GORDON NOT SET FOR LAUNCH
Ben Gordon sounds a bit bummed that he was not selected to participate in the 3-point contest during All-Star Weekend.
“It’s always like that,” Gordon said. “Someone always seems to get left out.”
I have no idea how the selection process works and it certainly isn’t the biggest deal. But they chose Daequan Cook and Roger Mason Jr. over Ben Gordon? Seems a bit odd.
Gordon said he still might watch the competition and “It’ll be nice to have some time off.” Doesn’t he get enough of that on every defensive possession? I had to go there. He set it up.
But in last night’s game he played over 37 minutes and had zero fouls. That’s impressive. That’s Jamal Crawford-like. And although it seems like Gordon hoists a lot of bad shots, he is shooting 45% from the field and 41% from behind the arc.
Gordon waited a bit too long to accept the Bulls offer of 6-years & $55 million, which was then yanked. He ended up signing a one-year qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Bulls have an expiring trade exception from the Joe Smith deal with the Cavs last year. A trade exception allows the acquiring team to add a player making an equal or lesser amount of salary without the trade having to adhere to the 125% rule. There are six trade exceptions that expire Feb. 23, and the Bulls have the largest at $5.205 million.
Gordon makes $7.1 million, so the Bulls could trade for a player making over $12.3 million. Or a player making the minimum. The deadline is on Feb. 19. I would be very surprised to see Gordon still here.
