Doug Thonus has released the 84th episode of the Bulls Beat podcast and he has some great inside information on the state of the team.

Ben Gordon has so far, according to Thonus, been acting internally like he has one foot out the door. Gordon has felt disrepsected by the organization, especially after the Bulls pulled their contract offer to Ben off the table and would not allow him to sign a long term contract

Off the record, everyone around the Bulls organization says that they want Kirk Hinrich over Ben Gordon and that they think that Kirk Hinrich is a better fit next to Derrick Rose than Ben Gordon. So far, Ben Gordon really has not been working with Derrick Rose in the way that Kirk Hinrich has.

Kirk Hinrich has been working with Derrick Rose even while injured, trying to be Rose’s buddy. Hinrich has tried to help Rose with some defensive things during games. The Bulls like that Kirk Hinrich has been a good organizational player and are very high on Kirk because of his devotion to the team.

Ben Gordon feels so disrespected from all of this, that he might be willing to agree to a trade when Kirk Hinrich comes back because he fears that his minutes might fall through the floor.

Gordon, if traded, loses all bird rights. Therefore, the team he is traded to, if they wish to maintain Gordon, has to have cap space to re-sign Gordon. Therefore, for Gordon to be traded, one of two things will have to be going on. The first possibility is that Gordon got strong indications from a team like Miami last season that he feels there is no risk of being a player with no bird rights. The second possibility is that a team like Miami, who will have capspace next offseason, will trade for Gordon now to get him adjusted to their system earlier than next offseason.

A team like San Antonio could be the perfect team to grab Ben Gordon as a one year rental. The Spurs could offer the Bulls some players that expire before 2010 in exchange for both Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni. For a team like the Spurs whose window is closing, one year of Gordon would be worth it to them.

Also, according to Thonus, Vinny Del Negro is the man in charge. The offensive and defensive systems that the Bulls run are all his. Bernie Bickerstaff, Del Harris, and Bob Ociepka are just working with the players to help them improve and implement Vinny’s system.

Joakim Noah has remained pretty upbeat still. Noah is still trying to work hard. He feels that he is going to get things done.

Tyrus Thomas on the other hand is starting to get bullish. Thomas is disappointed in how his season has gone so far. Scott Skiles had told Tyrus not to take jumpers. Del Negro’s staff came in and told Thomas that it was okay for him to take jumpers. After his bad shooting games to start off the season, they came back and told him not to take jumpshots. Thomas is disappointed that they did not let him work through his shooting struggles a little longer.

You can listen to this podcast at bullsbeat.com

According to the morning report on Hoopsworld.com, Ben Gordon wants to remain a Bull, has always wished to stay with the Bulls, but the money is still an issue.

While the luxury tax was an issue in offering Gordon a contract next season, those problems are unlikely to come up again this offseason because of Drew Gooden’s expiring contract.

The Bulls real problem is finding their way into the picture for the 2010 free agency. Letting Drew Gooden walk in free agency, or signing him to a short, two year deal, is a given if the Bulls want to get into the mix in 2010.

After not giving Gooden a contract that is lasts more than three years, the Bulls next task is to play the trade markets. The Bulls have three players who will for sure be under contract in 2010 and those are, Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and Joakim Noah. The Bulls will then probably look at trading Kirk Hinrich, and probably Nocioni as well.

The Bulls have a problem working towards creating cap space for 2010 if they cannot find a take for either Kirk Hinrich or Andres Nocioni. If the Bulls still have Andres Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich under contract next summer, John Paxson will have to decide whether to re-sign Gordon or not. Not re-signing Gordon would make the Bulls a less desirable destination for some of the 2010 free agents, while simultaneously flushing a third overall draft pick down the toilet. However, there are a host of players that are better than Gordon available, and if they were able to land one of them, it would make letting Gordon walk look brilliant. If they cannot land one of the superstars, the move could end up costing the Bulls, or making the free agent signing a lateral move.

If the Bulls re-sign Gordon with Hinrich and Nocioni still under contract, Paxson could go directions immediately. The first direction is to continue pursuing trades involving Hinrich and Nocioni, and try to get in the 2010 game. The second direction would be to sign a solid free agent like Shawn Marion to the MLE this summer, while the rest of the league is scared to spend money. No matter what direction the Bulls choose to take in this scenario, they would be able to leverage Larry Hughes expiring contract for something good. Going the first direction, a Hughes trade would be the result of the Bulls not finding a taker for Hinrich or Nocioni. Going the second direction, Paxson could proactively seek trades involving Hughes’ contract.

Nonetheless, it is good to hear that Gordon wants to remain a Bull. Hopefully Paxson can find a taker for Hinrich or Nocioni this season so the Bulls can avoid another scary summer when it comes to free agency in 2009.

Sam Smith wrote in his mailbag today that Ben Gordon ended up agreeing to the Bulls contract terms, but the Bulls ended up pulling the offer. Here is what Smith wrote:

The talk around the NBA is the Bulls gave Ben a deadline and said either sign—which I thought was a maybe too generous offer, like with Deng—or forget it. Ben’s agent came back the next day and said forget it. The Bulls did. Then Ben apparently changed his mind, but an agent told me the offer was off the table and that was it, sending Ben into a funk.

This is a big problem. The guy agreed to the contract offer that the Bulls desired him on and yet, he isn’t signed long term. If Gordon was willing to sign for that contract, then Jerry Reinsdorf acted foolishly.

This sends the message to players that the Bulls will get their way in all negotiations. Gordon played the negotiations perfectly, and how any rational person would have played it. The Bulls’ offer was on the low end of fair, Gordon had no incentive to sign before the deadline because of how low the deal was.

When Gordon insinuated that he might take the Bulls offer on media day, he was being sincere. There was no reason for the Bulls to set an early deadline. When Gordon came back to the Bulls saying he would accept their offer, there is no logical reason why he did not walk out of that room as a long term member of the Chicago Bulls. It’s not like the Bulls made any big financial changes to the team between Gordon saying, “no” and changing his mind.

Very disappointing news, and continuing proof that Bulls fans should be upset with Jerry Reinsdorf and how he is running the team.

Ben Gordon is coming back for another year with the Chicago Bulls, but not without some controversy along the way. Mitch Robinson stops to chat with BG and get the real story regarding the contract negotiations this summer.

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