I hope the Bulls wait on signing him - I don't know that waiting will cost the Bulls much more money, and if this team falls short in the Eastern Conference (as they probably will), he could be an attractive piece to move in a sign and trade next summer, and allow the Bulls to move to a normal sized backcourt with Hinrich and Thabo.


Bulls' Gordon looking for new contract Ben Gordon hopes to be able to work out a contract extension with the Chicago Bulls before the team's Oct. 31 season opener against the Nets.
Gordon, 24, is about to embark on the final year of the four-year rookie contract he signed with the Bulls in 2004 after getting drafted out of Connecticut.
"The Bulls have an opportunity to extend my contract with them this summer," Gordon said yesterday. "So I'm hoping something gets done and I won't have to wait another year to see what's going to happen. I've done everything possible I could have done to help my team get to the playoffs, and I think it's up to them right now to see if they want to make a long-term commitment."
Gordon already has changed agents as he seeks his new contract. He left Billy Ceisler and is now represented by Raymond Brothers, who's based out of Los Angeles.
Without going into specific dollar amounts and revealing how much he thinks he's worth, the former Mount Vernon High standout simply said he wants to be compensated fairly.
"If you look at other players around the league that are doing things similar to what I've done in my past year and throughout my career, I just want to get that equal respect," said Gordon, who'll become a restricted free agent after the upcoming season if he fails to sign an extension. "And that's all it's really about. The money I make is going to be more than I've ever made, so it really just boils down to getting your just due and your respect."

It depends on what he's asking for. If he's looking for considerably more than what they gave Hinrich, than they should probably wait.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Yes, that's true. My thought process is that he's probably asking for at least $9 million a season on the low end, but I'm just speculating.

If we could do 5 yr $45 million I would do that. It wont be a terrible cnntract, he has considerable upside, and its not a max contract so its still radeable

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What upside is there for a 6'2" shooting guard? Yes, he's an explosive scorer, but at his size he could probably never be an elite scorer because bigger shooting guards can give him fits and he can't back anyone down low and get buckets that way. He's typically live or die off the dribble and shoot.

if you watched the games last year he has an indestribable ability to hit pressure shots, one of the best pure scorers in the league, moves well without the ball and comes off picks well. He has also improved his defense and ball handling drastically over the past couple years. If you dont see upside and continuing improvement potential from him I have to guess you are one of the many fans not actually watching the games

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Favre Fan on the muscle once again. I can't wait until you break out "reading is a skill". That's one of my favorites.

Gordon is a very good shooter who has the ability to carry a team, but he also can disappear for games at a time. If his shot's not falling, he doesn't have a lot of worth to the bulls because he doesn't have the ability to score in other ways (aside from hitting a runner in the lane once or twice a game), he's a below average defender (although not as bad as he is made out to be), and turns the ball over too much.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Debatable, Favre fan (first time I've ever had to spell the QB's name). You could have watched BG for the past three years and intelligently debate that:

-He's not one of the best pure scorers in the league;
-That his defense isn't among the top 25 in the league; and
-That he doesn't handle picks very well at all.

. . . and I'm a Ben Gordon fan.

Again, he is a young player who is improving drastically at both of those skills. Really, tell me the big difference between him and Rashard Lewis(7 yrs $126 million)

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Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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Lets not debate that one because I completely disagree and we wont come to a compromise. He is one of the best young ones since a young Ray Allen I have seen. On the other two points I am not disagreeing, I just feel he is improving at such a drastic rate, that given the other ridiculous contracts, you are kidding yourself if you say 5 yrs @ $45 million isnt a bargain for him.

If Rashard Lewis gets a max contract, you simply cannot make a logical argument that Ben Gordon is not wortg 5 yrs $45 million in NBA market value

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Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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It is not being on the muscle. When it comes to the NFL and the Bears, I feel everyone watches the game and just has differing opinions. When it comes to the NBA, one of my big pet peeves is people who comment who dont actually watch the NBA all year long. Anyone who does I doubt would take my comment offensively, because unfortunately, they know the same thing abou the lack of the NBA's popularity. I wish I was wrong because I love basketball, but Im not.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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My only point was your comment on his HUGE upside. Is he worth 9M a year? Yes, in today's NBA, he is. There is no reason to compare him to Lewis since Lewis doesn't play the same position and Lewis has the worst max contract ever.

i admit i dont know about ben. at times he can get hot from the floor and it seems like he cant miss. he also has shown, and said, that he wants to be "the guy" and take the last shot even though he didnt have as much success in that role last year as he did in his rookie year. i think the coaching staff asked ben to go to the hoop more last year, which he did, but my main issue was that he wasnt very good at it and many times he would just hit the floor and beg for fouls. its not unconcievable that he will continue to improve in this area, but as far as being "the guy" i kinda believe that the club is hoping that lou steps into that role.

Bingo. There was an overtime game late in the season against Cleveland where Gordon displayed both his scoring ability and his ability to disappear (if that's even possible) in pressure situations. When he's good he's good, but the guy's game is way too incomplete. Unlike a Luol Deng, we've already seen everything Ben Gordon can do. I wouldn't rush to extend him if I'm Pax.

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I think Pax would do that deal yesterday. I hope it gets done in that range.

That sounds about right to me.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Cosign on this as well. Also FavreFan, I'm not sure I would be using Rashard Lewis' contract as a basis of argument for anything. Anyone with half a brain knows that is a ridiculous contract, and it's going to look awful in a couple years.

Since you know so much about basketball, I'm sure you already know that this year's free agent class was one of the worst in recent history, and Lewis was the cream of that crop (kind of like being the tallest midget). Next year could potentially be a HUGE free agent class, so it might not be a bad idea to wait and see who's going to be out there.

_________________
"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

It's probably not fair to assume that somebody doesn't watch the Bulls because they write one comment that you disagree with. Lighten up, Francis.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

I think you're mixing up the words SCORER and SHOOTER here. I see a scorer as somebody who can score in multiple ways, even when their shot isn't falling. Posting up, driving to the hole, getting to the line, etc.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

I've never watched an NBA game but I assume that it is basketball. In general, I stick to the Turkish basketball league. If I want to watch American style basketball, I'll put in my Hoosiers dvd. If the Bulls can't get Jimmy Chitwood, then they should resign Ben Gordon.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Just like Wallace's.

No one is arguing Rashard Lewis's max contract is the worst ever. My biggest point was that if we could get him for $9 million a year we should do that right away, which everybody here agrees with. If hes asking for even as much as $12 million, I probably wouldnt do it. Bringing up Rashard Lewis is valid because they are essentially the same type of player, albeit at different positions. Rashard Lewis is bigger therefore will get more boards, but essentially the same type of player. Yes I am aware of how bad last FA class was and how good next year's cpuld be, but nevertheless when contracts get signed, no matter how ludicrous it is, NBA players look at those contracts as benchmarks. If Ben sees Rashard get max money, he has to believe he is not much worse, or wont be much worse if worse at all during his prime, so he would probably seek one too, and theres some moron like Isaiah that would give it to him, so if we could lock him up now for $45 million I would do that for sure.

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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# 1 – This is likely to drag out through the month of October (the deadline is Halloween).
# 2 – Financially speaking, the Bulls are in a position to make both players (Luol & Gordon) generous offers, and you can be certain that their agents are well aware of the Bulls’ current status relative to the luxury tax.
# 3 – Bulldog is absolutely correct. Gordon is an elite shooter, but far from an elite scorer.
# 4 – FavreFan, Lewis scores both inside & outside, which makes him significantly more valuable than Gordon. The only areas where I’d consider them equally mediocre are ballhandling and defense.

The luxury tax threshold next year should be slightly over $70 million. The Bulls could offer both players contracts on the plus side of $60 million and still remain under the tax. Official figures for the Nocioni & Smith deals are not public at this point, but once the salary reports are released, we should know within a fairly narrow range just how much they have to work with.

Lewis is not exactly known for his inside scoring. While he is big enough to be able to score inside, it certainly is not his forte and hes not known for it. They are definitely comparable players in terms of scoring being their only skill. Neither one does anything else particularly well, but Ben Gordon has only been in the league three years, and all three years his Assists, PPG, and FG% has increased steadily. There really is no reason to think they will not continue to rise as he matures as a player, so "We have seen all we are going to from Ben Gordon" is not accurate in my opinion. He takes it to the basket more than you guys are giving him credit for, although he still has a ways to go to get where you would like him to be. I am not saying hes a great player, but to say Rashard Lewis is significantly more valuable, I disagree. He is four years older, has peaked as a player, and is now making max money.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I could see his shot selection improving, and his FG% getting better. He really needs to get better with his ball handling - I don't think he's ever going to be a point guard, but some of his ball handling skills are just horrible.

It would also be nice if he was able to get going early in the season instead of starting the first 15 or so games of every season in a funk.

Overall, he's still our best scorer, though Luol Deng will probably have something to say about that soon enough, and I'd probably sign him to a 5 year, 45 million contract, though I'm guessing that won't be his asking price.

I didn’t say he was a prolific inside scorer, but the fact remains that he can score inside, while Gordon cannot. And when Gordon does go to the hole, which is rare anyway, he doesn’t go strong. He does that pansy-ass rainbow shot (I refuse to call it a giant-killer, it’s a pansy-ass rainbow shot), which he does not make consistently, and more importantly it does not produce contact and draw fouls (actually, that shot is designed to avoid contact).

I like Ben and hope he sticks around, but he is one of the most over-rated Chicago athletes of my lifetime.

His defense may be better than it was as a rookie, but that's not saying much, and, if you saw the playoffs (when it matters), he couldn't dribble to save his life.

Hinrich got 5 for $47.5. Gordon will get a minimum of $50. My projection is 5 for $55.

Rashard Lewis and Ben Gordon is not a good comparison.