If the Bulls amnesty Carlos Boozer, the starting point for the cap room they could offer Anthony, according to league salary sheets, is $13.8 million. To even get there, they would have to renounce free agent Kirk Hinrich (and lose his Bird rights) and trade their first-round pick and the pick they are getting from Charlotte (which together would amount to another $2.7 million on Chicago's books).
Further, if the Bulls are under the cap, they'd only have their $2.7 million room exception to bring 2011 pick Nikola Mirotic over from Spain. League sources say Mirotic would be looking for a deal in the $3 million-$4 million range. (He's no longer governed by the rookie scale, and the Bulls have planned for needing the bulk of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.3 million on him, sources say.)
But let's play along, shall we? Let's say the Bulls renounced Hinrich ($5.2 million cap hold gone), kept their picks, and traded Taj Gibson ($8 million) and Mike Dunleavy ($3.3 million) while bringing back no salary in the process. They would be able to start Anthony at about $20 million in the first year of a four-year, $85.4 million deal -- give or take, depending on how much they need to sign Mirotic.
That would leave the Bulls with a lineup of Anthony, Rose coming off a second straight season lost to injury, Jimmy Butler, Noah and a giant hole at the other forward spot. Their bench would be Tony Snell, Mirotic and their two first-round picks. When all was said and done, they'd be able to offer minimum deals to other free agents and they'd have their room exception of $2.7 million available.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's back up to where Anthony's four-year deal with Chicago would start: $20 million. That's $1.7 million less than Anthony is making this season and $3.3 million less than he'd make in the first season of a five-year, $130.9 million deal he could get from the Knicks. The compounding effect of Anthony's initial sacrifice, plus forgoing the fifth year the Knicks could offer at $30.3 million, would mean that Anthony would be leaving $45 million on the table to sign with the Bulls.
Does anybody really think that's going to happen? I can safely say that Anthony's agent, Leon Rose, hopes that it doesn't. The Bulls apparently don't think it will, either, since I'm told they haven't gotten as far as we have here in crunching these numbers. Even if the Bulls could somehow clear enough room to offer Anthony the true max for four years, that's never been how they've operated -- not for a soon-to-be 30-year-old free agent, anyway.
So please, you too, tell me how messed up this team will be next year? What, pray tell will happen? Its your move.