The Chicago Bulls Have a Tough Decision to Make

The Chicago Bulls Have a Tough Decision to Make

Well some will say it’s a little too early to be talking about this offseason while we’re in the final stretches of the year but for the Chicago Bulls and how this season is transpiring and leading to yet another play in appearance and fighting just to get to

500 this offseason is going to be all the more critical with some tough decisions they’re going to need to make as it relates to the future of Zack LaVine retaining Patrick Williams who will be a restrictive free agent do they want to keep Andre Drummond around who

Will be an unrestrictive free agent do they want to keep vuvi around who will still be under contract but perhaps they could look to move in a trade but none of these are more important than what they need to do in deciding upon their best player their veteran leader and

Demard de Rosen who is also set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is eligible to sign up to a 3-year $130 million extension with the bulls it’s a lot the question is is he worth it is he worth that much at this

Stage in his career and even if you feel that he is is he going to get that amount anyway let’s talk about it in this video so what’s going on everyone you’re listening to Bull Central here hope you’re all doing well real quick guys for those who haven’t already be

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Comment now I don’t think any Bulls fan will deny the level of impact Marty Rosen has brought to this team yes we’ve been critical of him at times because he slows down the offense operates heavily in isolation and takes low percentage shots from the mid-range at times he can

Have tunnel vision especially in late game situations and yes we can always say well look as good as dear has been for this team the Bulls are still sitting nth in the Eastern Conference with him as the leader but the fact of the matter is dear whether you like him

Or not the Bulls would be in horrible shape without him and I get it maybe that’s what some people actually want restarting rebuilding and accumulating the highest draft picks possible but you cannot deny just how incredible dear has been this season especially with Zack LaVine being out of the lineup not only

For what he brings to this group on the court but off the court as well in being a vocal leader and a mentor to the younger guys and I cannot emphasize enough just how important that is one thing I’ve said before that I feel a lot of bulls fans don’t understand well I

Get the strategy of just tearing it all down and shipping off your vets for picks and young players at the same time there is something to be said about having a veteran a skilled veteran a player that knows how to close games that knows how to get the best out of

The young players and help them learn how to grow develop and finish out games like when the Bulls were initially rebuilding after trading way Jimmy Butler they had a lot of young talent but no vets to really lead and Mentor that group take a look at the the

Pistons they should not be as bad as they have been this season when you consider all the young Talent they have but they’re one of the worst teams in the league because they don’t have a veteran leader to guide them and navigate the path of the NBA journey in

Order to get the most out of your young players to ensure their overall development I mean among many things but one of them is having a player like Demar who can show you the way a player you can learn from and help your overall development as you start to enter your

Prime now the off court stuff aside and the impact dear has in the locker room with his professionalism and mentorship on the I mean it’s undeniable especially more recently with how he’s been able to close out games he is the front runner to win the clutch Player of the Year

Award which isn’t a surprise at all given he’s by far in a way exceeding the competition when it comes to scoring and efficiency in the fourth quarter and that’s even heightened when you get into clutch minutes in the final five minutes of the game and even more so when

Entering overtime which the Bulls have had the most OT games this season than any other team he’s currently averaging 23.3 points per game on 47% shooting 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists leading the team in assist by the way he’s the Bull’s best free throw shooter 86% one

Of the lowest turnover rates with the best assist to turnover ratio on the team and a true shooting percentage of 58.3% post All-Star break though the final games for him in a contract year he’s been exceptionally great putting up over 26 points per game 5.4 rebounds and

5.3 assists on 4835 90 shooting splits and an insane 62% true shooting percentage offensive efficiency at its finest for the mid-range assassin and mind you dear is doing all of this in his 15th season in the league at the age of 34 and leading the league in total

Minutes and minutes per game a lot is being asked of this guy and he is certainly delivering but again the question is does he make sense for the Bulls in their future should he still be a part of their future plans at his age turning 35 this summer and if he is even

If it is in the short term how much should the Bulls pay to retain him well a few things to consider first and foremost the Bulls do not have the ability to offer him that Max extension of 3 years $130 million that would put them well over the luxury tax which we

Know ownership is not going to do and that doesn’t even factor in a potential contract extension for Patrick Williams and even Andre Drummond the Bulls are currently projected to have $130 million on the payroll next season assuming Lonzo takes his player option the Bulls don’t apply for medical retirement on

The final year of his deal to get that off of their books which is a topic in of itself and it also assumes they pick up the team option on Dal Terry’s rookie scale deal which I think they likely will do the salary cap for next season

Is $141 million with a luxury tax line at 172 million which I always like to say is the Bulls hard cap they will not exceed that amount so you can assume the Bulls will have $42 million in projected space for next season before hitting the luxury tax that leaves $42 million to

Either resign Dear Pat and Andre jond or signing other free agents but in signing other free agents they would only have $11 million as that’s the amount they would remain below the NBA salary cap and the only way they’re able to sign players to go over the cap is via

Exceptions like the mid-level Exception by annual exception or signing their own players for which they hold their bird rights to I know that was a lot in terms of the math behind what’s available and what’s needed for the Bulls next season but the main number you need to focus on

Is $42 million $42 million before the Bulls hit their quote unquote hard cap which is the tax line if the Bulls resigned toar for the most that he’s able to get at 3 years 130 million that would put him at about $43 million annually which that already puts the

Bulls over the tax line without signing any other free agents including Patrick Williams so dear isn’t going to be getting that amount now the good thing is no other team can pay him that much so it’s not like the Bulls run the risk of some other team offering him that

Kind of deal because they can’t and even if they could I don’t think anyone is actually going to sign dear to a deal like that when you’re paying him over $40 million until he’s 38 years old that said though dear with his level of play in production and also given how durable

He’s been and playing in 93% of all available games throughout his career in 15 years he’s going to want to get paid this is his final big contract before he retires and there will likely be teams willing to pay him a fair amount that are looking for that additional scoring

Option to put them over the top into contention status and for the Bulls what they need to decide this off season is what’s the direction of this team by resigning Demar to a big contract extension and still having Zach and V’s contract on their books where is that

Really going to take them and I know the goal is still to get off Zach’s contract but even then do you still want to keep Demar longterm as he goes into the age of 35 and Beyond yes there are benefits because dear is still playing at a high

Level and he also has the impact off the court that we talked about that this team in the front office really values but what’s the price point for dear de Rosen where it no longer becomes worth it from a return on investment perspective because if you’re prioritizing paying dear a big contract

And not allocating dollars toward other players one being Patrick Williams is that really the way to go now Demar this season is currently making $28.6 million if the Bulls signed him at that rate that would only leave Pat around 13.4 million annually which may be okay you say that’s more than

Enough for Patrick Williams given his current injury and the fact that he hasn’t really shown that much progress since his rookie season but that also means you lose Andre Drummond and then one the other thing we haven’t even considered here is the Bulls still have to leave enough to sign their first

Round draft pick for this upcoming draft because the bulls actually have their pick this year and it’s most likely going to be a late lottery pick to Mid First rounder so you’re going to have to either wave a player like Terry Taylor or potentially even btim contracts that

Aren’t fully guaranteed next season to be able to make room for this incoming rookie so when people ask me what do you think is a fair and realistic number the Bulls could resign tomorrow for I honestly don’t know how they’re going to be able to make the money work not

Unless they’re able to get off lonzo’s contract which seems unlikely at this point because he is progressing nicely with his rehab and while I actually would like to see Demar return to the Bulls because he’s such a pro and I think he’s great for the overall

Franchise at the same time I don’t think it makes sense for the Bulls to sacrifice their future by extending a player in his mid-30s to a large contract that isn’t going to be a part of your long-term plans now if they can get dear on a short-term deal that’s

Only two years and pays him between 20 to $22 million annually which even that is a bit steep then I think it’s worth it because it gives the Bulls enough flexibility to retain Patrick Williams or even have him play on the qualifying off offer but also leaves room to sign

The rookie draft pick and even leaves room to sign a player using the mid-level exception and still remain just below the tax line the problem is would Demar sign a contract at that level if you’re purely basing it off as production and being the team’s best player he’s worth more than that would

He be willing to take A Team friendly discount for a team that isn’t going to be contending for a title I know he loves Chicago but I’m sure he’s also thinking about his legacy and thinking about the end of his career and putting him self in a position to win a title

Which the Bulls aren’t even close to reaching that level either way it’s going to make for an interesting offseason with all these decisions the Bulls are going to have to make between Zack LaVine Patrick Williams Demar and what the direction is for this team going forward I want to know what you

Guys think about a contract extension for demard Rosen and what you think the bull should do so let me know in the comments as always be sure to subscribe and I will see you in the next one

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Discussing whether the Bulls should extend DeMar DeRozan this offseason and what a contract figure could look like

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