Bulls have found contract extensions to be risky business

Joakim Noah has made it clear he wants to stay in Chicago long term, and the Bulls obviously value their fourth-year center, otherwise they might have traded him to Denver for Carmelo Anthony.

So signing Noah to a contract extension before the Oct. 31 deadline should be automatic, right?

Actually, no. Team history has shown that judging the value of a player coming off his rookie scale contract is anything but simple.

The Bulls have agreed a couple of deals that, in hindsight, turned out to be too generous. On the other side, when they didn't extend Ben Gordon or Luol Deng before the 2007-08 season, it may have been a contributing factor to the team's disappointing 33-49 record.

Toss in the fact that the NBA is due for another round of labor negotiations next summer and a Noah extension could fall anywhere on the probability scale.

By the time owners and the union draft a new collective-bargaining agreement, whether it's next summer or beyond, contract lengths could be shorter, raises could be smaller and even the contract-friendly "Larry Bird Rights" rule might change.

"The team is saying, 'The marketplace is going to change next year, so why should we sign you now?' " an NBA agent suggested. "The Bulls are kind of an 'I'm not going to pay you until I absolutely have to' team. Show me the market and I'll do it. It's kind of a baseball mentality."

With labor negotiations an issue, the Bulls might figure they can send a lower offer to Noah now, since neither side can be certain what next year will bring.

Noah's camp can point to the team's past, particularly the six-year, $63 million deal given to center Tyson Chandler in 2005. There is little question that Noah was a better player last season than Chandler was in 2004-05 - so that figure should be the starting point for Noah.

The Bulls might argue that every negotiation is different and they had the unfortunate timing of trying to re-sign Chandler the same year Philadelphia granted a reported six-year, $64 million extension to underwhelming center Sam Dalembert.

Waiting a year doesn't always save a team money. After Deng's fifth season, he was given a six-year, $71 million deal, which apparently was too unattractive for Denver to consider in a deal for Anthony.

The Bulls aren't the only team that could be accused of misfiring on some rookie scale extensions. Some recent examples are Rudy Gay (five years, $82 million), Andre Iguodala (six years, $80 million) and Emeka Okafor (six years, $72 million). One of the all-time regrettable extensions was Utah and Andrei Kirilenko, whose deal finally expires after one more season at $16 million.

The only time this decade the Bulls extended a player after his third season was 2006 when guard Kirk Hinrich accepted a five-year, $45 million deal on the afternoon of the season opener at Miami.

When Hinrich's offensive production declined, that contract didn't fit as well and the Bulls had to throw in a first-round draft pick to get Washington to take Hinrich in a cap-room creating trade this summer.

"At the time, that contract was considered high, but not off the chart. Now it's an albatross," the agent said. "That was a different time."

There was an odd Internet story claiming Noah jetted off to France this weekend because he was upset with the Bulls' contract offer and wanted to send a message. Noah may well be disappointed with contract talks, but heading home in the final days before the start of training camp is common procedure in the NBA. It's the players' last chance to get away until the all-star break.

While camp officially opens Monday at the Berto Center, there is still more than a month left for teams to agree to contract extensions. If Noah does not sign, he'll become a restricted free agent next summer, which means the Bulls can match any offer he receives from another team.

At this point, it's easy to say Noah is a hard worker and committed winner who will live up to what he's paid. But getting a deal done at this point in his career is typically easier said than done.

<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Bulls' history with contract extensions</b></p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">The Bulls have had a variety of outcomes when it was time to hand out contract extensions:</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Tyson Chandler, 2004: There weren't many serious negotiations following his third season. A year later, he signed for six years and $63 million, a contract that has been passed around the league like a hot potato.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Kirk Hinrich, 2006: Signed before the start of his fourth season to a five-year, $45 million extension. It seemed reasonable then but became less of a bargain when Hinrich's numbers dropped.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, 2007: Neither came close to signing after their third seasons, and Bulls fans were left to wonder if the lack of new contracts contributed to the team's disappointing 33-49 record in 2007-08. A year later, Deng got an expensive six-year, $71 million deal, while Gordon eventually walked as a free agent.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Tyrus Thomas, 2009: The Bulls weren't sold on Thomas and didn't want to spoil this summer's cap space, so an extension was never close to happening.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Joakim Noah, 2010: Both sides want to make a deal, but next year's pending labor negotiations throw a wrench into the situation.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">- Mike McGraw</p>