Bulls decide to stand pat at NBA trade deadline

The Bulls offered two first-round draft picks for the Rockets' Courtney Lee, but were turned down. (MCT)

By K.C. Johnson

Active in talks up to the 2 p.m. trade deadline, the Bulls did not make a move Thursday on a busy day in the NBA.

The Bulls never wavered from their stance of not trading reserve big men Omer Asik or Taj Gibson and dangled first-round picks in their talks with teams. They still possess roughly $2.9 million of salary-cap space and will monitor if any possibilities become available via buyout.

"There will be a buyout market," general manager Gar Forman said. "There always is. We're on top of that. We'll add a player or two players (possibly from the D League). But I don't see anything that is going to significantly impact our team."

 

Sources said the Bulls offered two first-round picks for Rockets guard Courtney Lee, but that the Rockets insisted on Asik.

The Bulls also aggressively engaged in talks with the Grizzlies regarding guard O.J. Mayo, who reportedly was nearly dealt to Indiana for Josh McRoberts and a first-round pick, but that trade fell through at the deadline. The Grizzlies asked for players and multiple picks, according to a source, and the Bulls overcame concerns about a smallish backcourt pairing Mayo with Derrick Rose to make a strong offer.

The Bulls also inquired about Suns forward Jared Dudley in an attempt to upgrade their outside shooting, which was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks offered Corey Brewer to the Bulls, a source said, but he had been available in his previous stop at Minnesota and the Bulls never had interest. The Bulls never seriously pursued Anthony Parker, who remained with Cleveland.

"We don't know what we're facing going forward," Forman said, referencing the new collective bargaining agreement. "Our feeling was we didn't want to give up a young asset when you don't know what's on the horizon. We want to see what the playing field is going to look like. We go into this draft in June now with $3 million of cap space and two picks. When you look at our roster and our books, we're going to have opportunities to strike when the time is right."

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/02/bulls-stand-pat-at-deadline.html

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