NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Chicago Bulls and Hottest Franchises
The NBA offseason is starting to quiet down as most big-name players that were on the open market have started to settle down with their new franchise or inked extensions with their incumbent organization.
However, there are still a number of solid free agents available, and the rumor mill continues to churn, so let’s take a look at what is happening around the league on this fine Tuesday morning.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are apparently preparing for life without Omer Asik. According to ESPN Chicago, the organization is planning to let Tuesday’s deadline to match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet pass.
It’s understandable that the franchise does not want to give that kind of money to a backup center and is instead reportedly working on bringing in Nazr Mohammed, a serviceable big that spent time behind Kendrick Perkins on the OKC Thunder last year.
Chicago is also going to use some of the extra cap room to bring in Marco Bellinelli, a sweet-shooting Italian who will provide depth at the guard position. He’s expected to ink a biannual exception deal worth less than $2 million.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers were clearly not content with just pushing the eventual NBA champion Miami Heat to six games in the second round of the 2012 playoffs.
New president Donnie Walsh (who spent 24 years with the team before leaving in 2008 to join the Knicks) has promised to remain active this offseason after making a number of shrewd moves already.
He told the Indianapolis Star that the roster, which only has 13 players under contract, is still a work in progress and he will strive to make them a better matchup for the improving teams in the East—which he specifically stated were the Knicks, Heat and Nets.
It would take a shocking trade for the Pacers to truly upgrade their roster, but there are plenty of serviceable backups still available on the open market.
Orlando Magic
Like a terrible couple that everyone knows will soon break up, it seems that the relationship status of Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic changes on a daily basis.
According to ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard, the Magic are apparently letting teams around the league know that they are content with holding onto DH12 until the trade deadline in March of next year.
Orlando GM Rob Hennigan knows that he’s eventually going to have to find a deal for the superstar big, but he's willing to wait until the deadline to perhaps find the best offer possible.
It’s a giant risk, but it could pay dividends and land the Magic a ridiculous package to build around in the future, rather than a mediocre one. If it fails, the franchise will be left with nothing.
