QUOTE
Bulls coach Scott Skiles claimed he doesn’t spend any time casually assessing the value of players who will become free agents this summer.
“When it comes to my job, there isn’t a whole lot I’m doing in a casual manner,” Skiles said. “When I’m scouting an opponent or looking at an opponent, I’m looking at everything. I’m not focused in on one guy, other than how to stop somebody.
“Truthfully, I’m not even thinking about that stuff yet. It will work itself out when the season’s over. I didn’t know we had cap space until you just told me.”
That last line was a joke. Of course Skiles knows the Bulls will have $15-20 million to spend on free agents this summer.
They had a good look at two over the weekend, facing 6-foot-9 Atlanta forward Al Harrington (32 points, 10 rebounds) on Saturday and perimeter-oriented Clippers forward Vladimir Radmanovic (14 points, 6 rebounds) on Friday.
By all accounts, the free-agent class of 2006 is not strong. The biggest names among unrestricted free agents are Harrington, Detroit’s Ben Wallace, Indiana’s Peja Stojakovic and Dallas’ Jason Terry.
Heading into the season, the list appeared to be unusually deep with big men, one of the Bulls’ glaring needs. But most of those future free agents are having disappointing seasons.
A case in point is Portland’s 7-1 Joel Przybilla, who is not expected to play tonight against the Bulls because of right knee tendinitis. His numbers (6.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks) are down slightly from last season.
The Bulls did have some discussions about trading for Przybilla, a Minnesota native, last month and there is a good chance he'll be invited to visit the Berto Center this summer.
Nearly all of the free-agent big men are posting statistics that represent a drop from their career averages, which obviously raises the question of how much money would the Bulls want to throw at any of these guys — even if they are considered potential backups.
San Antonio’s Nazr Mohammed is averaging 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. Memphis’ Lorenzen Wright is at 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds. Boston’s Michael Olowokandi (5.1, 4.8), Utah’s Jarron Collins (5.8, 4.6), Utah’s Greg Ostertag (2.6, 4.0) and Indiana’s Scot Pollard (4.2, 5.2) also fit the category.
One of the few examples of a free-agent big man having a better-than-average year is Orlando’s Tony Battie (7.8, 6.0).
Even some of the restricted free agents are having rough seasons. Denver’s Nene suffered a knee injury on opening night and has been out ever since. Cleveland’s Drew Gooden (10.8, 8.7) isn’t seeing the ball as much. Seattle’s Chris Wilcox (6.1, 4.0) was having a miserable year with the Clippers, but he has improved since being sent to the Sonics.
Charlotte’s Melvin Ely (10.1, 5.3) is one restricted free agent who has shown some improvement.
Bulls general manager John Paxson has acknowledged that this year’s free-agent class is not particularly strong and said he’ll consider using the team’s cap space in a trade. Harrington, Nene and Gooden figure to be the Bulls’ primary targets.
“When it comes to my job, there isn’t a whole lot I’m doing in a casual manner,” Skiles said. “When I’m scouting an opponent or looking at an opponent, I’m looking at everything. I’m not focused in on one guy, other than how to stop somebody.
“Truthfully, I’m not even thinking about that stuff yet. It will work itself out when the season’s over. I didn’t know we had cap space until you just told me.”
That last line was a joke. Of course Skiles knows the Bulls will have $15-20 million to spend on free agents this summer.
They had a good look at two over the weekend, facing 6-foot-9 Atlanta forward Al Harrington (32 points, 10 rebounds) on Saturday and perimeter-oriented Clippers forward Vladimir Radmanovic (14 points, 6 rebounds) on Friday.
By all accounts, the free-agent class of 2006 is not strong. The biggest names among unrestricted free agents are Harrington, Detroit’s Ben Wallace, Indiana’s Peja Stojakovic and Dallas’ Jason Terry.
Heading into the season, the list appeared to be unusually deep with big men, one of the Bulls’ glaring needs. But most of those future free agents are having disappointing seasons.
A case in point is Portland’s 7-1 Joel Przybilla, who is not expected to play tonight against the Bulls because of right knee tendinitis. His numbers (6.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 blocks) are down slightly from last season.
The Bulls did have some discussions about trading for Przybilla, a Minnesota native, last month and there is a good chance he'll be invited to visit the Berto Center this summer.
Nearly all of the free-agent big men are posting statistics that represent a drop from their career averages, which obviously raises the question of how much money would the Bulls want to throw at any of these guys — even if they are considered potential backups.
San Antonio’s Nazr Mohammed is averaging 5.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. Memphis’ Lorenzen Wright is at 5.0 points and 4.9 rebounds. Boston’s Michael Olowokandi (5.1, 4.8), Utah’s Jarron Collins (5.8, 4.6), Utah’s Greg Ostertag (2.6, 4.0) and Indiana’s Scot Pollard (4.2, 5.2) also fit the category.
One of the few examples of a free-agent big man having a better-than-average year is Orlando’s Tony Battie (7.8, 6.0).
Even some of the restricted free agents are having rough seasons. Denver’s Nene suffered a knee injury on opening night and has been out ever since. Cleveland’s Drew Gooden (10.8, 8.7) isn’t seeing the ball as much. Seattle’s Chris Wilcox (6.1, 4.0) was having a miserable year with the Clippers, but he has improved since being sent to the Sonics.
Charlotte’s Melvin Ely (10.1, 5.3) is one restricted free agent who has shown some improvement.
Bulls general manager John Paxson has acknowledged that this year’s free-agent class is not particularly strong and said he’ll consider using the team’s cap space in a trade. Harrington, Nene and Gooden figure to be the Bulls’ primary targets.
Don't know if anyone saw this, but its a solid article talking about some of the FA possibilities. I do know Paxson said that the Bulls would not only look at FA, but they'd also be looking hard at potential trading partners.
