Bulls Free Agency Primer: Power Forwards

NBA free agency opens at the stroke of midnight on July 1, which players will the Chicago Bulls be pursuing and who is a good fit?

This year, the free agent class features some marquee names and adds the complexity of a rocketing salary cap, which now reaches $94 million. We are going to look at each position throughout the week, determining who are some of the top players who will be available and the likelihood that they end up with the Chicago Bulls.

On Monday, we looked at point guards. Tuesday, it was shooting guards. Yesterday, it was small forwards. Today, we are looking at power forwards. Now, onward with Bulls free agency.

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The Bulls have a lot of issues with the power forward position and it is something they will hopefully resolve during the 2016 offseason. It isn’t clear if they will have any need to go after anyone that might be available as they have enough in-house problems to figure out. Nikola Mirotic is a power forward, though he may not be ready to play that position in the NBA. Part of that problem is that he hasn’t had an opportunity to play a large number of minutes there. That time may be coming. Taj Gibson has toiled away as a career-long backup at the position and is finally at a point where he could be the primary option at the position and get his starter minutes. He could also be a decent trade chip in the final year of his current contract because he almost certainly will not be back with the Bulls after the upcoming season. And then there is Bobby Portis. Portis was not supposed to be available at No. 22 in the 2015 draft, the Bulls made the right choice by drafting the young forward out of Arkansas. While not a direct link, it is only fitting that if the Bulls were going to pass on a player from Iowa State or Notre Dame, they went to Scottie Pippen’s state to find an alternative.

Given the logjam at power forward, free agent options should be eschewed in favor of developing the young players they already have while turning Gibson into assets. That said, we live in an age of monster salaries and the enticement of luring the big name to your market.

Here are some of the top small forwards of the 2016 free agent class:

Nene Hilario (Unrestricted Free Agent)

I only put him on the list because people enjoy his name. Because at this point in his career, no one enjoys his game. Nene is 34-years-old and might have a couple years left where he gets one-year deals or perhaps he markets himself as a veteran’s minimum player for contenders looking to fill out their rosters with players who have a proven history of production and the desire to sacrifice for a late-career shot at a title. The Bulls are not a title team and shouldn’t be interested in Hilario, unless he wants to play a single season in Chicago for the minimum and then goes away.

must read: Bulls Free Agent Target: Allen Crabbe

Al Horford (Unrestricted Free Agent)

Horford has been mentioned many, many times as a possible target for the Bulls. There is a longer version of it out there, but it comes down to this: Chicago shouldn’t waste this big jump in the cap space to sign a player who isn’t going to make them a contender. That means, don’t chase Horford. Yes, he’s good. Sure, the Bulls could be one of the primary contenders for his services. However, the contract commitment in years and dollars would be just another example of Chicago signing a 15 and 9 power forward that doesn’t move the needle. Every time you think you want a 30-year-old power forward on a four-year max contract, think about Carlos Boozer. Then think about next year when Blake Griffin and Serge Ibaka will be available.

Dirk Nowitzki (Unrestricted Free Agent)

If Dirk were to play for the Bulls, I would buy the jersey immediately. Who doesn’t love Dirk? He might be the only NBA player more universally loved than Ricky Rubio. But, Dirk is old and never coming to Chicago. If he ever does leave Dallas, unlikely, it will be Golden State or San Antonio where he can play reduced minutes and get as close as humanly possible to guaranteeing himself a trip to the conference finals at minimum. For now, you’ll just have to turn on trade override in NBA2K and live your dreams in cyberspace. Note: In multiple different seasons or franchises or GM modes I have played in NBA2K 17; the computer has put Dirk on the Bulls in 2016-17. But, they also put Kobe there so whatever.

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Marvin Williams (Unrestricted Free Agent)

I wish Marvin was just a couple years younger. This is the kind of player I would be perfectly okay with Chicago chasing. He can probably be had on a short-term deal and won’t cost you the max. The problem is that he is getting older and if he isn’t going to get starter minutes, he’d probably rather be on a contending team. Still, he had an awakening in 2015-16 for the Hornets, shattering his previous career-best mark for made 3-pointers. He had never made 100 in a season prior to last year, when he dropped over 150 of them. That ability to stretch the floor and play solid defense is the very thing that got him drafted so highly a long, long time ago. Better late than never for Williams, but not the right time for the Bulls. With Mirotic, Gibson and Portis on the roster, Williams either gets robbed of playing time or has to steal from others.

Jared Sullinger (Restricted Free Agent)

I had to include Sullinger. This guy is an anomaly. It doesn’t seem like he should be a player that makes most NBA rosters, but he somehow manages to keep holding onto the job in Boston and he is a starter. I often wonder if Brad Stevens secretly hates Sullinger for being just barely good enough to start for his team or if he hates the rest of his team more for not having a single player than can step up take the job away from Sully. Either way, this is the kind of player you could see Forman convincing himself is a two-year, $30 million player. As you scream at your Twitter feed while Woj is still typing it and hasn’t hit the “Tweet” button yet. Wouldn’t it just be so Forman to sign a backup power forward at an already cluttered position on the roster for a contract just long enough to eat up all the cap space they’ll need next year to chase the huge free agent class of 2017.

Next: Bulls Free Agency Target: Derrick Williams

Free agency will open at midnight, tonight! It will be July 1 and likely all hell breaks loose on the market. Tune in tomorrow morning as we will have a rundown of the center position on the market and will have reactions to any and all moves the Bulls might make.

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