Victor Bellan is reporting that Ben Gordon has verbally agreed with the Bulls to sign the qualifying offer. Bellan expects now that the Bulls have cost certainty, that they may add a veteran big man to the roster in the coming weeks, possibly former Bull, Michael Ruffin.

Gordon confirmed to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune Sunday, that he would show up for media day and the start of training camp.

This puts closure on a negotiation process that included Gordon reportedly getting offers from two Russian teams and a Greek team (CSKA Moscow shot down the Gordon rumor), flirtations from Dwyane Wade, and Ben Gordon saying that he wants to be a New York Knick.

This is the second straight summer that the Bulls and Gordon have failed to agree to a long-term deal. Gordon’s qualifying offer is worth $6.4 million, which is $1.4 million less than the first year deal on the 6 year $59 million contract that the Bulls were reportedly offering.

The Bulls will now be at risk of losing Gordon for nothing next summer, as Gordon becomes an unrestricted free agent.. They could try to trade him this season, but the qualifying offer comes with a no trade clause, and Gordon has no incentive to agree to any trades. The Miami Heat, who tried to trade for Gordon this summer and the Oklahoma Thunder seem to be two teams that could make a run at Gordon next summer.

Update: Multiple reports have come out stating that the Bulls are in negotiations with Ben Gordon on his contract extension. It looks like a long-term extension might get done after all. Up until this point the Bulls have not held any real negotiations, the two sides were just too far apart for any negotiations to take place.

This means that one of the sides is wavering. I would venture to guess that it is the Bulls side that is wavering. They likely saw the negative fan reaction that came out over having Ben Gordon on the qualifying offer and are beginning to take this more seriously as to avoid a repeat of last year. It is also possible that the Bulls are liking what they are seeing out of guys like Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden, and can now justify going into the luxury tax because it will be for a team that they see can be a winner.

Typically, negotiations don’t move until a deadline is set and approaching. So it is no surprise that no real negotiations have taken place up until this point. If the Bulls offer Ben Gordon Monta Ellis money, I really think that will be enough to sign him. The Bulls then will have the rest of the season to find a way to get under the luxury tax.

We will continue to update you as more news comes along.

The reliable Victor Bellan, on his site, rumorpress.net, is reporting that the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have agreed on several trade scenarios involving Ben Gordon and Shawn Marion, but Ben Gordon’s contract demands are holding up the trade.

Bellan writes:

The Bulls and Heat have actually agreed on a few trade scenarios, however there is only one thing that is holding up a deal, Ben Gordon. The Heat do not want to pay Gordon what he is asking for and are hoping he will change his stance and accept what many would call a “fair” deal. Until Gordon agrees on a lesser deal the Bulls/Gordon stalemate will continue.

Rumorpress.net

One would have to assume that the Miami Heat would be offering Ben Gordon more than the Bulls are, but still less than Gordon’s desired amount. So it would come down to Gordon agreeing to terms with the Heat or Gordon signing the qualifying offer then.

This is probably just Gordon toying around with Pat Riley, seeing how much he can get from the Heat. There is no reason for this trade not to get done if the Bulls are ready to go. Completing this trade would be in the best interests of both Gordon and the Heat, and obviously would have a very high potential for being disastrous for the Bulls.

Dwyane Wade will allow Ben Gordon to fit into the point guard role while not being the primary ball handler, a role Gordon should excel at. The trio of Gordon, Wade, and Beasley should be highly successful, and the team will be even more deadly after they add a fourth piece to the puzzle in the 2010 free agency. Ben Gordon would go from having all the defensive attention in the world as the Bulls first option, to very little, with Wade and Beasley as the top two scoring options taking up the defense’s attention.

If everything pans out well in Miami, Ben Gordon will be set up for a big payday on his 2nd NBA extension. Miami as a franchise, has never had any problem paying their players big money.

If Miami is truly interested in Gordon, it is hard to see something not getting done by the time training camps start.