Tag: Chicago Bulls (Page 13 of 26)

      GM confirms Bosh’s list, agent denies it

      May 22, 2010 /

      Per the Toronto Star…

      Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo admits there are a group of teams that Bosh would like to go to should he decide to leave the Raptors as a free agent in July.

      ESPN.com reported Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, has told Colangelo that Bosh would like to go to the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat or New York Knicks should he decide not to re-sign with Toronto.

      “It has been narrowed down to a handful of teams, including us,” Colangelo said, not going into any more details.

      Of course, Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, denies that he has given the Raptors any list. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

      Agent Henry Thomas on Friday denounced a report by ESPN that stated he had narrowed down a list of preferred destinations for Toronto Raptors free-agent client Chris Bosh.

      Thomas, who also represents Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, another pending free agent, said he has not forwarded any such list to Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

      “I haven’t closed the door on anything,” Thomas insisted. “I haven’t given Bryan any lists. There is no list. This is a process that is ongoing.”

      I still think it’s funny that Bosh gave Colangelo a list of teams he’d like to play for while also saying that he’s open to re-signing with the Raptors. Has he really not made up his mind about staying put? You’d think that at this point, with the regular season over for a month now, that he would know whether or not he wants to stay or go. Maybe he’s waiting to see what trades the Raptors can make during the Draft.

      And, of course, there’s the matter of Bosh talking out of both sides of his mouth. He says it’s all about winning, but he wants to force a sign-and-trade so he can make the most money (which is only going to hurt his new team in the process by taking away good players and/or draft picks).

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      Chris Bosh’s wish list is revealing…

      May 21, 2010 /

      …and not in the way you might think.

      Per ESPN…

      Chris Bosh’s agent has told the Toronto Raptors that he’s narrowed his list of preferred teams to five, two sources told ESPN.com’s Chad Ford at the NBA draft camp.

      The list of five teams — Toronto plus the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks, sources said — were given to Toronto management in case the Raptors want to construct a sign-and-trade deal (assuming he doesn’t re-sign with Toronto).

      Bosh likes that option, sources told Ford, because he’d get one more year on his contract and could make more money.

      I’m not sure why Bosh would give Toronto a list of sign-and-trade destinations that included the Raptors, but hey, sources are sources.

      There are no real surprises there. The Bulls, Heat, Knicks and Lakers have long been rumored as possible landing spots for Bosh. But the absence of a few other teams — namely, the Nets, Rockets and Thunder — is a bit surprising.

      In terms of potential sign-and-trade chips, each team on his list has at least one player the Raptors might want. Chicago has Luol Deng, though he’s a bit overpaid. The Knicks have David Lee, who would be a nice consolation prize if Bosh decides not to re-sign with Toronto. The Heat have Michael Beasley, but his stock continues to fall. And the Lakers have Andrew Bynum, but with his knee injuries, he’s not as enticing of a prospect as he was at the start of the season.

      But here’s what gets me about this story, if it’s accurate — Bosh may want that extra year on his deal, but it’s going to be tough for a team that already has the cap space to sign him to have to take a big hit in young talent and draft picks as well. In fact, this strategy reveals that Bosh is more concerned with the size of his own paycheck than he is with the strength and potential of his new team. I realize it’s a lot of money, but when a player says over and over that it’s “all about winning” and then turns around and forces his new team to give up a couple of prospects and/or draft picks so that he can pocket an extra $30 million (and an extra year on the deal), then clearly he’s being disingenuous.

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      How much power does LeBron need?

      May 20, 2010 /

      In an ESPN Insider column, Ric Bucher writes that one factor prospective teams will have to weigh is whether or not to give LeBron the kind of power that he’s enjoyed with the Cavs over the last seven years.

      Just know that the Cavs are where they are — capped out with a modicum of trading chips — because the team power structure supposedly has looked like this: owner Dan Gilbert, GM Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown.

      With James standing just below Gilbert and just above Ferry.

      Multiple league sources say that the Cleveland Cavaliers, in their attempt to keep James since drafting him with the No. 1 pick seven years ago, have done just that. Two opposing GMs, without citing specific examples, said they know James has vetoed deals Ferry would have made over the past few years.

      Meanwhile, the acquisitions of Larry Hughes, Mo Williams, Shaquille O’Neal and Antawn Jamison all have been made at James’ behest, sources say. And whether it’s by James’ hand or the Cavaliers’, the team has been constructed on the presumption that he is Michael Jordan, a scorer and finisher, rather than Magic Johnson, a playmaker who needed a go-to closer alongside him to win titles. “They tried to make him Michael,” says one league executive. “He’s not.”

      Hmm. That makes me wonder what this team would look like had Ferry had his way on those aforementioned (undisclosed) trades. Players are notoriously bad at player personnel because like most things in life, it’s difficult to see the forest for the trees.

      Also, with this kind of power, LeBron has to (or should) take a lot of responsibility for the failures of this hand-picked group of players over the past few years. Does he look at it that way or does he blame the game plan and player rotations? Only he and his boys know.

      It has to be tempting for a team to offer LeBron this kind of power. Without it, they probably don’t sign him and they’re left to several more years of mediocrity. With him on the roster, barring injury, they’re basically guaranteed that they’ll make the playoffs every year, and who knows, if his personnel decisions finally work out, maybe they win a title.

      That said, the Bulls don’t appear to be one of those teams. They didn’t give Michael Jordan that power so it’s doubtful that they’ll hand it over to LeBron.

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      Are the Bulls atop LeBron’s list?

      May 18, 2010 /

      Yes, at least according to Chad Ford’s sources…

      I keep hearing that the Bulls are atop his list at the moment. That could change, but that’s the word around the league at the moment.

      I’m not sure exactly how the Derrick Rose/LeBron James dynamic would work, but there’s no doubt that the Bulls would become an immediate contender with the arrival of LeBron. With Joakim Noah and Luol Deng (a “stretch” four that can play some pick-and-pop with LeBron) rounding out the front line, the Bulls would be in a good spot for years to come. Deng really is more of a small forward, but he can play some power forward if need be.

      But would LeBron want to play for a franchise that has been all about Michael Jordan? MJ is LeBron’s hero, but it might be tough walking past that statue of His Airness every day on his way to work. Doesn’t LeBron want his own statue?

      Chicago might be a great situation for him, but if he wants a challenge, he should go to the Knicks or Nets, or stay put in Cleveland.

      Later, Ford listed his top three landing spots for LeBron…

      1. Bulls. 2. Knicks 3. Heat … I think the darkhorse is Dallas who’ll try to acquire him via sign-and-trade. As for the Cavs, it doesn’t look very good at the moment, but things can change. I think owner Dan Gilbert would essentially have to give him the GM job as well to keep him there.

      With all the John Calipari rumors flying around, if he gets hired by one of these teams it could be a leading indicator that LeBron is on his way. For what it’s worth, Calipari told blue chip recruit Brandon Knight that he’d be coaching at Kentucky this fall, but does anyone really believe that he’s not exploring his options right now?

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      LeBron, Cal to meet in Chicago?

      May 14, 2010 /

      Chad Ford spoke to three GMs just after the Cavs’ loss to the Celtics last night. All three thought that Chicago was LeBron’s most likely landing spot.

      In the space of five minutes I heard from three NBA GMs via text, e-mail and phone. All three said that based on the information they have, they believe LeBron will leave the Cavs.

      More surprisingly, all of them said they believe the destination will be the Chicago Bulls. Two said they believe that John Calipari will be the Bulls’ new head coach.

      One GM went a bit further in a phone call a few minutes later. “I think the Bulls are really going to go for it. Look for them to offer the Cavs Luol Deng in a sign-and-trade for LeBron. That will allow them to retain most of their cap space. Then they’ll go after Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh as well.”

      The sign-and-trade scenario involving Deng is interesting, but would the Cavs really want to trade LeBron away, even if it brought Deng into the fold? Deng is all right, but he’s overpaid (~$51 million over the next four years), so the Cavs would be better off blowing up the roster and starting from scratch.

      Also, unless they can get 2-3 first round draft picks and/or a great young prospect, I don’t see the Cavs wanting to be the team that traded LeBron away.

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