no new updates on the chapu front i see.
Interesting. I'm not sure if an unrestricted Nocioni makes him more or less likely to become a Spur. The Spurs could then obviously outright sign him but you'd have to think another team out there would outbid the Spurs. The hope would be that Nocioni gives the Spurs some sort of Argentine/Champion discount.
It looks like if the Bulls renounce all their free agents, they could get $8-10M under the cap. That could put them in the Darko running.
This could potentially be a very interesting turn.
Yeah.
For all of us that want Nocioni on the team, we need to prepare for dissapointment if he doesn't come
I think everybody wants Nocioni on the team, but the fact is that there are a couple of outside factors (the contract that he wants, what the bulls are willing to accept for him) that have to fall in our favor in order for that to even begin to happen.
you acting like it's a done deal
it's NOT GOING TO HAPPEN
As great as that would be to just be able to sign Nocioni...we wouldn't be ridding ourselves of Barry in the process. I think Barry has to go if we bring in a guy like Noc.
If we wanted to just trade Barry straight up to somebody, who would we target?
Given that a 'shooter' like Kapono just found someone to give him US$24 million (not that Canadian ) Barry may be of some value on the trade front.
It would have to be the Bobcats, Grizz, or Bucks who do so.
Noc for Barry in sign in trade
Bulls could use his vet/ le experience
I wish you could mind meld with John Paxson...
Pax would get fired, tortured, then shot if he did that.
Bulls reportedly still eyeing Grizzlies’ Gasol
By Mike McGraw
Could Bulls forward Andres Nocioni be on his way to Memphis in a trade for Pau Gasol?
A league source suggested any talks between the Bulls and Grizzlies are in the preliminary stages. But Memphis general manager Chris Wallace flew to Argentina in recent days to meet with Nocioni, sources confirmed.
One theory is the Bulls would be willing to send Nocioni, first-round draft pick Joakim Noah, backup point guard Chris Duhon and filler to the Grizzlies in exchange for the 7-foot Gasol, who averaged 20.8 points and 9.8 rebounds last season.
Nocioni is a restricted free agent, which means the Bulls can match any offer the third-year forward receives. Bulls general manager John Paxson stated emphatically Monday that he’ll match any offer sheet for Nocioni.
But it’s possible Paxson’s message was another way of saying any team that wants Nocioni will have to negotiate a trade. The Bulls have great appreciation for Nocioni’s talent and toughness, but his role on the team seems to be limited to either playing power forward at 6-feet-7 or backing up small forward Luol Deng.
The Akron (Ohio) Beacon-Journal reported Tuesday that an unknown team, most likely Memphis, has offered Cavaliers restricted free-agent forward Anderson Varejao a contract in excess of the midlevel exception. Such news would support speculation that the Grizzlies are ready to revamp their front line without Gasol’s hefty contract, which runs four more years at a total of $63 million.
The Bulls and Grizzlies discussed a Gasol deal before the February trade deadline, but talks fizzled mostly because the Bulls refused to include Deng.
Besides chasing Gasol this summer, the Bulls figure to make a similar, but more lucrative, offer to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett, who was mentioned in numerous trade rumors prior to the NBA draft.
The Bulls are also interested in acquiring the rights to Spanish league power forward Luis Scola from San Antonio. Nocioni is not likely to be involved in a trade to the Spurs. The Bulls may offer Duhon if he is not included in a larger deal.
In the meantime, the Bulls will open a four-day mini-camp Thursday night at the Berto Center in preparation for the Orlando and Salt Lake City summer leagues.
The summer roster features veterans Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha, Andre Barrett and Martynas Andriuskevicius, along with second-round draft picks Aaron Gray and JamesOn Curry. Noah will not play in the summer leagues due to a shoulder injury.
The Bulls invited some local prospects to the camp, including former DePaul forward Lance Williams, ex-UIC forward Richard Lesko and Chicago natives Keith Gayden (Duquesne) and Boo Davis (Wisconsin-Milwaukee). Gayden played in the spring for the Elgin Racers of the International Basketball League.
Oh and no to the idea of Duhon for Scola.
agreed.
the Bulls.
Why wouldn't Nocioni be involved? Whats the ing hangup?
He's good.
Another summer, another dissapointment.
All Nocioni would have to say is "I'm playing out my option year and becoming an unrestricted FA" or "I'm going back to Spain". Must be some reason the Memphis GM flew to Argetnina and it might not have been just to shake Nocioni's hand and eat a good steak.
It's not dead yet and it was never close enough to really be a disappointment. All along, I put the chances at about 10%. I still say there's a 10% chance.
I highly doubt the Grizzlies will trade Gasol for Nocioni, Noah and filler. That doesn't make any sense for Memphis. I do think that Memphis is contemplating offering Nocioni a deal that will make it virtually impossible for the Bulls to match.
If Kapono is getting $24M, you couldn't really fault the Grizzlies for throwing something ridiculous like $55-60M at Nocioni.
With 10 players on the books Memphis salary stands at about $43.5 it would be tough for them to get both Nocioni and Varejao without a S&T for one of them, assuming they are really targeting Varejao.
Looks like we're going into 2007-2008 with virtually the same lineup that won the 2007 World le. It's going to be interesting to see how things shake up during the season, but I look for it to go much like last season with the Spurs coasting until the rodeo road trip before getting into business mode.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune....ulls-headlines
Grizzly scenario for Bulls, Nocioni
Memphis GM woos forward in Argentina, may tax Paxson's plan
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
July 3, 2007, 11:23 PM CDT
On May 12, Andres Nocioni eloquently repeated his season-long stance about his restricted free-agent status.
"My wish is to play for the Chicago Bulls all my life," Nocioni said then.
On Monday, general manager John Paxson emphatically repeated his season-long stance on the same subject.
"We're going to match offer sheets," Paxson said at the Berto Center. "We're not going to lose a player for nothing."
The Memphis Grizzlies appear poised to test both declarations.
New Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace has traveled to Argentina to woo Nocioni, whose intense style would fill voids on the court and the team's salary-cap room off it.
League sources said the Grizzlies have yet to present Nocioni, 27, with an offer sheet. As one of the few teams with salary-cap space, the Grizzlies theoretically could present a five-year deal worth anywhere from $40 million and $46 million.
Those figures could be a severe test for the financial plan of Paxson, who also must consider long-term contract extensions for Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. This fact is said to have made Nocioni's restricted status look vulnerable to Wallace.
A league source said the Bulls officially have made Nocioni a contract offer, a show of respect consistent with Paxson's above-the-board negotiating style.
The Bulls would have seven days to match any offer the Grizzlies make, and team officials are bracing for it to be greater than theirs on the table.
That would place Paxson in a tough spot: Match the offer and perhaps pay more than envisioned for a vital, yet backup, player, or follow through on his vow not to lose a player for nothing by working to engineer a sign-and-trade.
Complicating that scenario, there is nobody on the Grizzlies' roster that interests the Bulls beyond Pau Gasol. Moreover, Wallace and new coach Marc Iavaroni have made public comments suggesting Gasol remains the centerpiece of the struggling franchise.
A third, less likely option would be to renounce Nocioni's rights and try to clear enough salary-cap room to enter the bidding war for Darko Milicic.
In a surprising and much-questioned move, the Magic renounced its rights to the power forward Tuesday after receiving an oral commitment from top free agent Rashard Lewis. Milicic is now an unrestricted free agent.
Milicic intrigues the Bulls, who have contacted his agent to express their interest. Only the Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks and Grizzlies own significant salary-cap room to sign him, though, so Milicic might be forced to sign for the midlevel salary-cap exception of roughly $5.5 million, which the Bulls have.
Nocioni stressed throughout last season how happy he is to be a Bull. .
But Nocioni was said to have received Wallace's personal recruiting pitch favorably.
A sense of urgency exists to resolve Nocioni's status as the Bulls are trying possibly to sign unrestricted free agents such as Chris Mihm or Joe Smith.
The Bulls also have inquired about the availability of Spanish league power forward Luis Scola. The Spurs own the rights to Scola, 27, who averaged 17 points and 7.2 rebounds for Tau Ceramica, the same team for which Nocioni played.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/...614849,00.html
Griz putting full court presson free agents
Bulls' Nocioni at top of team's wish list
By Ronald Tillery
July 4, 2007
The Grizzlies have made contact with several free agents or their representatives, and general manager Chris Wallace even traveled a great distance to deliver his spiel.
Just four days into the NBA's free-agent period the Grizzlies aren't exactly looking like a wallflower.
Cleveland's Anderson Varejao, New Jersey's Mikki Moore and Orlando's Darko Milicic are among the big men the Griz have already expressed interest in. Chicago forward Andres Nocioni received the team's strongest pitch when Wallace recently visited Nocioni in his native Argentina.
The Griz targeted Nocioni early because he would address several needs, including toughness, defense, rebounding and 3-point shooting. His natural position is small forward but he saw time at power forward for the Bulls, who may be faced with a tough decision regarding Nocioni.
The Grizzlies' early, hard push may be because they view the Bulls as one of the more vulnerable teams as it relates to its own free agents.
Nocioni, a 6-7 forward, is a restricted free agent so the Bulls can match any offer. But they may be reluctant to match more than the mid-level exception for Nocioni in a summer Luol Deng and Ben Gordon are eligible for contract extensions.
Memphis is one of three teams -- Charlotte and Milwaukee are the others -- with the cap room available to offer more than the mid-level exception now that Orlando has committed a maximum deal to Seattle free agent Rashard Lewis.
The Griz are expected to have between $7.8 and $8.8 million to spend in free agency, and are prepared to offer Nocioni a deal starting at $7 million. Memphis has not yet tendered an offer sheet to Nocioni or any free agent.
Reportedly, Chicago already has an offer on the table to retain Nocioni.
Chicago GM John Paxson vowed not to allow Nocioni to leave without compensation. But a sign-and-trade deal with Memphis would seem unlikely because Paxson is said to only value Pau Gasol on the Grizzlies' roster.
Wallace has said he isn't looking to trade Gasol.
The Griz, though, have a number of contingency plans in place.
They plan to take a harder look at Milicic now that he is an unrestricted free agent. Orlando withdrew its qualifying offer for Milicic on Tuesday. Varejao remains a target for the Griz, who also are considering potential deals in which they receive a player without losing any because of their salary cap room.
That is EXACTLY what the Spurs need... Get it done!
The Grizzlies are freaking stupid if they do that Gasol trade.
I hate it when stupid teams(like the Magic, Raps and Grizzlies) screw up the market.
I guess that's what they have to do to get people to play there though...overpay.
I think there's a good chance Nocioni ends up on the Grizzlies. They will give Nocioni a big offer because they know Paxson is probably bluffing when he says that he's going to match any offer. It doesn't make much sense in the Bulls' longterm plans to overpay Nocioni when his role on the team over the years will shrink as other players develop.
One good side effect would be if Paxson feverishly attempts to sign and trade him so that he at least gets something for Nocioni instead of losing him to the Grizzlies. Plus, it'd work against him if the world sees his bluff.
Perhaps now that Paxson sees he could lose Nocioni for nothing, he'll be receptive to an offer from the Spurs. Every article stats his interest in Scola. Scola + filler for Nocioni makes a lot more sense than letting him walk to Memphis.
However, how much are the Spurs willing to pay Nocioni? Will they match the offer he'll get from Memphis? And if the Spurs don't, will Nocioni give the Spurs some sort of Argentine/Champion discount or will he make a money grab?
That said, it's tough to gauge if the Spurs even view Nocioni highly enough to fight for him.
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