Bulls Converting Bitim to a Standard NBA Deal

[GoBlue72391]

Read the thread. The initial Shams tweet said it's a multi-year deal. You can't have multiple option years on an NBA contract, so minimally this thing is guaranteed for next season.

And I didn't say they would be paying him less than the minimum, I said they'd be paying him less than the veteran minimum, just meaning that because he has 0 years of NBA service, his contract will (presumably) be for the absolute cheapest salary permitted by the CBA of about a million bucks a year.

That's not how it works. There was nothing mentioned about any option years, only that it's a multi-year deal, and the number of years hasn't even been stated. A multi-year deal does not have to be guaranteed. It can be guaranteed, but it can also be fully unguaranteed or even partially guaranteed.

My guess is that it's guaranteed for the remainder of this season and fully unguaranteed for next season unless not waived by a certain date, at which point it would become guaranteed. But that's just my pure speculation.

So again I ask: have you actually read something other than Sham's tweet or are you just assuming/making stuff up?

Fair point on the distinction between guarantees and options. It may not be guaranteed, but the broader point I was making stands - this is a way to lock up a roster spot for next season for the cheapest potential number.

I guess it could be, but it also stands to reason that AKME actually likes this dude's potential to be a rotation player. He could easily be waived before/during next season if his 2024-25 salary is unguaranteed, which is likely is, at least partially.

A lot of people thought Carlik Jones was a lock for the roster due to his contract status, yet sure enough, we ended up waiving him before the season started. I think Bitim is a much better prospect than Jones, so he very well could stick around into next season and beyond, but will Billy even play him? Doubtful.

But then again, on the broadcast against the Celtics, Stacey said something to the effect of "With how shorthanded they are, Billy might have to start playing a guy like Bitim." The next morning Bitim was signed to a standard contract, so maybe Stacey was speaking with some inside knowledge.

[GoBlue72391]

I think Bitim has the most potential of our end of the bench young guys, so I'm happy he's getting a chance to prove himself. That said, it's underwhelming given our desire to make the playoffs.

It's a weird move because we could have kept Bitim on his two-way and started playing him anyway while also using the open roster spot to sign a buyout guy. I suppose we could waive a guy like Terry Taylor, but I think the buyout hopes are dead.

And yeah, I like Bitim's potential too. I was kinda hoping this could be like an Andres Nocioni type addition when we first added him in the summer.

[GoBlue72391]

They just mentioned that they'd like to see Henry Drell, well he's under contract, could play if they would put him in.

Who is they?

Adam Amin briefly managed him last night.

[GoBlue72391]

Arcidiacono has been assigned to the windy city bulls so maybe he is taking up the other two-way

Arci isn't eligible for a two-way, thank God.

[GoBlue72391]

Read the thread. The initial Shams tweet said it's a multi-year deal. You can't have multiple option years on an NBA contract, so minimally this thing is guaranteed for next season.

And I didn't say they would be paying him less than the minimum, I said they'd be paying him less than the veteran minimum, just meaning that because he has 0 years of NBA service, his contract will (presumably) be for the absolute cheapest salary permitted by the CBA of about a million bucks a year.

That's not how it works. There was nothing mentioned about any option years, only that it's a multi-year deal, and the number of years hasn't even been stated. A multi-year deal does not have to be guaranteed. It can be guaranteed, but it can also be fully unguaranteed or even partially guaranteed.

My guess is that it's guaranteed for the remainder of this season and fully unguaranteed for next season unless not waived by a certain date, at which point it would become guaranteed. But that's just my pure speculation.

So again I ask: have you actually read something other than Sham's tweet or are you just assuming/making stuff up?

It's odd that he got a multi-year deal, but your post makes sense.

Do we even know if he's an NBA level player?

There's enough there to suggest he is, but we'll never know until he actually plays NBA minutes.

I recall there was a bit of hype around his signing over the summer with people initially believing it was a standard contract IIRC. Then there was that weird thing where it looked like we actually didn't sign him and he actually ended up signing with the Rockets as footage of him practicing with the Rockets surfaced...only for it to turn out that we actually did sign him after all.

He got off to a terrible start in the G League and then he broke his nose or something that required him to wear one of those masks, but he's been playing a lot better as of late.

This signing is probably in the same realm as Carlik Jones signing last year and not necessarily a guaranteed long-term commitment to him, but I guess we'll see.

[Dan Z]

That's not how it works. There was nothing mentioned about any option years, only that it's a multi-year deal, and the number of years hasn't even been stated. A multi-year deal does not have to be guaranteed. It can be guaranteed, but it can also be fully unguaranteed or even partially guaranteed.

My guess is that it's guaranteed for the remainder of this season and fully unguaranteed for next season unless not waived by a certain date, at which point it would become guaranteed. But that's just my pure speculation.

So again I ask: have you actually read something other than Sham's tweet or are you just assuming/making stuff up?

It's odd that he got a multi-year deal, but your post makes sense.

Do we even know if he's an NBA level player?

There's enough there to suggest he is, but we'll never know until he actually plays NBA minutes.

I recall there was a bit of hype around his signing over the summer with people initially believing it was a standard contract IIRC. Then there was that weird thing where it looked like we actually didn't sign him and he actually ended up signing with the Rockets as footage of him practicing with the Rockets surfaced...only for it to turn out that we actually did sign him after all.

He got off to a terrible start in the G League and then he broke his nose or something that required him to wear one of those masks, but he's been playing a lot better as of late.

This signing is probably in the same realm as Carlik Jones signing last year and not necessarily a guaranteed long-term commitment to him, but I guess we'll see.

I hope you're right, but I can't get excited or expect much from G League players. Most of them don't do much (for example, Carlik Jones).

[GoBlue72391]

It's odd that he got a multi-year deal, but your post makes sense.

Do we even know if he's an NBA level player?

There's enough there to suggest he is, but we'll never know until he actually plays NBA minutes.

I recall there was a bit of hype around his signing over the summer with people initially believing it was a standard contract IIRC. Then there was that weird thing where it looked like we actually didn't sign him and he actually ended up signing with the Rockets as footage of him practicing with the Rockets surfaced...only for it to turn out that we actually did sign him after all.

He got off to a terrible start in the G League and then he broke his nose or something that required him to wear one of those masks, but he's been playing a lot better as of late.

This signing is probably in the same realm as Carlik Jones signing last year and not necessarily a guaranteed long-term commitment to him, but I guess we'll see.

I hope you're right, but I can't get excited or expect much from G League players. Most of them don't do much (for example, Carlik Jones).

Very true. I'm basing my optimism more on what he did overseas before signing in the NBA than what he's done in the G League.

[jnrjr79]

That's not how it works. There was nothing mentioned about any option years, only that it's a multi-year deal, and the number of years hasn't even been stated. A multi-year deal does not have to be guaranteed. It can be guaranteed, but it can also be fully unguaranteed or even partially guaranteed.

My guess is that it's guaranteed for the remainder of this season and fully unguaranteed for next season unless not waived by a certain date, at which point it would become guaranteed. But that's just my pure speculation.

So again I ask: have you actually read something other than Sham's tweet or are you just assuming/making stuff up?

Fair point on the distinction between guarantees and options. It may not be guaranteed, but the broader point I was making stands - this is a way to lock up a roster spot for next season for the cheapest potential number.

I guess it could be, but it also stands to reason that AKME actually likes this dude's potential to be a rotation player. He could easily be waived before/during next season if his 2024-25 salary is unguaranteed, which is likely is, at least partially.

A lot of people thought Carlik Jones was a lock for the roster due to his contract status, yet sure enough, we ended up waiving him before the season started. I think Bitim is a much better prospect than Jones, so he very well could stick around into next season and beyond, but will Billy even play him? Doubtful.

But then again, on the broadcast against the Celtics, Stacey said something to the effect of "With how shorthanded they are, Billy might have to start playing a guy like Bitim." The next morning Bitim was signed to a standard contract, so maybe Stacey was speaking with some inside knowledge.

KC Johnson's article on it today also opines that it's at least in part a move to prepare for the offseason cap situation, FWIW.

If next season isn't guaranteed, it at least gives you some optionality. You have him locked in at a low number if you want to keep him, giving you a few extra bucks under the tax to spend. If he plays like crap, you can move on.

[Dan Z]

There's enough there to suggest he is, but we'll never know until he actually plays NBA minutes.

I recall there was a bit of hype around his signing over the summer with people initially believing it was a standard contract IIRC. Then there was that weird thing where it looked like we actually didn't sign him and he actually ended up signing with the Rockets as footage of him practicing with the Rockets surfaced...only for it to turn out that we actually did sign him after all.

He got off to a terrible start in the G League and then he broke his nose or something that required him to wear one of those masks, but he's been playing a lot better as of late.

This signing is probably in the same realm as Carlik Jones signing last year and not necessarily a guaranteed long-term commitment to him, but I guess we'll see.

I hope you're right, but I can't get excited or expect much from G League players. Most of them don't do much (for example, Carlik Jones).

Very true. I'm basing my optimism more on what he did overseas before signing in the NBA than what he's done in the G League.

Hopefully he gets playing time in the NBA as the season goes on. It's important to see what these players can do.

The season is basically a waste at this point, so it's time to think about the future (which is long overdue).

[HomoSapien]

The best thing about this season has been Coby and Ayo's development. That's pretty much it. Some sort of development in Phillips, Terry, or Bitim will be the best thing that can happen to prevent the second half from being a complete waste.

[drosestruts]

Billy needs to play his bench more - Coby and DeMar leading the league in minutes play and Vuc playing a career high just isn't the way. I realize our depth isn't what we want given the plethora of injuries, but continuing on with the load were giving guys now will only lead to other new injuries.

[kodo]

We really need a promising young center more than another wing. By signing these 6' 6" "centers" AK is just stacking the deck for Vuc to start until 2030.

[Donkedave]

https://hoopshype.com/salaries/chicago_bulls/

Seems like rest of this year and next season guaranteed 1.8 for bitim.

[GoBlue72391]

https://hoopshype.com/salaries/chicago_bulls/

Seems like rest of this year and next season guaranteed 1.8 for bitim.

Could be, but more likely whoever updates that just filled it in under the assumption it's guaranteed until proven otherwise.

[Repeat 3-peat]

I'm hyped Nei, Andrew? Funk!!!

Read on Twitter

[samwana]

I'm hyped Nei, Andrew? Funk!!!

Read on Twitter

Yeah another guard, can he play PF too?

[Andi Obst]

Bitim had a really rough start in the G-League, looked completely useless in the first couple of games I watched. It's been a different story since he has found his shot. The defense is an issue, though. I don't think he'll see many minutes.

[FriedRise]

AK adding a lot of 3pt shooting with Bitim and Funk. Whose minutes are getting chopped though? My guess is Terry’s and Philips’.

[dougthonus]

I'm pretty sure veteran minimum contracts are half paid by the league and half by the team, so I doubt we signed Bitim to get out of singing a veteran free agent in the offseason.

Vet mins over 3 years of experience are paid at the 3 year mark by the team and that is the cap consequences. Above that mark is paid by the league. So if you are a 10 year vet, you are paid ~2M by the Bulls and 1.5M by the NBA and count as ~2M on the cap (that's about right but I made up the numbers).

Note it only works this way for single year minimum deals. If you sign a multi-year minimum deal, then the team pays the full thing.

Bitim will make less than the 3 year vet min so will be cheaper than a standard vet min, but only the 0 experience year, which is now this year, is meaningfully less. So there isn't any meaningful financial incentive for the Bulls here. I think it saves them like 200k next year if they keep him vs a different vet min guy.

I think your early post of, likely guaranteed the rest of this year with a non guaranteed vet min deal is correct. That's a very standard 2 way conversion deal and was what we did last year with Carlik Jones then waived him before the season started.

[weneeda2guard]

Akme just grabbing bodies in the event more injuries mount up

Coby
Derozan
Caruso
Vuc
Ayo
Carter
Dalen
Phillips
Drummond

Is the 9 Billy is going to roll with and only in the event a guy goes down will we see any of these players getting signed now. No sense to make much more out of it then that honestly.

Caruso will likely go down a couple more times this season we will def see a guy then. Other than that I expect to always mainly see those 9