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eddog2
Player opt out clause
Corey Maggette
Elton Brand
Allen Iverson
Gilbert Arenas
Jermaine O'neal
Shaun Marion
Grant Hill


Unrestricted:
Desagna Diop
Antawn Jamison
Antonio McDyess
Stromile Swift
Jason Williams
Ricky Davis
Keith Bogans (would be a valuable SG off the bench for the Bulls)

Restricted
Andre Igoudala (do I hear a sign and trade for Deng, Gordon some other player next summer if the Bulls have enough $ to offer a big contract?)
Emeka Okafor (I don't want him but I think the Bulls would love to have him)
Monta Ellis
Andris Biedrins
Josh Smith
Josh Childress (Atlanta probably can't afford to keep both of the Josh's)
Luol Deng
Ben Gordon
Daniel Gibson
JR Smith
Delonte West
Shaun Livingston
Kwame Brown

That's a rediculous list. I'd definately take several of the guys on this list over Deng and Gordon. I think Paxson would as well. Maybe it was part of the master plan by not locking up Deng and Gordon until next summer. That gives him a bunch of flexibility to try and sign a few agent he really likes and possibly a top tier free agent if he can clear about $7 million in cap room. I think Marion is really a possibility especially with the Suns so far over the cap.
Chicago Bulls Franchise
Iguadala if at all possible. Which means we split ties with Deng sad.gif Oh well, Iggy has a much higher ceiling and is just as good if not better than Deng already.
madisonsmadhouse
There is no way those unrestricted free agents are walking away from their teams without trades being involved.
Steve9347
I would LOVE a sign and trade for Iguodala.
eddog2
QUOTE (madisonsmadhouse @ Nov 16 2007, 09:11 AM) *
There is no way those unrestricted free agents are walking away from their teams without trades being involved.


I know Corey Maggette will b/c he is underpaid and with the focus likely being on resigning Brand the Clipper likely won't be willing to shell out big $ to Maggette. I wouldn't be shocked if they lost both Brand and Maggette for nothing. There is nothing stopping both of those players from simply walking away. The only other player that I really think is opting out is Shaun Marion. He's been pissed for years about not getting an extension. Plus he's only making around $15 million. He can get that in the open market. The Suns will have a hard time giving him an extension like that next season with Amare/Nash/Diaw/Barbosa already signed to decent contracts. As for AI, & Jermaine O'neal it's not likely with the huge deal they have. However, if Gilbert Arenas has a big year and proves he's healthy there is no way he plays for the $12 million he's due. He could easily command $15 million or more in the open market if not by his own team.

You can't tell me that one of those guys wouldn't be willing to come to Chicago (a big market) and play for the Bulls if the Bulls could get under the cap by enough $. Not only would the contract be good but everything else that comes with Chicago would be good. Plus, we're close to being a great team. They'd be coming to a team that has Tyrus, Noah, Deng, Gordon (unless they are traded), Hinrich & Nocioni. Gilbert Arenas would make the need for either Kirk or Gordon nonexistent. We could easily trade either of them after that deal or we could use one of them off the bench to make use the deepest bench in the league.

As for the restricted free agents, it would be a little harder to get them b/c the Hawks and Sixers have cap room to sign their players. There are very few teams with enough cap room to offer a player like Arenas or Marion a big deal. Atlanta, Charlotte, & Philly are three of those teams. But they all have legit young studs to sign (Josh Smith, Okafor, & Iguodala) meaning they likely won't be able to sign another free agent in the market.

But if the Bulls can unload Ben Wallace's contract and possibly even Nocioni's (both that have value to a playoff contender) for expiring contracts they would have more cap room than any team by far. If they could get rid of those 2 players for expiring contracts, they would have around $30 million in salary cap room before they hit the $55 million and about $40 million before they hit the $65 million luxury cap threshold. And that includes roughly $10 million in salary that is considered qualifying offers for Deng and Gordon.

With that kind of money we could give a $17 million deal to Arenas or Marion, $12 to Deng, & $11 to Gordon if we wanted to keep all 3. Or we could get Maggette, keep Deng, & get a player like Jamison. Either way, I don't see how we could be better off then we are now with an aging veteran and a slightly overpaid Nocioni.


Don't forget. I was the guy that said Rashard Lewis was ending up with the Magic. I think I said that halfway into the season last year? But then again I have been wrong from time to time.
Chicago Bulls Franchise
I have a feeling Brand opts out but LAC give him a max deal and he resigns with them probably for the rest of his career or atleast the rest of his prime.
ZoomSlowik
The lists always look sexy this early in the year. Then the restricted free agents have their teams match any offer (or just end up giving him the qualifying offer for the remaining year), some other guys re-sign, and others don't opt out. Then you're left with one good but not quite elite player that gets overpaid like Rashard Lewis last year (yeah, he's good, but not $18 mil good) or Big Ben the year before.

I'd love to get Arenas or Brand for cash, but we'd have a hell of a time unloading Wallace. There's a reason he signed here so early in free agency, teams wouldn't touch the money or the years. Luckily before too long he becomes a major chip when his contract is about to expire.

We all know what will happen though: we'll match sizeable offers for Deng and Gordon, end up with this same core and hope Tyrus solves our post problem before we lose in the 1st/2nd round again.
eddog2
QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Nov 18 2007, 01:05 AM) *
We all know what will happen though: we'll match sizeable offers for Deng and Gordon, end up with this same core and hope Tyrus solves our post problem before we lose in the 1st/2nd round again.


That's what worries me. We'll put all our eggs int he Tyrus Thomas basket. He'll then become a free agent and we'll overpay him. It's not a good cycle. It has a chance to work out but I'll like something that is money in the bank.
ZoomSlowik
QUOTE (eddog2 @ Nov 18 2007, 10:57 AM) *
That's what worries me. We'll put all our eggs int he Tyrus Thomas basket. He'll then become a free agent and we'll overpay him. It's not a good cycle. It has a chance to work out but I'll like something that is money in the bank.


Well, very few of those guys are what I would call "money in the bank". Right now you could really only call Arenas, Brand, and Iverson elite players that can make a big difference on your standings. Yeah, I know, Iguodala and Smith are good, young athletes. Well, Iguodala is only averaging 18 a game on a Philly team with no other scorers and turns it over A LOT, and because of his poor basketball IQ that kills his FG% and causes a lot of turnovers Smith has more value to a fantasy team than a real one right now (though he will occasionally have huge games like last night, and he is still absurdly young). You're still banking on their breakout with those two, which could happen but isn't a 100% certainty. Marion is the only other one that's really close, and you can argue how much of an impact he really has on Phoenix. Plus I seriously doubt he's as effective on a team that doesn't run a Phoenix-style offense. Given the price/difficulty to acquire those guys, we might as well take the same chance with Deng.

Pretty much all of them have some kind of issue that prevents them from being a slam-dunk signing that puts us over the top, whether it's not quite elite talent, age, injury history, or the high amount of money/talent they'd require.

I already said I'd love to get Brand or Arenas if we could clear enough money, though I'm not sure that's possible. If we could get Iguodala for Gordon/Kirk and one or two other players I'd do it in a heartbeat, but not if it cost us Deng because you'd need a complementary scorer that doesn't need to dominate the ball to be effective to pair with him. There'd just be too many cooks in the kitchen with a backcourt of Kirk/Ben/Iguodala. If you somehow knew that Okafor would be healthy I'd love to have him, since he's a good defender and rebounder and can score in the post (free throws could use some work though). Commiting that much money/talent to get him with his past is a crap-shoot though. If they come at an affordable price I'd want Childress or Maggette too. That's about it though personally.
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