Nocioni back with the Bulls

The Bulls will make a Friday afternoon announcement that Andres Nocioni has re-signed with the team, the Tribune has learned.

The deal is for five years, with a team option for a sixth season.

Earlier Friday, Bulls general manager John Paxson confirmed that the team was optimistic about their chances.

"We've made progress," Paxson said at the Berto Center. "We're pretty confident. I'm hopeful that in the next day or so we can hammer this thing out with him."
The Tribune reported Paxson has offered a five-year deal worth approximately $38 million. It's rare for teams to make a proactive offer for a restricted free agent instead of letting the market dictate his price.

"I felt the area we started talking about was a legitimate, fair offer," Paxson said. "So I never have problems throwing that out there. We're at the stage where we know our young players have value. I just felt it was appropriate to try to work something out. We want him here. He fits in with what we're trying to do."

Hoping to see this view next year, only with Kobe wearing a Bulls jersey.

I’m glad to have Noce back, but I’m still uncomfortable with the length of this contract. Hopefully, it doesn’t come back to bite them.

Gee with Noce back, the addition of Noah and the possible acquisition of a major talent like Joe Smith, the Bulls will be just good enough to not make it to the Finals again next year.

Paxson is putting way too much faith in the ability of "his" guys to improve. This team has no go-to guy.

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I'm pretty confused.
Especially with all the talk about bringing PJ back.
Is Pax just stockpiling assets for a future trade?
A healthy Noce makes them better, but still not good enough to compete with the elite West teams.

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“Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend - fudge.”

Tyrus Thomas – 20
Luol Deng – 22
Joakim Noah – 22
Thabo Sefolosha – 23
Ben Gordon – 24
Kirk Hinrich – 26

Not their time yet, Midge. Pax isn’t going to break up this group in order to acquire a veteran that would be surrounded by players 2-4 years away from hitting their primes.



We do agree to some extent here, though, at least from the standpoint of the Nocioni contract. Should he end up having further problems with his foot and become one of those 30-50 game per year players, it’s going to be tough to unload him down the road. Prior to this deal, Pax still had the ability to retool the team after the ’09 season, without a complete rebuilding. Now, that may or may not be the case. Was really hoping for Noce to get 3 years plus a team option in 2010. Pax may have just married himself permanently to this group, and he better be right.

No, that’s what Portland is doing. Watch the fuck out for the Blazers in February of 2009. They will be the biggest thing since sliced bread when the trade deadline rumors start flowing.

I think Pax actually intends to keep all, or almost all, of these guys. Seems pretty clear his longterm plan is:

Hinrich
Gordon
Luol
Tyrus
Noah

Can you please elaborate regarding your Portland thought? I'm rather slow today

About Noc, me no likey... too much for mediocrity.

I love this signing. Not for basketball reasons or anything but because for the next few years, the NoNo...Nocioni song will still be relevant in Chicago.

See Portland's last 2 drafts, and the $ amount for their expiring contracts the year after next. They will be the biggest trade deadline players in the league, by far.

While it may not be "their time" just yet, I think we've seen enough to know that we don't have a difference-making player on the core as it was defined last year. Kirk Hinrich is in his prime and is a streaky shooter with average penetrating and finishing skills. His decision-making is inconsistent as well. Ben Gordon is a good shooter with a quick release, but he lacks the size and ballhandling skills to be an elite finisher. His poor decision-making will prevent him from playing what should be his natural position, point guard. Luol Deng is a nice, hard-working player with a good mid-range jump shot and a knack for rebounding. But his lack of athleticism will prevent him from joining the ranks of the elite players. Nocioni brings toughness, rebounding and a nice outside shot, but he scares no one.

Ultimately, then, we need to look to Thabo and Tyrus to find what may be a go-to guy. Thomas shows signs that he can be a game-changing defensive player, but as of last year, he demonstrated no offensive skills. His second year will be very telling in terms of how high his ceiling truly is. Thabo also looks like he can be a very good defensive player, but offensive consistency will also pose a problem for the next couple of years.

In my opinion, then, this roster, as currently constituted, will not be able to win a championship in the next four years--unless Thabo or Tyrus demonstrates rapid, dramatic improvement offensively.

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You are certainly not alone in that boat.

In my opinion, it's way too early to pull the plug.

Fair enough. But who, in your estimation, will emerge as the go-to player(s) capable of leading the team to a championship?

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Although it runs counter to the logic that most championships have been built around, I don't believe they'll have 1 player that stands out significantly above the rest. I do feel, though, that if this team is to win a title, your best players are going to have to be Luol, Tyrus, and Joakim. Hinrich is just entering his prime, and I don't expect him to get a ton better. I'd like to see his floor leadership grow, but skills-wise, he will likely only improve marginally. Gordon will always be limited by his size, but I do think he still has room to improve, much more than Kirk. Christ, if Gordon could simply develop the ability to create a shot, he'd be a dangerous player in this league. He needs to study more Gilbert Arenas film; that's who he should be emulating.

So essentially, we're counting on Pax to be right with regards to Tyrus and Noah. If he is/was right, then we might have the toughest post defense in the league a few years from now. If he's not right, then we're pretty much destined for an annual 3 seed and a 2nd round exit.

I'm pulling for Pax and his staff.

Somebody get the oven ready. My head's coming in!

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Billups just agreed to a new deal w/ the Pistons...

Early projections for the East:

1. Cleveland
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Toronto
5. New Jersey
6. Miami
7. Boston
8. Orlando
9. Washington
10. New York
11. Milwaukee
12. Indiana
13. Philly
14. Atlanta
15. Charlotte

I actually think a lineup, should they resign Wallace, of Richardson, Felton, Wallace, Okafor and May has a lot of potential....

It looks like ATL has some nice pieces, but they are still in rebuilding mode, and I think Miwaukee could be another team that jumps up if they are healthy.

Indiana sucks..

I think NJ could be headed for a slow decline. That group just hasn't gotten it done. Any chance of a shakeup there with a Jefferson trade ?

If Shaq and Wade are healthy at the end of next season, Miami will likely be good enough to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, if not the NBA finals.

By the way, I have another question for Bucket: In the entire history of the NBA, how many of its champions have lacked both an elite penetrating perimeter player and an elite low post player? The Bulls have neither and likely will not have either type of player if their current roster remains intact.

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That's what it seemed like to me, too. Hopefully we don't know the whole story, or that's pretty bad...unless 7.2M is the magic number to spin him in a trade...

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

BD,

Charlotte will continue to suck, for quite a while. Felton is coming along, but his FG% is still dogshit. J Rich is already miserable and they haven't even played a preseason game. I like Wallace & Okafor, though both have battled injury problems. Sean May will lose the starting job to Walter Herrmann, and if he doesn't, there should be an investigation.

Atlanta is very young. Aside from Joe Johnson, every important component of that squad has barely scratched the surface. They'll get roughed up plenty this year. The future looks bright, but I don't think they'll even sniff the 8 seed this year.

Milwaukee was a team that made me nervous pre-lottery. I was very concerned that they'd land Durant, and then make a very convincing pitch to Billups, thus leaving them with: Billups, Redd, Durant, Villanueva, Bogut. Not only did they miss out on Chauncey and a top-2 pick, they drafted a guy that might stick it up their ass and leave them with nothing at all. The Bucks no longer scare me, though an 8 seed wouldn't be out of the question.

Don't sleep on the Nets. They were tough last year, with no big men whatsoever (forget about Mikki Moore). Now, they'll have the big 3, plus Krstic is healthy again and the addition of Sean Williams, who (if he can keep his head on straight) is a perfect complement to Nenad.

Yes, Indiana is garbage. That's why I have them at 12.

TM,

Shaq played 40 games last year, and when the playoffs came, he didn't get a whole lot better (he was not playing possum as Bernstein suggested - he's 35 years old, and in that body, that's easily 45 to the average man). 18.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg (plus more turnovers than assists, blocks, & steals combined), hardly the Shaq we've come to fear. He's close to being done. Shaq's got 4 rings already, and seems to get involved in off the court affairs more and more each year. First, he wanted to be a cop. Now, he wants to be the sheriff. He's also got his own TV show. Etc, etc. I sweat Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh a lot more than Shaquille these days. Forget about Miami. Wade will carry them only so far. Antoine Walker, Udonis Haslem, and Jason Williams are a pretty lousy supporting cast.

The answer to your 2nd question is none. Pax is a revolutionary, though. It's not that it can't be done, it's just that it hasn't been done. Okay, taking a few liberties here, but in all seriousness, there are advantages this team may have that previous champions have not. 8 deep with legitimate starters, not a soft spot on the floor. If Pax is right with these draft picks, no team in the league will be able to run 48 minutes like the Bulls. The Spurs are not as deep, neither are the Suns, nor the Mavs, nor the Cavs, the Pistons, the Raptors, etc, etc. If this team fulfills Pax's projections, they should absolutely be legitimate contenders by 2009.

Not making that claim just yet. If Pax is right on his last 3 picks (Tyrus, Thabo, Noah), then I believe their 8-man rotation is as good or better than any in the league.

Nas, Wade missed from the end of February to the beginning of April. Looking at Shaq's numbers for the entire month of March, they're not much different from his season averages:

season

17.3 and 7.4

March

19.0 and 7.3

Actually, he probably should have scored even more without Wade around. Also, if he's got this short-burst ability still left in the tank, why didn't he bring it in the playoffs?

I'm no longer worried about The Diesel. If you are, that's your business.

Also, why such disrespect for Toronto?

Out of context, that's very funny.

[borat voice] What? [/borat voice]

Of course I have, but I think Bargs is the real deal.

I agree. I really like the way the Raptors are put together. I consider them top 3 in the East.

I don't think they were 100% healthy in the playoffs, right?