Gordon takes one-year, $6.4 mil offer from Bulls
Facing a 10:59 p.m. deadline Wednesday on whether to accept the one-year qualifying offer, Bulls guard Ben Gordon played it like an NBA general manager on draft night, letting the clock wind down to zero while all options were explored.
The Bulls finally made the official announcement late in the evening that Gordon would take the qualifying offer worth $6.4 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. In the meantime, he cannot be traded without his consent.
The Bulls offered a six-year deal worth about $59 million and were reluctant to go any higher because they would be faced with paying the luxury tax if their payroll grows beyond $71.1 million.
There aren't many examples of NBA players turning down extensions to sign the qualifying offer. Michael Olowokandi, Stromile Swift, Vladimir Radmanovic and Mickael Pietrus are among the few. None of those players signed for more than the mid-level exception (currently worth $5.6 million) the following year.
Gordon was asked Monday if signing the qualifying offer would serve as an indication that he expects to see a better deal from another team next summer.
"It's not always about money," he answered. "You guys can take it however you want it. I don't always base my decisions on money. A lot of things go into it."
Clearly, Gordon was disappointed in the offer he was given from the Bulls after leading the team in scoring the past three seasons. Teammate Luol Deng, in comparison, received $71 million over six years in August. There were signs that Gordon's representatives continued to ask the Bulls to increase the deal or agree to a sign-and-trade up until Wednesday's deadline.
Team insiders suggested there were plenty of discussions with other teams about Gordon during the summer, but the Bulls were never close to reaching a trade agreement and were usually offered a platter of bad contracts in return.
First-year coach Vinny Del Negro doesn't think Gordon missing the first four practices of training camp will be a setback. He watched some of the workouts from the sideline.
"We haven't put in a lot yet, so one or two practices isn't going to be a big deal in the scheme of things," Del Negro said Wednesday at the Berto Center. "Obviously I wanted him out there yesterday, but it's part of the business."
As negotiations dragged on this summer, it was difficult to find anyone _ fan, agent or front-office executive _ who thought Gordon was doing the right thing by turning down the Bulls' offer.
"Something that I've grown to learn in the NBA is you can't really control what people think," Gordon said Monday. "It's a business. In a business, you have to put your emotions aside. I'm not holding any grudges or anything like that. It is what it is, so we'll move on."