The 59th episode of the Bulls Beat podcast, done by Doug Thonus, was released today. In this episode, Thonus talks about some “Inside Info” and the Ben Gordon situation primarily. He also reads some listeners emails and discusses the Olympics.

“Inside Info” is a poster over at the RealGM board. He has posted a number of rumors that came out to be true. These include the Vinny Del Negro signing, JamesOn Curry being cut, Pargo going to Europe, and the Demetris Nichols signing. He has come out with two more rumors.

The first rumor is that Kirk Hinrich is up to 205 pounds and has been getting stronger. Personally, I think this is pointless. I think a shooting guard (which I assume Hinrich is trying to be) is better off at a lighter weight. At a heavier weight, Hinrich will likely lose some quickness. With the new rules, which allow less contact on the perimeter, being heavier doesn’t give the player much of an advantage. Ben Gordon actually, one of the buffer guards in the league, actually has cut down on his weightlifting the past two seasons because he found it wasn’t benefiting him in games, and has instead focused on gaining more quickness.

The second rumor is that the Bulls are shopping Tyrus Thomas. This is actually a pretty old rumor that has been around for awhile. I think people just ignored it, because of their love for Tyrus, or thought these rumors went away, because of some stories of Tyrus working out hard at IMG Academy.

The Bulls probably realize that Tyrus Thomas will not be the player they hoped he would be, when they decided to take him with the second pick in the draft. Omer Asik looks to fill the same role as Tyrus Thomas, so the Bulls front office might want to package Tyrus Thomas with some other guys in a consolidation trade, and then fill the void with Omer Asik. Joakim Noah also could fill the void. This of course, is all just speculation.

Doug also gives some good updates on the Ben Gordon front.

The first piece of news on the Gordon front is that there are no big money deals left in Europe. It was rumored that Dynamo was after Gordon. They probably were after Gordon, seeing as they signed Jannero Pargo, a scoring guard. Dynamo probably found Gordon to not be too interested at the time, and decided on Pargo, instead of waiting out for Gordon, who they thought was an impossibility.

The second piece of news is that Ben Gordon may switch agents. Doug thinks the Raymond Brothers may have let Gordon’s expectations get out of hands. There are two paths that Gordon could end up taking. The first, is signing an agent who tells him to take the Bulls offer because it is his value. The second, is signing an agent who tells him the Raymond Brothers are poor negotiators and that he can get him more. Doug thinks it is the latter, because Gordon could just take the current offer with Raymond Brothers, and doesn’t need a new agent to take that offer.

One thing Doug didn’t cover in that, is that Gordon shakes things up, and perhaps gets a power agent. Ben Gordon getting a new agent, at least to me, is an indication that he is preparing to take the qualifying offer. Gordon wants an agent that will be able to get him a good deal next summer, as his last agent and Raymond Brothers, have so far failed in that regard.

Doug is reporting that Ben Gordon that Ben Gordon is still waiting out to see whether or not there are any sign and trade offers. Doug personally thinks that Gordon will take the Bulls offer if he cannot find any takers in a sign and trade.

You can listen to this podcast at Bullsbeat.com

With the Chicago Bulls signing of Luol Deng Tuesday to a deal, fans are left wondering, what about Ben Gordon? Past rumors have suggested that the Bulls’ ownership will not be willing to go into the luxury tax. The Chicago newspapers are reporting that Ben Gordon’s agent, Raymond Brothers, is demanding that Gordon receive as much as Deng because he has been the Bulls top scorer the past three seasons. Today, on Waddle and Silvy, John Paxson stated that he can now make Ben Gordon a more cost certain offer based on their budget sheets now that the Deng deal is done. So what might Ben Gordon’s contract numbers look like? Here is a look, by the numbers.

First, we must look at Luol Deng’s contract. Luol Deng signed a deal worth $71 million over 6 years, with the possibility of being worth $80 million after incentives. If the NBA rules that Luol Deng is unlikely to reach the criteria for his incentives, his first year salary will count as $9,372,937.29. If the NBA rules that Deng is likely to reach the criteria for his incentives, his first year salary will count as $10,561,056.11.

Next, the Bulls total salary situation should be looked at. Adding Deng’s first year salary to the rest of our contracts, assuming he does not meet the criteria for his incentives, the Bulls will be at approximately $63,491,910. Adding Deng’s first year salary to the rest of our contracts, assuming he does meet the criteria for his incentives, the Bulls will be at approximately $64,680,029. (Salary numbers are assuming the Bulls do not retain JamesOn Curry).

The luxury tax figure for the 2008-2009 NBA season will be $71,150,000. This means, assuming Deng is not determined by the NBA to be likely to achieve the criteria for his incentives, the Bulls would have $7,658,090 left to offer Gordon in the first year of his contract. This means the Bulls would be able to offer Gordon approximately $58.1 million over 6 years and be able to stay under the luxury tax. Assuming Deng is determined by the NBA to be likely to achieve the crieteria for his incentives, the Bulls would have $6,469,971 to offer Gordon. This means the Bulls would be able to offer Gordon approximately $49 million over 6 years. Ben Gordon will not agree to that deal considering he turned down an offer worth more over a period of only 5 years last summer.

It is unlikely that any of the Luol Deng likely to achieve incentive criteria numbers will have to be used. The NBA determines if a player is likely to achieve his incentives based on the previous season. Since all of Luol Deng’s performance incentives are team oriented, he is unlikely to be labeled as likely to achieve criteria for the incentives because of the Bulls season in 2007-2008.

The next big number to look at is $6,404,749. That is the amount of Ben Gordon’s qualifying offer. A first year offer of $6,404,749 equates to a deal worth $48.5 million over 6 years. Therefore, any deal less than $48.5 million causes Ben Gordon to make less money than he would if he takes the qualifying offer next year, so any offer of less than $48.5 million will be absolutely unacceptable.

If the Bulls are serious about retaining Ben Gordon, their leading scorer for the past three seasons, they will have to go into the luxury tax, unless Gordon gives the Bulls a bargain or John Paxson makes a money saving trade. Going into the luxury tax is a bit of a costly move. Not only will the Bulls have to pay double for every dollar they are over the luxury tax threshold, but they will also lose their share in the pot of tax dollars at the end of the season.

It should be expected for the Bulls to go into the luxury tax, just for one season, to retain their leading scorer for the past three seasons. The Bulls have been the most profitable team in the NBA since Jordan retired, despite only making the playoff three times and only winning one playoff series. Since the NBA introduced the luxury tax, the Bulls have received $9.2 million from other teams being taxed. Bulls ownership should just pretend that they are paying this years luxury tax with money they received in the past as the result of the luxury tax.

Ben Gordon’s agent, Raymond Brothers, have said that Ben Gordon should get what Luol Deng received because Gordon has been the Bulls leading scorer the past three seasons. Is it crazy for Ben Gordon to demand $80 million? Not exactly, if Gordon is willing to go out of his way to earn his $80 million through incentives. NBA teams can offer incentives up to 25% of players salary for a season. So if Ben Gordon signed that $58.1 million over six year deal, the Bulls could pad it up to $72.6 million with incentives. Not quite the $80 million Gordon is looking for, but definitely an improvement over $58.1 million.

The Bulls would have to give Ben Gordon $64 million in guaranteed money in order to make Gordon an offer worth $80 million. The deal would give Gordon the potential of earning $16 million in incentives. In order to make Gordon this offer, the Bulls would have to go $790,000 into the luxury tax. Are the Bulls really willing to lose Ben Gordon over the amount of money equal to a league minimum contract of a player with two years in the league? That would be an unforgivable, boneheaded move by Bulls ownership if they were to go this route.

$72.6 million is the most the Bulls will be able to offer Gordon without hitting the luxury tax. Could the Bulls do anything to make this offer more attractive? They could try offering Gordon a signing bonus. NBA teams are allowed to give players up to a 20% signing bonus. In such a scenario, Gordon would still have a base contract worth $58.1, and a potential $14.5 million in incentives, but he would receive $17.4 million from the Bulls next season, making the deal much more attractive to Gordon. While he receives $17.4 million as the result of his signing bonus next year, he would still count against the salary cap as approximately $7.66 million.

The Bulls could potentially make an attractive offer to Gordon using incentives and/or a signing bonus. However, the Bulls may need to go into the luxury tax just a little if Gordon wants more total guaranteed money throughout his contract.

All salary figures are from ShamSports.com.

Chuck Swirsky caught up with JamesOn Curry after the Bulls summer league game on Wednesday.

After three games, Curry thinks the summer league is going well because they are gaining chemistry and learning each others games. He thinks that they are doing better effort wise, moving the ball more, having more fun, and playing harder since their blowout loss to the Heat on Monday. He thinks they are doing well with two straight wins.

During the off season, Curry has just been working on his shooting, getting bigger and stronger, and watching a lot of D-League film to try to become a better player.

As a point guard, Curry sees himself as an extension of the coach and the coach on the court. Curry feels really good about his game, saying, “I never forgot how to play, but I just never got the chance. I just have to cease the moment.” He has been working on keeping his dribble alive, not getting in bad situations on the court, and knowing and controlling the tempo of the game.

The Bulls have to make a decision of whether they are keeping Curry on July 23rd.

The interview can be listened to online at Bulls.com