The Bulls have signed 26-year old shooting guard J.J. Redick to a 3-year, $19 million dollar offer sheet. The Magic will have 7 days to either match Redick’s deal or let him leave for the Windy City. Redick played in 82 games (9 starts) for the Magic last season and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 9.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He hit 40.5% of his three point shots last season for the Magic. Redick has now played in 222 games (14 starts) in his four years in the NBA and he is averaging 17.2 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. The Magic have said that they would match any offer for Redick but this offer will likely make them think twice about that.

UPDATE: (7/16/2010) – It’s back to the drawing board for the Bulls as the Magic have matched the offer they made.

The Bulls have signed 29-year old SG/SF Kyle Korver to a 3-year, $15 million dollar deal. Korver played in 52 games (0 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 18.3 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. His long range shooting is his best asset on the floor as he hit a stunning 53.6% of his three point attempts last season. Korver has now played in 517 games (103 starts) in his 7 years in the NBA and he is averaging 25.1 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He has shot 41% from three point range in his NBA career. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls start Korver at shooting guard or if they bring him off the bench. Regardless of what role the Bulls have for Korver I like this signing for them.

The Bulls have done a sign and trade deal with the Suns involving 28-year old forward Hakim Warrick. Warrick played in 28 games (0 starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Warrick signed a 4-year, $18 million dollar deal and then he was shipped to the Suns for a 2nd round pick in 2011. While that’s not much to get for Warrick it certainly is better than nothing.

The Bulls have signed 29-year old power forward Carlos Boozer to a 5-year, $80 million dollar deal. Boozer played in 78 games (all starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 19.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He has now played in 510 games (469 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 32.7 minutes, 17.2 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Despite missing out on Chris Bosh the Bulls still landed on their feet in signing Boozer who is just as good as him. Boozer might also be able to convince LeBron James to come to Chicago as they played together in Cleveland early in their careers.

UPDATE: (7/9/2010) – The Bulls missed out on LeBron James who is signing with the Heat. They still are a much better team going into this season with Carlos Boozer in tow.

The Bulls have released 25-year old power forward Chris Richard and 25-year old small forward Rob Kurz. Richard played in 18 games (0 starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 12.4 minutes, 2.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 70 games (3 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 11.1 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Kurz did not get into any games last season. He played in 40 games (5 starts) as a rookie with the Warriors in 2008-09 in which he averaged 11.1 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. If the Bulls want either of these guys to round out the bench they will be able to sign them late in the off-season.

The Bulls have picked 20-year old power forward Kevin Seraphin with the 17th overall pick of the NBA Draft out of France. He will likely be traded to the Wizards on July 8th along with Kirk Hinrich. Seraphin played in 97 games (47 starts) in France and he averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Bulls would have certainly picked a better player then Seraphin if they had kept the pick.

UPDATE: (7/8/2010) – Seraphin is officially a Washington Wizard.

Although a trade of this kind can’t be officially announced until July 8th it appears as though the Bulls have traded Kirk Hinrich and the #17 overall pick to the Washington Wizards for a future 2nd round pick. Hinrich played 7 years for the Bulls appearing in 514 games (433 starts) in which he averaged 34.0 minutes, 13.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. This trade looks very lopsided in the Wizards’ favor but it opens up enough cap space for the Bulls that they could sign to max contract players.

UPDATE: The Wizards have sent the rights to 25-year old power forward Vladimir Veremeenko to the Bulls to complete this trade. He was a 2006 draft pick of the Wizards who is currently playing in Russia.

The Bulls have signed Tom Thibodeau to a 3-year deal to be the new head coach. His contract will be worth $6.5 million bucks. He was the associate head coach of the Boston Celtics. This won’t be officially announced until the NBA Finals is over but it’s a done deal. Thibodeau runs the defense for the Celtics which has been a impressive unit this year. It’s not a reach to expect the Bulls to improve on defense next season. Thibodeau was pursued by a few teams so this looks like a solid hire for the Bulls.

The LeBron James free-agency situation has been the topic of sports sections, sites, and blogs for quite a while now, but ever since LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals the rumors have been spreading around the web like wildfire.  The Chicago Bulls have been in the conversation for a possible destination for LeBron for some time now, along with the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers.  Signs and rumors are starting to point towards Chicago being the front-runner for LeBron.  There is also a rumor that University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari is being pursued to come in as a package deal with LeBron.  Now Calipari has repeatedly denied that he has any interest in leaving Kentucky, but his word is not exactly set in stone.  He left the University of Memphis after numerous denials as recent as the day before he left for Kentucky.  He also has a track record of breaking NCAA rules, or finding a way around them, so you can’t ever really believe what Calipari says until something happens.

Calipari is a very good coach though, and although it would be great to see Calipari take another shot at the NBA and reunite with Derrick Rose, I don’t think it matters when it comes to signing LeBron.  It doesn’t matter whether there is any truth to any of these rumors because Chicago is the obvious choice, regardless of the coach, if winning is what LeBron really wants.  With guys like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, and Taj Gibson the Bulls have the most weapons to surround LeBron.  He has publicly praised Derrick Rose and according to the Daily Herald, LeBron has talked to Rose about how he would like to be his teammate.  LeBron was highly scrutinized for the way the Cavaliers were elminated by the Celtics this season, so leaving Cleveland will be extremely difficult.  If he decides to leave though, Chicago is the obvious choice to me.  The fact of the matter is that out of all the teams capable of signing LeBron (including the Cavs), the Bulls give him the best chance to win his first NBA Championship.  If he leaves and doesn’t come to the Bulls, it will show LeBron’s motives aren’t all about winning.  If he goes to New York or New Jersey (who is planning to move the team to Brooklyn) I think it shows that LeBron cares just as much or more about expanding his image and corporate name, than actually winning a championship.

The Toronto Raptors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday, giving the Chicago Bulls an opportunity to gain a game on the Raptors and tie them for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, unfortunately, did not take advantage of this and they lost 79-74 to the Milwaukee Bucks.  After jumping out to a 27-14 lead after the first quarter, they followed it with a pathetic 9-point second quarter and 15-point third quarter.  They also let former Bull John Salmons drop 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists on them.  It was not a good night for the Bulls, but they will get another chance Thursday night against the Cavs and Friday at New Jersey before hosting the Raptors on Sunday.  Sunday’s game against the Raptors will be like a playoff game, since whoever wins that game will likely win the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.