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While the Bulls won't be able to add any additional players to the roster until next month due to the hard cap, there's a good chance that one of their training-camp invites could sign with the team next month.
If and when that occurs, center Kyrylo Fesenko and guard Marko Jaric seem like the two most likely candidates.
Fesenko, a young, big-bodied center, would add to the team's post depth and although in his five NBA seasons, the 25-year-old hasn't drawn the acclaim of the departed Omer Asik -- Asik is widely regarded as one of the league's most underrated big-man defenders -- the 7-foot-1 native of the Ukraine has shown flashes of potential. A physical player with surprising athleticism for his size, "Fes" developed into a fan favorite despite receiving limited playing time during his stint in Utah, where he played four seasons before signing with Indiana in the middle of last season's lockout-shortened schedule.
"He’s a little bit more mature—a little bit. Still very athletic. Great locker-room guy, great sense of humor. Huge body—he’s 7-2, 7-3, very wide—but moves well with his weight. He can help us," said Carlos Boozer about his former Jazz teammate, who still doesn't have a driver's license. "No! I asked him that, too. He’s a little older now. when we drafted him, he was a little younger. I think he still has a driver. He said, ‘I think it’s time for me to get my license.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it might be.’"
Jaric, a 6-foot-7 defensive-oriented swingman -- he also played some point guard earlier in his career -- is a different case. After being a starter and rotation regular with the Clippers and Timberwolves, he last played in the NBA for the Grizzlies during the 2008-09 campaign. Following that season, he reportedly agreed to a buyout from Memphis and headed to Europe, where he starred in his youth, playing parts of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with Spain's Real Madrid and Italy's Montepaschi Siena, respectively.
Now, Jaric is ready to play in the U.S. again, partly due to the recent birth of his second child with wife Adriana Lima, a renowned supermodel. Jaric acknowledges that his famous spouse often overshadows his own career, but the 33-year-old (34 next week) isn't fazed by it in his fight to get back to basketball's top league.
"All my life, I’ve had that and I’ve never cared too much about what people say because people are always going to find an excuse. My father was a basketball player when I was young. People said, ‘Oh, he’s there because his father played,’ but now it’s my wife. It’s always something. I never pay attention too much. Basketball is my life and it’s the most important thing in my mind right now," he told CSNChicago.com.
"It was very tough because I played two half seasons in Europe before that and I didn’t want to go back to Europe anymore. I had a couple of very good offers and it was a big decision for, but I needed to put my family before anything else because of my second child. We couldn’t just travel anymore from Europe to the States and I needed to make tough decisions, and refused pretty good offers from Europe in hopes that a good NBA team picks me up. Hopefully this year, that happens."
Jaric, a rugged and versatile perimeter player, isn't dissuaded by the fact that the Bulls would have to release him after the team's final exhibition game, then bring him back in November, a situation that could also apply to Fesenko. Nor has the hard-driving ways of Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau made him reconsider his decision to spend training camp in Chicago.
"Obviously this is a great organization, on the floor and off the floor. On the floor, from the first day and even a week, two weeks before the training camp started, everybody was already working on defense, everybody was focusing on a championship, everybody’s trying to get into the right situation and right winning mentality. In my NBA career, I’ve never played for a team like that and from my experiences, I’d definitely, love to be part of this team," he explained.
"I like Thibs a lot. He reminds me a lot of European style of coaches. He’s taking care of every little detail, he’s teaching guys how to play basketball. He wants us to be focused 100 percent, which is very, very European, how we grew up playing. He wants us to understand right away the difference from winning and losing, and from the very beginning, he wants to put the winning mentality inside of this team.
"Definitely with this team, I could be of more help at the wing position. All my career, I’ve been guarding the best guards on the opposing teams. I would definitely try to add size to this team and help at the two, three spots," Jaric continued. "Let’s see how training camp goes, everything goes and we’ll see. I took one year off. I want to get ready as much as possible. I’m 33, getting to 34. I want to get preseason legs and go from there."
Thibodeau has been pleased with both Jaric and Fesenko through the early part of camp.
"So far, so good. They bring experience, they've been around, they're good workers," said the coach. "Fesenko's a guy that can bang. Jaric's got good size, can play multiple positions."
If and when that occurs, center Kyrylo Fesenko and guard Marko Jaric seem like the two most likely candidates.
Fesenko, a young, big-bodied center, would add to the team's post depth and although in his five NBA seasons, the 25-year-old hasn't drawn the acclaim of the departed Omer Asik -- Asik is widely regarded as one of the league's most underrated big-man defenders -- the 7-foot-1 native of the Ukraine has shown flashes of potential. A physical player with surprising athleticism for his size, "Fes" developed into a fan favorite despite receiving limited playing time during his stint in Utah, where he played four seasons before signing with Indiana in the middle of last season's lockout-shortened schedule.
"He’s a little bit more mature—a little bit. Still very athletic. Great locker-room guy, great sense of humor. Huge body—he’s 7-2, 7-3, very wide—but moves well with his weight. He can help us," said Carlos Boozer about his former Jazz teammate, who still doesn't have a driver's license. "No! I asked him that, too. He’s a little older now. when we drafted him, he was a little younger. I think he still has a driver. He said, ‘I think it’s time for me to get my license.’ I said, ‘Yeah, it might be.’"
Jaric, a 6-foot-7 defensive-oriented swingman -- he also played some point guard earlier in his career -- is a different case. After being a starter and rotation regular with the Clippers and Timberwolves, he last played in the NBA for the Grizzlies during the 2008-09 campaign. Following that season, he reportedly agreed to a buyout from Memphis and headed to Europe, where he starred in his youth, playing parts of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons with Spain's Real Madrid and Italy's Montepaschi Siena, respectively.
Now, Jaric is ready to play in the U.S. again, partly due to the recent birth of his second child with wife Adriana Lima, a renowned supermodel. Jaric acknowledges that his famous spouse often overshadows his own career, but the 33-year-old (34 next week) isn't fazed by it in his fight to get back to basketball's top league.
"All my life, I’ve had that and I’ve never cared too much about what people say because people are always going to find an excuse. My father was a basketball player when I was young. People said, ‘Oh, he’s there because his father played,’ but now it’s my wife. It’s always something. I never pay attention too much. Basketball is my life and it’s the most important thing in my mind right now," he told CSNChicago.com.
"It was very tough because I played two half seasons in Europe before that and I didn’t want to go back to Europe anymore. I had a couple of very good offers and it was a big decision for, but I needed to put my family before anything else because of my second child. We couldn’t just travel anymore from Europe to the States and I needed to make tough decisions, and refused pretty good offers from Europe in hopes that a good NBA team picks me up. Hopefully this year, that happens."
Jaric, a rugged and versatile perimeter player, isn't dissuaded by the fact that the Bulls would have to release him after the team's final exhibition game, then bring him back in November, a situation that could also apply to Fesenko. Nor has the hard-driving ways of Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau made him reconsider his decision to spend training camp in Chicago.
"Obviously this is a great organization, on the floor and off the floor. On the floor, from the first day and even a week, two weeks before the training camp started, everybody was already working on defense, everybody was focusing on a championship, everybody’s trying to get into the right situation and right winning mentality. In my NBA career, I’ve never played for a team like that and from my experiences, I’d definitely, love to be part of this team," he explained.
"I like Thibs a lot. He reminds me a lot of European style of coaches. He’s taking care of every little detail, he’s teaching guys how to play basketball. He wants us to be focused 100 percent, which is very, very European, how we grew up playing. He wants us to understand right away the difference from winning and losing, and from the very beginning, he wants to put the winning mentality inside of this team.
"Definitely with this team, I could be of more help at the wing position. All my career, I’ve been guarding the best guards on the opposing teams. I would definitely try to add size to this team and help at the two, three spots," Jaric continued. "Let’s see how training camp goes, everything goes and we’ll see. I took one year off. I want to get ready as much as possible. I’m 33, getting to 34. I want to get preseason legs and go from there."
Thibodeau has been pleased with both Jaric and Fesenko through the early part of camp.
"So far, so good. They bring experience, they've been around, they're good workers," said the coach. "Fesenko's a guy that can bang. Jaric's got good size, can play multiple positions."