They were merely fine, then they were world-beaters, then they were the basketball version of a dog trying to walk around with a cone on its head, and now they seem back to themselves.

This All-Star break has been a nice respite from an emotional roller coaster of a season for the Bulls. Let’s briefly look back at the season thus far.

Team record: 34-20, .630 win %, third best record in the East and tenth overall. For context, their records at the All-Star break under Tom Thibodeau are 38-16 (2011), 27-8 (2012, lockout season), 30-22 (2013) and 27-25 (2014).

Best win of the season nominees:

October 29th- The 104-80 opening blowout in New York. It was a fantastic way to start the season, as the Bulls depth and weaponry were on full display in the Garden against a Knicks team that hadn’t yet been exposed as terrible.

November 17th- Coming back to beat the Clippers 105-89 in Los Angeles. The Bulls erased a 14 point deficit before halftime, despite Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol being in street clothes. Jimmy Butler played the entire second half, and countered his 6-17 shooting with eight assists, ten free throw attempts and smothering defense. Probably Kirk Hinrich’s best game of the year, as he hit 4-6 from three and added five assists in 34 minutes in Rose’s absence.

December 19th- Going into the Grindhouse on the second end of a back-to-back sans Rose and Taj Gibson and coming out of it with a 103-97 win. The Bulls got little offensively from their starters, as Gasol scored just six points, while Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy notched just five apiece. Picking up the slack was Butler, with 31 points and 10 boards in 43 minutes. This game is best known as Nikola Mirotic’s breakout performance, as he hit all six triples en route to 27 points, essentially rendering ground-bound Zach Randolph unplayable.

December 23rd- A night after handling the Raptors again, the Bulls had to travel to Washington for their first regular season meeting since their playoff series. Chicago tapped into their old emotional identity as opposed to their newfound offensive firepower, handling the Wizards most of the night until John Wall took over and had the place rocking. Rose tapped into his old MVP form and took the air right out of the building, famously strut-skipping back to the bench after a big basket.

The Derrick Rose Skip https://t.co/O7woag5hne

— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 24, 2014

January 22nd- Having lost four out of five, the Bulls came out on national TV and steamrolled the defending champion Spurs, 104-81. There weren’t any virtuoso individual performances and the Spurs were somewhat flat, but this game helped quiet down the buzz that had begun to hover over the Bulls in their malaise to start 2015.

January 27th- With Jimmy Butler sidelined, the Bulls lived up to their Streakbusters moniker, snapping Golden State’s 19 game home winning streak, becoming the first team from the East to defeat the Warriors. It wasn’t pretty, as the teams combined for 17-62 from three, and the Warriors didn’t hit a single triple after halftime. It was an intriguing contrast of styles, as the Dubs were forced to go small in Andrew Bogut’s absence, so at times coach Steve Kerr doubled down, going super small against Thibs’ super big lineups with Mirotic at small forward. This one inspired a stats-versus-eye test debate, as Rose infamously posted 11 turnovers and didn’t tally an assist until a shocking Curry turnover led to Rose finding Hinrich amid the chaos for his only made three in six attempts. Just 13-33 shooting, Rose carried an ineffective Bulls offense and hit the game-winner in overtime with a difficult 20-footer over Klay Thompson.

The winner- It comes down to Washington or Golden State. The Warriors game relied on their opponent missing shots, but featured an iconic summation of the Derrick Rose Experience. The Wizards game saw an impressive and focused effort, plus heroics from Rose, however, it’s been retroactively tainted by the way Washington has trumped them since that night. The edge goes to the win in Oracle, buoyed by a sneaky 18/15/6 line from Joakim Noah and that one could sense Thibs flipping off every single hater as Kirk hit the pivotal shot after bricking everything all night.

Worst loss: In a category certainly not lacking for candidates, the loss in L.A. takes the cake. In the words of Stefon, this game had everything: Pau being lazy on defense, Rose taking awful threes, Kirk being useless and Thibs neglecting to play Mirotic, all in a super-sized portion as the loss came in double overtime, caused by a giant choke by the Lakers at the end of regulation and the Bulls repaying the favor in the first overtime.

The good, the bad, everything in between, it’s all in the rearview mirror now, just as it is for every team, contenders and tankers alike. Here’s what the homestretch holds for the Bulls.

Schedule:

The Bulls have defeated 13 of the 14 teams in the West that they have played. They’ve yet to play OKC and lost 99-93 to the Suns in Phoenix. By my count, the Bulls are one of eight teams still capable of notching victories over all 30 teams (ATL, CHI, CLE, DAL, GS, MEM, SA, TOR), something only Oklahoma City was able to pull off last year. To complete the feat, the Bulls need to win Saturday versus Phoenix, at least split against OKC and then win the regular season finale against Atlanta, who may have wrapped up the #1 seed long before then.

As for rest, the Bulls are done with road trips west of Texas. OKC and San Antonio are the only Western teams the Bulls have yet to visit. After having five back-to-backs in the month leading up to the break, only five back-to-backs await Chicago in the remaining two months of the regular season, with a four-in-five-nights stretch of OKC/@IND/off/@SA/MEM in early March representing the toughest stretch by far.

The Bulls have nine national TV games on tap, the first three at home, the last four on the road. All four Sunday games left for the Bulls will be on ABC.

The Players:

Derrick Rose- The restrictions have slowly been lifted and he’s answered the bell. In his last ten games, he’s averaging over 36 minutes, and it’s clear he’s only going to play under 30 minutes in absolute blowouts, such as the win over New Orleans. In the 2014 portion of the season, he scored 20 points on nine occasions and was inactive for ten. Since the calendar turned to 2015, he’s had 11 games with 20 points and missed just one contest.

Whether you believe the report or not, it’s pretty crazy to think back about the story that Rose had to prove to Carmelo Anthony that he was healthy during Melo’s free agent tour. Imagine telling someone a year ago that Rose would play more games by the All-Star break than Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard or Dwight Howard. It’s a good reminder that even with medical histories, predicting the health of athletes is nigh impossible.

Jimmy Butler- He’s not the MVP candidate he was to start the season, but he’s not the guy who struggled mightily after that either. He’s somewhere in-between, and that’s really all the Bulls need. He can still dial up the defense (ask James Harden), and he’s hitting enough threes (34.2%) to supplement his drives to the rim and the offense overall.

Joakim Noah- Appears to have been on point when he said he felt better. His points, rebounds and assists are up, and not just because of a slight minutes bump. If he’s right, all the concerns about the on-court chemistry will mostly solve themselves. A hampered Noah is a tough player to watch. A healthy Noah is one of the most valuable players in the sport.

Pau Gasol- At this point, we know what Pau is. He’s playing a ton of minutes for a seven-footer his age, but he hasn’t worn down as some expected, at least not yet. It sounds weird to say about a guy who started in the All-Star Game, but the Bulls season doesn’t really hinge on Pau. By that, I mean he’s not as important as Rose and Noah, and arguably Butler, and conversely, while there are times Taj Gibson or Mirotic should be playing instead of him, Pau being on the floor isn’t going to cost them games in the way Carlos Boozer could.

Mike Dunleavy- His absence showed all of the areas he shores up for Chicago. He’s easily the most threatening shooter on the rosterm and by always moving around the floor he churns the offense, preventing it from getting stale as things often can under Thibs.

Taj Gibson- For whatever reason, he just hasn’t been the destructive, game-changing force we’re used to seeing as recently as the Wizards series. Could be his continued sixth-man role finally getting to him, or more likely that his continual ankle injuries have him hobbled. The Bulls need more out of Taj, but I’m not overly concerned about him.

Kirk Hinrich-Needs to be a limited minutes guy, solely at backup point sharing minutes with Aaron Brooks. However, despite numerous ways of examination showing Kirk having one of the worst offensive seasons in recent memory, it appears it’ll be business as usual upon his return from injury. In a way I feel bad for him because we know that he knows he’s not meant to play as much as he does, if nothing else because his body can’t handle it at his age. Unfortunately, he plays for a coach who believes injuries are for the weak and that fatigue sliders can be turned off.

Tony Snell- He’s obviously not going to maintain the play that inspired me to make this:

GIVE THIS MAN A STATUE pic.twitter.com/iE7DkFJZRQ

— Trenton Jocz (@TrentonJocz) February 13, 2015

However, there’s not a single reason imaginable to relegate Snell back to the bench. If Thibs does, it’ll be the most egregious offense of his entire tenure.

Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott- Though Niko plays much more than McDermott, I’ve grouped them together because it just seems clear that Thibs isn’t going to use either of them come playoff time. The 96 big man minutes will get absorbed by the Noah/Gasol/Gibson trio, leaving Mirotic fending for small forward opportunities that Thibs would prefer to give to Snell. What a shame.

Playoff Outlook:

Best case scenario for the Bulls is to get into the 2-3 matchup with the Raptors, the contender they’ve had the most success against. Predicting their first-round opponent is a fool’s errand, considering it could be determined by the health of Dwyane Wade and Paul George. Their returns for Miami and Indiana would make the Bucks the most enviable 6-8 seed to play, rather than the least, as they are at the moment. Getting the Raptors while the Hawks, Cavs and Wizards duke it out on the other side of the bracket would be a dream. Anything short of the conference finals would be a huge disappointment. I still trust their size and experience to get them to the Finals, where I think a better coached, more complete team will defeat them in a tough series.

The post Bulls Season Reset: What’s Happened and What Lies Ahead appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

With Carlos Boozer amnestied and Anthony Randolph traded, the Bulls finally had the cap space to officially sign their big additions of the offseason, Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.

First, you put the pen to the paper… @nikolamirotic12 pic.twitter.com/Vz3dIBe8Eq

— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 18, 2014

…then each had their own press conference this morning with the media.

Highlight’s of Mirotic’s session:

Mirotic spoke in multiple languages, with his agent interpreting the more intricate English questions from reporters for him.

According to the Bulls website, they also signed a Paul Gasol!:

When asked about Mirotic’s ability to stretch the floor and the role of stretch fours in today’s game, Tom Thibodeau began his answer referring to Nikola’s drive and work ethic, because of course he did.

He directly noted that he wanted to improve his “physical,” referring to his strength and conditioning that he knows he will have to build up to succeed at the NBA level.

As for his plans the rest of the offseason, Mirotic said he’d return to Madrid to pack up with his family and go back to Montenegro to train with his personal trainer. He plans to return to Chicago in August and get here early to prepare for the season.

On why this was the summer to finally come to the NBA, Mirotic said many expected him to stay another year with Real Madrid since his contract hadn’t expired, as well as the Final Four for their league being held in Madrid next year.

Thibs cracked a smile when asked how his Spanish was, and compared it to coaching Yao in Houston. He jokingly said Yao understood him when it was praise but not when it was criticism or coaching, and said having Pau will help with the transition.

Mirotic confirmed he had not met Gasol until yesterday.

After answering questions, Mirotic posed for the press with his number 44 jersey. Note the Gar derpface:

An hour later, at 12:30 P.M. Central time, Gasol took the stage.

Before turning it over to Pau, GM Gar Forman said their goals of the offseason were to improve by getting deeper and add to their ability to shoot from outside. He also noted how important Derrick Rose’s health is and is optimistic about Derrick’s progress, specifically saying it’s “terrific” watching him play. Forman also said they got “good news” and took a bit of a pause, setting up the potential for breaking news, but no, the “good news” was just Kirk Hinrich staying with the Bulls despite competitive offers from other teams. He finished by noting that Pau has All-NBA and All-Star nods on his record, but that his championship background was important and a real fit.

Pau said he can’t wait to start working. Careful what you wish for, especially with Thibs sitting right next to you.

Asked which Bulls he talked to, Pau confirmed he met with Joakim Noah when Chicago’s contingent recruited in L.A., but also revealed he spoke with Rose on the phone, discussing how Rose felt physically and his feelings about having Pau come to Chicago, which Pau called very positive and encouraging. He said Mike Dunleavy also reached out to him, as did owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

He later lauded the humility of Rose and Noah. “Very important to not have big egos, makes things a lot easier. Their passion and hunger as well. They’re hungry to win…to be a part of a team that ll do whatever it takes.”

On his many suitors, which included staying with the Lakers, or going to San Antonio or Oklahoma City: “No decision was going to be a bad decision for me.”

About playing for a prestigious franchise and in The House That Jordan Built: “It wasn’t part of my decision,” but he did call MJ his idol, saying he had posters of him in his room. He emphasized again that that wasn’t part of his decision, and that he “thought cerebrally,” as well as with his gut on where to sign.

When asked to repeat an answer he had just given in Spanish, the entire room laughed as he paused trying to remember exactly what he had just said.

KC Johnson asked him about minutes management, to which Gasol said: “We’ll see, have to manage a bit.” He said he’ll talk with Thibs about it and “can’t predetermine too much but have an idea.” He mentioned paying more attention to detail to minutes as he gets older.

On playing against the Bulls: “Always had to respect, had your work cut out for you… have to match their intensity and physicality to have a chance,” adding that he respected their character.

Asked about playing in front of “better” basketball fans, as opposed to the sterotypical L.A. fan: “Laker fans were really good to me…can’t say one bad word.”

Having been through it himself, Pau was asked what the transition from Europe to the U.S. will be like for Mirotic. He said it will be an adjustment year and he will be homesick, but that playing on a competitive team will help, as will the Serbian community in Chicago. He said his family coming to Memphis made it much easier for him, and that “I’ll try to help him out as much as I can.”

Referring to his interest in medicine, Pau said he will contact hospitals to help out and work with, noting that it’s very rewarding to him to help kids. Later, a clueless reporter said this was the first he’d heard of Pau’s medical background, and asked what he can do to help Derrick’s knees. He answered the question respectfully and said “Hopefully there’s no need for anything.”

Why he signed with the Bulls over other contenders: “Money obviously wasn’t the priority here.” He said he prioritized being on a championship quality team and the chance to put that team over the top. “Here I was gonna have that opportunity,” later adding “I think we have all the pieces. It’s not easy…we can make it happen but it’s a process.”

When asked later about why the Bulls over the Spurs specifically: “San Antonio was another great option, but now it’s I’m here and that what i want to focus on. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, I have to put them behind me. This was the team i wanted to be a part of.”

On leaving Kobe Bryant: “It was difficult. we have a close friendship…I’m sure I’ll miss him…but our friendship goes beyond basketball. He was supportive and understood…that’s what friends and brothers do and that’s what we are.”

Asked if he talked to Carmelo Anthony: “We talked. we talked on the phone…if you could have made a difference to come to the Lakers or not, or stay in New York or signing here, things could have changed but those are hypotheticals.”

Pau acknowledged the colder weather. “Maybe my wardrobe will have to change,” he said.

On championship experience: Noting Thibs has won as well, “I think we can send the message, what does it feel like, what does it take.”

He somewhat side-stepped the question of if the Bulls are a title-or-bust team, but did say:”If I didn’t believe we had that potential, I don’t think i would have come here.”

He didn’t commit either way when asked if he would start, saying “we’ll figure it out as we go along.”

Pau finished posing with his number 16 jersey, which he will continue to wear with the Bulls:

The post Bulls Introduce Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Once Charlotte, the other main suitor for Kirk Hinrich, signed Brian Roberts, it seemed to be a fait accompli that the veteran would return to Chicago yet again, though hope remained another team might jump in. Those hopes were quickly dashed by Adrian Wojnarowski:

Charlotte had been pursuing free agent Kirk Hinrich, but belief is that he's destined to sign with Bulls, league sources tell Yahoo.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 13, 2014

That was quickly followed by David Aldridge:

Kirk Hinrich has re-signed with the Bulls, per source.

— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 13, 2014

The news was met with this reaction by about 90% of Bulls fans:

Details aren’t available yet, other than Aggrey Sam noting that the deal is for more than the minimum, and KC Johnson saying the terms are somewhat flexible until the Bulls are sure of how to sequence the transactions involving Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic, as well as the probable amnesty of Carlos Boozer. If Kirk were to make the veteran’s minimum, the league pays a portion of it so teams are not discouraged from adding veterans whose minimum salary is higher than those of younger players. By signing Hinrich for more than the minimum, the Bulls are now responsible for all of his salary.

KC noted, as he has before, that the Bulls feel Hinrich is the perfect complement to Derrick Rose. Maybe he was in his last stint with the Bulls, but he’s not that player anymore:

-As John Wall showed in the playoffs, Kirk can’t relieve defensive pressure off of Rose because he can no longer stick with fast point guards.

-He’s shot 38.6% from the field since coming back to Chicago. Other than Miami’s Norris Cole, Kirk had the worst PER in the entire league among point guards who played 20 minutes per game last year.

-Also, a dependable backup behind Rose is a necessity, but Hinrich has missed nearly 15 games a year since his age 30 season, and even more if one dates back to his injury-plagued 2008-2009 season. Either way, he’s missed at least seven games each of the last eight seasons, which means a back-up is still needed for the back-up.

The post Bulls Fulfill Their Destiny And Re-Sign Kirk Hinrich appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

From Flickr via Keith Allison

Since they traded Luol Deng away for essentially nothing but draft picks, Chicago Bulls fans have been clamoring about the possibility of Carmelo Anthony signing in the offseason. The story has been built up for months with reports of Joakim Noah recruiting Anthony, Anthony’s desire to win a ring, Anthony’s admiration of head coach Tom Thibodeau, and, in recent weeks, Anthony’s indecision about playing for a title with a pay cut in Chicago or taking the money and hope Phil Jackson is as good as he claims in New York.

Carmelo Anthony preferred the latter. Every major reporter is now confirming Frank Isola’s initial report from several days ago that Anthony will rejoin the New York Knicks. There are various reasons why Anthony’s decision may have come today instead of Thursday like Isola reported. The three most likely reasons are: 1) the Bulls’s late push had him second guessing his initial decision; 2) the Knicks refused to play ball on a sign and trade; 3) Anthony didn’t want his decision to clash with Lebron James.

It’s hard to fault Anthony for staying in New York. Though he wants to win a title it’s incredibly difficult to uproot your family and comfortability, leave your childhood favorite team, and turn down $129 million over 5 years for the unknown. Chicago may have provided the best shot at a title for him, but as we’ve seen anything can happen in the NBA and nothing is guaranteed… except the money.

The future for both the Knicks and Bulls look completely different at the moment.

At present the Knicks look like a fringe playoff team at best as Cleveland, Indiana, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Charlotte, Toronto, and Miami should all be better than them. But the future may look different for New York as many bad contracts come off the books next offseason. Despite his tenure with the Knicks started off rocky by failing to get Steve Kerr as a coach, Phil Jackson can use that open cap space to lure bigger name free agents to the Big Apple and point to the fact that a superstar has bought into his and Derek Fisher’s vision.

Meanwhile the Bulls seem to be closing in on a deal with Pau Gasol which gives Chicago arguably the best front court with Noah, Gasol, and Taj Gibson and easily the best passing front court duo in Noah and Gasol. With Nikola Mirotic on the horizon and Doug McDermott now on the roster, the Bulls should have some floor spacing as well. At present it isn’t known if the Bulls will sign Gasol outright or via a sign and trade. The means by which Chicago acquires him will affect their ability to add scoring on the wing, an major issue for Chicago for the past four years. In either case though the Bulls should be a top 3 team in the Eastern Conference, provided Derrick Rose can remain healthy.

The Bulls are still juggling a lot of free agent options at once so this offseason is far from done. At this point at least Chicago has some clarity and can make swift moves to set the team up to make a run to the NBA finals in a wide open Eastern Conference.

The post Carmelo Anthony Rejoins New York Knicks appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Today’s free agency news has thus far been incredibly hectic. The news has broken Lebron James will be returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, almost immediately after news broke that Chris Bosh and the Houston Rockets are working to get a deal done as soon as possible, Kevin Love is now intrigued by the Cavaliers and would welcome a trade there, and the Houston Rockets are now looking to trade Jeremy Lin. All of this chaos has put Carmelo Anthony’s decision on the back-burner.

However Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report tweeted out that the Los Angeles Lakers are eliminated from contention to land Carmelo Anthony’s service and the decision comes down to the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. Stephen A Smith confirmed the report.

A source close to Melo: Down to NY & CHI. Was some thinking early on Melo & Bron could play together but now Melo decision could come today.

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) July 11, 2014

1 exec on maybe CHI fit: “Noah is a great guy/teammate, as important to Melo as Rose. Also don’t forget CAA connection. Thib’s represented.”

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) July 11, 2014

.@stephenasmith backed up what I tweeted this morning: down to New York & Chicago for Melo. If Melo to CHI, ESPN “Midwest Index” to come?

— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) July 11, 2014

Seeing the Lakers eliminated from contention is not shocking in the slightest. Though they could offer a maximum deal, Anthony’s annual salary would be less than it would have been in New York and he would have been entering a team with a worse chance to make the postseason than New York.

At this point there is no information known regarding which way Anthony is leaning, however a decision should be coming soon as free agency dominoes are starting to fall rapidly.

The post Free Agency Dominoes Falling- Carmelo Anthony Eliminates Lakers appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

UPDATE (6:15 PST)- Ken Berger of CBS Sports has just tweeted out confirmation that Carmelo Anthony is still giving the Chicago Bulls consideration. With how quickly the news has been coming out within the past 24 hours regarding Anthony’s decision, we could be approaching a final decision in the near future.

The Bulls are still under consideration for Carmelo Anthony, a person familiar with his thinking tells @CBSSports.

— Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) July 11, 2014

—-END UPDATE—-

Free agency is perhaps one of the most maddening things in all of sports, particularly when a superstar just can’t seem to make up his mind. Yesterday Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported that Carmelo Anthony had made up his mind to return to the New York Knicks, barring a last second change of heart. In the past 24 hours no reporter was able to confirm that story with most indicating that front offices said they hadn’t been notified of anything. Today’s news indicates that change of heart may have indeed occurred. On a podcast, ESPN’s Stephen A Smith indicated that the Bulls were back in serious contention to land the services of Carmelo Anthony. Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald is now tweeting out confirmation of that report. In addition to confirmation, McGraw is also reporting that Tom Thibodeau is active in trying to recruit Carmelo Anthony.

Hearing the Stephen A. Smith report is accurate. Carmelo may have been leaning elsewhere, but regained interest in #Bulls. — Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHBulls) July 11, 2014

Hearing Tom Thibodeau is playing a major role in keeping Carmelo Anthony interested in Bulls. — Mike McGraw (@McGrawDHBulls) July 10, 2014

It’s a little shocking to see Thibodeau so actively recruiting in free agency. But if Thibodeau really is active in attempting to recruit Melo, a change of heart may not be too surprising. Anthony has been vocal in his admiration of Thibodeau and his desire to go into Thibodeau’s system. In addition to selling himself, Thibodeau is also able to sell Chicago’s ability to contend immediately which is something neither the Los Angeles Lakers nor New York Knicks can offer. These reports that Carmelo Anthony is giving the Bulls consideration again could end up leading nowhere and Isola’s original report that he’s heading back to New York may end up being right. But of course no decision has yet to be made and the story is every changing. We’ll keep you updated as more news and rumors become available.

The post Newer Report- Carmelo Anthony Considering the Bulls Again appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

UPDATE (2:16 PST)- KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune also tweeted out that the Chicago Bulls haven’t been told anything.

FWIW, and obviously a fluid story, but Bulls haven’t been told they’re not getting Carmelo Anthony as of yet.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 9, 2014

The door is still partially open but the scenario could very well be similar to Dwight Howard’s free agency situation last offseason in which he made a decision but teams were not informed at the time the news broke.

———-

UPDATE (1:16 PST)- Mark Medina of the LA Daily News is now tweeting sources say there is no decision made yet.

Source close to Carmelo Anthony insists “there is no decision yet.” Adds “still up in the air.” — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 9, 2014

This remains a continuing trend of conflicting reports this offseason. While it is more than likely Isola is correct, it seems the door hasn’t completely closed just yet.

———-

After months of chatter and a quiet free agency, it seems we have the first real news of the NBA offseason- Carmelo Anthony plans to stay with the New York Knicks. The story was first reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

A person close to Anthony told The News on Wednesday that barring a last minute change of heart Anthony will re-sign with the Knicks after “agonizing over this” for the past week.

The news doesn’t come as too much of a shock. Though he stated a desire to play for a winning team and Chicago is widely considered the best fit for him, Carmelo Anthony has expressed that it would be difficult to uproot his family and leave New York. The addition of Phil Jackson certainly helped matters for New York as his addition gave the organization a sense of direction for the first time in years. Following the release of the report, Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted out the following:

Within Anthony’s circle, belief’s been this, sources tell Y: Get NY’s $129M now, figure out destination later. You can always get a trade. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 9, 2014

Assuming this is true, and given the source it likely is, it seems Anthony did not learn from forcing a trade from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks.

The writing isn’t in stone yet but given the two sources reporting the story it seems the Bulls have struck out on a superstar free agent once again. The Chicago front office will shift their attention to other options in the coming days and may possibly explore a trade for Kevin Love.

We’ll update you more on the story as more news becomes availableC

The post Report- Carmelo Anthony to Stay With the New York Knicks appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The Chicago Bulls finally announced their roster for this year’s Las Vegas Summer League, officially becoming the last team to do so. The Bulls will feature their three most recent draft picks- Tony Snell, Doug McDermott, and Cameron Bairstow- along side a group of players who went undrafted or play in the NBA D-League. The team will be coached by assistant coach Adrian Griffin.

Last year the Las Vegas Summer League switched to a tournament format and will stick with it once more this year. The Bulls will play the Los Angeles Clippers on 7/12, Denver Nuggets on 7/13, and Minnesota Timberwolves on 7/15. The Bulls will be seeded in the “playoff bracket” according to their performance in their three games.

The post Chicago Bulls Announce Summer League Roster appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

According to KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Bulls’s head athletic trainer, Fred Tedeschi has left the Chicago Bulls to become the head trainer at Oregon State University. Presumably his decision is to remain close to his daughter who is going to be attending OSU in the fall.

Athletic trainer Fred Tedeschi, hired by Jerry Krause on Aug. 6, 1998, has left Bulls for a college position.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 8, 2014

Athletic trainer Fred Tedeschi left Bulls after 16 years to take position at Oregon State, where his daughter is enrolled.

— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 8, 2014

The organization may view the loss of Tedeschi as a major loss, especially considering he won the Fred O’Toole Trainer of the Year award for the 2012-2013 NBA season. Bulls fans, however, are generally cheering Tedeschi moving on to a new job. Since Tom Thibodeau took over the Bulls, Tedeschi has notably cleared many players to resume playing in games after they sustained serious injuries (ex- clearing Omer Asik to resume play in the 2011 playoffs after sustaining a broken leg). Perhaps the only thing Bulls fans seem to be mourning is the loss of the #FredClearedHim running joke online.

It’ll be interesting to see who the Bulls hire in the coming weeks/months, especially given Rose’s recent health issues.

The post Trainer Fred Tedeschi No Longer With the Bulls appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

UPDATE (9:54 AM)- Some reports are indicating that the buyout with Real Madrid could be spread out over the life of Mirotic’s contract if Real Madrid are willing. In order to get bird rights, Mirotic’s deal will likely be 3 years in length. With a $2.5 million of the buyout set to affect Chicago’s cap the Bulls could, in theory, only see an additional cap hit of $833,333 per year if spread out equally over the life of the contract. Though everything depends on what kind of contract Mirotic and the Bulls agree upon, being able to spread the cap hit over time could help Chicago land a guy like Carmelo Anthony.

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When the Chicago Bulls drafted Nikola Mirotic, the supposed best player not in the NBA, back in 2011 the same question has always rolled off Bulls fans’ tongues whenever discussing him- “When will he finally come play for Chicago?” Today, we finally have an answer. According to multiple reporters, the Bulls have agreed to pay Mirotic’s $3 million buyout with his European club Real Madrid freeing up the Montenegrin phenomenon to make the jump to the NBA. No contract has been agreed upon between Mirotic and the Bulls at this point but it seems to only be a matter of time before a deal is reached.

Of Mirotic’s massive buyout, the Bulls can only pay $600,000 without having an effect on their cap space. Thus any deal the Bulls make will impact the Bulls as they pursue Carmelo Anthony. Bringing over Mirotic doesn’t take the Bulls out of the running for Carmelo Anthony but it does make the situation more interesting as Mirotic cannot be traded until 30 days after signing his contract. The signing could be an indication that the Bulls don’t believe they can get Anthony to leave New York or it could mean they believe they can get both. With all of the superstars still deciding what to do, the free agent market remains shrouded in fog. We will have more on Mirotic’s deal and it’s potential impact on Chicago’s plans as more news emerges.

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