Do you mean that the Bulls can't offer more than the MLE, but another team (in theory) could? And if they did, the Bulls couldn't match?
the bulls can not start his salary with more than MLE either, correct. Another team can offer a bigger deal, but the first 2 years, in order to allow the Bulls to match, have to be MLE. It's the Gilbert Arenas rule. He left GS because they were over the cap and couldn't match his offer if they wanted, because they had no bird rights.
The contract can be heavily backloaded after year 2. The Bulls can match anything offered to him under the rule, since they have his early bird rights.
Dump Joel after this season. He has gotten lazy on setting screens, gets a few rebounds, and never attempts to score underneath the rim. His PER is downright awful.
1st round picks aren't eligible for a big contract until their fourth year. Is that fair to the player? In all reality, a 2nd rounder who outperforms his initial contract is in a better situation than a first-rounder is. If a player really wanted to avoid the early-bird restrictions, he could just sign a 1-year deal for his third year, and then be eligible for anything he wanted--in his fourth year, just like a first-round pick.
We traded Asik to Chicago for Patty Mills in 2008. Neither player will ever make an impact in the NBA. Chicago would likely trade him and a lot more for Jamal Crawford though.
