Here is a brief look at some of the news since the draft through this first day of free agency:

• LaMarcus Aldridge wants out of Portland
  It was reported shortly before the draft that Aldridge wants out of Portland and would like to be traded to the Chicago Bulls. The Trailblazers have listened to offers but nothing is imminent. Portland and Chicago have had brief discussions but would like Joakim Noah and are not interested in Carlos Boozer or Luol Deng. Unless one side is willing to budge talks will seemingly remain at a standstill.
• Andrea Bargnani traded to the New York Knicks
  This doesn’t have anything to do with Chicago except for the fact that it takes out the possibility of Chicago trading for Bargnani as they had tried to do earlier this year. The Knicks will be sending Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, a future first round pick, and two future second round picks in exchange for the former number one pick.
• Kyle Korver is “in the bag” for the Brooklyn Nets
  ESPN’s Marc Stein tweeted out that one rival GM believes the Nets have Kyle Korver “in the bag.” Nothing has been finalized or announced from either party but, if true, this is a huge blow to the Bulls and huge win for the Nets. Korver is one of the more coveted shooters this offseason and previously expressed interest in returning to Chicago. Last season he posted the second best three point shooting percentage, fourth best true shooting percentage, and had a top 10 offensive rating. His skill set could once again improve Chicago’s miserable three point shooting and help spread the floor. Given Brooklyn’s financial situation, if Korver were to sign with them it means he was willing to accept the mini-Mid Level Exception, something the Bulls could easily have offered him.
• The Bulls’s Summer League roster is taking shape
  Chicago’s Summer League roster is quickly taking shape. Tony Snell, Erik Murphy, Marquis Teague, and Malcolm Thomas will all be on the roster. Aggrey Sam reported Luke Harangody, Andy Rautins, Ryan Allen (Tony Allen’s brother), and Charles Boozer (yes, the brother of Carlos Boozer) are all expected to be on the team. Mike McGraw indicated Andrew Goudelock may be on the team as well (which could explain a tweet he sent out early in the morning).
• The contract of head assistant coach Ron Adams was not renewed
  As reported by the Chicago Tribune the Bulls will not be renewing Ron Adams’s contract for the 2013-2014 season. Adams is a close friend and has been the head assistant coach to Tom Thibodeau and has been working on one year deals since coming to Chicago. As of now Chicago has no replacement for him. There is speculation that this move has caused some rift between general manager Gar Foreman and Thibodeau. According to a tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski, the “relationship between [the] Bulls’ GM and coach is easily the worst in the NBA.” Just perfect.
• Bulls linked to Mo Williams, Will Bynum, John Lucas III, and Monta Ellis
  According to a report from Shams Charania the Bulls have had exploratory talks with Mo Williams and Will Bynum. As of now there is no news as to how serious the talks are but they do fit in with the rumors that Nate Robinson’s days in Chicago are done. Mo Williams may be out of Chicago’s price range as he made over $8 million last year and has expressed he wants to play in a starter role (aka- significant minutes). The Bulls have also been linked to John Lucas III. JL3 was recently released by the Toronto Raptors and can likely be had for a minimum deal to replace Robinson. Lastly, Ken Berger reported the Bulls have had talks with Monta Ellis. Ellis is looking for a deal around $10 million or more and is more than likely out of Chicago’s price range.
• The Bulls are pursuing Mike Dunleavy Jr. with the mini-Mid Level Exception
  Adrian Wojnarowski recently tweeted out that the “Bulls [are] pursuing Mike Dunleavy Jr. with the mini-mid level [exception].” By adding Dunleavy Jr. the Bulls would be adding some much needed shooting to the roster. Last season Dunleavy shot a strong 42.8% from beyond the arc while posting up a 57.7% true shooting percentage and 54.5% effective field goal percentage. Should he pick up Thibodeau’s system, Dunleavy could prove to be a defensive upgrade over the options Chicago had last year (ex- Marco Belinelli). The current situation is fluid and nothing is imminent.
  
  UPDATE 7/1 by Avi Saini, 4:35 PST- According to a Twitter update from Wojnarowski, the Bulls are the frontrunners to land Dunleavy’s services. The sides are discussing a 2 year, $6 million deal. K.C. Johnson also tweeted out that both sides are confident a deal can be reached.

  UPDATE 7/1 by Avi Saini, 5:25 PST- According to a tweet by ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Bulls and Dunleavy have verbally agreed a 2 year $6 million deal. No other details about the deal are known at this time.

We will keep you updated as more news becomes available.

The post 2013 Free Agency Roundup- Day 1 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

But that consistency will be gone this upcoming year, with many of the wins possibly going with it. The Bulls got rid of almost their entire Bench Mob, save for Taj Gibson. C.J Watson, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and John Lucas are all gone. All of the starters will be back, with the exception of Derrick Rose who will miss much of the season recovering from his ACL injury (Luol Deng could also miss time).

Let’s take a look at who is going and who is staying on this Bulls team, and what that could mean.

Who’s gone?
Omer Asik: Omer Asik is probably the toughest bench player to say goodbye to, at least for me. His defense was game-changing, even if his stamina was nonexistent. Asik’s 92 defensive rating was best on the team and his ability to alter shots while not fouling was better than most centers in the league. But with that great defense also came terrible offense and even worse hands. Asik posted the worst offensive rating on the team (97), lower than even Brian Scalabrine. The poison pill contract from Houston made it so that the Bulls would really have to invest in Asik, and the worst hands in the NBA. For a guy who played just 14.7 minutes per game, that $15 million in year three was too much. But Chicago is definitely going to miss his defense off the bench, and will miss him even more so if Joakim Noah goes down with an injury. They will also surely miss his eerie similarity to Linguini from Ratatouille.

Ronnie Brewer: Ronnie Brewer’s second year with Chicago was worse than his first, but Brewer still brought defense and intensity whenever he was on the floor. Much like Asik, Brewer was a great defensive player that didn’t have much offensive talent. He started the season shooting really well (64 percent from the field, perfect from deep in four games in December), only to quickly regress to the mean. Ronnie’s end of the year numbers were as ugly as his jumper looks. Brewer finished the year shooting just 42.7 percent from the field, and 27.5 from three (both worse than 2010-2011). His offensive rating and defensive rating also fell this season compared to last one. His defense rating was only slightly worse, going from a 98 to a 99, while his offensive rating fell seven points, to 103. Brewer’s true shooting percentage fell from 51.8 in 2010-2011 to 46.5 this season.  He was a great slasher on offense, but he didn’t have a good jumper and was also really great at missing open dunks. He was let go because the Bulls think they have a replacement in second-year player Jimmy Butler. With Asik and Brewer, the Bulls were often looking to play to a 0-0 tie while these guys were in. Brewer’s defense will be missed, but Butler could fill in the role quite well (we will get to him in the next section).

Kyle Korver: The women of Chicago are taking this one incredibly hard. Kyle made the ladies swoon with his looks. And made Stacey King freak out every time he hit a three pointer. Korver was never anything much more than a shooter though, and for a few stretches last season, he wasn’t even that. His 101 defensive rating was one of the worst on the Bulls (he did beat Rip Hamilton’s 104, though; so there’s that). But his offensive rating (120) was tied for best on the team, with Joakim Noah. He shot 43.5 percent from deep, and his 57.5 effective field goal percentage was best on the squad. Unlike the first two guys, Korver didn’t excel at defense, but with the other bench players, this deficiency was often covered up. Korver was the perfect player to pair with Rose: a deadly spot up shooter that you never wanted to leave to help in the lane. But Rose wasn’t healthy much, and John Lucas III just doesn’t strike the same fear into opponents when he is driving down the lane. Speaking of which…

John Lucas III: JL3 was an enigma to me. Going into the year, he wasn’t expected to play many minutes, but things changed with injuries to Rose and Watson. He wasn’t terrible for a third string point guard that’s under six feet tall, but he had his problems. One of those issues was that his X button seemed to be stuck, rendering it nearly impossible for him to pass. And his small frame also didn’t do him any favors on defense, except when he became a hurdle for LeBron James (tune into the Olympics, as Lucas is rumored to be the second hurdle in lane four of the 200 meter hurdles!). Basically you never knew what you were getting from Lucas. He might shoot 28 times and score just 25 points against the Wizards, go 3-11 in a losing effort against the Blazers, or he may go 9-12 with 24 points in 26 minutes in a win over the Heat. Lucas had the utmost confidence in himself and was hustling at all times. He did more than most people expected out of a guy who played just ten minutes in the entire 2010-2011 season. Of point guards that played more than 25 games, Lucas had the ninth highest usage percentage, a little much for a third string guard. JL3 dribbled and shot too much, which was extremely frustrating, but brought a lot of excitement because of those two things as well. And it wasn’t always his fault that he shot so much, considering he wasn’t playing with the most adept offensive guys in the league. I hope JL3 gets minutes in Toronto, because he’s always fun to watch.

C.J. Watson: Watson started 25 games last season because of injuries to Derrick Rose averaging 9.7 points and 4.1 assists. Those are solid numbers, but Watson’s decision making was always iffy. Taking bad jumpers and making questionable passes were all part of the C.J. Experience. He was a good back-up point guard overall, and did a solid job trying to be a starting point guard for 25 games and fighting through injuries. In the end Watson was still a point guard that shot just 36.9 percent during his two years in Chicago (JL3 shot 39.9 percent, for comparison). He was a big reason the Bulls finished the season with the best record, but the Bulls didn’t want to pick up his $3.2 million option. That was an interesting decision, because Rose will be out most of this season, and Watson has experience leading this team. I guess someone had to leave to make room for the return of Kirk Hinrich.

Who’s staying?
Carlos Boozer: I will be holding a “Carlos Boozer was amnestied!” party when it happens. All are invited. You have to draw on your hair. From the “I Would Have Bet All My Monies Against This” department: Boozer was the healthiest Bull last season, starting all 66 games. He averaged 15.0 points on 53.2 percent shooting and 8.5 rebounds on the year. Solid numbers, but with Boozer there always seemed to be something missing. He almost exclusively shoots his jumper/fadeaway now, rarely going to the basket. According to HoopData, Boozer had 4.2 attempts at the rim per game last year, down from 6.0 attempts in 2010-2011. His attempts from 3-9 feet fell as well, while his attempts from 16-23 feet rose from 3.0 attempts per game in 2010-2011 to 4.6 last season. Boozer gets  lot of criticism (a lot of that from me), but 15 and eight is solid, even if he can’t play defense.

Jimmy Butler: Butler is the reason Brewer was expendable. He did his best Brewer impression, shooting 40.5 percent from the field, but did average 10.9 points per 36 minutes, which is solid. And after his great summer league, expect him to build on his rookie year, with his expanded minutes.

Luol Deng: Deng had his first All-Star season last year, even though his scoring dipped (15.3 last season, down from 17.4 in 2010-2011) as well as his field goal percentage (41.2 percent, down from 46 percent). Pre-All Star Break, Deng was averaging 15.9 points per game on 42 percent shooting, and 40.6 percent from three. Those numbers fell to 14.8 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting, and 33.6 percent from deep. Maybe that was fatigue from the scrunched schedule (and Thibs’ refusal to let Deng rest more than three minutes per game), or more likely, Lu battling through the wrist injury. Deng’s numbers may have been down slightly, but Thibs still leaned on Deng heavily. Lu played 39.4 minutes per game, by far the most of anyone on the team (Rose played 35.3 minutes per game, and the next closest was Joakim Noah at 30.4 minutes per game). His three point percentage did rise, from 34.5 percent to 36.7. He’s also been playing well for Great Britain during the Olympics, while playing almost all of those games as well. Lots of trade rumors surrounded Deng near the trade deadline, but he is still on the team, and will probably play heavy minutes once again this season. He may still need surgery on his wrist, which could spell an ugly start to the season for the Bulls.

Taj Gibson: The lone Bench Mob member that will be with the Bulls, is also the best Bench Mob member. The frontcourt of Gibson and Asik was scary good, protecting the rim and changing shots better than most starting frontcourts. Asik will be missed, but Gibson will continue, and now will be paired with Nazr Mohammed. Gibson’s 96 defensive rating was third best on the team, and his 109 offensive rating was top five as well. He shot 49.5 percent from the field last season, better than 2010-2011. Gibson’s percentage from 10-15 feet rose from 28.8 percent in 2010-2011 to 37.2 percent last season. His shooting at the rim and from 3-9 feet also rose slightly. Gibson is in a contract year, and will be getting a big contract soon, so hopefully he put in one of those great contract years that many guys do. The problem with Gibson, is that, going into his fourth season in the NBA, he will be 27 years old already. He may not have much room for growth, but if he improves his midrange jumper, he will soon be the starter at power forward for a team (hopefully for the Bulls, when they re-sign him and amnesty Boozer).

Rip Hamilton: Rip was supposed to be the answer at shooting guard, but was very much not. The 34 year-old Hamilton was rarely healthy, playing in just 28 games. When Rip was healthy, he shot 45.2 percent, his best percentage since 2007-2008. His passing was impressive, and his motor on offense added an interesting wrinkle in the Bulls’ offense. Ultimately though, Rip’s defensive rating of 104 was worse than his offensive rating (101), so the Bulls were losing when he was on the floor. His 13.2 PER also means he was a below average player. And if you weren’t sure if he had a poor season, you can look to earlier this summer when no one wanted to trade for him. Maybe if he is healthy he can get some sort of rhythm this season, but it’s safe to say Hamilton will be gone after his contract expires next season.

Joakim Noah: Not only were Jo’s defensive numbers good (96 defensive rating), but his offensive rating was tied for best on the team (120, with Korver). Although his points, shooting and rebounding numbers fell slightly, he recorded the highest PER of his career (19.6). He’s currently still recovering from an ankle injury that forced him out of the playoffs, and scarily, was still bothering him enough to keep him from participating for France in the Olympics. Noah missed just two games this regular season though, a big jump from missing 24 in 2010-2011. Jo’s defense and hustle helps the Bulls a ton and they’re going to need him to be healthy more than ever this year. Boozer and Noah, who played together a lot in 2011-2012, actually started to mesh, which was a good sign after a shaky (and injury plagued) first season together. Noah shot just 21.7 percent from 10-15 feet, but Finger Gunz  shot 43 percent from 16-23 feet (up from 33 percent in 2010-2011).

Derrick Rose: The only guy that’s untouchable on the roster had a tough season last year. He couldn’t get healthy, and then…well we all know what happened. Rose is going to be out for most of the next season, and won’t be 100 percent for a while after that. He is a hard worker, so he should come back just as strong, but it’s scary to think his career may have been altered by one awkward landing. Rose will be just 24 when this season starts and 25 when he (should) return to full health. He’s still approaching the prime of his career, and has time to reach that potential he was destined for.

What it means:
The Bulls’ bench helped them get a lot of wins in the regular season. They didn’t help as much in the playoffs, but were integral filling in for injuries and outplaying the opponents’ bench to stretch a lead or claw back into the game. There is no doubt Chicago will miss these guys. The injury to Rose only makes the outlook for this season more grim.

Jeff Van Gundy thinks it will be a good season for the Bulls if they win half their games. I have to agree with this, considering Rose’s absence, Deng could miss the beginning of the year, and Carlos Boozer is the starting power forward (just kidding, kind of). After two great season under Tom Thibodeau, Bulls’ fans are in for a tough one this year.

All of these moves are, apparently, part of a grand plan that the Bulls have decided upon. That plan is to hit free agency in 2014 with lots of cash and hope to land a big name free agent. That doesn’t make a ton of sense for two reasons. First, the Bulls haven’t had great luck in free agency, and banking on a free agent to sign with you, over the other 29 teams, isn’t a safe bet. Secondly, the 2014 free agent class isn’t really great. Oh, and a bonus reason: basically throwing away two full seasons for a possible free agent doesn’t seem like the best basketball plan. But it sure is a great financial plan!

Chicago had the type of team that was supposed to contend for titles for years to come. But Rose’s ACL injury changed all that. Now it seems the Bulls will struggle during 2012-2013, and are planning on conceding the 2013-2014 season as well. They may never reach that podium that they seemed so primed for just one year ago.

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Well, there really wasn’t much suspense about Rose and Gibson. Rose might end up being a Bull for life, and Gibson (unless he gets flipped in a major trade) seems to be significant part of the team’s frontcourt of the future. That and I’m sure the team is just waiting to use a headline like “The Rise of Taj.” I know I am.

It’s mildly surprising management picked up Johnson’s option, given his struggles with consistency and an iffy (at times) basketball IQ. Still, according to the salary information ShamSports, he’ll only cost the Bulls about 1.8 million next season. That’s a reasonably low-cost alternative for a backup SF, particularly one who knows the system and is familiar with his teammates. Continuity has its advantages.

It’s also possible that the new coaching staff saw enough of Johnson over the summer to think that they can transform him into a regular contributor. Everything I hear and read about Tom Thibodeau is that he’s an excellent teacher. And let’s face it, J.J.’s physical talents aren’t in question.

The post The Bulls like their options appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Whew.

In last week’s post about Noah’s worth – remember, the Bulls had offered $57 million over five years while Joakim’s camp reportedly wanted $65-70 million – I was asked in the comments section what I felt Noah should be paid. I said: “Truth be told, I think the $57 million is probably a fair [market] price. However, clearly Noah doesn’t think so. Frankly, I don’t think $70 million is fair to the Bulls. $65 million would be pushing it. I think that somewhere between $60-62 million would be a fair compromise.”

So I’m pretty happy with the $60 million figure.

It was important for the Bulls to get this done. There really is no room for a contract distraction right now, especially with Boozer’s injury. Of course, fans still hoping the Bulls would pull of a trade for Carmelo Anthony might be a little bummed. As ESPNChicago’s Nick Friedell pointed out, Noah’s new deal unofficially kills any possibility of a ‘Melo trade.

Of course, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. When this subject came up a couple weeks ago, I stated firmly that I believe Noah contributes more to winning than ‘Melo would — particularly when you consider how the Bulls are constructed — and so trading Noah and (most likely) Luol Deng for Anthony would be foolish. David Berri from The Wages of Wins Journal has the hard data (with charts!) to back that supposition up:

According to Berri: “The most productive players on the Bulls last season were Deng and Noah.  Of the team’s 36.8 Wins Produced, 19.1 – or over half – can be linked to these two players.  And Noah didn’t even play 2,000 minutes. Meanwhile, Anthony – as I noted last August (and many times before that, and also since then) – is overrated. Yes, he can score.  But his scoring is primarily due to his willingness to take many shots. He is not a particularly efficient scorer. And he doesn’t help out much with any other facet of the game.   Consequently, we should not be surprised that Melo only posted a 0.108 WP48 [Wins Produced per 48 minutes].”

And they say intangibles can’t be tracked.

Anyway, with Boozer shelved for the next two months, Noah — already the foundation of Chicago’s defense — will become the team’s primary inside scorer. Now that his financial situation is squared away, I hope Joakim is ready to step up his game.

The post Some good news: Joakim Noah has been extended appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Rather than showing up early for this year’s training camp — which begins today, by the way — Joakim Noah is showing up close to the last minute.

Not late, mind you. Just not early.

This is a semi-big deal because, as Kennedy put it, “the team likes to have its players accounted for several days, often several weeks before camp.”

Instead of raising his hand and declaring himself present, Joakim went flew to France to visit his father. And although I have no doubt Noah hearts his dad something fierce, that wasn’t really the point. Jo’s point was to inform Bulls management that he’s not happy about the “in limbo” status of his contract extension.

The Bulls have reportedly offered Noah a five-year extension worth $57 million. According to Kennedy, Noah wants $70 million over five years but would go as “low” as $65 million “because of his love for the city and organization.”

I guess love isn’t priceless. It’s worth about $5 million. Good to know.

A player showing up to training camp only on time doesn’t exactly rank among the great contract disputes in league history. However, it did lead to a weekend full of questions about Noah’s monetary value. Brendan Jackson of Celtics Hub thinks Noah doesn’t deserve $70 million because last season Boston’s Rajon Rondo signed for a “measely” $55 million. As Jackson put it: “Rajon Rondo is clearly worth more than Joakim Noah and should be paid as such one way or the other. Since Rondo has already signed his contract there is no way Noah should get 70 million.”

Ahem. Let me repeat for emphasis: Ahem. I’ll be very interested to see if that assessment holds up a few years from now when Rondo isn’t passing the ball to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and is the centerpiece of a team that can’t cover up for his poor outside shooting and inability to knock down free throws (which seriously affected the Celtics chances the 2010 NBA Finals, by the way).

But I digress.

At Bleacher Report, they’re trying to put a price on Noah’s head relative to other centers with similar Player Efficiency Rating (PER) scores.

At the risk of being dismissive, I’m going to dismiss these calculations. The Rondo versus Noah comparison is apples and oranges, and it misses cogent points. The center-to-center juxtapositions also overlook important contextual matters.

If we’re going to seriously discuss Noah’s comparitive worth, wouldn’t it make more sense to determine his value relative to the Bulls versus other teams? Clearly, Joakim wouldn’t be worth $70 million to Boston GM Danny Ainge, who has Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq at center. From that perspective, I guess I can see where Celtics Hub is coming from.

But let’s look at how the Bulls have been constructed. Presumably, Chicago’s top two scoring options are going to be Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer. These players also happen to be, potentially, the team’s biggest defensive liabilities. If you’re going to build a team around two brilliant offensive players who struggle to stay in front of their opponents, you’re going to need a big man who is equally brilliant at cleaning up his teammates’ mistakes.

Furthermore, new Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau (unless I am very much mistaken) is going to make defense the foundation of this team. Assuming he follows the formula he worked to near-perfection in Boston, he’ll need a defensive anchor: An energetic and passionate big man who can communicate, rotate, switch and help control the boards. You know, the role Kevin Garnett has played for the Celtics the last three seasons.

If the Bulls lost Noah for some reason, who do you suppose is going to fill those roles? Who’s going to have Rose and Boozer’s backs? Who’s going to anchor Thibodeau’s defensive scheme? Kurt Thomas? Omer Asik? Brian Scalabrine?

Joakim’s PER may be a few points below Rajon Rondo’s. (Although, to be fair, Noah’s PER took a hit when he got injured last season. During the early months, his PER was consistently 20+). Other centers who earn less (or even significantly less) than $14 million per year have a comparable PER.

Sure. I get that.

But what does that mean? Rondo can’t come to Chicago and play center. And there’s no reason to believe that centers with similar PER could do for the Bulls what Noah has already shown he can do.

Ergo: Noah is worth more to the Bulls than he is on the open market.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the Bulls should give in to unreasonable demands. These are negotiations, people. Hasn’t anyone ever bought a new or used car? The car has a sticker price. The salesman says he can make you an even better deal. You state firmly that you can’t pay that and make a counteroffer. The salesman says there’s no way he could go that low and makes a counteroffer of his own. You threaten to walk out of the dealership. The salesman threatens to pull his generous offer. This junk goes back and forth until a price is agreed on, after which you leave the lot with the car you wanted and the salesman earns his paycheck.

If every step of these negotiations made the newspapers and blogs, we’d all feel pretty silly. “Matt McHale wants that car for only %15,000? Is he crazy? I paid $17,000 for the same car and I’m a great negotiator…there’s no way he should pay less for that car than I did. And look at this list of other people who bought the same car. They all paid more than McHale is offering. The salesman should kick him off the lot!”

Man, I’m glad the details of my last car purchase didn’t get any press coverage. But I digress again.

Is Joakim worth $14 million per year? I don’t know. I really don’t. And it’s not for me to decide. The Bulls will decide what they are comfortable paying him. Noah will decide what he’s comfortable making. Mind you, comfort isn’t a hard figure. It’s a range, for both sides. There will be haggling. Most likely, everybody will get a little frustrated. And at some point, Noah is going to sign an extension.

To be honest, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Going into this summer, the Bulls hoarded cap space in order to radically improve the team. They then went out and used that cap space. It’s gone. Past that, we knew the team was going to have to shell out even more cash to extend Rose and Noah. In other words, the team was going to be over the cap — for years — no matter what they did. Lowballing Noah now isn’t going to benefit the Bulls. It’s not going to free up cap room that will allow them to bring in somebody who’s much better or even as good.

I”m not suggesting the Bulls should spend recklessly. Far from it. Luol Deng’s contract stands as a lasting monument to the dangers of (somewhat) dangerous spending. I just hope both sides can come to a reasonable agreement. I think Noah is worth it.

The post Joakim Noah: Worth and Consequences appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

In a move that’s not exactly stunning the basketball world, the Bulls have picked up contract options for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah for the 2010-11 season. When a team can lock up two quality players for less than $9 million combined for one season — Rose will earn a tad over $5.5 million while Noah will receive about $3.1 million — it’s kind of a no-brainer.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tyrus Thomas hasn’t received a contract extension. The Bulls have until the start of the regular season to do it, but it probably isn’t going ot happen. Read into that what you will.

Meanwhile, the Bulls have elected Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Lindsey Hunter as team captains. It’s not out-of-this world news, but I am mildly surprised that Derrick Rose wasn’t one of the captains. I mean, he is the team’s floor leader and future, right?

Anyway, here’s Captain Kirk’s feelings on the subject: “I try to take it seriously. (The job) is always different. You’ve got to know when to say things. You’ve got to always be trying to lead by example. We’ve got a lot of young guys; try to bring them a long as quickly as possible. Just try to set an example every day. For me, I try to set an example by playing hard, bringing energy, trying to play the right way. Just try to have a good feel for the team. I feel like I have a good relationship with all of the guys. It’s pretty much that simple.”

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