The Chicago Bulls today signed forward Lou Amundson (AH-mund-son) to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. Amundson (6-9, 225) will be in uniform tonight (No. 17) when the Bulls host the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center at 7:00 p.m. (CT). In his seventh season out of UNLV, Amundson has played in 308 regular season games (seven starts). During that time, he has posted averages of 3.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 0.75 bpg in 12.9 mpg. He also owns shooting averages of .493 from the field and .443 from the line. Read more http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/bulls-sign-amundson-10-day-contract.html
Thonus mentioned that the Bulls did a S&T with Utah for Boozer as a favor. The deal didn't get Boozer any more years or money, but did get Utah a trade exception. Supposedly they called in that favor when they cut Murphy - Utah claimed him on waivers, taking on the cap hit for Murphy's salary. I don't know if there's something similar going on here. But Amundson isn't likely to help the team at all.
I'm wondering if the Noah's 500k bonus for making All-NBA First Team is going to send the Bulls into luxury tax territory. So now the Bulls are signing whomever the damn well want because they're going to be into the tax.
The bonus was taken care of when Murphy's contract was picked up by Utah. These 10 day contracts don't count for much against the cap, since they are pro-rated. But why pick up guys like Mike James and Amundson? They're not going to contribute, except in practice. James is 80 years old. http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2014/04/bulls-louis-amundson.html If Admundson’s signing goes through, Chicago’s roster will be set for their postseason run. After waiving Erik Murphy and bringing in Jimmer Fredette, Ronnie Brewer, and now James and Amundson, the Bulls are set to reach the 15-man roster limit after spending part of the year under the 13-man minimum. It’s believed that the Bulls will avoid paying the luxury tax this season, regardless of whether Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson earn their potential salary bonuses. Trading away Luol Deng and having Murphy’s waived contract claimed by the Jazz dropped the team’s salary obligations enough to create room for the influx of new faces.
Murphy has been inactive/DNP for two games. SLC newspaper says they like his potential, but it is too late to teach him the offense. His main objective is to fit in as the only white guy on an all African-American team.
Mike James. His .238 FG% will really help if he's forced into action due to an injury to one of our PG types.
I'm kinda with Denny on this one. The Amundson and James deals are a little puzzling to me because I absolutely cannot see them getting meaningful minutes in the playoffs. If the game is in any way close I honestly think Thibs will play Noah and DJ 48 minutes before they see the floor. I didn't feel this way about Jimmer and Ronnie, because I can imagine both of them seeing the court under the right circumstances.
Well, I suppose by having them signed, they could be used in sign-and-trades this offseason to make the money work. Other than that, it seems like a senseless way to reduce perfectly good profit.
So it doesn't make basketball or money sense. It isn't costing the Chairman much. Vet minimum prorated for a few days. They saved money by dumping Murphy's salary, all told.
If they're paying extra money to facilitate potential trades that would presumably make basketball sense, then it obviously makes basketball sense. Why do you say that replacing Murphy with multiple vet minimum players saves the team money? Murphy was making the absolute rock-bottom NBA salary. Replacing him with anyone other than a player making that same rock-bottom salary adds to player cost.
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-veteran-signees-bulls-spt-0411-20140411,0,3884650.story
Salary dumping Murphy and signing these guys at pro rated vet minimum is less than Noah's and Taj's bonuses. Murphy was cut a few days before the others signed. Doesn't the league pay for these new salaries, or partially? Money, money, money.
Btw, it seems to me the Bulls have all the S&T flexibility they need in the contracts of Tornike, Kirk, Nazr , and Jimmer.. DJ, too.
The league pays about $400k-$500k of the $1.3mil-$1.4mil they make, but that net the vets are being paid by the team is still (obviously) more than the $490k Murphy was getting. Multiply it by two and this is a profit drain (though minor).
Gimme a break...we're trying to make sense of the signings of Mike James and Lou Amundson for cryin' out loud.
right. They sgned a couple of warm bodies out of the scrap heap at a time of the year where at best you get best warm body available. They are 12 fouls available and last ditch emergency availability if we need to field a team without choosing between overextending our actual good players or forfeiting for inability to get 5 on the court. If they are available as trade fodder after the season all the better. Nothing to see here. Move along blokes or Ill run the lot of you in as loiterers.
Looks like it is trade flexibility. The biggest risk we face in the playoffs is if Kirk can't play or gets into foul trouble. That would leave us with DJ and Jimmer at PG. I don't think Thibs would play James at all in that case. If not Jimmer, Jimmy at PG. He's played him there before.
