a tittle try hareder and dont loose hope the bulls are still one of the best teams in the nba i dont care what no one says we just got to keep trying