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NBA Sunday: Can Bulls Re-Sign Gordon?

By: Joel Brigham   Last Updated: 5/3/09 11:38 AM ET | 7398 times read
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What's Next for Gordon?
 
The Bulls/Celtics series was one of the ages, but now that the Playoffs are over in Chicago the drama surrounding this team turns to unrestricted free agent Ben Gordon.
 
It's a classic conundrum; Gordon has led the team in scoring the last four seasons and has earned the trust of his teammates as the go-to guy down the stretch, but the amount of money he seems to want is likely more than the Bulls can afford to pay such a one-dimensional player. 
 
Gordon turned down a 5-year, $52.5 million contract offer last summer and will likely look for something higher this offseason, but he'll be lucky to get it.
 
"I really don't know (what will happen)," Gordon told Sam Smith of Bulls.com, "I'm just going to have to wait and see what my options are. See what the Bulls want to do and go from there. I'd like to be here. I wanted to be here the last two summers, too, and didn't happen. So you never know."
 
Considering how well Gordon has played alongside standout point guard Derrick Rose, Chicago would love to bring their sharpshooter back. In time the focus of the offense will shift to Rose, who hopefully can ebb the number of possessions where Gordon dribbles the ball for 20 seconds and then jacks up a horrible shot over a taller defender or a double-team. If the Bulls re-sign him, they're hoping it's with a much-improved Rose, and they're probably hoping to lock him in at somewhere between $7-8 million per year.
 
If Gordon wants more than that he may have to go elsewhere, but one has to wonder what other team(s) out there would pony up more than that. Gordon's not necessarily the most premier free agent of the upcoming summer, but seeing how well the Bulls played in the first round a lot of eyes will be set on the outcome of this situation. Momentum in Chicago could depend on it.
 
Rebuild or Reload?
 
One of the most popular stories for papers to run at the end of a Playoff series is what the losing team will do with its roster in the offseason. If the loss was nasty, fans and media call for big changes, but are big changes always necessary? Of all the teams that have been eliminated from the Playoffs so far, only a handful really need to make wholesale changes.
 
Detroit – No playoff team needs changes more. Hold onto Rodney Stuckey and cash out anybody else you can.
 
Chicago – Everyone agrees the Bulls have a bright future. Don't touch a thing—and that includes bringing back Ben Gordon if the price is right.
 
Philadelphia – This is a perfect example of people over-exaggerating discontent around a team. This was a team that played very well without Elton Brand for long stretches. This is a talented group much more capable of winning than they proved this season. Don't panic, Sixers; hold it together.
 
Utah – The Jazz would probably keep it all together if they had a choice, but only something like five players on the roster are under contract for next season. It's going to be hard to keep Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap, so which one will Utah choose? Changes are coming, whether Utah needs them or not.
 
San Antonio – The title run might be over, but it's hard to imagine any big changes that the Spurs can actually make. Tim Duncan will retire in San Antonio, Manu Ginobili's injury issues make him hard to move, and Tony Parker is the team's future. Like it or not, the Spurs are stuck, but if healthy they're still a top-four team in the West, so that's probably okay… for now.
 
Portland – Don't touch a thing. The core of this group is just as promising—and probably more so—than Chicago in the Eastern Conference. Brandon Roy is for real and his supporting cast is just too young to be great yet. But they'll get there.
 
New Orleans – The Hornets are the trickiest group of the batch to figure out. They will likely try to move Tyson Chandler again this summer, but his injury issues and contract will make that difficult to do. It's been pointed out by quite a few people that they're only non-Chris-Paul trading chip may be David West. Is moving one of their All-Stars worth saving some coin? There's a lot of dough locked into a group that's supposed to be contending for a title but aren't, so changes are coming this summer. The scale of those changes, though, is still up for debate.
 
Artest a Verbal Treasure
 
You've got to hand it to Ron Artest—the man has his comedic moments. Earlier this week in an interview with Craig Sager he said that Portland guard Brandon Roy was the best player he ever played against. Sager asked if that assessment includes Kobe Bryant, and here was Artest's unflinching response:
 
"Outside a guy from my hood in Queens Bridge… who went to jail for a couple years when he was fifteen, sixteen years old, he was the best player I ever played against. Now it's Roy."
 
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We'll see if he changes his tone when the Rockets travel to L.A. next week, but in the meantime it's hard not to giggle at that. It's hard to fully appreciate the comedy without seeing it, so check out the full interview HERE.
 
Getting Derrick to Dominate
 
Bill Woten, author of "Game 7: Inside the NBA's Ultimate Showdown," was of course watching last night's Game 7 of the Bulls/Celtics series and made some interesting observations about Derrick Rose who, in Woten's words, "never was able to impose his will in this game." He points out, quarter-by-quarter, the manner in which Rose got his 18 points.
 
With 8 points in the first quarter and 10 points in the third, Rose went scoreless in the second and fourth quarters, when his skill at getting to the basketball could have been a huge help. But he also was only 4-of-10 in the paint because Boston made it so difficult for him to scoop in his easy layups.
 
Next season Rose is going to have to keep the ball in his hands in the fourth quarter to create instead of letting Ben Gordon or John Salmons dribble out the clock. Rose is still deferring to his more experienced teammates, and his success will depend on him taking more of a leadership role on the court.
 
Obviously the kid has promise, but these sorts of numbers remind us that he was in fact just a rookie for this series. Next year, though, is a whole new chapter.
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About the Author: JOEL BRIGHAM
Joel Brigham is a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and has covered the NBA for HOOPSWORLD for three years, powering HOOPSWORLD.COM.

Comments (17 posted) Post your comment
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posted By 6ersfan, 3 May 2009 11:43:46 AM
Sixers are a mess. You don't know what your talking about. They act like they are accomplishing something by getting the 8th spot in east every year and that just keeps you in purgatory without the lottery pick to get a true superstar. They don't have a point guard, a center, or a 2 guard. Your two best players play the same position and Elton Brand could possibily be a shell of the player he used to be with that huge contract. Also, everyone focuses on Chandler being the reason the Hornets lose but Peja by far is the guy thats letting them down the most.
posted By ya, 3 May 2009 2:39:38 PM
Let Gordon go. Rose and Salmons are a good backcourt combo. Salmons can play sg. when Deng comes back and then you have Hinrich coming off the bench.
posted By moolah, 3 May 2009 2:47:22 PM
Dont get me wrong I love BG as a competitor and clutch shooter, but he has too many negatives. As mentioned in the article he is a ballhog and a gun, and it goes unmentioned that he often shoots them out of games. Towards the end of the game i think teammates became invisible to him. Also, he does not play defense. At all.
posted By Rocketfan2503, 3 May 2009 3:18:14 PM
Wow,6ers Fan makes alot of sense. Well...I mean about the Hornets thing. Peja hasn't done much for them. I remember reading on NBAtv off the bottom line thing that they had signed him and I was like "Wow", but I haven't seen much from him. Guess he's just getting old and injuries have ruined him. Also I love Ben Gordon as a player and I hope he lowers his price range. I'd love for the Rockets to sign him, but then again I don't think it'd work out. Who knows? If the Bulls are smart they'll resign him. He shouldn't expect alot since with the economy and whatnot.
posted By Rocketfan2503, 3 May 2009 3:30:18 PM
So Joel you being the Bulls fan that you are, What do you think? Fan Wise and as a Professional Writer? Just wondering.
posted By ..., 3 May 2009 4:09:21 PM
These no changes statements are way too shortsighted. For one, its pretty clear the blazers need a 3rd scorer to go along with aldridge and roy, as do the spurs.
posted By Blazerfan, 3 May 2009 6:16:24 PM
I think Martell webster will be the third scorer for the Blazers next year, but it would be nice to get a more athletic playmaking PG.
posted By Don't understand, 3 May 2009 9:58:26 PM
Who is Salmons that a back step to replace Derrick and Gordan combo rated 2nd among guards.
posted By another 6ers fan, 3 May 2009 10:01:15 PM
I co-sign with the first comment.
posted By Netflix, 4 May 2009 12:02:05 AM
We have a good core of young players but they just lack the benefits of a experienced coaching staff. We've never developed anyone. Everyone that leaves the Bulls instantly becomes better. Is this a mere coincidence? I don't think so. They picked Del Negro because he was cheap and we all know who is the most frugal owner ever. My goldfish can coach the bulls better than Vinny. John Paxson hasn't done anything since hitting those wide open shoots in the finals. They have the best resources money can buy. So why does everyone still look like boys. Say what you want about Ben Gordan but at least he hits the gym. Now lock the rest of them in there for the summer and see what happens in the playoffs next year. Lou Deng is who we thought he was... trade-bate. John Salmons is a poor-man's Paul Peirce. Kirk is the best all-around guard we have. D-Rose needs to face him in practice to continue his growth. Don't forget Kirk really gives D-Wade problems. Tyrus is a legitimate shot-blocker. When he is in the game people alter their shots and that's not a stat. All he needs is to put on more muscle, get a jump-hook, work on ball handling and body control. His jumper is coming along. Just think of the benefits of having a bigger, stronger more under-control Ty Thomas. He can guard everyone from KG to Lebron. We have to tailor make our team to be in the trenches of the eastern conference playoffs. When the Pistons used to eliminate the old Bulls every year, they got in the gym. The next time they meet in the playoffs, they where a stronger team. We can't depend on the refs to give us calls like they give the defending champs. You just have to beat them so bad that not even the refs can save them. Noah did a great job with Perkins and Big Baby considering they probably outweighed him by 50lbs. Although without an outside shoot you become a liability to your teammate because your man cheats off of you. So what if he has hair like my sister's and shoots like her too, an open shot is an open shoot. Do like P. Diddy would say and "take dat, take dat". If you miss follow your shot and get a tip. It's better than the shot clock winding down and BG gets the ball and starts dribbling like Hot Sauce and hoists up a flying dolphin kick 3pt. Those shots create long rebounds and quick outlet passes and guess who is not rebounding nor playing defense. When he takes good shots he is lights out. I can't blame him because I remember when we didn't have anyone who wanted to pull the trigger but now that we have options like Rose and Salmons his skills are more expendable. If we let him go it will come back and bite us in the tuck-is. He might not be the best team player but he did go shot for shot with the leagues best shooter Ray Allen but he uses screens. If we had coaches that could come up with clever ways to get him open shots....then he wouldn't have to be Hot Sauce. D-Rose gets a C+ for his first year only because I know what he is capable of... Greatness!! He can get the ball and take it coast to coast every time. Keep doing that until they stop you. He can get passive at times and careless with the ball. He needs to work on his ball handling because he has a high dribble while in traffic. Rondo was reaching too much. If someone wants to reach.... make them pay, if they play off you...make them pay!!! He needs to study the way Chris Paul gets in the lane and freezes the defense with his erky jerky style which frees up teammates for alley-oops. Athleticism can only get you so far. He looks like a Fat Head of himself on defense with his hand by his side. He has the tools to become a great defender, like D-Wade plays the passing lanes and is a sneaky shoot blocker. Brad Miller should have never left Chicago in the first place. He is a savvy blue-collar veteran. A poor man's Vlaide Divac. I don't know why they don't run the offense through him like in Sacramento.
posted By Stop talking about Roy, he's not playing anymore, 4 May 2009 6:55:33 AM
This site is beyond a joke. The bulls team may have finished the season well, but there roster is a mess. Rose is the only certain keep, try and get a star which isn't overpaid (Deng is, Gordon will be soon), to support him.
posted By I'm the 15 year old, 4 May 2009 6:56:07 AM
I would still dominate in the NBA, Roy is a chump
posted By Yo, 4 May 2009 6:57:08 AM
Get over Roy, that quote has already been mentioned and nobody cares about him. He's boring and overrated by HW. However, he is underrated by the public, but you don't need to even that perception up.
posted By JJ is in the second round. Roy isn't, 4 May 2009 6:58:33 AM
Can we hear about JJ. He's as underrated as Roy, but never gets a mention. OH, that's right, Roy is nice to you guys so you right good stuff about him everyday.
posted By Keep going HW, 4 May 2009 6:59:50 AM
We're all sick of hearing about Roy, but at least it wasn't talking him up this time. Clearly they think Kobe is better. Or at least they should.
posted By IKECOT3, 31 May 2009 2:44:48 PM
the window has closed on the cavs, i hate to say it but they are about to lose lebron james, had they advanced to the finals it might be different, but they were the best team in the regular season and for them to get eliminated in the conference finals by the magic, it not only put a dent in the cavs plans but it put one in the nbas plans as well. this would have been a dream matchup for the nba, kobe vs james, but it didnt happen that way, and now james will be looking to go elsewhere after next season. my problem with james is he acted like a spoiled brat with no sportsmanship by walking off the floor with his head down and not showing sportsmanship to the oposing team. he is one of the premiere players in the nba, he should know better, and im not saying that he didnt deserve the mvp award, but i think the nba should hold the award after the playoffs, because if anyone deserved it, it was howard, im probably going to get some flack from this but it is what it is. james supporting cast left him vunerable, he had to do too much, most out there is saying james is the best player in the game, i love james dont get me wrong, but until he wins a championship, he is NOT the best player in the nba, that title belongs to kobe who possibly could be winning his 4th title. oh yes, im a bullsfan
posted By lil steve, 23 June 2009 10:25:20 PM
go bulls!



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