/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080630-bulls-assistant-coaches-chicago,1,5954554.story Bulls hire 2 assistant coaches Team hires Bickerstaff, Ociepka as assistants By K.C. Johnson Tribune staff reporter June 30, 2008, 9:25 PM CDT Bernie Bickerstaff and Bob Ociepka have agreed to terms to be assistant coaches on Vinny Del Negro's first staff, sources said. Negotiations with Del Harris hit some snags but are ongoing, meaning neither side would be surprised if talks concluded successfully or broke off. Bob Hill is no longer under consideration, sources said, and Paul Westphal's status is unclear. Hill, Westphal, Harris and Bickerstaff all are veteran head coaches who were sought to assist Del Negro's transition. Bickerstaff is 414-512 in stints with Seattle, Denver, Washington and Charlotte. He last coached in 2006-07, going 33-49 with the Bobcats before moving into management. Ociepka owns 18 seasons of assistant-coaching experience with eight franchises, including his most recent stint in Minnesota. The Chicago native played at downstate Quincy College and also coached Gordon Tech and York High Schools. He's a member of the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame. Besides veteran coaches, the Bulls will hire younger, development-type assistant coaches. Mike Brown served in that capacity last season. Freedom rings While the Knicks plan to target unrestricted free agent Chris Duhon, the Bulls will remain quiet in free agency until they resolve the restricted free-agent status of Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. General manager John Paxson has an interesting negotiation to handle given that Deng and Gordon turned down five-year deals worth $57.5 million and $50 million, respectively, last summer. The team and both players underachieved last season. Free agency began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, and Paxson contacted representatives for both players. Teams can't sign players until July 9. The Bulls can match any offers either player receives, and only Memphis and Philadelphia own significant salary-cap space. The Bulls own both the midlevel and veteran's exceptions but likely would only use one and carry a roster of 14 players. Remember these guys? Clippers forward and former Bull Elton Brand joined teammate Corey Maggette on Monday in opting out of the final season of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent, the Los Angeles Times reported. Brand, who sat out all but eight games last season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles' tendon, immediately becomes one of the most attractive big men in the market. He was owed $16.4 million had he stayed. National pride Derrick Rose's educational first NBA summer won't end with his summer-league play. Sources said Rose will be invited by USA Basketball to play on the USA select team that will scrimmage and practice against the senior team that plays in the Beijing Olympics. Rose is expected to be the only NBA rookie on the select team, which will be in Las Vegas from July 21-24. Rose will wear No. 1 for the Bulls. "That was my AAU number when I first started playing," Rose said. "I was the No. 1 draft pick. And hopefully I'll be No. 1 at my position."
Looks like Del Harris will be numero tres. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Jul 02, 2008 2:30 AM EST Del Harris is expected to sign as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls today, ending his nine year tenure with the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Morning News is reporting. Harris joined the Mavericks in 2000 and was top assistant to Don Nelson until Nelson gave over the coaching reins to Avery Johnson in 2005. Harris served as a consultant last season. New Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has already signed Dwane Casey and Terry Stotts as assistants and likely will have Mario Elie and one other coach on the staff.</div> http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...ng_for_chicago/
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Von Jugel @ Jul 2 2008, 03:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Looks like Del Harris will be numero tres. http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...ng_for_chicago/</div> Welcome to S2 Jungel! If you have any questions feel free to PM me or any other mod. The Bulls seam to be doing a pretty good job with their staff, i think Bickerstaff will be good as an assistant. And Del would be a great fit too.
