My fianceé and I attended Strawberry Fest in Cedarberg, WI yesterday. With it being an absolutely gorgeous day, we also tossed our dog Winnie into her little doggie carrier – yes, we’re those parents – and brought her along for the ride.
Winnie has a tendency to be a major crackhead at times, but she was remarkably chill and loved all the people-watching. Meanwhile, the two non-animals in the group enjoyed tasting strawberry wine, eating strawberry brats, and tasting more strawberry wine. I got to tell you, folks, it was simply one of the most relaxing days I’ve had in a long time!
Now, however, the sky looks dreary, it’s humid as heck, and I’m about to do some wedding planning busy-work for the next few hours. It kind of feels like when the Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-113 one day … only to lose to the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-119 the next.
*sigh*
The Chicago Bulls might be hoping they found a diamond in the rough. According to overseas reports, the organization may have extended a two-way contract to Turkish League player Onuralp Bitim. The 24-year-old is a swingman who is fresh off shooting over 40.0 percent from downtown this past season. We wrote more about the rumor here:
If Bitim does join the club on a two-way contract, that would fill two of the team’s three two-way spots head of training camp. The NBA upgraded the number of two-way roster spots for each team in the latest CBA, bringing the number from two to three. Chicago also reportedly added UConn Huskies big man and national champion Adama Sanogo to the roster right after the 2023 NBA Draft came to a close. To be absolutely clear, though, we’re still waiting on confirmation from the Bulls on both signings. I’m sure we’ll get a little bit better of an idea of where both Sanogo and Bitim stand as we begin Summer League in two weeks. Speaking of which, you can view the Bulls’ full Summer League schedule here.
While we’re on the topic of overseas talent, former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic might FINALLY join the NBA. For the past two offseasons, rumors have swirled about whether or not the well-respect point guard would make his journey to the States. Each time, however, Micic has chosen to return to his Anadolu Efes in Turkey. The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to hold Micic’s draft rights, but it seems unlikely that he would play for the youthful franchise. Instead, the 29-year-old Micic would likely prefer a trade to a more competitive team in need of his services.
Indeed, according to Greek site sportal.gr, Micic is in talks with OKC about finding him the right destination. Exactly what the asking price for his services could be remains pretty ambiguous. The fact of the matter is that teams never truly know how a EuroLeague star will adapt to NBA play. Micic seemingly has the skills to contribute effectively as a bigger point guard with above-average ball-handling skills and an efficient shoot stroke, but he also isn’t the more jaw-dropping athlete. At the end of the day, it will be a bit of a risk for whatever team brings him along.
Vasilije Micic has decided to play in the NBA next season. He's in talks with the OKC Thunder and a potential trade is on the table for him. He's more than ready for his next step in the biggest stage.
Anyway, we mention this because the Arturas Karnisovas brain trust has been linked to Micic before. Whether or not the interest remains is unclear, especially because it would have to require a trade of some kind to land his rights. Still, it’ll be something to keep an eye on as free agency approaches. More on the Bulls’ past connections here:
Derrick Rose will hit free agency, per ESPN. The New York Knicks – as expected – have declined Rose’s club option for the 2023-24 season for $15.6 million. Rose appeared in just 27 games for the team last season as they made a run to the second round of the playoffs. He has failed to appear in over 51 games since the 2016-17 campaign when he was first traded to New York. Heading into Year 16, it’s hard to know whether Rose can be trusted to carry any sort of rotational role moving forward. But that doesn’t mean I think his career is over.
Breaking: The Knicks are not picking up Derrick Rose's $15.6 million team option for next season, according to multiple reports on Saturday. He will now be a free agent. pic.twitter.com/NMngf0QvGm— ESPN (@espn) June 24, 2023
Somebody will take a chance on the former MVP this season. He’s still an extremely well-respected veteran around the league, and I’m sure someone will talk themselves into having him as a voice on the bench and behind the scenes. Let’s also not forget that more teams than ever before will be looking for guys on veteran minimum deals with the harsh luxury tax penalties in the new CBA. Could a team like Phoenix take the risk and hope Rose has one more year in him in an off-the-bench role?
If one thing is for sure, I hope the Chicago Bulls stay away. I know that may seem shocking to some, but I just don’t see a world in which Rose fits into the picture at all. Do the Bulls need a point guard? Sure, but Rose isn’t a traditional facilitator nor does he have the ability to stay healthy. Not to mention, while his 3-point stroke has improved slightly with age, he isn’t some kind of 3-point marksman.
Long story short, the Bulls have WAY too many holes to fill to go out and make Rose a primary target. If they end up reshaping their roster effectively and still have a vet minimum slot open at the end of the bench, MAYBE I can get behind the move. But the chance of that happening right now is so slim. They must use every roster spot effectively and avoid these kinds of “ticket-selling” moves that they’ve made in the past. We actually wrote way more about this earlier this summer here:
The Knicks and Josh Hart extended the deadline on his player option. It looks like both sides are prioritizing keeping him in New York (which makes sense after the Knicks traded a first-rounder for him earlier this year).
One option that would give New York flexibility is to opt-in and extend off (up to 140%) his $12.9M salary in 23-24.
This would give New York full access to the full $12.4M non-tax ML.
New York currently has $149M in guaranteed salary, $16M below the luxury tax. https://t.co/3D8qHLh6l2— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 25, 2023
The Phoenix Suns are reportedly set to keep Deandre Ayton now. We’ll see how long that lasts, as trading him could be the team’s best way to add multiple non-vet-minimum role players to the bench.
Suns believe Ayton’s value to the franchise is at an all-time high with the additions of Beal and Durant. Phoenix wants to see them play together.— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 25, 2023
Just like with the Bulls in Paris, it’s so cool to see Chicago teams on the international stage.
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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