Trib: Cavaliers coach sings praises of Bulls' Nikola Mirotic

Re: Trib: Cavaliers coach sings praises of Bulls' Nikola Miroti

Are you? Wouldn't you think that if Thibodeau is displeased with where Mirotic is trainibg, or the Mirotic acquisition in general it would be news fit for print? Instead all the beat writers have written is one sentence, in the case of KC, and a sentiment attributed to fans, in the case of MI.

 

Right. And it wasn't just the series against the Wizards. Gibson has consistently killed it in the playoffs when other good players -- Noah, Deng, Boozer -- have not.

Transplant made that comment in the other thread that the reason McDermott was available at the Nuggets pick was his no step vertical. I think he's probably right, and there's a reason for that. Players with length, strength and athletic advantages seem to be able to contribute more cconsistently against ratcheted up playoff defenses. I think Gibson is one of those guys.

 

Re: Trib: Cavaliers coach sings praises of Bulls' Nikola Miroti

Man, Bullsville, you're picking at scabs today. Are you saying that the knowledge, if it turns out to be correct, that a franchise's coach is either pissed off at a key (and expensive) draft acquisition or has little faith in him isn't worthy of a news story to you? If you feel this way, pray do tell and explain why you feel this way. Because, honestly, I can't think of one reason this would be the case.

You have zero support for the idea that the comments in these two stories are all based on a face Thibs made. Indeed, the fact that both KC and MI -- two very conservative reporters in terms of breaking news -- ran with the comments suggests that the face was just a public expression of things they've heard in private, directly or indirectly from Thibodeau.

When? When was the last time a coach publicly called into question a draftee on the day they signed their first contract?

 

I wonder what kind of leverage Mirotic had to get the Bulls to commit $5M+ to their 3rd or 4th string PF. Seems like a luxury to me. The Bulls might have signed a first or 2nd string SG or SF for the MLE sized money and then signed Mirotic next summer for less than MLE since he wouldn't have to pay his buyout.

It's not like he's a FA and can sign with another team.

And for all we know, Tyrus might make him look like a dim bulb.

 

I can't see how he has any leverage other than that he can continue to make a comfortable living in Europe. Maybe the Bulls were afraid that, if they played hardball with Mirotic, someone on a Bulls message board would say they were cheap.

Seriously, I'm sure that they've been talking with Mirotic for the past couple years in terms of the MLE. He'll either be worth it or he won't. Let's all put a reminder on our smartphones for May 2016.

 

May 14
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...19_1_kevin-love-real-madrid-nba-draft-combine

"We have built a relationship with him," general manager Gar Forman said at last week's NBA draft combine. "We feel confident he will come over at some point. Whether that's this summer or next, we don't know."

July 14
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/07/04/report-mirotic-will-leave-real-madrid/

Mirotic reportedly had issues with his coach in Spain recently that has accelerated the process of bringing him stateside.

 

Yeah the leverage thing is reaching.

Good news: the billy goats gruff safely crossed the bridge thanks to a post that caused a distraction.

 

If he burnt his bridges with Real Madrid, and the Bulls could prevent him from signing with any other NBA team, where was he going to go? They could have offered him $2M and he might not have much of a choice but accept it.

Scrooge doesn't pay Bob Cratchit more than he has to.

 

OK. Are we agreed that Mirotic has no special leverage on the Bulls?

The Bulls could have told him to go pound sand, but instead they told him they'd pay him $5mil or so to play for them and he accepted. Are we all good with this?

 

As said elsewhere I am done with this thread and all other derailed Evil Chairman non sequiturs.

Mirotic might be dimmer than Tyrus "Bright Lights Big City" Thomas? From the Show Me State guy? Please, sister.

Preach on to the 2 maybe 3 torchbearers.

 

They were bidding against themselves.

It makes no sense. Yet.

 

Where was he going to go in Europe?

It sounds like Real Madrid wasn't going to let him travel with the team. Like the Bulls did to Tim Thomas that one year.

It was in Real Madrid's interest to not release him outright, since they get to shake down the Bulls and Mirotic for the buyout. They're stuck paying him anyhow, release or no, assuming the contract was guaranteed.

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/bullsville/2014/06/mirotic-buyout-nocioni-bulls/

This is huge news for Bulls fans, as getting Mirotic to Chicago this summer is a huge part of the organization's plan going forward. The Mirotic buyout is 2.5 million euros, or $3,385,250 at the current exchange rate. The Bulls can only contribute $600,000 to the Mirotic buyout, which means that Niko must pay the remaining $2,785,250 himself.

The Mirotic buyout being payable over time may help the Bulls bring him over without paying the Full Mid Level Exception of $5.305 million this summer. If the team winds up using the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer so they can create cap space, they will only have the Room Mid Level Exception of $2.732 million available. (Mirotic cannot sign the Room MLE, as I explain below)

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm

NON-TAXPAYER MID-LEVEL EXCEPTION

It allows a team to sign any free agent to a contract with a starting salary up to the following amounts3:

This exception may be split and given to multiple players. It may be used for contracts up to four years in length, with raises up to 4.5% of the salary in the first year of the contract. Signing a player to a multi-year contract does not affect a team's ability to use this exception every year -- for example, a team can use this exception to sign a player to a four-year contract, and use it again the following year to sign another player. Also see question number 26 for more information on the availability and use of this exception.

 

Could I get the source for this statement please? Many thanks.

 

http://www.blogabull.com/2014/6/29/5854862/nikola-mirotic-chicago-bulls-real-madrid

[Note by JayPatt, 06/29/14 4:15 PM CDT Belated thanks to Lucas for writing this up. He's the editor of the SB Nation Real Madrid blog, Managing Madrid ]

Mirotic still struggled and head coach Pablo Laso decreased his importance in the team. He wasn't getting as many shots and minutes. It should be noted that Mirotic never was Real Madrid's franchise player. Rudy Fernández and Sergio Rodríguez are Laso's go-to guys, and although this might seem strange to some NBA fans that recall both Spanish players as mediocre, they're still able to dominate European basketball. But still, Mirotic appeared to play carelessly throughout the Playoffs, so Laso decided to bench him more often. He pretty much made Bostjan Nachbar an NBA All-Star with his mediocre defensive game against him. And now, Real Madrid's board is so tired of him that they want Mirotic to pay those 2.5M€ and join the NBA. That's not a lot of money in American basketball, but Real Madrid can do a lot with that money, so considering that Mirotic now wants to leave as well, both parts are ready to say good-bye.

http://chibullszone.com/2014/06/29/...o-translated-article-from-spanish-to-english/

With the he loss of one of its best players, Nikola Mirotic, in the direction of the Chicago Bulls, it has found to its replacement in Andrés Nocioni (34 years, 2.03 m).

(My note: they already signed Mirotic's replacement)

The rumor is Mirotic will visit the US this upcoming week to discuss his contract with the Bulls. Everything is adding up for Mirotic and the Bulls to finally be united.

(My note: Mirotic had not signed with the Bulls yet)

 

So Lucas Navarrete, editor of SB Nation's Real Madrid blog, reports that Real Madrid's board is tired of Mirotic and hopes he opts for the NBA (but not before he pays them the $2.5MC buyout). Any supporting/confirming reports? I looked, but couldn't find any (other than those quoting Navarrete's article).

Mirotic and his head coach, Pablo Laso did seem to have a falling out. I choose to see it as The Man trying to extinguish poor Nikola's youthful spirit.