So we still can't sign Bosh/LeBron I believe.

[ChIBears213]

Yes, we can sign 2 max free agents. But it would be LeBron and someone like David Lee, who has been in the NBA less than 6-7 years.



That's what someone just told me.

 

[BigP50]

I'd be cool with that

 

[Anytime23]

Chicago Bulls Blog: Bye, bye Kirk? Hello, LeBron?

With the deal the Bulls aren’t quite at the $33 million under the cap believed to be needed for two maximum free agents. Some top free agents, like David Lee, don’t require a $16.5 million starting salary because they have fewer years. Lee would start a deal at about $12 million.

But the Bulls could also make the case that both players could take, say, $15.5 million, one million less than maximum, and to be with a possible super team they’d more than make it up in outside business opportunities.

Also, the Bulls could make another deal, perhaps trading a future first, like the one they are owed from Charlotte, if someone would take James Johnson. Such a deal could get the team within less than $1 million from two max deals. There’s also the possibility into July if teams with salary cap space like, say, the Clippers or the Nets, cannot attract a free agent. Then the Bulls could trade Deng, which could potentially give the Bulls room for two maximum contracts and almost a third, or at least a high salaried veteran.

 

[ChIBears213]

Chicago Bulls Blog: Bye, bye Kirk? Hello, LeBron?

Wow, thanks for that.

 

[bossdrb]

Hm. Really interesting. I'd feel safer if we actually had the $33 mill, so we wouldn't risk the fact LBJ/whoever wouldn't wanna take a paycut.

 

[Anytime23]

On top of that we'll need roughly 2.7M to fill the bench with scrubs. Both Bosh and LeBron need to just take a couple million cut each. Trade James Johnson and get us some scrubs. Multiple championships await.

 

[zack54attack]

I thought with this trade, we'd be able to sign Bosh and LeBron or another HUGE name.

 

[Lefty]

So wait, WHY can't we sign LeBron AND Bosh? Admittedly getting the both of them would be improbable, but why is it so matter-of-fact?

 

[X]

According to Yahoo! Sports, we can sign two max guys now.

Wizards get Hinrich, No. 17 pick - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

The trade, which can’t be completed until July 8 after the Wizards clear cap room to absorb Hinrich, frees the Bulls to now offer close to two max-level contracts to a top-tier free-agent class that includes LeBron James(notes), Dwyane Wade(notes), Chris Bosh(notes) and Amar’e Stoudemire(notes).

 

[Lefty]

Yeah, this is all dependent on the cap not dropping as far as people had once thought. I think the estimate now is 56.1 million or something like that.

 

[Lex L.]

On top of that we'll need roughly 2.7M to fill the bench with scrubs. Both Bosh and LeBron need to just take a couple million cut each. Trade James Johnson and get us some scrubs. Multiple championships await.

Most of the numbers take that into account.

http://blog.shamsports.com/2010/06/amount-of-cap-room-teams-will-actually_19.html

Chicago Bulls


Committed salary for 2010/11: $33,559,754 (view full forecast)

Projected cap space: $20,578,404


The projected figure above assumes that:

a) all free agents get renounced (Devin Brown, Brad Miller, Acie Law, Joe Alexander, Ronald Murray, Jannero Pargo, Hakim Warrick and Martynas Andriuscabbages; a pretty safe assumption)

b) Chris Richard and Rob Kurz - both with unguaranteed salaries of $854,389 - are waived.

The Bulls own the #17 pick, which has a cap hold of $1,302,600. That, plus the Bulls committed salary listed above, minus the salaries of Kurz and Richard, plus five roster charges for only having seven things on the cap ($473,604 * 5), give a total cap number of $35,521,596, equating to $20,578,404 in cap room.

Note: "things on the cap" constitute players under contract, free agents not under contract who have cap holds, and the cap holds of unsigned first round picks. Unsigned second round picks do not have cap holds and thus do not count for anything.