This is the final edition accounting for both the midseason trades and the higher cap figure
Initial Post — click
After Midseason Trades — click here
Chicago Bulls Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
- Luol Deng – $11.35 million
- Kirk Hinrich – $9 million
- Derrick Rose – $5.55 million
Luol Deng has four years left on his increasing contract while Kirk Hinrich has only two seasons left on his decreasing deal. Derrick Rose will be entering the third season of his rookie contract.
These three players total $25.9 million.
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
- Joakim Noah – $3.13 million
- James Johnson – $1.71 million
- Taj Gibson – $1.12 million
All three players are on their rookie contracts. Joakim Noah will be in the final year of his rookie deal and will be looking for a big pay increase the following year ($10 million?).
Those contracts amount to $5.96 million and take the Bulls total up to $31.86 million.
Other Costs
- Draft Picks — The Bulls hold the #17 pick (via Milwaukee from Salmons trade) which comes with a cap hold of around $1.26 million.
- Open Roster Spots — Chicago will have seven players on their books meaning a cap hold of about $2.38 million for open roster spots.
A sub-total of $3.635 million …
Which gives us a new total of $35.5 million.
The Cap
David Stern recently announced
NBA commissioner David Stern said on Friday that the league is projecting the cap to come in at about $56.1 million. The actual number won’t be determined until early July, before teams can begin officially signing players.
Though that figure would still be lower than this season’s $57.7 million cap, it’s far better than estimates from last summer, when the league sent a memo to teams warning them of a potential sharp drop to between $50.4 million to $53.6 million.
2010 Cap Space
So, the Chicago Bulls will have $20.6 million in cap space.
Summer Options
Chicago’s first choice is to target a max contract player
- Dwyane Wade
- LeBron James
- Chris Bosh
- Amare Stoudemire
After signing that max contract player, they will have about $4.5 million leftover to spend on a key role player (a starting two guard should they sign a big man or a power forward should they sign a wing).
Their second preference is to spend $12-$14 million on a star player
- David Lee
- Carlos Boozer
- Rudy Gay
And, then spend the remaining money ($7-9 million) on one or two role players. Likely two players given the Bulls current cast (starters at PG, SF, C + high priced free agent) + free agency options (lack of wings in the high price range).
A combination of Carlos Boozer/David Lee + Mike Miller alongside the Bulls already potent core would create a title contender. As would a Rudy Gay + Luis Scola combination.
Secondary Option
The Bulls may try to offer Luol Deng in a sign and trade for one max contract player (LeBron?) and then use the leftover funds to sign a second max contract player (Bosh?).
Previously, I hadn’t put much weight into this possibility but it looks more realistic now than I had previously thought.
Nelly
May 22, 2010
If the Bulls sign Boozer they can forget about a title. No team is winning a title with him manning the PF because he does not play well against anybody 6’10 or taller that plays good defense and rebounds well. Boozer is a tease. He looks outstanding against mediocre PF and Centers, but sucks against the Gasols, Garnetts, Howards and even lazy Rasheed Wallance types(tall with skills but unsteady). Boozer cannot handle size.
David Lee is a better option that Boozer, especially if you can get Derrick Rose next to a LeBron or D-Wade. Or even someone below that level. Either way…David Lee is a much better all-around player than Boozer. Plus Lee is mostly healthy and is not selfish. The only worry about Lee is that it is easy to put up numbers on a bad team. I only like Boozer next to a top center who plays great defense and rebounds well…which there are not many of in the current NBA.