Yahoo sports reports that Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are meeting with the Detroit Pistons today and that a deal may be consumated quickly.
Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon and Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva flew to Detroit on Wednesday morning for a mid-day meeting with team president Joe Dumars and indications are both are moving rapidly toward deals with the Detroit Pistons, league and sources close to the two players told Yahoo! Sports.
K.C Johnson has submitted a similar piece and adds that the Pistons are expected to offer 5/50 and the deal may be finished today.
Dumars is expected to make Gordon an offer on the first full day of free agency, believed to be in the neighborhood of $50 million over five years.
...
There are some league observers who believe the Gordon deal with the Pistons could be done by the end of Wednesday. The Pistons also are targeting fellow Connecticut alum Charlie Villanueva in free agency.
16 Comments
JVP said:
K.C. Johnson of the Trib is reporting Dumars' offer might be of the 5 year/$50 million variety. If Gordon takes Detroit's offer of $10 mil/year, as a Bulls' fan I'd be extremely disappointed in Gordon's decision as he's been offered that amount or better from Chicago the last two years. I'm hoping that's not the case. I suppose the lure of playing with ex-college teammate Charlie V. might be too much to pass, but it's still extremely disappointing.
Not sure about the rest of you fans, but if BG leaves I'm thinking it will be about the most bitter free agent defection of a player in his prime that the Bulls actually wanted back bolting from Chicago since Horace Grant in the '94 offseason. Can anyone think of a worse defection?
Doug Thonus said:
Gordon attempted to take a 6/54 deal from the Bulls last season and they pulled it fof the table. That was for 9 million per year, so it's hard for me to say Gordon is at fault for signing with another team for 10.
JVP said:
Doug,
Yes, but 2 years ago, everything I read stated a 5 for $50 mil deal was offered then. If he gets more from Detroit than Chicago can offer this year, more power to him. But everyone from Sam Smith to K.C. Johnson to ESPN have reported that BG was offered at least $10 mil/year in the past and he turned the Bulls down.
And about BG trying to take that deal last year, he let the Bulls dangle all summer as they left that offer out for him. They imposed a deadline and he let it pass, from everything I've read and heard via interviews. The whole situation makes you wonder if BG really truly wants to play for the Bulls still, despite all of his public statements to the contrary. I'm hopeful the Bulls and BG can come to an agreement, though.
Calogero said:
I'm not entirely sure of this, but can't free agents not officially sign until July 8th, so even if BG says he accepts today, we could still court him and throw offers at him for a week?
Timchi said:
If BG signs with Detroit . . .man. That'll be a pretty tough pill to swallow. Will anyone laugh at me if I confess that I am literally praying that this doesn't happen, even though I'm agnostic? Couldn't hurt.
JVP said:
Not at all, man. I'm totally with you. I keep getting nightmare visions of BG hitting a playoff-game-winning three at the UC in ugly-ass Pistons' garb and doing his little "three point hand signal" to our crowd. Shudder. Sort of like Horace Grant waving his towel and getting carried out on Shaq's shoulders at the UC in '95 for the Magic. Geez.........I think I'm gonna be sick........
Doug Thonus said:
Doug Thonus said:
Doug Thonus said:
Mark Deeks said:
It looks like it's over. And that'll suck. Particulaerly if it's only 5/$50 mil.
If it's more than that, though, then it might be for the best.
JVP said:
Maybe Bulls fans can all kick in $20 bucks to supplement any contract the Bulls offer BG----sort of a "Save Our Threes" fund? Whaddya say, Bulls fans?
HE CAN'T GO TO DETROIT! GAG!
Mark Deeks said:
What worries me most is that the Bulls are going to have to do something they haven't done since 2004, and find steals. We all talk about the big moves, and they'll be great if they happen, but they probably won't. Yet even if Gordon walks, there's not a lot of money to play with, and so the Bulls are going to have to find good contributors for small prices. And we haven't done that since the 2004 offseason, really.
Mark Deeks said:
Oh and I'll chip in a fiver. It might be a deal breaker.
JVP said:
Awesome! Five bucks closer to Title # 7, thanks to Mister Deeks! Save our Threes!
rodman said:
Well he said he wanted to see what the Bulls offer would be right??? I hope the Bulls take the chance and give him just a bit more.
Mark Deeks said:
No no, five pounds not five dollars. Five pounds is about seventy jillion dollars.
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