Real Madrid-Marcus Slaughter rumors swirl: Could Mirotic join the Bulls next season?

such sweet thunder · Feb 15, 2012

A little shameless self promotion here: I've started a basketball blog, Passport Hoops, and wanted to spread the word. Below is a recent article I wrote on a topic that I haven't seen reported in the domestic press.

Real Madrid-Marcus Slaughter rumors swirl: Could Mirotic join the Bulls next season?

Spanish basketball media is abuzz with rumors that Real Madrid may sign Marcus Slaughter this off season. Slaughter, a defensive-minded, physical center on the German club Brose Baskets, played in Liga ACB last season with CB Valladolid. Encestando, a Spanish basketball news site, reported on Friday that Real Madrid had engaged Slaughter in talks about joining the franchise for the remainder of the 2011-12 season, but later stated that a deal was unlikely before this summer.

Marcus Slaughter has done little to temper the chatter. In an interview with ACBBasketball.com, Slaughter labeled the Real Madrid talk “rumors,” but noted that he preferred playing in Spain, among his many career destinations because of the high level of professional basketball. Slaughter called Real Madrid a “great option” for the upcoming season and said that he would have to evaluate his offers in due course.

Is Real Madrid’s interest in Marcus Slaughter an indication that Nikola Mirotic, Chicago’s 24th pick in the 2011 Draft, will join the Bulls next season? The short answer is that a Slaughter signing would be a solid acquisition for Real Madrid regardless of whether Mirotic has designs on joining the NBA next season; but there is some hope for Chicago Bulls fans.

The most consistent recipe for winning games at the highest level of European basketball is the same as it is in the NBA: a rotation of defensive-minded bigs who can guard the rim and a point guard who can limit penetration on defense and force rotations off of the high pick and roll on offense. Real Madrid has neither.

The only post player on Real Madrid who is well above average at guarding the rim is Mirza Begic, the team’s 7’3” center. Ante Tomic, Real Madrid’s starting center, has good hands and can create in an array of ways around the hoop but is not a defensive presence.

Real Madrid’s power forwards aren’t much help either. The weakest component of Felipe Reyes’ game is creating disruptions at the rim. Novica Veličković has struggled to earn playing time this season, perhaps due to injury issues. Mirotic, 21, shows signs of being a well above average defender and is the strongest of the group, but at this stage of his career, his inexperience, and possibly his average length (6’10″, 7’1” reach), have limited his ability to be a consistent defensive force.

Real Madrid’s front line could use another defensive presence, regardless of whether Nikola Mirotic plays for Real Madrid next season. The franchise acknowledged this when it signed Serge Ibaka earlier this season instead of LaMarcus Aldridge, though Ibaka’s previous experience in Liga ACB with Bàsquet Manresa may have contributed to the decision.

Still, this provides an good opportunity for us to reflect on how the dynamics of Mirotic’s relationship with the Bulls may have changed since the 2011 Draft. At the time, Mirotic was the European basketball equivalent of a preps-to-pros prospect. Mirotic showed an array of skills, good foot speed and adequate length. He was not the reliable contributor and team leading score he later became, and the Chicago Bulls seemed more than happy to allow him to develop overseas.

The Bull’s priorities around the draft consisted of signing a free agent two guard, presumably with the full midlevel exception (which they got in Rip Hamilton), re-signing Kurt Thomas, or another experienced big, and drafting a young two-guard (which they got in Jimmy Butler). Nikola Mirotic’s contract would have pushed the Bulls into luxury tax territory, if the franchise wanted to keep Thomas, Scalabrine or another experienced big.

The fact that Mirotic signed an extension with Real Madrid through the 2015-16 season, a month before the draft, and was not immediately available, may have counter-intuitively made him more attractive to the Bulls. The Bulls’ story about signing Mirotic in two or three season seemed to dovetail nicely with the idea that the franchise was planning for Mirotic to be an asset if Taj Gibson left in free agency before the 2013-14 season.

The events of this season begs the question of whether both parties have reconsidered and there is mutual interest in an earlier deal. Mirotic is at the point in his development where he could earn consistent minutes on the Bulls, even considering the team’s deep front line. Bulls GM Gar Forman, following Mirotic’s Euroleague MVP award in December, expressed an earlier-is-better-but-we’re-willing-to-wait attitude in an interview with CSNChicago. “Hopefully, sooner rather than later,” said Forman. “If he was over there just sitting on a bench and not developing that would be worrisome. But he’s playing real minutes at a high, high level [Ed.: Liga ACB] so that’s a real positive.”

Mirotic’s 2M Euro buyout (about $2.63M) with Real Madrid remains an issue, and the Bulls will only be able to contribute $525k of the release, according to the CBA, if the parties try to work out a deal this off season. The rookie scale, which would govern a Bulls-Mirotic signing until 2014-15 is even more problematic. The scale limits what the Bulls can offer Mirotic to a four-year around $1.6M per season deal ($1.19M, $1.28M, $1.37M, $2.5M). See CBA Rookie Scale plus 20% allowable bonus.

It likely makes more financial sense for Mirotic to wait until the 2014-15 season when the Bulls would be able to make a larger offer. If the Bulls are not in the luxury tax territory at that time, the franchise could offer a deal as large as a 4-year full-midlevel exception contract starting at around $5.3M (approximately $5.3M, $5.54M, $5.79M, $6.05M), though it’s more likely that both parties would opt for a shorter deal.

Time will tell whether Real Madrid’s interest in Slaughter is for their roster as formulated, or whether it is harbinger of an impending move that could bring Mirotic to the NBA. There’s certainly no reason for Bulls fans to take it as a bad sign. Mirotic has proven this season that he is ready to earn minutes in the NBA and Gar Forman has expressed an eagerness to sign the young draftee. The wait continues until a deal is finalized.
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Real Madrid-Marcus Slaughter rumors swirl: Could Mirotic join the Bulls next season?

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Real Madrid-Marcus Slaughter rumors swirl: Could Mirotic join the Bulls next season?

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