Apparently nobody told Garpax (my preferred term for GM Gar Forman and President of Basketball Ops John Paxson) that the NBA free agency period began July 1st. Rumor has it they have been busy voting for Jake Peavy to make the All-Star game since Sunday.
OK, well yeah they probably knew and the inactivity was pretty much expected. I hope they were busy voting though. The minority of baseball fans in Chicago were up against the country of Japan!
With Derrick Rose expected to miss most of the 2012-2013 season it's looking like the upcoming season is just going to be a wash. Play it out with what you have and hope to sneak into the playoffs. Luol Deng still does not seem sure whether or not he is having wrist surgery after the Olympics. If they are missing Rose and Deng for half the season they might average about 70 points a game during that stretch.
The free agent class this summer did not really have anything that would help this team anyway. If the Bulls were healthy they would have made a strong push for Ray Allen, but with the injuries it is just not worth going well over the salary cap and paying a ton of luxury tax money. Sure as fans we want Reinsdorf to spend money, but have to respect that he won't throw it around wastefully trying to save a lost season.
Garpax is in a bit of a quandry when it comes to Omer Asik though. The Houston Rockets signed him to an offer sheet at a little over $24 million. Because of a backwards rule in the CBA the Rockets can average that cap hit out over 3 years. However the Bulls cap hit in the final year would be $15 million, and that is way too much for a guy who currently can't catch a basketball. You would think the CBA rules would try to help teams keep the players they draft.
The Bulls love Asik because of his defense and they think he can provide offense as his game progresses. As far as I am concerned his last act as a Bull was missing two crucial free throws that helped end the playoff series against the 76ers. Good luck Houston! We have bigger priorities like keeping Taj Gibson around long term.
The two free agent options they have right now are Courtney Lee and bringing back Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls can offer one of them the mid-level exception at about $3 million. I'd throw that at Lee and use the allowed veteran's minimum of $1.2 million on Hinrich. Chances are though they will throw the bigger contract at Hinrich because people in this organization love him. Both would fit Coach Thibodeau's defensive schemes.
Speaking of Coach Thibodeau. Now that Garpax is done trying to outvote Japan they need to work on his contract extension. How in the world can you make a guy, who in his first head coaching position led a young team to the top of the East both seasons, be a lame duck coach? First of all that is disrespectful to him. Secondly, are you crazy? What if he walks? Get it done guys. He more than deserves it. If they go out and have success before Rose and Deng are back his price will go through the roof. Get him signed now!
That's all for now. Hopefully a few veteran signings to talk about soon.
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