In ex-Chicago Bulls player news, Omer Asik of the Houston Rockets has formally requested to be traded. As some of you may recall Asik signed with the Rockets after the Chicago front office opted against matching Houston’s poison-pill contract offer during the 2012 offseason.

Asik’s request to be moved to another team has seemingly been inevitable since Dwight Howard decided to sign with the Houston Rockets this past offseason. Shortly after Howard made his decision, some reports began surfacing that Asik had requested a trade as he did not want to be relegated back into a backup role. Much to Asik’s chagrin the Rockets denied his request and he ultimately became the backup center.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Asik would not answer questions regarding his request. His agent, Andy Miller, did speak on the matter:

“I would say the situation is very frustrating right now, and we’re trying to work through it,” Miller said. “For Omer, the objective has always been to continue to develop and grow as a player. That’s why we came to Houston in the first place. If that objective can’t be met, if we can’t get the right platform to grow and contribute as a player, it’s certainly frustrating.”

Omer Asik doing his best G.O.B Bluth impression

During the 2012 NBA season, Asik started all 82 games for Houston averaging 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds in 30 minutes of action per night. Relative to last season he is having a “down” year only averaging 5.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game. Asik’s contract is structured to pay him roughly $8.3 million for this season.

As of now a trade doesn’t seem to be imminent as “a deal is more likely in months than in days.” No players have recently been linked to an Asik trade, though whispers of a Ryan Anderson for Omer Asik swap have been mentioned in the past.

New Orleans has shown strong interest in acquiring Rockets center Omer Asik, w/ an offer likely centered on Ryan Anderson, sources tell Y!

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 6, 2013

It’s likely that a similar rumor will pop up within a matter of days.

Unfortunately Chicago likely does not have the pieces needed to reacquire Asik, nor would Asik likely want to come back to Chicago to play a backup role. Regardless the situation will be an interesting one to monitor. Asik was a once (and still is) a player loved by many Bulls fans and many simply want to see him in a position to succeed in a starting role if he can’t be in a Bulls jersey once again.

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Nate Wolters- South Dakota State University
Nate Wolters was the star player for the Jackrabbits this past season and led them with very solid scoring numbers. Because of the weak conference he played in the numbers are obviously inflated, but I still believe Wolters can carve out a consistent role in the NBA. Defensively, Wolters isn’t anything great and is likely an average defender at best. To me this isn’t too much of a problem as the reason to draft Wolters lies solely with his offense. In his career at SDSU, Wolters has exhibited a great basketball IQ and rarely makes bad decisions. While his role at SDSU was to act as a scorer, his above-average court vision has allowed him to make the right play time in and time out. The biggest reason I believe Chicago should draft Wolters though is his ability to create a shot and shoot the three. As the primary offensive option in college, Wolters has developed a consistent shot off of the dribble and in spot-up situations. He’s shown that he can extend this ability to the NBA three point line. While he may not be able to use his abilities as much in the NBA given the level of players he’ll be facing, he can still be a valuable threat that helps stretch the floor. Wolters is listed as a point guard, a position the Bulls already have an overflow of. However, at 6’4 Wolters could be pushed to play a backup shooting guard role the way Kirk Hinrich occasionally does. In all likelihood, Wolters wouldn’t even see the floor his first year under Tom Thibodeau which would simply open things up for him to take over Kirk Hinrich’s role in a year.

I’m obviously very high on Wolters and would love to see the Bulls make a move to get him. Given he’d be a second round pick it’d simply be a low risk high reward move. If you’d like to read a more in depth analysis on Wolters, something I would suggest, take a look at this breakdown and comparison of Wolters’s game to Trey Burke’s by Dylan Burkhardt. In the charts, Wolters is denoted in light blue.

Dwayne Davis- Southern Missisippi
I’ll admit it… I’m a sucker for a feel good story. Nothing engrosses me more than hearing about a player who has endured hardship at a young age and has overcome all of the challenges to get into a position where they can succeed. A couple of seasons ago that player was Jimmy Butler. This year it’s Dwayne Davis. I won’t get into specifics about Davis’s past. You can read about that in Jeff Eisenberg’s post on “The Dagger.”

With only one season of college ball under his belt, it’s hard to gauge just how skilled Davis is and how he’ll perform in the NBA. From what I’ve seen though (mostly highlight films and box scores), Davis is a good ball handler who can get to the rim well and create his own shot. He also exhibits pretty good range and can help spread the floor somewhat. His abilities and statistics are likely inflated from playing in a weaker conference and there are concerns that his skills may not translate to the much more difficult NBA. However, as noted in many instances in the Eisenberg article on him, Davis is a tireless worker who has put forth the effort in recent years. Call it a hunch, but should Davis make it onto Chicago’s roster, I’m confident his drive and work ethic will make him into a solid player who can contribute to the teams success.

As of now the Bulls have already had dinner with Davis which likely shows interest on their part. All that’s left to do is see how everything pans out for Davis. Regardless of whether he’s drafted or brought in via free agency, I’d love to see the Bulls give him a chance.

The post Chicago Bulls Draft Prospects Part 3: The Possibly Hidden Gems appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich

Name: Taj Gibson
Height/Weight: 6’9″ / 225 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 4

Regular Season Stats: 65 games, 8.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.4 spg, 48.5 FG%, 67.9 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.3 spg, 47.0 FG%, 72.2 FT%

Season Grade: C

Recap:
This season Taj Gibson neither exceeded nor failed to meet the expectations people had for him. Offensively there were no major improvements. Scoring wise he continues to excel around the rim while struggling outside of the paint. His offensive per game numbers also remained relatively consistent. Defensively he continued to bring the same intensity night in and night out and, once again, his per game numbers remained the same. Gibson did experience a drop in most major advanced statistics categories; however this could be attributed to the fact that he was no longer playing along side Omer Asik. The decline can also possibly be attributed to the knee injury he sustained in the second half of the season. Overall, it was a ho-hum season for Gibson.

Future:
Gibson recently secured his long term future with the Bulls by signing a four year extension that will pay him an average of $8.25 million per year for the life of the contract. His role as the backup power forward to Carlos Boozer should remain the same but may change depending on who the Bulls draft this offseason. Personally I’d like to see Gibson moved to backup center and play behind Noah. While he is undersized Gibson is a strong option in the paint. Defensively Gibson is a solid rim defender and offensively he finishes approximately 59.4% of field goal attempts in the paint (versus 30.4% everywhere else). What the Bulls ultimately is yet to be seen.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Taj Gibson appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Chicago fans didn’t expect the Bulls to give them a lump of coal like this, not at home on Christmas Day against the team that used a contract with a “poison pill” to steal Omer Asik away from them last summer.

The numbers are painful to review. Better bite your lip before reading on.

Houston scored 120 points. That’s a season-high for Bulls opponents.

The Rockets had 31 fast break points and 66 points in the paint. They led by as many as 35 points.

Houston shot 56 percent from the field and 40 percent on threes. They went 20-for-24 at the line (83.3 percent). Their Effective Field Goal Percentage (61.0), True Shooting Percentage (64.8) and Offensive Rating (130.4 points per 100 possessions) were absurd.

As if that weren’t enough, the Rockets outrebounded the Bulls 45-31. That included a 10-7 edge in offensive rebounds. But the offensive rebounding situation was actually worse than the raw numbers indicate given the differences in the teams’ shooting percentages. Houston’s Offensive Rebounding Percentage (29.4) was almost comically better than Chicago’s (16.7).

Essentially, the Bulls were outworked and outclassed in every conceivable way.

Said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau: “(We were) completely outplayed right from the start. My job is to have them ready and obviously we were not ready so that part’s on me … the thing is we had a bad fourth quarter in New York, we had a bad performance in Atlanta, and we followed it up today. So things can change very quickly in this league. If you’re not right and ready and you don’t have an edge, you’re not going to win without playing with the right amount of intensity.”

Nate Robinson — who at times seemed like the only Bulls player with a pulse last night — begged to differ.

Said Robinson: “It’s on us. It has nothing to do with coach. Coach does a great job of preparing us and getting us ready for the games. It’s all on us so we’re not going to let him take the blame on that and we got to do better (Wednesday) and we will.”

Little Nate was a ball of fire, scorching the Rockets for 27 points in 28 minutes while shooting 9-for-16 from the field, drilling four three-pointers and earning a team-best seven free throw attempts.

Unfortunately, Robinson’s energy wasn’t enough to snap the rest of the team out of their their collective defensive stupor.

Of course, this meltdown didn’t hit the Bulls out of nowhere like a bolt from the blue. It seems to have started last Friday in New York when the Knicks dropped 45 points on them in the fourth quarter. It continued the next night in Atlanta when the Hawks beat the Bulls like a red-headed step child.

Those five quarters of basketball were about as un-Bulls-like as they come. I figured they would come out ready last night. No team wants to get punked at home on Christmas. No way that was going to happen.

But here we are. And — more good news! — Luol Deng has a sprained ankle and is questionable for tonight’s game in Indiana.

Making matters even worse was Asik’s performance: 20 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 1 assist and a game-best plus-minus score of +41 in 35 minutes. Omer so thoroughly outplayed presumed All-Star-to-be Joakim Noah (8 points, 9 rebounds, 5 turnovers, -20) that the Bulls front office probably would have agreed to a mid-game trade if such a thing had been possible.

When the Bulls made a mini-run in the fourth, Asik was there, clogging up the paint and intimidating any Bulls player who dared to make googly eyes at the rim.

Said Houston coach Kevin McHale: “Omer is a big-time player in the middle. Tonight he was blocking shots, getting rebounds and outletting the ball for us. He’s got a big body and sets wide picks for us. This was a very good game for him.”

Asik was 9-for-13 from the field. As you can see, all but one of those shot attempts were right at the rim.

Said Noah: “I think he was great just rolling to the basket, off pick and rolls. They play four out, one in, and he was able to get a lot of easy things around the rim. I think we should have fouled him more around the rim, made him earn it a little bit more around the rim but he played very well.”

Fouling Asik might have helped. But when an opposing team has 31 fast break points and 66 points in the paint, forcing a poor foul shooter to hit a couple free throws probably wouldn’t have made that much of a difference.

James Harden (26 points, 7-for-13 from the field, 11-for-13 at the line), Jeremy Lin (20 points, 8-for-12, 11 assists) and Chandler Parsons (23 points, 9-for-15 from the field, 4-for-5 on threes) all took turns lighting the Bulls up. The defense wasn’t just bad. It was embarrassing. The effort an intensity just wasn’t there.

Said Thibs: “If you are not right and don’t have an edge, you are not going to win without the right amount of intensity. They completely outplayed us from the start.”

There’s not much more you can say. And there’s not much more you can say about the loss.

Tonight’s game against the Pacers will be a real gut check.

Extras:
Recap, Box Score, Advanced Box Score, Play-by-Play, Shot Chart.

The post Game Recap: Rockets 120, Bulls 97 appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Rockets Injury Report:
Patrick Patterson: out (foot)
Royce White: out (personal)

Overview:
Chicago tries to rebound from one of its worse losses of the season, while Houston looks to build on its impressive win over one of the top defensive teams in the league, when the two teams meet at the United Center on Christmas. The Bulls’ stifling defense meets the Rockets’ fast-paced, high-scoring offense.

And on a more personal note—although I’m sure it goes for many Bulls fans—Omer Asik returns to the United Center. The last time the Bulls and Rockets met, Asik blocked Joakim Noah’s layup as the Bulls were down four points with less than 15 seconds left. Asik didn’t have a great game overall against the Bulls, finishing with just four points on 2-8 shooting with six rebounds and four turnovers. But the Bulls know Asik affects the game in so many ways that don’t show up on the box score.

Asik is leading the Rockets in defensive rating at 103 (of players that have played more than 100 minutes on the season). Houston has a 105.9 defensive rating as a team. Omer is also fifth in defensive rebound percent (29.2) in the league, 19^th in offensive rebound percent (12.2) and fifth in total rebound percentage (20.7).

And while Asik focuses on defense and rebounding, the Rockets hang their hat on offense. Houston is seventh in offensive rating (108.0) and first in pace (96.4). Their offense was on full display in their blowout win over the Grizzlies. Houston piled up 121 points while shooting 53.7 percent from the field. They did something against the Griz no other team got close to. The next highest total Memphis has given up all year is 101, and that was on opening night against the Clippers. Houston scored 20 more points against the Grizzlies than any other team this year.

Chicago held Houston to 93 points in their November matchup, the Rockets sixth lowest point total of the season. Patrick Patterson, who will miss today’s game with a foot injury, scored 20 points on 8-16 from the field and James Harden led the way with 28 points, while going 9-13 from the line.

Nate Robinson came off the bench to lead the Bulls. He scored 21 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. Kirk Hinrich and Rip Hamilton combined to score eight points on 4-15 from the field. Marco Belinelli went scoreless in his six minutes of action.

But the Bulls did slow down the Rockets on the fast-break. Chicago held Houston to 14 fast-break points, while getting 13 of their own on the break. James Harden and company average 17.8 points per game on the break for the year and have scored 25.3 in transition over their last three games. They scored 33 against Memphis. The Bulls allow 12.5 fast-break points per game.

Chicago hopes to bounce back after getting crushed by the Hawks. The Bulls had just two players in double figures (Deng with 11, Noah with 10) while scoring their second fewest points this season. All of Atlanta’s starters scored in double figured, including ex-Bull and current lady-killer Kyle Korver scoring 13 points while shooting 3-6 from deep. The Bulls grabbed just 31 rebounds, compared to 45 for Atlanta) and only took eight free throws.

Christmas stat: The Bulls are 7-0 all-time at home on Christmas.

The post Rockets-Bulls Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Matt covered the bench issues earlier this week. But I’d just like to add a few thoughts. The Bulls aren’t getting the Bench Mob back. Omer Asik is starting, Ronnie Brewer is playing well, as is C.J. Watson. The Bulls are stuck with what they have for the most part. It isn’t great, but it’s going to have to do. One solution to the problem would be Taj Gibson finding his way out of this funk he is in. Gibson currently has a career low PER, as well as career-low offensive and defensive rebounding percentages. With Asik gone, Taj should be grabbing more boards, but he isn’t. He got his contract extension, so now it’s time he plays up to it.

Jimmy Butler needs to keep doing what he is doing. He’s playing great defense and has the second-best PER on the team (18.2). The more solid minutes Butler puts in, the more Deng can sit (theoretically). Nate Robinson has to continue scoring, because on defense he gives up points because of his size.

Past that, the bench has been terrible. Marco Belinelli’s jump shot has been drier than the Sahara. Nazr Mohammed’s been even worse. And Marquis Teague has only played 30 minutes.

This bench is going to rely on Gibson and Butler playing well. And Thibs is probably going to need a starter somewhere in that equation at all times, because he just doesn’t have five bench guys he can trust like he used to. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the new reality. What was the biggest strength is now a pretty glaring weakness.

The Bulls defensive ratings in their past four games: 113.1 (Boston), 108.7 (Phoenix), 115.9 (Clippers) and 110.2 (Portland). After a solid start defensively, and much easier opponents, the Bulls have fallen to 10^th in defensive rating (102.0).

And you know what the bad news is? Their offense has been worse than all of this. They have no one to create. It actually looks like guys are scared to score. In the fourth quarter against the Blazers, four players stood around as Joakim Noah looked for someone to pass. No one cut to the ball or through the lane. They stood there. Three of them on the other side of the court. Noah was forced to try to create himself and only got off a pretty terrible hook shot.

I understand that Thibs prefers defense to close out games which is why Boozer doesn’t sniff the floor in most fourth quarters, but that won’t work if you are losing. Rip Hamilton was 7-10 against the Blazers but was riding the pine at the end of the game, while Marco Belinelli played, even though he has been bad since he was signed. Defense worked at the end of games last year when they held leads in most final quarters, but now that they are behind Thibs is going to have to make some changes to his rotation.

Their offensive rating is 18^th in the league, at 102.6. So they are scoring just .6 more points per 100 possessions this season. Last year their defensive rating was 98.3 (2^nd) and offensive rating was 107.4 (5^th); a difference of 9.1.

The Bulls get their first look at one of the many Bench Mob members they lost when they visit Houston. Omer Asik returns! As you probably guessed I am very excited about this. Asik has been playing well so far in his new role. His rebounding is amazing, and his defense is good.

Omer has a 102 defensive rating which is solid, but it’s the same as the Bulls current number. And, in case you were wondering, Asik’s offense is still pretty terrible. He’s averaging 10 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting, while his offensive rating is 91, which is second worst on the Rockets (to Toney Douglas), but is actually better than Kirk Hinrich’s O-rating (86). So what I take from those numbers is that Omer should be running point guard for Chicago. I may have that wrong, but I doubt anyone would complain about the hilarity of Omer Asik running point guard for a team. Except the coach of said team.

The post Bulls-Rockets Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Luol Deng did his best “closer” impersonation early in the fourth, but he couldn’t keep up with the scoring champ in clutch time. Lu finished 11-21 for 27 points and also started hitting from downtown. Going into the game against Oklahoma City, Deng was 1-11. Against the Thunder he hit 3-6 from three.

He couldn’t stop Durant when the Bulls really needed it though, who finished 11-19 for 24 points. Durant did have 6 turnovers, so Deng’s defense did something.

Hinrich once again played well on the defensive end, holding Russell Westbrook to 16 points on 7-22 shooting. Russ did have 12 assists, but you can’t put that on Hinrich if he is getting the ball out of Westbrook’s hands. But in all honesty it wasn’t “Good Westbrook” that showed up last night. He only had two turnovers, but was taking some pretty poor shots.

As a team, Oklahoma City shot 49.3 percent from the field, which is going to be tough to beat. Serge Ibaka, who seems to love playing against the Bulls, was 8-15 for 21 points, while also recording nine rebounds and four blocks.

For all the good Kirk did on defense, he didn’t add much on the other side of the ball. He scored 12 points on 12 shots and recorded just five assists. He only turned it over once though, which was the fewest for the Bulls’ starters.

But nothing could top Marco Belinelli’s night. He played six minutes and score two points, which came from free throws. Seems ho-hum. Well it is, until you see the he had a minus-18 plus/minus. In six minutes with Belinelli on the floor, the Bulls were outscored by 18 points. This flabbergasted me.

Plus/minus is a flawed stat. But it can still show a little bit about the game. Something that jumps out from this matchup was the benches. The Bulls second unit (six bench players got in the game) all recorded negative plus/minuses, led by the above mentioned Marco Belinelli and Taj Gibson (-12).

The Thunder bench (four players) all recorded positive plus/minuses, led by Nick Collison (+15). Oklahoma City’s bench is good, with Collison, Kevin Martin and Eric Maynor, but the Bulls’ second unit used to be something very special. On Thursday they got outplayed.

The Bulls lost a hard-fought one on Thursday. It should be easier tonight against the Timberwolves. Minnesota is still without Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

The Wolves are 4-1 without their two best players though, after winning on a last-second Chase Budinger lay-up to top the Pacers last night. Minnesota’s defense has been on point, allowing the opponent to score more than 86 points just twice so far (Brooklyn and Indiana both scored 96 against them, but the Wolves still took both games). The Bulls haven’t allowed less than 86 all year.

Part of the low scoring for the Wolves is pace (28^th in the league), but their defense has been great as they are in the top ten in both opponent field goal percentage (.454, 4^th) and defensive rating (99.9, 9^th).

Both teams are missing their best scorers and playmakers (the Bulls best scorer and playmaker happens to be the same guy) and will have to rely on their defense to secure wins. Chicago is second in defensive rating, at 96.4.

Another way to get points is to crash the offensive glass, and Minnesota has been doing just that. The Timberwolves rank sixth in offensive rebounding percentage (.310). The Bulls have slipped in this category from last season as they are just 12^th (.271). Last season the Bulls were first, at 32.6.

As much as I like to joke about Omer Asik, I can’t help but point out that part of the lowered percentage is missing Asik.

Houston was 14^th (.275) last season in offensive rebounding percentage. This year, they are currently3^rd (.329). Asik’s offensive rebound rate is 16.2 percent for Houston, up from 14.9 a year ago. That 16.2 offensive rebound rate puts Asik sixth in the league. Joakim Noah (12.7) is 14^th on the list. Not only are the Bulls missing Omer’s defense, they are clearly missing his rebounding (it must be said, that some of these rebounds definitely resulted in turnovers or missed layups, but still it’s the opportunities created). Omer is second in total rebound percent (22.3).         Jo isn’t in the top 20.

The Bulls and Timberwolves played just once last season, a Bulls 111-100 win. Rose, Love and Rubio all played in that one, and both teams have gone through some changes in the offseason. Budinger, last night’s hero, is averaging 12.4 points per game and fellow new addition Andrei Kirilenko is putting in 11.2, while Nikola Pekovic is the Wolves’ leading scorer at 13.8 points per contest.

In addition to the two stars, Minnesota could be without JJ Barea (sprained foot) and Brandon Roy (knee) tonight.

“It’s OK,” forward Andrei Kirilenko said. “We’ll still keep winning. Injuries, that don’t matter. Winning is what matters.”

That goes for both teams.

The post Timberwolves-Bulls Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The article produced some not-so-surprising results (the Spurs had the league’s “winningest” offense and Chris Paul was the top offensive player) and a few that were surprising (such as Charlotte’s even-worse-than-we-could-have-imagined offensive ineptitude and the fact that Tyson Chandler ranked as the league’s second-best offensive force).

From a Bulls perspective, it was somewhat surprising that Joakim Noah ranked as the league’s seventh-best offensive player behind only Paul, Chandler, Steve Nash, LeBron James, James Harden and Ryan Anderson.

Alvarez writes:

I know we’ll get a little flack from this chart but it’s important to remember that offense is not just about taking shots. Passing the ball, getting the ball and keeping the ball matter too! Players like Joakim Noah, Kawhi Leonard and Tyson Chandler may not jump to mind when we think offense but it turns out their contributions can be quite valuable.

Now here’s where things get a little strange. Alvarez goes on to rank Chicago’s top five offensive players as Noah (by a country mile), Kyle Korver, Omer Asik, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose.

Seeing Noah and Korver ranked above Rose in offense seems somewhat reasonable. According to Basketball-Reference, they co-led the team in Offensive Rating at 120 points per 100 possessions (Rose was third at 112). Furthermore, Noah led the team in Offensive Win Shares at 4.9 with Rose coming in second at 4.1 (although Rose played 25 fewer games and was injured most of the season).

However, Asik ranked dead last in Offensive Rating — below even Brian Scalabrine — at 97 points per 100 possessions. Omer and Mike James tied for second-to-last in Offensive Win Shares at 0.1. And did I mention Asik has no hands (turnover rate of 25.2) and shot 45.6 from the free throw line?

So I have a slight problem with any metric that ranks Asik as the Bulls’ third-best offensive player.

It does not compute.

Especially when you consider what a devastating defensive force Asik is. If he were really that crucial to the Bulls’ offense as well as the defense…wouldn’t his PER be higher than 13.4? That’s below the league average.

Anyway, it’s more interesting information to toss on the pile. Just not sure I can agree with the notion of Asik-as-more-important-than-Rose-on-offense.

The post Offensive value and the Bulls appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The Bulls on Tuesday officially will announce they have declined to match Omer Asik’s three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet from the Rockets, sources said, paving the way for multiple signings that began Monday with Kirk Hinrich.

This isn’t too surprising. The structure of Asik’s offer — which included a “poison pill” third-year salary of just under $15 million — was both ridiculous (considering he struggled to average 3.1 PPG last season) and prohibitive (because it would have pushed the Bulls into the luxury tax and limited their ability to sign free agents down the road).

I know some fans have interpreted this move as a further sign that Bulls management and ownership are a bunch of miserly, tightfisted, penny-pinching cheapskates. And it has opened GM Gar Forman to some mockery for his statement that: “Our decisions this summer will be basketball decisions, not financial decisions.”

But you know what? This was both a financial and a basketball decision.

Sometimes they’re the same thing.

Did Omer Asik make the team better (if primarily on the defensive end)? Absolutely.

Is Omer Asik going to be worth $15 million three seasons from now? Absolutely not.

In the short term, losing Asik will hurt and make the Bulls a little worse. But management won’t have to work around that $15 million cap-killer when shopping for free agents prior to the 2014-15 season…and that will make the Bulls a little better. Maybe a lot better depending on how things turn out.

Now let’s look ahead.

According to Johnson, Hinrich will be signing a two-year deal worth about $8 million, and his signing will be officially announced today during a 2 p.m. press conference at the Berto Center.

Hinrich said (via a statement): “I’m very excited to be back in Chicago and to wear a Bulls uniform once again. I look forward to getting back out on the court as a Bull, and contributing to the team in any way I can.”

Bulls GM Gar Forman said (also by way of statement): “We are pleased to be able to bring Kirk back to Chicago. His ability to play both spots in the backcourt will help us immensely this season. Kirk’s tenacity and passion for the game complement our style of play, and we look forward to seeing him back in a Bulls uniform.”

Expect Kirk to be the team’s starting point guard until Derrick Rose returns from injury. After that, he’ll likely back up both Rose and shooting guard Richard Hamilton.

Furthermore, Chicago native Nazr Mohammed will be signing for the veteran’s minimum ($1.3 million) and free agent shooting guard Marco Belinelli is expected to sign for the bi-annual exception (a bit less than $2 million).

According to ESPNChicago:

By using the bi-annual exception, the Bulls hard cap themselves at $74 million for the season. As ESPN salary cap expert Larry Coon has stated, the hard cap may preclude the Bulls from making any major in-season acquisitions. They will have to add minimum salaried players to fill out the roster.

ESPNChicag’s Nick Friedell provides a succinct breakdown of what this means:

While the organization hasn’t come out and said they are in a holding pattern for the next couple seasons, it appears they are building towards making a push at the free agency class two summers from now. At that point, Luol Deng’s contract comes off the books and Carlos Boozer figures to be amnestied. Those two moves would give the Bulls $30 million of free cap space as the team tries to go after another major star to pair with Rose either via trade or free agency. Aside from Rose, the only other players on the Bulls roster then figure to be Joakim Noah, who signed a five-year, $60 million dollar extension which kicked in last season; Gibson, who is already in the process of discussing an extension with the Bulls which figures to earn him close to $8 million a year; and Butler and Teague, both of whom will still be under rookie contracts. The Bulls could also decide to bring foreign import Nikola Mirotic over to the NBA if both sides feel he is ready, or package some of those assets, along with a Charlotte Bobcats first-round pick from the Tyrus Thomas deal, to acquire another star.

This fits with what I’ve been saying for the past few weeks. The Bulls are about to embark on a couple “placeholder” seasons. They will be competitive and well-coached but won’t have the firepower necessary to compete with the league’s elite teams (Celtics, Heat, Lakers, Spurs, Thunder, etc.). They are taking steps backward in hopes of a brighter future down the road after Rose is back and fully recovered.

For fun, here’s a free agent list for 2014.

The post Goodbye Omer, hello new guys appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

A league source confirmed late Saturday night that the Bulls are on the verge of signing veteran center Nazr Mohammed.

While the deal hasn’t become official yet, the New York Post reported early Sunday that Mohammed has decided to sign with the Bulls over the Brooklyn Nets and both teams have been notified about the decision.

As Friedell goes on to point out, this signing-to-be likely means “Buh bye, Omer.”

Asik signed a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets that has a “poison pill” salary of nearly $15 million for the final year. And all signs — in the form of other possible free agent signings — are pointing to the fact that it’s a pill that Bulls management apparently can’t swallow.

As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes:

The Bulls continued discussions with guard Marco Belinelli, who has shot 39.3 percent from 3-point land in five seasons with three teams. And WEEI.com in Boston reported E’Twaun Moore, who is expected to be waived by the Rockets after his recent trade from the Celtics, will wind up in Bulls’ training camp to try to win the third point guard slot. Marshall product Patrick Beverley is another possibility there.

If the Bulls use the bi-annual exception to land Belinelli and sign Kirk Hinrich to any portion of the $5 million mid-level exception, the Bulls couldn’t exceed a payroll of $74.3 million. Given they have roughly $65 million committed to eight players and still need to sign first-round pick Marquis Teague at his rookie deal of just more than $1 million, that could be another sign the Bulls are leaning against matching Asik’s offer.

This is the end of the Bulls as we have known them. The Bench Mob of Asik, C.J. Watson, John Lucas III, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson will seemingly be reduced to Gibson.

Add to that rookie Marquis Teague, Kirk Hinrich, the recently signed Vladimir Radmanovic, the soon-to-be signed Mohammed, and whatever other spare parts the Bulls end up with.

As for Mohammed, he’s a 14-year veteran who averaged 2.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 63 games with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season. Here’s the quick skinny on him via ESPN’s John Hollinger:

+ Clever big man with knack for below-rim rebounding and short-range scoring.

+ Mediocre mobility, limited leaping ability. Struggles in one-on-one defense.

+ Ugly behind-head jumper with 12-foot range. Never passes. Bad hands. 

I know. Not exactly a thrilling prospect. Just another bargain basement signing for the Bulls in what promises to be a season of waiting.

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