I was being sarcastic.
The Pistons made an offer without having to hear an offer from another team. They wanted Ben Gordon and made an offer.
The Bulls could have made an offer, they choose not to. There's no rule saying that Ben Gordon has to detail his negotiations with the Pistons to the Bulls in order to make an offer. The Pistons made an offer without having to wait for another team to set the bar.
The Bulls could have done the same, they chose not to. They could have been there at 12:01 with an offer for him, they chose not to be.
The fact that Ben Gordon didn't specify what his offer was to make their life easier is irrelevant to the fact that the Bulls refused to make an offer. They said BG was their #1 priority, but if he was, then they would have bid prior to waiting for the Pistons to set the market for him, then asked what the Pistons offer was.
However, BG clearly wasn't a priority for them. So much so that they wouldn't make an offer to him unless they knew the exact target they needed to hit to have a higher offer, and they were too scared to even throw out a number and lose the negotiation (even though that would have meant nothing).
The Pistons, for example, gave Ben Wallace an offer even though the Bulls signed him. They offered him 12 million a year, they were turned down. Oh well, they still made an effort. We did not. We claimed we wanted Ben back, but in the end, we didn't try.
If they really didn't want Ben back or didn't want him back at that price, then that's fine. However, then don't pay lip service to the idea that he's a priority that you want back this summer when you're too scared to even bid
Okay, here it is, they lied, I have been saying this for weeks. When people got so excited about them possibly signing Gordon. When Forman made those statements, I said that we should wait and see what happens.
When Hinrich wasn't moved, Gordon was gone. Period. They kept the better all around player over the dynamic scorer. It was a basketball decision. I knew after draft night Gordon was gone, unless a Hinrich move was pending, Gordon was gone. Why are people surprised? Angry? Sad? Why is that?
In essence, they gave up on Gordon and were not interested. But I believe they wanted Detroit specifically and the league in general to offer him as much as they could, to their own detriment. And I don't blame them, makes perfect sense.
I will say it again, if Gordon is the best player on your team, YOUR TEAM SUCKS!
They know this, and Paxson is out of love with his players. Everyone should be happy about that. Pax and Forman have a realistic view of what they see and I am glad.