line up possibilities for the Bulls

At this point in the game the Bulls options are getting thinner and our number 1 option is still LeBron James. If we can get LeBron and then surround if with Ray Allen or Carlos Boozer that would be the best possible team we will be able to come up with. Ray might be the best bet if we do get LeBron because he needs to be surrounded by 3 point shooters to make him more dangerous. If the bulls can grab Ray Allen for about 6-8 million for a couple seasons and then grab LeBron the Bulls will be a very dangerous team. Getting Ray is not a long term thing though considering he probably only has a few good years left before he becomes a bench player. Boozer is also in his prime of his career being his 8th year this coming season. Getting him on the Bulls as a recruiting factor to get LeBron James could be risky though. They both were actually teammate at the beginning of there careers and they didn't succeed together and Boozer was later traded to the Jazz. But both players have matured and might be able to work better together. The main thing that the Bulls NEED to try and do is trade Deng to a team that needs a small forward. There are a couple of teams that need a small forward like the Wizards if they don't re-sign Howard could end up taking his contract for almost nothing, the Warriors just lost Corey Maggette and could look to unload Monta Ellis, and the T-Wolves who have been trying to shop Al Jefferson for a small forward. All those teams could be in the hunt for Deng and the Bulls need to work fast to try and unload him.

Knicks make a move

The first max player has finally agreed to sign with a new team. Amare Stoudemire has agreed to terms with the contract the New York Knicks have offered him. The All Star forward will receive about 99.7 million dollars over a 5 years span. This could possibly be a huge move for the Knicks because they now have an All Star who can tell LeBron or Wade to join him. One plus the Bulls get out of all of this is that Chris Bosh can no longer go to the Knicks because Amare and Bosh play the same position. Bosh's suitors have been narrowed down to the Bulls, Heat, and with an outside chance of the Nets and Rockets in a sign and trade. A huge plus for the Knicks is that they are still able to try and find a sign and trade for David Lee who also plays the power forward position so he would have to be moved with the addition of Amare. One of the main trade possibility they are looking at is trading David Lee for Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors. The Knicks have many holes in there roster but adding a good point guard will be key because Amare has been used to having a 2 time MVP on his team in Steve Nash since hes been in the league. The guards the Knicks currently have will not be good enough for a playoff roster so look for them to try a sign and trade with Lee for a solid point guard.

Big changes coming....well maybe

During this years free agency many big name players were on the market and were to have thought to leave there teams in search for more money or a chance to be on a better team. But so far there has been a lot of unexpected moves in the NBA. Dirk Nowitzki was one of the bigger surprises in the league when he decided to opt out of his contract. Many teams were interested in Dirks basketball abilities like the Knicks, Mavs, and even the Bulls. But as of recently Dirk has excepted a deal from the Mavs for 4 years and 80 million dollars. This was actually a 16 million dollar pay cut because he was suppose to make 96 million with a 4 year contract. Dirk took the deal on a promise from owner Mark Cuban that he would try and help sign better players to help the Mavs win a title. Joe Johnson another big time free agent that was talked about going to the Bulls or Knicks this off season has made an agreement to sign a deal with his former team the Hawks. Joe Johnson is a 4 time all star and is going to be paid 119 million over 6 year with this new contract and that is 27 million more then he could make anywhere else so that is probably the main reason why he decided to stay. Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics also opted out of his contract in which many teams thought he might be on the move considering the Celtics are an old team and are most likely only going to get worse as a team with aging players like KG, Ray Allen, and Wallace but instead he has also decided to take a pay cut to help his team try to sign better players this off season.

Bulls back up plan

Before free agency began this look extremely bright for our young Chicago Bulls with enough cap space to sign 2 All Stars things could only look up right....? Everything doesn't always go according to plan and the Bulls might be starting to realize that. With most of the the NBA's top talent not looking to go with the Bulls plan its not looking to good for the future. Its looking more and more like Wade's second visit with Bulls management was more of a ply to get Pat Riley to pick up his pace and sign somebody then Wade actually wanting to come to Chicago. The Bulls chances of getting Bosh and LBJ also decrease if we can't move Deng and his 11 million out of town. There is always next year when there is a whole new free agent class with some top stars like Carmelo Anthony. Even though the Nuggets have laid an offer on the table for Melo it doesn't mean that he is going to take it. The Nuggets haven't had many good playoff runs because they always seemed to run into the Lakers. If the Bulls added Melo to their roster next season and just picked up a guy like Boozer this year we might actually have a top team next year if Rose and Noah both increase their skill level and play better ball with each year to come. Melo is a pure scorer who isn't the best defender or rebounder but that isn't what we would be asking him to do. The Bulls haven't had a pure shooter since MJ and this could actually be what the Bulls are looking for.

Dwyane Wade

Wade had his second interview with the Chicago Bulls yesterday and now many feel like he is destined to be a Bull. Originally no one thought that Wade would even schedule meetings with other teams just because he said he was so committed to being a member of the Miami Heat organization. Wade does have some ties to Chicago which is actually his home town. Wade recently bought a house near Chicago and his family also lives there. Wade is going through a messy divorce at the moment and it might look better to the judge if he plays with the Bulls in Chicago because he would be closer to his 2 sons. Wade said the interview was "interesting" and "intriguing" but I am sill not convinced that he becomes a Chicago Bull in the future. I have a couple of reasons why, for one is that he can basically make his own team in Miami and get more money there then anywhere else in the league. He loves south beach and may be visiting Chicago just to put the pressure on Pat Riley in order for him to make a move a sign some top players to play along side Dwyane Wade in the years to come. It doesn't look like the super team of LeBron James Chris Bosh and Wade is going to be formed mostly because of money reasons and they all can't have control of the ball all the time. At this time I feel like they are all going to go their own way but to what team they go to is still a mystery to everyone.

Role players in Free Agency

Besides the top players in free agency this off season like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Joe Johnson there are players that are willing to take a lot less in order to help your team out. Veterans such as Tracy McGrady and Shaq could be great players coming off the bench of a team with a super star. Veterans such as those have loads of experience in the playoffs and are leaders in the locker room. Drew Gooden has resently got an offer and John Salmons  who is looking at a deal worth about 39 million over 5 years. Both have been in the league for a while and on a couple of different teams and know how to get the job done. Salmons especially has seemed to blossom after coming onto new teams for example going to the Bulls in 08 they can a playoff run and a terrific playoff series with Boston and this past year when Salmons got traded to the Bucks even with their injured center Bogut they managed to get the 5th seed in the playoffs. General Managers need to watch out though and not over pay players especially with the new bargaining agreement coming up next year where teams will have less money to spend. I think the T-Wolves have made a couple of mistakes this year by using most of their available money to sign players an highly over rated played named Darko Milicic who was drafted before Wade and Carmelo none the less he turned out to be a bust and now they have signed him to a huge deal, not smart. The Bulls should not rush out there and just sign anyone just because they have money to spend. They need to pick the right pieces that will mesh well with their core players Noah and Rose and defensive minded coach.

1st day of free agency

The Chicago Bulls were pretty quiet the 1st night of free agency by only meeting 1 player in Chris Bosh. The Bulls don't seem to aggressive but it might be because they seem to feel they have the best option out there for teams with the tandem of Rose and Noah. The Bulls have a meeting with Dwayne Wade this afternoon, David Lee tomorrow, and Lebron James on Saturday. It might be strategy on the Bulls part to schedule the interview on the same day as the Cavs did. James has also been reported saying hes going to make a decision by July 5th so the Bulls might still be on LBJ's mind.  Other teams have already reported some things for example: the Cavs are set to announce Byron Scott as their new head coach, the Houston Rockets have been very interested in Chris Bosh and have sent the Raptors a couple of trade offers for  the All Star. The T-Wolves have been a very active team so far already making offers to 2 players: Darko Milicic and Nikola Pekovic. With those 2 signings the T-Wolves will only have about 3 million in cap space to play with but there has been many reports that they are trying to trade Al Jefferson so that might be part of the reason that they picked up the 2 big men. It was also reported today that Joe Johnson has received a max deal from the Atlanta Hawks, the deal is supposedly for 6 years and 119 million bucks.