Chicago Bulls Confidential

After re-signing Lindsey Hunter and buying out Tim Thomas, the Bulls have a couple of quid to spend. Even when working on the assumption that Aaron Gray will re-sign for his $1,000,497 qualifying offer, they're able to afford one more minimum salary contract and still stay under the luxury tax. And they have two roster spots with which to do it.

There follows a list of potential free agent candidates that might fit the Bulls price range and team needs. While we can perhaps universally agree that the Bulls needs mainly comprise of a post scorer, another shooter and one more rebounder, and that more point guards and small forwards are really not necessary, some players that don't necessarily conform to those requirements are included anyway. Mainly on the basis that I felt like it.

(Stephon Marbury not included. Obviously.)
Players listed in no order other than alphabetical.

Alex Acker - Acker is a combo guard of sorts, who rebounds well, and who has improved his jumpshot markedly over the years. He can run some offense, even at 6'5, and has quite the adept offensive game. If he could be bothered to play defense, he'd stop falling out of the NBA.

Blake Ahearn - for the last two years, Blake Ahearn has been one of the best players in the D-League. For example, last year with the Dakota Wizards, Ahearn averaged 22.7 points and 5.1 assists per game, on a frankly ridiculous 67% true shooting percentage. All this coming as a 6'2 guard. Ahearn has already had stints with the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs, and he'll continue to get looks, because the league always needs shooters. The Bulls are no exception.

James Augustine - Augustine put up a decent showing for the Bulls in summer league, scoring very efficiently and rebounding well. His two year stint with the Orlando Magic had been somewhat forgettable, but he had a solid showing with Gran Canaria last season, a good Spanish team, averaging 7.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The Bulls could use a power forward with solid rebounding and scoring numbers, but the depth chart might be against him.

Maceo Baston - Despite so few years in the NBA, Macy O'Baston is 33 years old, and was actually drafted by the Bulls way back in 1998. He's spent the last three years in the NBA, barely playing, but has shown a decent inside/outside offensive game in what little time he's procured. A last shot at fame and playing time in Europe might be the more sensible option for Mace, but if he were to snag one more NBA minimum salary contract, it wouldn't be entirely wasted.

Keith Bogans - For several years, Keith Bogans has been overrated and overused. In the last 6 years, he's appeared in 425 NBA games, starting 177 times, which doesn't seem right for a man with a career sub-40% shooting mark and defense best described as 'overrated.' That said, for better or worse, Bogans will get you some points in the paint, hit some corner threes, and play some solid defense on opposing wing players. He's not a bad 10th or 11th man to have. I just wouldn't advocate starting him too much.

Bruce Bowen - The chances are that Bowen either catches on with a contender, or retires. We're not the former, and the latter is even less useful. However, if the Bulls are really re-committed to defensive personnel, as they apparently claim to be, then Bowen ought to be considered.

Rodney Carney - Carney's agent claims that more than ten teams are interested in Carney's services, which seems unlikely considering that he's not been signed yet. He had a decent bounce-back season, in what's turned out to be a contract year. Carney showed a better jumpshot than before, which at least gave him a defined roleeven if it didn't do much for his scoring efficiency.

Paul Davis - Just me, then?

Dan Dickau - Since the Bulls are one of the few NBA teams that Dan Dickau has not been a member of, it feels overdue. Dickau's game is very one dimensional, and the fact that it's the same dimension as Jannero Pargo's doesn't really help anyone. But, in case of a midseason point guard injury emergency, Dickau makes for some solid veteran cover. That is if he's not a German league All-Star by then.

Juan Dixon - Dixon has the same problem as Dickau, in that he's an undersized shooter with not much point guard ability, being considered for a team already with Jannero Pargo. Dixon's prospects are further hampered by the fact that he's not even really a good three point shooter; he thrives on long two's, the most inefficient shot in the game, and he has only a 34% career three point mark. That said, he is still a shooter, and so he can't be totally dismissed.

Ronald Dupree - Last year marked the first year of his professional career that ex-Bull Dupree didn't play a minute in the NBA. He went to a training camp battle with the Cavaliers, but lost out to Jawad Williams, and never appeared in a regular season game. Doop's still the same player that he ever was; big, athletic, good defensively, not a good shooter, fringe NBA calibre, and with the tendency to miss an alarming about of layups. However, strange as it may seem, we could perhaps use someone like that. We're one injury away from having either Luol Deng or Jannero Pargo guard the two guard for a few minutes every night. If that happens, it's going to be bad times.

Melvin Ely - Ely is a player that I've long been against signing, mainly because of people's misunderstanding of what they'd be investing in. It seems to go largely unacknowledged that Ely is 31 years old already, that he's not actually a good interior scorer (he has more seasons shooting under 40% than he does shooting over 50%), and that he's a very bad rebounder (less than 10 rebounds per 48 minutes). Ely had one good year in 2005-06 which won him some fans, but he did nothing before that, and has done far less since.

Thomas Gardner - Another ex-Bull, Gardner spent last year on the Hawks roster, where he barely played before being let go without a fight. He's a big two guard with a decent jumpshot, who won some Bulls fans hearts in his brief time here when he scored 14 points on 16 shots in a blowout loss one night. But he probably doesn't have the talent.

Mickael Gelabale - The former draft pick of the Sonics had finally started to make some progress down the stretch of the 2007-08 season, but then tore his knee in March 2008 and was sidelined for a year. He returned to action in March 2009, playing in 6 games for the L.A. D-Fenders of the D-League and averaging 16ppg, which isn't bad going from a man recovering from knee surgery. (Side note: Gelabale actually signed with Lucentum Alicante in Spain last week, but the contract was voided when the team changed the financial terms of the contract without permission. Fun fact.)

Gerald Green - Once much hyped, Green hasn't really done anything in his four years in the NBA. He's still a bad ballhandler, he's still an awful defender, and he still never exactly applies himself. That said, he's still a good shooter and a great athlete, who is young enough to still realise the potential that those two things give him. It may be worth a shot.

Luther Head - A personal favourite of mine for no real reason whatsoever. Head is quite a jarringly bad dribbler for a 6'2 guard, and he passes about as pleasantly as a crack whore's flatulence, but he's a good shooter and a good defender who has been a key contributor to playoff teams already in his young career. Then again, he was also waived by Houston before his rookie contract expired, which doesn't bode well. But I'll happily blame Von Wafer for that.

Allen Iverson - For the minimum salary, the value would be impressive. Especially consider the mercifully baseless rumour from last month that suggested we might try to sign and trade for him.

Bobby Jackson - Jackson's best days are a long way behind him, and he survives only as a 5th guard option these days. He's hurtling towards 40, which isn't good for a man's ability to push the ball, but he can still shoot fairly well, even if he refuses to stand still while doing it. He may retire, though.

Dwayne Jones - Jones can flat out rebound the ball, and is a genuine 6'11. (Note: genuine 6'11 is better than fake 6'11.) He's not a bad defensive player, and has been in the league for bit parts of the last four seasons on merit. His offensive is underdeveloped and awkward looking (he has totalled more fouls than points in his career thus far), but when you're signing a minimum salary centre, you're not going to get a scoring champion.

Tarence Kinsey - Speaking of scoring champions, Tarence Kinsey can flat out score the ball, and is the king(-sey) of garbage time. In doing so, he doesn't pass whatsoever, but that's the risk you take. The Cavaliers waived him last week to avoid guaranteeing his contract, but he played well in limited minutes there, and showed some signs with Memphis earlier in his career. Since this list is primarily designed for enticing potential twelfth men, mark down Tarence Kinsey's name. He's potentially enticing.

Tyronn Lue - Last year wasn't a good year for Lue. He should have seen it coming, really, as he signed with the Bucks, who already had Ramon Sessions and Luke Ridnour as point guard incumbents. Regardless, though, Lue is only 32 and should have a couple of seasons left in him.

Desmond Mason - Mason has fallen off quite a lot in the last two years. His offense, which never really developed, is now almost non-existent, and the athleticism has begun to fail him. However, he still rebounds his position well and plays some good perimeter defense, and he's also useful for the occasional post-up. He's the complete opposite of the shooter that we need, and still shoots his free throws like a dog coming in from the rain, yet he could fill other needs.

Rashad McCants - Last week, McCants tweeted the following;

What free agent sg out there ever avg more then 10ppg

He makes a grammatically incorrect yet solid point. However, there's more to it than that. McCants is a one dimensional scorer, whose dimension doesn't include passing. He's a good scorer and a good shooter, but he's also a chucker, whose net effect on the court is termperamental. Nevertheless, he's worthy of a place in the league, and could be a bench shooting option for the Bulls.

Jerel McNeal - McNeal could do a decent Ben Gordon impression, as long as you're willing to overlook the fact that he's not nearly the calibre of shooter. He's not a bad scorer, and he's not a bad slasher either. However, most of the rest of the players on this list are better than him.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu - If I were to deny that part of my affinity for Pops comes from the fact that he's English (like me), then I'd be lying to you. So I won't do that. But Pops also gets things done - he gets rebounds, he plays busy if not entirely sensible defense, and he can fashion some hustle points out of nothing. He's not particularly offensively talented, and is about as smart as dominoes in a hurricane, but he showed last year that he can play in the NBA. And it just so happens that we could use an extra rebounder.

Mikki Moore - Always a Bulls killer, Moore had a terrible year last year after two consecutive good ones. He was less useful to the Celtics in the playoffs than Brian Scalabrine, which could be motivation enough to make a man rethink his life's goals. However, if Moore were to catch a second wind, he'd be a decent bench big, a decent scorer who could spell the people who spell the starters. Maybe.

Ronald Murray - For the longest time, I have complained that Murray was overrated. I said that he wasn't a good shooter, couldn't play point guard, played shocking defense was was highly inefficient. But last year, he genuinely played really well as a key bench contributor on a good Atlanta team, and yet now he's being overlooked. The Hawks needlessly traded for Jamal Crawford to usurp Murray's role, and the rest of the league looking him; now, he's underrated. Someone should have signed him by now, and if the Bulls can pick him up for cheap, they will have done some good business.

Ruben Patterson - It's been a weird three years for Patterson. In 2006/07, he had the best season of his career. But all he could get from it was an unguaranteed minimum salary contract with the Clippers. He was then waived in January 2008, and was out of the NBA altogether last year. Now the obvious one mitigating factor in this is that Patterson has to sign the sex offenders register wherever he goes due to his conviction on an attempted rape charge 8 years ago. And that factors pretty freaking big style. But if someone were to overlook that for a minute - as well as Ruben's tendency to both punch and be punched - they'd find that Ruben can play this game. Then again, how can you fault anyone for not being willing to overlook something like that?

Johan Petro - Petro used to be a starting centre, but last season went a bit wrong for him. The Nuggets left him unrestricted, which is never a good sign, and he hasn't really drawn any offers yet. So he's definitely available enough. However, the thought of having two French centres on the team is worrying. We don't want to completely surrender the paint.

Leon Powe - When healthy, Leon Powe is a teriffic fit for the Bulls. Nailing himself to the post, Powe endlessly barrels into people on offense to great effect, being an efficient and effective bench scorer, as well as a solid rebounder. Unfortunately, the first two words of this stanza are the most important ones; Powe isn't healthy. He's currently recovering from another major knee surgery, the fifth or sixth of his young life, and if he plays at all next season then it won't be until late. I personally would advocate signing him to stash him; it's a risk, but it's not a huge one, and the reward is obvious.

Eddie Robinson - Robinson has played only 27 games in the last 5 years. His only contract in that time came with the Idaho Stampede in 2006-07. This isn't good news for his NBA prospects, if any of them remained. Also counting against him is the fact that he's Eddie Robinson. But it would be a laugh, wouldn't it?

Malik Rose - Rose has gotten steadily worse over the years, and now that the guaranteed money has run out, so may the work. Then again, he showed a small sliver of life down the stretch of the season for Oklahoma City, so maybe one more season of decent rebounding and heavy fouling is left in the tank.

Kareem Rush - Everyone likes Rush as a shooter. There's some weird thing that makes people think he's a great three point shooter. And he's certainly a one dimensional scorer. But Rush also has 2,204 career points on 2,178 shots, a frankly awful efficiency rating, shooting 40% from the field and 36% from three for his career. He's almost exactly as inefficient as Jannero Pargo, but without the occasional ability to masquerade as a lead guard to make up for it. Let's not go there.

Courtney Sims - Sims is one of the best big men not in the NBA. He put up Dwight Howard-like numbers in the D-League last season, earning him stints with both the Suns and Knicks, but nothing lasting. The Bulls will have four centres once Gray re-signs, so signing a fifth isn't exactly a priority. But it's also not good business to turn down signing potentially useful future pieces just because you're stuck with Jerome James and Brad Miller for eight more months. So Sims et al shouldn't be ruled out on that basis alone.

Brian Skinner - Another personal favourite. Wherever he goes, and however much he plays, Skinner racks up pretty rebounds and blocked shots numbers. In spite of owning the worst hands in showbusiness, and with offensive touch best defined as "sketchy," Skinner can make some good things happen defensively. He also has a novelty beard, which will be fun to look at when we're bored.

Joe Smith - Regardless of its impact on the Bulls salary cap management, the Bulls signing of Joe Smith two years ago was great fun. Smiling Joe never stopped beaming, and had an entertaining second wind while masquerading as the only big man on the team worth a damn. There'll be a bidding war on Smith's services that the Bulls would no doubt lose, but in an ideal world, we'd have Joe's eternally happy lefty jump hooks coming off our bench right now. Damn shame.

Kirk Snyder - There are plus points to this idea. Snyder is a big two guard, strrong and athletic, with some ugly but effective offensive skill. He can slash to the rim and post up, get out and run, and is a good rebounder for his position. The only slight downside is that Snyder is currently confined to a psychiatric ward of a jail by court order, placed on permanent suicide watch and refusing to eat or take his medication. At worst, it's a mixed bag.

Mike Sweetney - The Bulls never waived Sweetney - they just let his contract expire - and he hasn't signed in the NBA since. They subsequently have full Bird rights on him. This means that right now, we could sign Michael Sweetney to a 5 year, $82 million contract. Just something to consider.

Stromile Swift - Perhaps the team with Tyrus Thomas should be the last team to sign Stromile Swift, given the constant (and increasingly accurate) comparisons often made between the two. But such comparison often fail to mention that Swift is an NBA calibre player, on both ends of the floor. Even after consecutive sub-par years, Swift is worthy of a minimum salary contract from someone.

Wally Szczerbiak - Szezrbiak's days of being able to defend the two guard, if they ever really existed, are about 5 years in the past. Yet even though he can't really do much with it any more, he's still one of the best shooters in the game. He's a defensive hole, but you can never have too many shooters. Particularly ones with jawlines like that. (Doug also can't pronounce his name, which would add some mild entertainment to our lives.) 

Mike Taylor - Taylor is an undersized shooting guard with a less than brilliant jumpshot. Such players are easily replicated, admittedly, but Taylor showed some signs of usefulness last season. He was waived by the Clippers last week, despite having a decent rookie season (and despite L.A. giving up a 30's pick to get him); this is because his contract was about to become guaranteed. As ever, money talks. Were things to change drastically, and the Bulls suddenly need another undersized guard, Taylor would be on the "maybe" pile.

Ime Udoka - The Bulls don't need a small forward. On this, we're all pretty much agreed. And Udoka is definitely that. But he provides some solid perimeter defense, some heady veteraness, and a good corner three point shot that every team needs. Even if we don't need to fill his spot on the depth chart, we need his skillset. Is there not room somewhere?

Bonzi Wells - If things were different, Bonzi Wells would be earning about $8 million this year from the Sacramento Kings. However, since his former agent's quite biblical bugger-up of his contract negotiations three years ago, Wells is now without a contract. The Bulls nearly traded Sweetney for him once, which would suggest at least a small level of interest, and Wells can still play the game. He may be a bit of a rainyface, but he can score on the inside, rebound and play interested defense. And if you sign someone to a one year minimum salary contract, they tend to play nice and work hard. It's one to think about.

Got any names of your own that you think the Bulls should consider? Discuss them below.