Bulls Among Teams Interested in Brandon Roy
By Josh Hill
The rumors and the speculation keeps flying so fast it’s hard to keep track of it all. But unlike the baseless rumors of a Golden State trade this weekend, the latest tidbit out of Chicago not only makes sense but it hold water.
The Chicago Bulls are among five teams interested in recently un-retired shooting guard and are reportedly going to make a hard play after him.
Again given the Bulls current money situation, how “hard” they can go after him isn’t really that hard considering the other teams involved. Already the Minnesota Timberwolves who drafted and then traded Roy on Draft Night 2006 are ready to offer the veteran a two year contract according to Darren Wolfson at ESPN1500 in Minneapolis.
Other teams reportedly hot to trot after Roy include the Golden State Warriors (ironically), Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers.
The Bulls interest in Roy isn’t anything new. As far back as November of last year the Bulls had Roy on their radar after he was amnestied by the Portland Trailblazers. Roy then unofficially retied due to chronic knee problems and sat out the entire shortened 2011-12 season.
He spent his time getting the miracle flood spinning cure that Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez had done which cleared up their persistent joint problems and elongated their careers. Roy appears to be back in shape and ready to get back on an NBA roster.
If the Bulls were able to bring him to Chicago, they may be able to use their Mid-Level Exception on him which they used last year to get Rip Hamilton. But with the report the the Timberwolves (who have space between them and the luxury tax to play with) are ready to go big in on Roy and offer him a two year deal the Bulls will need to bring more to the table.
And beyond the Wolves Chicago has to compete with Indiana and Dallas as well as the Warriors who have also been waiting sine last November for a crack at adding Roy to the roster.
The Bulls are in the danger zone in terms of the luxury tax and they basically are going to go over it if they don’t dump salary somewhere. However they do have the option to terminate the contracts of C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer to free up some wiggle room. The whole reason the idea of letting these three guys go has been so that the Bulls can make a veteran free agent signing.
Up to this point we were assuming it would be Steve Nash, Andre Miller or Jason Kidd but the recent developments surrounding Roy are intriguing. It’s also looking less and less like the Bulls will be able to move up in this Thursday’s draft to select Dion Waiters or another top shooting guard. This also lends to the theory that ROy could become their No. 1 free agent target while staying put 29th overall and drafting a guy like Tu Holloway or Doron Lamb to be a combo guard and Rose’s immediate replacement.
Chicago has some options out there and this latest buzz about Brandon Roy just goes to show that not all the options are out on the table and anything can change your plans in the blink of an eye.