Why isn't their any talk about him on the Magic board? He's a FA. He could play SF and PF at times(not too much though). With the Bulls being pretty loaded at the wing, they won't be willing to pay Noicioni to be a backup. If we resign Darko for 8-10 mil and still have 6-9 mil, why not use 4-6 mil to sign him to start at SF for us? He plays hard nosed defense and is a pretty good shooter. He goes 100% and has a mean streak(something this organization has been missing). He'd be a pretty good fit to start alongside Hedo, IMO. If Darko signs for 8 mil and we get Noicioni for $5 mil, we can still get Blake for $3 mil ish and be a much improved team, IMO. Lineup would be..... PG-Blake/Jameer SG-Hedo/JJ SF-Noicioni/Ariza PF-Darko/Gortat(or 2nd rounder) C-Dwight/Battie
I'd be surprised if the Bulls let him go. He's a huge part to that team. Even though Deng has really come into his own, Noc still plays a huge role for them. He's one of the best defenders on the team and he's really developed a nice offensive game. He's also a very good change of pace guy for them when he comes in for Deng, plus he does have the ability to play PF. And if I remember correctly, he siad something about wanting to stick around in Chicago. So, don't be surprised if he does stay there.
<div class="quote_poster">Moo2K4 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I'd be surprised if the Bulls let him go. He's a huge part to that team. Even though Deng has really come into his own, Noc still plays a huge role for them. He's one of the best defenders on the team and he's really developed a nice offensive game. He's also a very good change of pace guy for them when he comes in for Deng, plus he does have the ability to play PF. And if I remember correctly, he siad something about wanting to stick around in Chicago. So, don't be surprised if he does stay there.</div> I could definitely see him staying in Chicago, but the offer of a starting spot and possibly more money could be tempting for him to come to Orlando. Also doesn't Chicago have to decide what to do about Gordon and Deng by next offseason? They probably won't have much money to spend on him(not as much as the Magic at least).
I would love to have him in Orlando but he has said he wants to stay in Chicago so I'm assuming they'll resign him. I'm guessing that's why there hasn't been any discussion about him.
He is a restricted free agent, who has expressed every desire to return to Chicago next season, even going as far as to say "my hope is to be a Chicago Bull for the rest of my life." I expect the Bulls to make a solid starting offer to him, and match any reasonable offer sheet. I do however think, it will be one of those situations that drag out, similar to the one with Chris Duhon a couple years ago.
Money aside, Nocioni has already made it clear he wants to finish his career in Chicago .. EDIT: Blur beat me to it, didn't see the reply.
Yeah, same as everybody else is saying. I would love to have him on the Magic, but I always thought he was very vital to the Bulls and just assumed that he would be with them for the coming years.
Bulls would love to have him, I just wasn't sure how much money they were able to spend. I know they have Ben Wallace and Kirk Hinrich already signed to big contracts for at least 3 years each(Hinrich's is through 2011/2012 season). Plus they will have to decide how much money to give Ben Gordan and Luol Deng as their rookie contracts expire after next season. If they give Deng the max and Gordon 6-8 mil a season, that will be 4 players that will be getting at least 6-8 mil including 3 that will be making double digits. Not to mention Chris Duhon seems like an integral part of their rotation and his contract also expires and I bet he won't demand much money. Then they still have to think of Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha when their contracts end. Not to mention their 2 firsts for this season too. Basically their entire team is on their rookie contracts, which could prove deadly once they all of them end. I think Noicioni might be the odd man out. It depends on how much money the Bulls want to spend on the wing, if they give Deng the max and Gordon a really good deal then they might be more inclined to let Noiconi go.
By the time Tyrus and Thabo are up to be renewed Ben Wallace's deal will be off our cap, not to mention his contract is front loaded, for the very purpose of giving us more room to maneuver money around to resign guys like Tyrus and Thabo. So resigning Tyrus and Thabo are really not big issues. As far as Chris goes, I love Du, but I doubt we will resign him after next season, unless its a bargain. Several times during the course of the season he fell behind Thabo in the depth chart. I expect Thabo to become a regular fixture in the rotation next season because of his size, eating up much of Duhon's minutes. The Bulls currently have the third lowest payroll in the league, and have roughly nine million coming off the cap at the conclusion of the season. I don't think they will have any problem resigning Nocioni, if that is what they choose to do.
The Chicago Sun-Times has suggested a Darko Milicic for Andres Nocioni swap. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">If Paxson isn't able to swing a major deal for a big man, he might be tempted to use Andres Nocioni (a restricted free agent) as trade bait for a decent big man. Maybe the Orlando Magic could be enticed into a Nocioni-for-Darko Milicic trade, which would be a deal that could benefit both teams.</div> Source: Chicago Sun-Times Does anyone else find this hilarious?
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Chicago Sun-Times has suggested a Darko Milicic for Andres Nocioni swap. Source: Chicago Sun-Times Does anyone else find this hilarious? </div> Exactly how does this benefit the Magic?
<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Exactly how does this benefit the Magic?</div> Exactly. We were hesitant to include Darko in the Vince Carter deal at the deadline. What makes this writer think we would ship him off for a role player like Nocioni? Some of these reporters are a joke.
For some reason your local media really doesn't think highly of Darko. It seems like they'll make hypothetical trades that give him away for nothing.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">For some reason your local media really doesn't think highly of Darko. It seems like they'll make hypothetical trades that give him away for nothing.</div> Well that article came from the Chicago Sun-Times but I do agree with you. Brian Schmitz recently had a blog asking for readers to send in their best Darko trades and he would put them on the Orlando Sentinel website. He is always writing about how Milicic is expendable and how he was a disappointment this year. I disagree completely about both of those statements because he could be the perfect compliment to Dwight Howard in the post and he was great in the limited action that Brian Hill gave him. He played phenominal against his old team in the playoffs and at one point was leading the entire playoffs in field goal percentage while averaging double digit points. That's another blunder on Brian Hill's part, why wasn't Milicic starting at all during the season when he's obviously better than Tony Battie? The only time he started was when he had too because Battie was hurt and that's a mistake. He should be starting all of next season and if Darko doesn't choose to resign because he isn't sure about the amount of playing time he's going to get, Brian Hill successfully ruined the present and future state of this team. I also don't feel that Darko was being utilized correctly under Brian Hill. He has a good mid range shot and can even knock down threes. He's done it in games and I've seen him drain threes with people in his face countless times in shootaround. Under Hill, he was forced to score in the paint and wasn't allowed to take jump shots (similar to how Hill didn't let Dwight work on his shot last offseason). Darko needs to be able to shoot the ball because that's what he is good at doing on offense. It also opens up the paint more for Dwight because teams will have to respect Milicic's shot. Imagines the mismatches we could have with Darko knocking down jump shots and Dwight bruising against centers inside the paint. Not to mention they are both extremely young and locking up Darko would leave us with two seven footers playing side by side in their primes. I think resigning Darko should be our number one priority this offseason because his progression is pivotal to this team's success.
<div class="quote_poster">Swish Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Well that article came from the Chicago Sun-Times but I do agree with you. Brian Schmitz recently had a blog asking for readers to send in their best Darko trades and he would put them on the Orlando Sentinel website. He is always writing about how Milicic is expendable and how he was a disappointment this year. I disagree completely about both of those statements because he could be the perfect compliment to Dwight Howard in the post and he was great in the limited action that Brian Hill gave him. He played phenominal against his old team in the playoffs and at one point was leading the entire playoffs in field goal percentage while averaging double digit points. That's another blunder on Brian Hill's part, why wasn't Milicic starting at all during the season when he's obviously better than Tony Battie? The only time he started was when he had too because Battie was hurt and that's a mistake. He should be starting all of next season and if Darko doesn't choose to resign because he isn't sure about the amount of playing time he's going to get, Brian Hill successfully ruined the present and future state of this team. I also don't feel that Darko was being utilized correctly under Brian Hill. He has a good mid range shot and can even knock down threes. He's done it in games and I've seen him drain threes with people in his face countless times in shootaround. Under Hill, he was forced to score in the paint and wasn't allowed to take jump shots (similar to how Hill didn't let Dwight work on his shot last offseason). Darko needs to be able to shoot the ball because that's what he is good at doing on offense. It also opens up the paint more for Dwight because teams will have to respect Milicic's shot. Imagines the mismatches we could have with Darko knocking down jump shots and Dwight bruising against centers inside the paint. Not to mention they are both extremely young and locking up Darko would leave us with two seven footers playing side by side in their primes. I think resigning Darko should be our number one priority this offseason because his progression is pivotal to this team's success.</div> That sounds pretty familiar, I taught you well my friend. One thing that you forgot though in the last paragraph was that Darko is a very good passing big guy, with his 7 foot frame, the entry passing lanes open up and would allow Dwight to get the ball in better positions. He can be a playmaker right there in the middle of the floor and utilize all of his tools, rather than just posting up where he is uncomfortable(although he really started to get better at the end of the season).
<div class="quote_poster">GatorsowntheNCAA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">That sounds pretty familiar, I taught you well my friend. One thing that you forgot though in the last paragraph was that Darko is a very good passing big guy, with his 7 foot frame, the entry passing lanes open up and would allow Dwight to get the ball in better positions. He can be a playmaker right there in the middle of the floor and utilize all of his tools, rather than just posting up where he is uncomfortable(although he really started to get better at the end of the season).</div> Well, it's obvious that Darko should have started, been used differently, and he needs to be resigned. I agree with your last paragraph though. He has shown he can make plays for others with his great passing.
