Chris Duhon...

[JMarkJohns]

OK I'm all better...OH! REPLAY

[DCCat]

Actually, that play was at least as much Hinrich's fault as Duhon's. Duhon broke free and was open for the pass and Hinrich didn't deliver the ball for some reason. So Duhon turned to make another move (probably not the best choice of moves -- could have broken towards the sideline) and then Hinrich delivers the ball. The pass was late.

Having said that, both teams played really ugly in the second half and the Bulls played a little uglier. The Bulls' key players are a bit younger than the Wizards' and showed more jitters in the fourth quarter. But neither team could knock down an open shot (and there were plenty of open shots). It's all going to be moot anyway, 'cause whichever team was going to win this was just going to be Heat fodder.

[JMarkJohns]

Yeah, but I like Hinrich!

I saw where Skiles was looking at Duhon, who shrugged his shoulders and pointed at himself as if to say, "my bad". Seemed like maybe there was play drawn up and Duhon flipped the script.

[Wolfman Duke]

Originally Posted by JMarkJohns

Yeah, but I like Hinrich!

I saw where Skiles was looking at Duhon, who shrugged his shoulders and pointed at himself as if to say, "my bad". Seemed like maybe there was play drawn up and Duhon flipped the script.

uh, WRONG. Skiles just said that Hinrich made the mistake of throwing the ball to Duhon. The play is run so that he either gets it right away or not at all. If option # 1 (Duhon) doesn't get the ball right away, he is supposed to curl away, taking his defender - in this case, since Hinrich waited, he should have gone to his second option. Skiles said that Hinrich should be to blame, not Chris.

The last play was 100% not Chris' fault. If you noticed the next possesion the bulls ran the same out of bounds play and you saw Duhon run toward the ball and the curl away with his back to Hinrich. So if you are gonna blame anyone then you need to blame Hinrich because he is the one taking the ball out, and he should know the damn play. If Chris wanted to come straight to the ball then he could have unimpeeded but that was not the play!

[indocat]

pwned!

[JMarkJohns]

Originally Posted by Wolfman Duke

uh, WRONG. Skiles just said that Hinrich made the mistake of throwing the ball to Duhon.

Thanks, but "just said" doesn't help for 40 minutes ago...

Hey, great for Duhon...I'll still laugh at the sight of the ball bouncing of his back!

[Itamicbomb]

Poor C-Du, yeah it's his fault if only for not having better communication with Hinrich. The Bulls will be back, and I expect it won't be long before some ex-Dukies get a ring.

[Schnebly]

I say we set 'em all up right now.



Step up, boys!

[HASSstafa05]

i dont think C-dooooo will be back with the bulls. he is a FA after this year.

[Wolfman Duke]

Originally Posted by HASSstafa05

i dont think C-dooooo will be back with the bulls. he is a FA after this year.

Paxson has said they will match any offer made for Duhon.

[JMarkJohns]

Duhon isn't a resistricted FA...and the Bulls have three others of importance to deal with before a 2nd-round dookie PG...

Tyson Chandler, Eddie Curry and Scott Skiles are all going to be big commodities come this off-season. Certainly Chandler and Skiles, more so than Curry, but if he is healthy, than the Bulls will have their hands full with resigning them all.

Being that they'll likely be well over the expected 50 million dollar CAP once all are signed, the Bulls will not have the money to resign Duhon (unless he takes the League minimum).

A team only owns a FA rights of that FA was with the team for a minimum of 3 years before becoming a FA. Since this is not the case, it is quite reasonable to expect Duhon to be elsewhere.

A team can only exceed the CAP in signing players with whom the team own "bird rights" which is granted to a player who has been with a team for a minimum of 3 years. Since this is not the case, I fail to see how the Bulls will have the money to resign him.

The Bulls also already have Hinrich and Gordon to play the point, so Duhon is a luxery and not a need. He'd be nice to resign, but he's hardly a priority.

EDIT: After doublechecking the Bulls CAP situation, all this remains true, except that the Bulls could have anywhere from 3/6 million remaining after the resign Chandler and Curry.

They enter with a CAP of 33 million and if both get a deal starting at 7 million, then the Bulls would have enough for Duhon or another FA.

Now, if the CAP is not at 50 million like has been discussed throughout this season, then the Bulls likely won't have the space to resign Duhon.

But there is at least a chance.

Duhon is a restricted FA, though even I'm not entirely sure how. It must have been neotiated into the contract, but I've never heard of this before. It's not even covered in the FAQ site I gave. Hmm?

[Itamicbomb]

Any chance Duhon could go to the Lakers? What is their cap situation like?

[indocat]

Originally Posted by JMarkJohns

Being that they'll likely be well over the expected 50 million dollar CAP once all are signed, the Bulls will not have the money to resign Duhon (unless he takes the League minimum).

they may use MLE, if Duhon really worth it. But at 5mil salary average is unlikely. The glaring weakness of the bull is SG size for defensive purpose.

[Rockstar INXS]

If the Lakers were smart - they would throw some big time dollars at Skiles -

But that is not good drama and he might tell everyone that does not buy in where to put it and how high - Kupcake is not up to the negotiation with this guy - neither is Buss - Skiles knows basketball - Buss knows parties and $2500 front row seats for the Stars. He really should sell the team and avoid further embarassment - he is lost and will not listen. Forget that thought keep the team Jerry ....................

I really liked Skiles when he was in PHoenix and am not surprised at his success in Chicago - he is a winner.

[JMarkJohns]

Originally Posted by indocat

they may use MLE, if Duhon really worth it. But at 5mil salary average is unlikely. The glaring weakness of the bull is SG size for defensive purpose.

If the team enters free agency under the CAP, thn they are only allowed to spend up to the CAP and can only go over to, 1. resign their own "bird rights" players and 2. by signing League minimum players.

Here's a helpful site that will help you out with any questions.

Here's an exerpt from this site that particularly deals with this.

There is logic behind this. The whole idea behind an "exception" is that it is an exception to the rule which says a team has to be below the salary cap. In other words, an exception is a mechanism which allows a team to function above the cap. However, if a team salary is ever so low that they're not going to be over the cap even if they use all their exceptions, then the concept of an exception which allows them to function above the cap is moot. Therefore, if a team's team salary ever drops this far, its exceptions go away.

EDIT: Now, the Lakers sit at 69 million in salary next season, so they have no CAP space to sign free agents. They do, however, have their full mid-level exception to sign players of need. So, it is possible, though unlikely, that Duhon is signed by the Lakers.

While I think it's a solid signing, I don't think the Lakers will go for it, instead I figure them to draft a PG and then use their Mid-level in either a trade for a big or to sign a big-man, maybe someone like Stromile Swift who might be able to recoup any lesser salary with endorsments in Los Angeles.