Scalabrine, 32, averaged 9.1 minutes a game last season, but played only one playoff game. His career scoring average is 3.3.
In Chicago, Scalabrine re-joins former Celtics assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, who is now the Bullsā€™ head coach. According to the Yahoo reportā€™s sources, Scalabrine was a “good bet” to make the team.
Did you guys think I was talking about Melo? Fuck no, that guy is way over-rated. Iā€™m talking about that ginger glue that will hold together the Bulls Nucleus.
Brian Scalabrine is in the house and all that guy does is win championships, plain and simple.
Tracy McGrady spoke like he was already a member of the Chicago Bulls when he addressed reporters Monday, using the word “we” as he described the teamā€™s prospects for next season.
“I think we can be really good,” McGrady said, “I really do.”
But McGrady hasnā€™t completely sold the Bulls and might not get the contract offer he wants and expects, according to sources with knowledge of Chicagoā€™s thinking.
After the workout at the Bullsā€™ practice facility in Deerfield, Ill. — in a manner that made it sound as though his signing was a virtual formality — McGrady confirmed to the assembled media that going to Chicago is his first choice in free agency.
“This was a great team, a pretty good team, without adding myself and Carlos Boozer, and some of the key players that they added this offseason,” McGrady said.
Yet McGrady, when asked about coming off the bench, seemed to suggest that he expects to be more than a role player in Chicago.
“I wonā€™t have a problem, but thatā€™s not what Iā€™m really shooting for,” McGrady said. “I think, yeah, if I was the player that I was in a Knicks uniform [at the end of last season], I would have no problem coming off the bench. But Iā€™ve worked extremely hard and Iā€™m far from being that player. Trust me.
“Itā€™s up to me in training camp,” McGrady continued, “to prove Iā€™m a starter.”
Tracy McGrady had two things he had to do to get a contract from the Bulls. 1) Not look absolutely terrible in practice and 2) Say the right things. Looks like he failed miserably with that second point. Way to go T-Mac.
I guess it works out better for the Bulls though. T-Macā€™s inability to take a good hard look in the mirror and see that he is a shell of his former self hopefully saved the Bulls the headache of an over the hill star causing problems in the locker room. If I were the Bulls I would run and run fast. T-Mac basically said he thinks he is a starter and at this point whatever backtracking he may do is not enough to convince me that come mid-january when he is getting 10 minutes a game he wonā€™t start moping and acting like a baby. Time to look elsewhere.
The Bulls are prepared to sign Tracy McGrady if he proves to be sufficiently healthy in a workout Monday and can convince the team he is willing to accept a bench role, one source familiar with Chicagoā€™s thinking said Sunday.
“Nothing is done until itā€™s done, but I expect the Bulls to sign McGrady later this week,” the source said.
Another unknown is what kind of contract McGrady can command from the Bulls. But McGrady has said money and years are not priorities after earning nearly $23 million last season with Houston and New York.
Although he has expressed interest in snagging one of the spots on Miamiā€™s bench in support of the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh triumvirate and he auditioned for the Los Angeles Clippers last week, Chicago is undeniably where McGrady has been hoping to wind up.
McGrady made his desires evident in several recent messages on his Twitter feed, including his pronouncements Saturday that he has “unfinished business” with the Bulls and that it “could be fate this time round” with Chicago after drawing serious interest from the Bulls in the 1997 draft and again during free agency in 2000.
So clearly this deal isnā€™t done because figuring out if Tracy McGrady is healthy enough to play is virtually impossible, but by signing T-Mac the Bulls are making yet another solid move in an offseason of good signings.
If he agrees to come off the bench, which he would have to if he wants a contract from the Bulls, T-Mac is exactly the type of player that a young team needs. He provides leadership and can carry the bench scoring load. Yeah he sucked real bad last year, but everyone on the Knicks sucks so I wouldnt call his career over just yet.
At the end of the day there really is no downside to signing T-Mac. If he is bad you can cut him, if he plays well off the bench you just added another piece to the puzzle at a fairly cheap price. Besides, if you want to win the East now you have to build depth, the one weakness those assclowns in Miami will surely have.Ā Lets just hope T-Mac gets that first round stink off him in time for the playoffs.
I love this move by the Bulls. Love it. If you watched even a half a dozen Bulls games last year you would know that one of their biggest weaknesses was shooting the three. Yeah Hinrich could get hot from time to time and of course everyoneā€™s favorite bench player Pargo has never seen a shot he doesnt love but they didnt have a true 3 point shooter. Now they have one, possibly two if the Magic donā€™t match the offer sheet the Bulls sent to Redick.
Like I said earlier this week it sucks the Bulls didnt get one of the big time free agents but the goal of every offseason is to get better and they have certainly done that. A starting 5 of Rose, Korver, Deng (until he gets injured in the 3rd game), Boozer, and Noah is an extremely balanced team that will be top 3 in defense and be able to beat you in multiple ways on offense. Have to tip your hat to Paxson and Forman for not panicking and coming up with a solid backup plan to Wade, Bosh, and Lebron.
Now bring on that unbalanced team of prima-donnas, they donā€™t scare me one bit. Not when Kyle Korver is raining drops from Jupiter in your grill piece!!!
If this doesnā€™t accurately sum up the Miami Heat then I donā€™t know what does. What is this minor league baseball? The Heat donā€™t deserve a powerhouse team because, newsflash, they have no fans. Do I blame people for not wanting to sit in a hot arena when it is 80 degrees and sunny out year around? No. But donā€™t start throwing this type of shit in my face like its life and death if you donā€™t sign Wade. If they donā€™t get D-Wade everyone in Miami will go to the beach, do some blow and rave out at a club. It will be like this whole thing never happened. You canā€™t say the same for Cleveland, Chicago, New York and New Jersey. Shit is life and death for them.
Also who the fuck is Burnie? Iā€™m a man who has an eye for mascot talent and this Burnie dude has never even approached my radar. Now heā€™s trying to threaten me with some david blaine type protest? Whatever Burnie, I hope you die up there, I really do. Youā€™re a disgrace to the mascot game. God help you if you ever cross paths with Bennie The Bull, heā€™ll cook your grits so fast your furry little dick will fall off.
The Chicago Bulls have a deal in place that would move Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick to the Washington Wizards, freeing up enough cap space to pursue two maximum-salary players in this summerā€™s free-agent market, sources with knowledge of the Bullsā€™ plans said Thursday.
It wasnā€™t immediately clear what Washington would send to Chicago in the trade.
The deal canā€™t be officially consummated until July 8, when the Wizards will have room under the salary cap to absorb Hinrichā€™s $9 million contract without having to send back anything of similar value.
Since itā€™s a good-faith deal for the time being, there remains a chance it could fall apart. But according to one source, the Sacramento Kings are prepared to make a similar deal with the Bulls in the Wizardsā€™ stead if that were to happen.
Either way, moving Hinrich and the pick would push Chicagoā€™s space under the cap from $20 million to more than $30 million. That puts the Bulls on equal footing with the Miami Heat in pursuing not just one but two members of a free-agent class that is expected to include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire and Joe Johnson.
Looks like New York and Miami ainā€™t the only team with ass-loads of cash. The Bulls are looking pretty nice no matter how the chips fall, even a consolation prize of Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer would be a 50 win team. Iā€™m just so pumped for July 1. Like I love the NBA and this whole Lebron sweepstake has had me at half mast for the past 2 weeks straight. I just cant get enough of the intrigue, the drama, the backroom dealings. I need more rumors, I need more links to Worldwide Wes. For once I dont hate ESPN for absolutely killing a story (i.e. Brett Favre). Someone get me a 24/7 Free Agent channel, I would watch the shit out of that.
PS
I love the idea of a good faith deal, like what does that even mean? Arenā€™t all these guys scumbags? If I was a GM Iā€™d be making thousands of good faith deals then be like just kidding you just got ZAPPED!!!!
Well it seems like the Bulls finally got one right. They basically went out and found the exact opposite of VDN. When Vinny was hired everyone was thoroughly confused why the Bulls would pick a coach with no actual coaching experience. That certainly can not be said with Thibodeau, if anything he deserved a starting gig 2 years ago after the Celtics won the championship. Thibodeau has more than enough coaching experience, he has beenĀ in the NBA since 1989 and has helped his teamā€™s finish top 10 in team defense an impressive 15 times. Heā€™s a coach who will come to Chicago with a plan, and execute from there, a departure from the fly by the seat of your pants VDN era.
No one will argue that this was a great hire, Thibodeau was clearly the best available coach on the open market. What people now are wondering is the all important question, what does this mean for Lebron?
There have been many rumors floating around that Thibodeau and Lebron are somehow linked, the main support behind this being the fact that Thibodeau was never mentioned for the job until 3 days ago and got it within 72 hours. Whether there is some back office wheeling and dealing going or that the Bulls just fell in love fast only a few people know. What is clear though is that the Bulls arenā€™t going to completely cater to an incoming free agent, letting that player pick a coach which then immediately undermines the coach-team relationship.
This was a savvy move, you pick the best available guy and let the free agents come to you, no need to get on your hands and knees and make one player more important than the team before they even arrive. Maybe the conspiracy theorists are right and this was Lebronā€™s choice, but bottom line is the Bulls got a good coach and kept the appearance that they did not have to compromise to do so.
Well that certainly wasnā€™t how the Cavs had drawn it up. Their early exit leaves the Lebron-sweepstakes WIDE open and now weā€™ll all have to listen to Skip Bayless and Woody Paige talk their balls blue about Lebron for the next 2 months.
All I really care about is whether he is coming to Chicago or not and if we assume Lebron cares most about winning then the Bulls are the absolute no-brainer. After playing with inferior teammates for his entire career Lebron now has the chance to play with a top 5 point guard and solid supporting cast if he comes to Chicago. Add that with the sign and trade potential (Deng or Hinrich) and getting to pick a coach, and Lebron could be looking at contending for a title every single year for the next decade. No more of this dancing around and winning the most games in the regular season bullshit. In Chicago, he would be legitimately contending year in and year out.
Now what I donā€™t understand is why so many people in this city are so opposed to Lebron coming here. Like all I hear on the radio is blowhards calling in saying they donā€™t want him. What the fuck is that all about? Dude is still the best player in the league and its not even close. And I get the whole MJ thing, that its his city and Lebron needs to find his own, but does anyone really think Lebron will be the next Michael Jordan anymore? Would Michael Jordan have played like that in Game 5? Fuck no. Lebron is an exceptional player and a physical freak, but he doesnt want to win like Michael, which means he never will win like Michael. There will never ever be another Michael Jordan, thatā€™s just a fact, so anyone who is concerned about Lebron coming into Michaelā€™s city and stealing his thunder is a moron.
If anything this whole free agency will tell us everything we ever needed to know about Lebron and what he values the most. Money and notoriety, he goes to New York. Loyalty and family, he stays in Cleveland. Winning championships, heā€™ll be a Bull come July 8th.
Now let the endless Lebron talk begin. Its going to be so bad youā€™ll be begging for Brett Favre come mid-july.
Has John Hollinger lost his mind? Chauncey Billups as the Number 5 best point guard in the NBA? What year is this 2004?
I saw this article yesterday and I was shocked that someone could have a top 5 point guard list with Chauncey Billups in it.
Chauncey was 15th amongst point guards in assists and 22nd in field goal percentage. So what the hell am I missing here? If you put Derek Rose on the Nuggets and Billups on the Bulls I think the Nuggets would have won their first series and the Bulls wouldnt have made the playoffs.
If I had to rank my top 5 (throwing out CP3 because he barely played this year) this is what it looks like.
1. Nash
2. Williams
3. Rondo
4. Rose
5. Parker
Then honorable mentions in order Jameer Nelson, Russell Westbrook, Devin Harris, John Wall, Billups
I think Nash is still the best pg in the league, if you look at his numbers they have barely decreased over the past 5 years, which is incredible. Williams has supplanted Paul because of CP3ā€™s injury issues. Rondo is clearly the number 3, and if he ever adds an outside shot and maybe a little 4th quarter confidence you could absolutely make an argument for him as the best in the game. Then you have Rose who like Rondo could easily be number 1 when having this discussion 2-3 years from now and Tony Parker who still controls a game and is able to dissect a defense at an exceptional level. I would even take John Wall over Billups and he hasnā€™t played 1 second in the NBA. Thatā€™s how ridicolous I think it is putting Chauncey in a top 5 point guard list.
Someone needs to take away this guys press credentials and give them to me. I promise I would at least say stupid shit on purpose, and probably start a media controversy when I talked about my dick in the 3rd article I ever wrote.
Oh Vinny we were just getting to know you man. Sad sad day to see you go. I think more than anything Iā€™ll remember Vinnyā€™s incredible talent to never have a good inbound play or crunch time offensive set drawn up. It was like Vinny thought that playing 1 half was the only thing in his job description and being prepared for changes in the game was too much to ask for.
Although VDN took the Bulls to back to back playoff appearances I still contend he may have been one of the worst hirings in history. When the Bulls signed him up 2 years ago he had no coaching experience at any level, just a remarkable pick to lead a young talented team that needed guidance and an education in basketball. I mean did anyone actually think he was going to work out? It was a mission doomed to fail from day 1, and his little dust up with John Paxson during this season just further proved that the front office had made a rash decision in hiring a guy that didnā€™t fit with the direction the Bulls were headed.
My all time favorite Vinny moment was when he yelled at Quentin Richardson from the bench trying to get him to miss a 3 pointer. It sort of perfectly summed up the VDN era. He clearly had a passion for basketball and competition but he really had no clue how to handle himself as a coach and leader of young men.
Now send that suitcase of money up to East Lansing and get that little Fireball down here asap.