Comments for Ben Gordon meeting with Detroit Pistons

Ben Gordon meeting with Detroit Pistons

2009-07-01T16:01:06Z

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.

The rumors have been pointing towards Detroit for some time. What remains will be whether or not Gordon signs right away or whether he comes back to the Bulls to look for an offer there.

It will also be interesting to see what the Pistons negotiating strategy is. In the past, the Pistons haven't been aggressive bidders with their own free agents and have looked to get players in on quality deals without throwing money at them.

It seems unlikely they'd change gears for Ben Gordon, but perhaps their bidding philosophy differs with free agents from other teams rather than their own.

Update ---

5/50 that K.C. is reporting doesn't seem to be enough money to make Gordon sign immediately. If I were Ben Gordon, then I'd be coming back to the Bulls to attempt to get a similar 10 per year deal for six years.

Comment from JVP on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T17:06:41Z

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?

Comment from Doug Thonus on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T17:25:22Z

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.

Comment from Calogero on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T17:25:50Z

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?

Comment from JVP on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T17:38:41Z

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.

Comment from Timchi on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:03:31Z

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.

Comment from Doug Thonus on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:05:07Z

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?

That's true, but once they have a legit handshake deal then it's unlikely to change.

Comment from Doug Thonus on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:06:19Z

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.

But in the end, it was still the Bulls rejecting Gordon not the other way around. Gordon attempted to sign for 6 years at 9 per year, and we said no. Everything that happened before that may shed light on why that happened, but we had our chance to get him for less than 10 million per year and turned it down.

Comment from Doug Thonus on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:07:03Z

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.

I think it's looking awfully likely. We'll have to see, I just hope it happens fast.

Comment from JVP on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:10:49Z

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........

Comment from Mark Deeks on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:13:54Z

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.

Comment from JVP on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:20:34Z

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!

Comment from Mark Deeks on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:23:53Z

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.

Comment from Mark Deeks on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:24:15Z

Oh and I'll chip in a fiver. It might be a deal breaker.

Comment from JVP on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:30:19Z

Awesome! Five bucks closer to Title # 7, thanks to Mister Deeks! Save our Threes!

Comment from rodman on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:32:07Z

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.

Comment from Mark Deeks on 2009-07-01

2009-07-01T18:40:07Z

No no, five pounds not five dollars. Five pounds is about seventy jillion dollars.