The Chicago Bulls have signed Chris Richard to a 10-Day contract, according to Bulls.com.

The Chicago Bulls today signed forward Chris Richard to a 10-day contract. Richard, a 6-9, 256-pound forward, will be in uniform tonight in Atlanta when the Bulls take on the Hawks at Philips Arena at 7:00 p.m. (CT).

Richard, 25, appeared in six preseason games with Chicago this year and averaged 3.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg in 19.7 mpg, before he was waived on Oct. 22, 2009. Richard joins the Bulls by way of the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League. In nine games (all starts) with the 66ers, he averaged 10.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.22 spg, 1.11 bpg, 0.9 apg and 30.6 mpg. He shot .623 from the field and .600 from the line while in Tulsa.

Richard should be solid in filling that spot minute big man role. Richard gives the Bulls a wide body which they were lacking after trading Aaron Gray to the Hornets.

Even if Richard doesn’t see much playing time, the move probably pleases Joakim Noah, who played with Richard at the University of Florida.

Ben Wallace recently signed a one year deal with the Detroit Pistons. The deal is worth the veteran’s minimum of $1.3 million.

Many feel that Wallace’s career has been on the decline ever since he left the Detroit Pistons in 2006 for the greener (money-wise) pastures of Chicago. Wallace’s Bulls career got off to a shaky start, as he struggled early on, and was involved in the infamous headband controversy.

However, Wallace turned things around, averaging 10.7 RPG and 2.0 BPG, as he anchored the league’s best defense and played an integral role in the Bulls second round playoff berth.

The next year, everything fell apart for the Bulls. Skiles was fired and Wallace was made a scapegoat. At the February deadline, Wallace was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he was eased into a bench role. A role that became so diminished that Wallace only played 12 MPG in last year’s playoffs.

During the lead up to the draft, Ben Wallace was traded to the Suns in the blockbuster trade that sent Shaquille O’neal to the Cavs. The Suns bought out Wallace, which allowed him to re-sign with the Pistons.

So, can Ben Wallace resurrect his career with his old team, the Detroit Pistons?

The opportunity will certainly be there. The Pistons are loaded with offensive talent with Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Charlie Villanueva. They are desperately need of a strong defensive presence.

Wallace’s competition at the center position is Kwame Brown and Chris Wilcox. Neither player is any good, so Wallace should be able to secure the starting center spot if he has something left in the tank.

Wallace’s stats from last season indicate that he still has something left in the tank. Last season, Wallace averaged 6.5 RPG and 1.3 BPG in just 23.5 MPG. Wallace had the third best Defensive Rating, for a player who played as many minutes as he did, in the NBA, behind only Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard.

You don’t post a D-Rtg as good as Wallace if you are a washed up bum. If Wallace can stay healthy, he should be able to help the Pistons a lot.

According to the My Bulls newsletter, the Bulls have signed rookies James Johnson and Taj Gibson to their rookie scale contracts.

The Chicago Bulls announced today the signings of 2009 first round draft picks James Johnson and Taj Gibson. Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Johnson (6-9, 245) was drafted 16th overall by Chicago after spending two seasons at Wake Forest. In his two seasons with the Demon Deacons, he started 59 of his 61 appearances and averaged 14.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.6 apg and 1.44 bpg. He also shot .514 from the field and .692 from the free throw line. As a sophomore, he led Wake Forest in rebounds (8.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (.542) and was second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg). Johnson, 22, was named Third-Team All-ACC after both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Gibson (6-9, 225) was the Bulls’ second selection in NBA Draft 2009 and the 26th pick overall. He played in 105 games over three seasons with Southern California and averaged 12.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.41 bpg, 1.5 apg and shot .580 from the floor. The Second-Team All-Conference and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year led the Trojans in many categories as a junior in 2008-09, including marks of 9.0 rpg, 2.86 bpg, and .601 field goal shooting. Gibson, 24, is USC’s all-time leader in shots blocked with 253 (2.41 bpg), and also ranks third all-time in the Pac-10 Conference in blocks.

Both rookies will make their professional debuts when the Bulls open their 2009 NBA Summer League schedule in Las Vegas on July 14 versus Golden State.

Johnson will wear No. 16 and Gibson, No. 22.

I saw elsewhere that both Johnson and Gibson signed for the max allowed for rookies, so that is 120% of the rookie scale. Johnson should be making $1.594 million next season, and Gibson should make $1.039 million next season.

Jerry Reinsdorf, in a radio interview with Chuck Swirsky, admitted his tomfoolery of not letting Ben Gordon sign the $54 million over 6 year deal last year, which Gordon wanted to sign.

“He was prepared to sign last year at the end, but after he turned down our offer, we thought about it and thought about it and decided it was in our best interest just to go one year with Ben,” Reinsdorf said. “We informed him of that, at which time his agent came back and said, ‘We’ll take your prior offer.’ We said it was too late. It’s off the table.

“We’ll have decisions to make at the draft. It depends on who we take, whether we trade our picks or we trade other players. Where we’re going with Ben can’t be decided until after July 1.”

This is one of the most inane actions that have been seen in recent NBA history. The Bulls won this round of negotiations, they had Gordon cracked, but they then proceeded in shooting themselves in the foot by not letting him sign the bargain bin deal.

Ben Gordon has been the best Bull since Michael Jordan, yet he was still willing to sign a contract of less value than that of Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, Tyson Chandler, and Ben Wallace, all much lesser players. The actions of Jerry Reinsdorf in this situation are that of a dimwit.

Now the Bulls risk leading their leading scorer of the past four years. Oklahoma City, Detroit, and Memphis can all give him lucrative deals that could make him immediately make Gordon jump ship. Teams such as Miami and Cleveland could offer Gordon a 1 year deal, with the promise that they will re-sign him for big money next summer, as both teams will have capspace in the 2010 offseason.

The way that Reinsdorf talked about the draft, it seems like if the Bulls decide to re-sign Gordon, they will probably trade their picks.

It seems as though the basketball minds in the organization are on board with re-signing Gordon. But will it matter what they want in the end? In the end the baseball mind will be making the decisions, and it is clear that the baseball mind’s goal is to make as much money as possible. He has been pretty good at achieving that goal, as the Bulls’ have been the most profitable team over the past 10 years. At assembling a championship contender? Not so good. Maybe he should let the basketball minds do the thinking.

Hoopshype is reporting via their twitter page that the Chicago Bulls will call up DeMarcus Nelson from the Developmental League’s Austin Toros.  Nelson’s contract will include a team option for next year.

Nelson is a 6′4″ guard out of Duke University.  He played 13 games for the Golden State Warriors this year, in which he averaged 4.1 PPG on 44% shooting.

For the Toros this season, Nelson is averaging 23.0 PPG on 53.8% shooting, and 45% from three.

We will have more news on the signing as it breaks.

According to a Chicago Bulls press release, the Bulls signed Linton Johnson III for the remainder of the season. The signing is amongst murmurs that Deng may have to be shutdown for the rest of the year.

The Chicago Bulls today signed forward Linton Johnson III for the remainder of the season. Johnson, a 6-8, 205-pound forward, has appeared in four games with the Bulls this season, and averaged 1.0 ppg in 5.3 mpg.

Johnson, a fifth-year pro, played in two games with the Charlotte Bobcats at the start of the 2008-09 campaign.

The Chicago Bulls sent out a press release today announcing that they have re-signed forward Michael Ruffin. Here is the press release:

October 27, 2008 – The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has re-signed forward/center Michael Ruffin to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Ruffin (6-8, 248) was a member of Chicago’s 2008 preseason roster but missed seven games due to a left ankle sprain.

Chicago’s roster now stands at 14.