Looks like the Bulls' top draft pick just got a little more important. Ben Gordon, the Chicago Bulls leading scorer for the last three years, announced at a charity event in New York last night that he absolutely wouldn't be signing a one year contract extension with the team worth $6.4 million. "I'm definitely not taking it," Gordon said. "I've already expressed that to them. I mean, that's not an option." But unless the Bulls......

We’re somewhat hesitant to mention it given the Bulls' track record with “done deals" this summer, but the team and Luol Deng have agreed on a six-year, $71 million contract that will be officially announced this morning at a press conference at the Berto Center. With incentives, the deal can reach upwards of $80 million. Having turned down a five-year, $57.5 million deal last off-season, Deng was a restricted free agent. He could have signed......

The Bulls' number one draft pick Derrick Rose,19, was fined $1,000 this morning in Kane County. Rose admitted to driving 106 miles per hour on I-88, where the speed limit is 65. He'll be under "court supervision" for six months and has to complete an online driving school course. [Trib]......

Overcoming huge odds against them, the Bulls landed the NBA draft's top pick in last month's draft lottery. On Thursday night, the Bulls used that pick to draft point guard Derrick Rose. A Chicago native and Illinois's 2007 Mr. Basketball, he'll return home after a year playing for University of Memphis -- where he led the Tigers to the NCAA Championship game. In the NBA, the Bulls hope that Rose can develop into the type......

Having won the NBA Draft Lottery, the Bulls are free to select any player available -- but the consensus top two players are power forward Michael Beasley from Kansas State and point guard Derrick Rose of Memphis. With the choice pretty much narrowed to those two, the Bulls are bringing each in for personal workouts and interviews this week. Beasley spent the past two days meeting with Bulls officials at the Berto Center and going......

Vinny Del Negro? Really, Pax? You spent seven weeks searching and interviewing at least 13 candidates for the next coach of the Chicago Bulls and that's what you come up with? A guy with no prior coaching experience? Expected to be introduced as the Bulls' new head coach later this week, Del Negro comes to Chicago via Phoenix, where he had served as assistant general manager under former Bull Steve Kerr. Kerr himself just hired......

The Chicago Bulls have offered the head coach position to Vinny Del Negro, and he's going to accept, according to the Trib. Del Negro is currently the Phoenix Suns' assistant GM. Del Negro has never coached, but he played in the NBA for 12 years, was a radio broadcaster for the Spurs and then for the Suns, and moved to his front-office gig in 2006. The Bulls and Del Negro are expected to make a......

In the six weeks since Bulls GM John Paxson fired interim head coach Jim Boylan, countless names had emerged as possible replacements: coaching legends like Larry Brown, formerly hot coaches like Mike D'Antoni and Avery Johnson, and well-regarded assistants on teams still in the playoff hunt all seemed likely at some point in the search. Has Pax finally made his selection? Sources say that, in fact, he has. The Bulls are expected to name Doug......

Chicago Bull Joakim Noah was arrested in Gainsville, Florida early this morning for violating an open container law, and police later found a joint in a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He's facing two misdemeanor charges. From the Gainesville Sun: Noah, 23, was spotted by police in the 100 block of South Main Street at about 1:50 am., according to GPD spokeswoman Summer Hallett. Police reported he was carrying what appeared to be clear......

While initially mentioned among the leading candidates for the Bulls' head coach vacancy, Avery Johnson's seeming desire to take a year off on the Mavs' dime had made him an afterthought in recent weeks, even as other top candidates landed elsewhere. But maybe he just jumped back to the top of the list. Johnson insisted, during an ESPN radio interview, that he's more interested in the Bulls head coaching job than in taking a year......

Last week, it looked like the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni were close to hooking up. Then rumors that the New York Knicks also liked D'Antoni began to sweep through the halls. Most thought, however, that D'Antoni was just playing hard to get, hoping to squeeze more money from the Bulls. By the end of the weekend, though, D'Antoni had chosen the Knicks over the Bulls. So who wasn't into whom?......

Rumors spread through the NBA world like spring fever through a high school yesterday, as ESPN.com reported that current Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni wanted to coach the Bulls, followed by reports that the Bulls liked D'Antoni, too. But John Paxson hasn't quite settled on his date for the prom just yet. The Bulls GM is still trying to arrange to meet with former Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson before moving forward with any decision.......

That didn't take long... Less than 12 hours after the Bulls beat the Toronto Raptors to close out their 33-49 season, GM John Paxson fired interim coach Jim Boylan this morning. Taking over the team when Scott Skiles was fired on Christmas Eve, Boylan's Bulls went 24-32, missing the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. More important in determining Boylan's demise was his utter inability to keep his players in line and focused......

So this is what happens when two teams, out of playoff contention and just trying to run out the season, meet in the week's final season? The Bulls and Bucks played a game seriously lacking in defense, with the Bulls winning 151-135 in Milwaukee. When asked about the score, interim head coach Jim Boylan quipped, "I thought that was a rum." For a team averaging 97.2 points/game, it's certainly not a number he'd expect to......

This Benny the Bull character is bad news, what with his drug dealing and fighting the police. So it doesn't surprise us that when a opposing team's player is assaulted in the middle of a game, he'd point his finger toward the bovine mascot. Boston's Kevin Garnett and James Posey accused Benny the Bull of shooting T-shirts at them during the fourth quarter of last night's Bulls-Celtics game at the United Center. According to Bulls'......

Bulls interim head coach Jim Boylan looks like a fool for commenting to the media that he hopes to remain the Bulls coach next year. And we'd like to be added to the White Sox's pitching rotation... but neither's going to happen anytime soon. Boylan took over an apathetic Bulls roster around Christmas, when the players had supposedly given up on Scott Skiles, and the team sported a 9-16 record. During Boylan's tenure, they've......

Watching the Bulls play their past couple games, we've been trying to figure out who newly acquired power forward Drew Gooden reminded us of. With his shiny chrome dome and shaggy beard, we finally realized who it was during last night's telecast: Wooly Willy! Gooden's unique coiffure reminds us of one possible face on the Wooly Willy toy we remember from our childhood. The simple game, with its iron filings under plastic atop a hairless......

When he's not busy conducting forbidden nuclear tests, building the world's largest standing army, or fantasizing about a life in Hollywood, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il is a fan of your Chicago Bulls. At the very bottom of an NBA roundup, Chicago Sports' Sam Smith reports that the strongman has long been an NBA fan, and that his sons have been spotted wearing Bulls jerseys around their regulation-size basketball courts at the presidential palace.......

The Chicago Bulls dramatically upgraded their franchise in terms of toughness over the holiday weekend. First, Benny the Bull was arrested at the Taste of Chicago, after riding a mini-motorcycle without a permit and then throwing a punch at a sheriff's deputy. Barry Anderson, in costume as Benny the Bull, was charged with misdemeanor battery and driving within a parkway. Maybe he was just acting out because of the tough, new Benny the Bull. That's......

Chicago's river is not the only thing that turns green around St. Patrick's Day. Many of Chicago's sports franchises are celebrating St. Patrick's Day by donning green uniforms. The Chicago Bulls have a specially designed St. Pat's day uniform that will be worn when they take on the Miami Heat at 1pm on Saturday. The Bulls are dubbing the game "A Shamrock Matinee". Chicagoist got very excited when we heard that, assuming there was promotion......

Contract negotiations between the Bulls and Eddy Curry had remained at a standstill most of the off-season, as the Bulls requested that Curry take a DNA test before they clear him to play while Curry and his agent refused. With Monday's deadline for signing qualifying contracts for the 05-06 season, the Bulls traded Curry to the Knicks when they couldn't get Curry to agree to the DNA test. On Monday night, a Bulls spokesperson announced......

Remember the old Saturday Night Live “Superfans” sketches where they pondered who would win in a fight between say, Mike Ditka and the 1992 Chicago Bulls? The city saw a real-life version of that matchup yesterday when it was Ditka vs. The Entire Chicago City Council on the proposed smoking ban. True to form, Ditka, a longtime fan of cigars, pulled out three of the signature moves in his unstoppable fighting style: 1. Yelling 2.......

Hope you got up early on Saturday to get your playoff tickets -- Chicagoist did! Because with their 110-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors Saturday night, the Chicago Bulls cliched their first playoff berth since the Jordan era. The Bulls are even clearly in the drivers' seat for the 4th seed and home court advantage in the first round. At 44-32, the Bulls have a 3 game lead over Washington and Indiana for the seed......

Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen was caught trying to negotiate down some strippers from their ususal fees at the Penthouse Executive Club recently. Apparently, the chose to move on to better paying customers. Somehow, we are not at all surprised by this account of Pip's night out. Chicagoist grew up on the North Shore in the same suburb where he lived during his first stint with the team, so we've heard first-hand accounts from......

The Ellen DeGeneres Show airing on Thursday morning at 10am on NBC5, will be all about Chicago. The people in the audience are from here and the show will be all about our great city. Last week Ellen's production assistant, Houston Rose, was in Chicago selecting audience members at random from the Auto Show, the ice rink at Millennium Park, walking down Michigan Avenue, Portillo's and El stations to be on the show. Teamed up......

Last night began a week of huge changes throughout the NBA. The party started with the Charlotte Bobcats' expansion draft. Charlotte selected 19 players from among those left unprotected by other teams. Among those selected was Bulls power forward Marcus Fizer, who was looking forward to a fresh start after spending much of last season in coach Scott Skiles' doghouse. Some of the biggest names in the NBA are also looking to move on as......

While fans of the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pacers and Pistons are busy following their teams' march towards the NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls fans gear up for their seventh consecutive trip to the NBA Draft Lottery, held Wednesday night in Secaucus, New Jersey. By virtue of having the second-worst record in the league, the Bulls have 200 ping-pong balls in the hopper, a chance at snagging the top pick. In the worst case scenario, the Bulls......