Chicago Bulls Thread

[George7]

Oh, meant small forward, just made a mistake

[George7]

McGrady to work out for Bulls on Monday

A source tells TNT's David Aldridge that free agent forward Tracy McGrady will work out for the Chicago Bulls next Monday, his second workout for a prospective team. McGrady worked out for the Clippers on Tuesday.

McGrady could take additional visits after working out for the Bulls, according to the source. A signing is not imminent for the seven-time All-Star, who finished last season with the Knicks after being traded briefly to Sacramento by the Rockets. The 31-year-old only played in 24 games last season as he came back from microfracture surgery on his left knee in February, 2009. would He hoped to come back for Houston but after he and the team disagreed on how much playing time he'd get the two sides mutually agreed that McGrady would stay away from the team until a deal could be made.

McGrady started 24 games for New York, averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 assists in 26.1 minutes.

McGrady wrote on his Twitter account Wednesday, "clippers, bulls, lakers, heat....but that could change by the morning...lol..this is the NBA".

The Clippers said that McGrady had a good workout with them but did not commit to making him a contract offer. Los Angeles has a need at small forward, with rookie Al-Faroqu Aminu not ready to handle major minutes. A league source said Wednesday that the Clippers have asked about Philadelphia forward Andre Iguodala, though there was no indication that Los Angeles has made or will make an offer for Iguodala.

Injuries have greatly slowed McGrady in the last two years; he has played in just 65 games during that time. But McGrady still believes he can return to the form that made him a two-time NBA scoring champion and one of the best late-game finishers of the past decade. He has worked out in Chicago almost non-stop when not playing the last couple of years with famed trainer Tim Grover.

The Bulls have already had a very busy summer, signing power forward Carlos Boozer to a five-year, $80 million deal, shooting guards Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver for three years and $12 and $15 million, respectively, and completing a sign-and-trade earlier this week for backup point guard C.J. Watson from Golden State. McGrady could provide veteran insurance at small forward behind Luol Deng, who has also struggled with injuries in the past few seasons.

http://www.nba.com/news/features/aldrid ... rady-Bulls

nice

[puttincomputers]

can mcgrady have a grant hill type comeback and be fit to start is the question.

[shadowgrin]

Who says he's going to start?

[Martti.]

He is not starting. It will be Brewer and Deng.

[Andrew]

can mcgrady have a grant hill type comeback and be fit to start is the question.

It seems unlikely, but they wouldn't need him to do that anyway. He'd just be some added depth off the bench at forward and guard that could hopefully give them productive minutes. They don't need him to be a star or even a prominent role player as Grant Hill has become in Phoenix.

[air gordon]

Another terrific signing. While Watson lacks Hinrich's defensive prowess, he provides much better performance for dollars spent.

I fully support the Kurt Thomas suggestion, but I'd also like to see Bulls to add another swingman who can defend and hit open shots. Yes, it seems we have positions 1-3 covered (Rose/Watson-Brewer/Korver/Watson-Deng/Korver/Brewer), but none of the player has proved to be particulary durable.

Good to see u posting again, fenix
Now that Barnes is off the market,who is out there with that skillset (that will come cheap)? Rose has said in interviews he's been putting in a lot of work to improve his 3pt shot. Deng better be too

[Andrew]

They've worked out McGrady, he's still a possibility. How cheap does Josh Howard want to work? (Probably nowhere cheap enough for him to be a feasible, low risk option.)

How about...Damien Wilkins? Roger Mason? Michael Finley? Pickings are kind of slim, unless I'm overlooking an obvious choice. Mason wouldn't be bad for another three point shooter off the bench, he kind of tapered off last season but he was in and out of Popovich's rotation which wouldn't help with his consistency.

[George7]

Mason is a decent three point shooter. I can recall him playing at Olympiakos in 2004. Not great player but the best shooter

[Andrew]

So it seems Kurt Thomas to the Bulls is happening. Good stuff.

If they round out the roster with T-Mac and/or someone like Eddie House or Roger Mason, it'll have been a pretty productive offseason thus far and it's not even August.

[Martti.]

If they sign T-Mac and he is willing to come off the bench and stay healthy, I'd put the Bulls right up there in the East with Miami and Orlando.

[Lamrock]

The Bulls still have Taj Gibson, right? Squad should be pretty deep next year. They would become my new favorite East team if they signed the great Salim Stoudamire.

[Andrew]

Yes, they've still got Gibson.

If they sign T-Mac and he is willing to come off the bench and stay healthy, I'd put the Bulls right up there in the East with Miami and Orlando.

We'll see. I think they'll be greatly improved and I like what they've done so far but with Miami's Big Three, Orlando bringing back most of the same roster and the Celtics still up there, they'll have some stiff competition at the top of the East.

[George7]

It seems that east is becoming better than the western conference

[Andrew]

I don't know about that, but certainly perhaps less of a laughing stock.

[NovU]

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... NBA&id=473

He's got a shaky back and bad legs, and should be nothing more than a minimum-salaried role player in the NBA from here on out.

If AI killed his ego a bit, I wouldn't mind signing AI over T-Mac, if came at the same price.

[Andrew]

For the role that's on offer, I'd prefer McGrady. I think he'd be able to curb his ego a little better and I think they'd be better off signing a swingman with size than another small guard, especially if there's still a chance they'll bring in House.

[Jeffx]

So it seems Kurt Thomas to the Bulls is happening. Good stuff.

Excellent move. Crazy Eyes gives you rebounding and hard-nosed defense.

[Andrew]

Yeah I definitely like the move. He's obviously a short term solution but as I said before I like the idea of them having a solid, veteran big like Thomas - even if Thomas is undersized at centre - as an insurance policy in case Asik doesn't pan out or is slow to find his feet in the NBA. The Bulls missed out on the biggest prizes but again I like what they've done this offseason.

[air gordon]

They've worked out McGrady, he's still a possibility. How cheap does Josh Howard want to work? (Probably nowhere cheap enough for him to be a feasible, low risk option.)

How about...Damien Wilkins? Roger Mason? Michael Finley? Pickings are kind of slim, unless I'm overlooking an obvious choice. Mason wouldn't be bad for another three point shooter off the bench, he kind of tapered off last season but he was in and out of Popovich's rotation which wouldn't help with his consistency.

it'e being reported after the Kurt Thomas signing (i wonder if VDN was still still here- would he call him kirk?), the bulls have $3mil to play with

looking at the roster now...
Rose
Brewer
Deng
Boozah
Noah

Gibson
Korver
Watson
Crazy Eyes
Asik
J Johnson

i think the rotation is set. watson & Korver should be eating up most of the reserve perimeter minutes and Gibson the primary backup PF/C. Watson & Kurt prolly 10-15mins per. Watson maybe some more depending on the matchups. and James Johnson & Asik for cleanup duty.

i suppose if you want a kurt thomas role for the perimeter still, Roger Mason makes sense. I"m not sure Mason will take less $ then he was making last year to be the 3rd guard off the bench.

going over the FA list.. some other cheap options- Rodney Carney, Jarvis Hayes. not much out there. I'd be on board w/Eddie House. he would make the most impact off the bench. or even Earl Watson. i'd like to see some small lineups where Rose slides to SG and one of those 2 play PG

[Jeffx]

I'd be on board w/Eddie House. he would make the most impact off the bench.

I agree about House.

[George7]

Ai or T-Mac would come for 3 millions but have the best chance to get the ring than anyother team which wants them? Unless the heat make an offer with minimum salary though

[Fenix]

No to Iverson and Mcgrady. There are no shots available for them and I seriously doubt they would be willing to take a reduced role (9th man or 2nd guard off the bench, which is what we're looking for right now). I would rather take Eddie House or Roger Mason Jr., both already mentioned by some of you, and who could present another veteran presence.

Noah/Asik/Thomas
Boozer/Gibson/Noah
Deng/Korver/Johnson
Brewer/Korver/House or Mason
Rose/Miles/House or Mason

That's the best balanced team in the League, especially if Deng and Rose really improve their shooting range this summer.

[Andrew]

McGrady seems more likely to accept that role. I presume so anyway, otherwise he wouldn't be working out for them (I don't think it exactly puts pressure on anyone else to sign him, except perhaps the Clippers) so he must be aware of the opportunity that's on offer and that it isn't a starring role.

[Fenix]

Okay, let's say he is prepared to come off the bench, but is he really worth the risk? Watching him play last year on the Knicks, he's nothing more than a shell of his former self. His body is breaking down with chronic injuries (back, knees) that don't really get better with age, and we already have very decent players playing his position(s), namely Deng, Korver and Brewer. Throwing McGrady into the mix would only screw with the chemistry, as he would be taking minutes from other swingmen (even if he is prepared to take a reduced role, he probably still expects at least some minutes, for instance 15-20 minutes per night), while not bringing anything really exceptional to the table.