Moore Bad News for Chicago Bulls

Unrestricted free agent E’Twaun Moore is the latest in a long line of Chicago Bulls players that have taken their talents elsewhere this summer.

The start of free agency hasn’t gone according to plan for the Chicago Bulls.

New Orleans-based newspaper The Advocate reporter Scott Kushner tweeted Friday evening that Moore had reached a verbal agreement with the New Orleans Pelicans to sign a contract valued at $32 million across four seasons.

Free agents can officially sign with their new teams on Wednesday, July 6 when the so-called July moratorium terminates.

For now, any verbal agreements that are made aren’t perpetually binding.

The 27-year-old Moore averaged 12.6 points per 36 minutes on 48.1 percent from the field last season with the Bulls. The five-year NBA veteran chipped in 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per 36 minutes last season and established himself as a good defender capable of guarding multiple positions.

According to multiple reports, Moore was a hot commodity around the NBA from the moment free agency officially began on Friday at midnight.

Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson reported on Wednesday that general manager Gar Forman considered Moore “someone the Bulls would explore re-signing.”

Ultimately, the Bulls couldn’t convince him to return to the Windy City.

Moore signing with the Pelicans has major implications for the Bulls.

Moore recorded two solid seasons in Chicago. The Bulls are losing a versatile player, whose age and ability to guard multiple positions defensively makes him appealing as an asset moving forward.

Moore also jelled well with franchise centerpiece Jimmy Butler. The Bulls had a +3.1 point differential when both players were together on the court. His team-first approach and ability to get his teammates involved made him a good complement next to the dominate personality of Butler. 

Last season, Moore shot 45.2 percent from three-point land, which was the best percentage on the team. He was a big part of a Bulls team that finished third in the NBA in collective three-point field goal percentage last season.

From a player quality standpoint, the Chicago Bulls have lost a player that could have made a difference moving forward.

At 27 years old, he fits the “young and athletic” mold of players that the Bulls want to have on their roster moving forward. He complements the star player, runs the offense well when asked to assume point guard duties and shoots the three-point shot at a high clip. All of these skills fit well within Hoiberg’s offensive system.

Moore signing with the Pelicans further exposed an underlying issue that has plagued the franchise for a long time.

The length and value of the contract that Moore signed was well within the parameters of what the Bulls could afford. Like so many free agents before him, Moore chose to forgo signing with Chicago, which is a testament to how bad the current state of the franchise has become.

The Bulls have never been able to attract top-tier free agents to Chicago and now it has come to the point where nobody wants to come here and play.

Jeremy Lin, a player rumored to be on the Chicago Bulls free agency radar, verbally agreed to a contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday for an estimated $36 million across three seasons.

Once again, this contract was well within a price range that the Bulls could have afforded.

Solomon Hill and Evan Turner are two other players that the Chicago Bulls were looking to add this summer. However, both players signed elsewhere; Hill joined Moore and the Pelicans and Turner will play for the Trail Blazers.

It isn’t like these free agents are choosing perennial contenders like the Spurs, Thunder or Warriors over the Bulls.

Players are choosing teams like the Nets, Trail Blazers and Pelicans. All of these teams are rebuilding/retooling like the Bulls.

Next: Report: E'Twaun Moore will sign with the Pelicans

The trend of free agents snubbing the Bulls will continue for the rest of free agency.

Fans should lower all expectations for what they hope the Chicago Bulls will do this summer. Chicago has become a place that free agents avoid. It used to be that top free agents avoided the franchise because the star player wouldn’t recruit and the front office was bad at recruiting.

Now, recruiting free agents to Chicago has become even harder.

No free agents want to come to the Bulls because the front office has shown no indication that they are capable of getting this franchise pointed back in the right direction.

The Chicago Bulls are a mess and free agents don’t want to go somewhere that is a mess. Moore was smart to get out of here while he still could.