free-agent market

Bulls not planning free-agent fireworks
By K.C. Johnson

July 1, 2007
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The Bulls will be using their midlevel salary-cap exception (approximately $5.5 million) and biannual veteran's exception (approximately $1.8 million) to kick the tires on the likes of Mihm, Melvin Ely, Joe Smith, Corliss Williamson, Marc Jackson and P.J. Brown.

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And that's where the free agent situation gets interesting.

Forward Andres Nocioni is entering the restricted free-agent market. The Bulls, who own the right to match any offers he receives, would keep him—at the right price.

But he also could be used as an asset in a sign-and-trade maneuver as part of a larger deal for a scoring big man.

The Bulls will be monitoring the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes closely. They also still have interest in Grizzlies big man Pau Gasol, if he is made available. The only sure thing is Luol Deng isn't included in any discussions.

Nothing that happens this summer will equal the big splash of signing Wallace. But expect some movement before the end of the month.

You naturally want to know what happens next with Kevin Garnett.

Us, too.

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The refreshed list of possibilities:

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CHICAGO

If I were smarter, one team keeps telling me, I would have started this list with the Bulls. "Chicago is best positioned to [make a trade] for both Kobe [or] KG," this executive maintains.

With Kobe -- forgetting for a minute that the Lakers have less than zero interest in trading him -- I buy that claim because Chicago is where Kobe wants to go.

In KG's case? It's not because of Garnett's high school ties to Chicago, my exec says, but because the Bulls play in the conference Minnesota would prefer to deal with and because they possess their own stable of desirable youngsters that Minnesota can't ignore. The Bulls arguably have enough to deal directly with the Wolves, with Noah as the latest arrival and McHale having publicly stated his interest in him.

Yet even if the Bulls plug P.J. Brown into the deal via sign-and-trade -- the 37-year-old can't sign for less than three years in a sign-and-trade, but league rules stipulate that only one year must be guaranteed, which in effect creates an expiring contract -- Chicago will naturally attempt to keep Luol Deng (and probably Kirk Hinrich) off limits.

Is a package featuring Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha and maybe even Noah sufficient? Doesn't exactly compare to the haul that the inimitable Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune says Minnesota turned down a year ago: Tyson Chandler, Deng and the No. 2 pick in the draft.

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