MW: Along with their eventful draft, the Bulls will have some free agency decisions to make this summer? Who’s staying and who’s going? What happens to Rajon Rondo?
DB: I think Chicago will let Rondo, MCW and Morrow walk, and attempt to re-sign Cristiano Felicio, Lauvergne and Mirotic. Then the Bulls will have four power forwards, and one of them has to turn into something right?
DC: I’d think you have have to let Carter-Williams, Morrow and Lauvergne walk. They’ll hopefully bring back Big Cris. I’m against bringing back Mirotic, but it’s exactly the kind of thing Chicago would do, pushing their power forward logjam into 2020 and beyond. If they bring back Rondo, I’ll be impressed with the level of incompetence. They’re already going to be significantly worse than last season so burying the very, very expensive additions of Cam Payne and Kris Dunn behind Rajon and next to Jerian seems incredibly foolish.
BH: Common sense would say you let MCW and Rondo walk so you can get a good look at Dunn, Grant and Payne. Mirotic and Felicio are worth bringing back if the price is right. Knowing the Bulls, at least one of those point guards is coming back and one of Mirotic or Felicio is not.
Hoops Habit
IK: Well, now with the trade, I’d expect the Bulls to try and trade Rondo to a team trying to clear cap space (Houston? San Antonio? Los Angeles?) or else they’ll likely decline his option. Young guys like Felicio and Lauvergne will likely see offers to come back. I’d guarantee a Felicio return, but Lauvergne may command better offers being a stretch-5. Mirotic may be gone because we have Markkanen and Bobby Portis, but with this front office, they may think they need multiple stretch-4’s to become a good team, so don’t be surprised if they offered him a contract. With all the point guards on the team, especially if Rondo returns, MCW is as good as gone since he played so little late in the year. Canaan may come back as a cheap bench option, but with all these guards it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t come back. Morrow may be one of those veterans GarPax want with the rebuild, so he is a 50-50 to remain.
Also, on Dwyane Wade, it won’t surprise anyone if they use the cash considerations and trade exceptions they have to buy out Wade so he could go to Cleveland. I bet it will happen sometime in July.
WL: Strictly from a logistics standpoint, waiving Rondo and letting Felicio walk would be the way to roll. Mirotic might get a $15 million per year deal from a club with a bunch of money burning a hole in their pockets. MCW is essentially useless, because he’s not ball dominant. Morrow is pretty much worthless to a rebuilding club. Lauvergne is expendable with Markkanen in the mix. I’m more about blowing it up as much as possible to create future cap space (see the Boston Celtics).
MP: I think the Bulls are going to keep most of their players, including Felicio, Rondo and Mirotic. Felicio is a young player who has grown a lot in his couple seasons with the Bulls, and Rondo appears to be a good mentor and well-liked among the Bulls players. With Mirotic, if the price is right then retaining him is alright, but if it’s too much (and it likely will be with the current “let’s overpay mediocre players” NBA mindset), then Chicago needs to let him walk. Unfortunately, though, I have a feeling the Bulls might pay too much anyways in order to keep him.
RP: Personally, I would re-up Cristiano, Niko and Anthony Morrow (because why not) and let the others walk. I’m afraid the front office will literally do the exact opposite.