Bulls Sign Nazr Mohammed

By Tim Bearden in News on Jul 28, 2012 3:00PM

Chicago native Nazr Mohammed gets to come to home near the end of his NBA journey.

The Bulls signed Mohammed Friday, yet another reminder to Chicago that we're all going to miss Derrick Rose this season. Mohammed was a first round draft pick center in 1998 for the Utah Jazz and has been a part of eight playoff teams, including the 2005 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. He also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season during their run to the NBA finals, but excuse us for rolling our eyes at this homecoming now.

Mohammed is 35-years-old and nearing the end of his career. Of the 834 games he's played over the course of his NBA career he's averaged 6.6 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game and .69 blocks per game, which looks promising if he were a rookie. But once you put his age and last season under a microscope, it's even less impressive.

Mohammed played 63 games for the Thunder in which he averaged 2.7 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game with an 11 minutes per game average. Veterans can help lead a team and keep them positive, which is part of what Rose usually does, but strong words can be silenced by mediocre productivity.

Darko Milicic was originally on the Bulls radar for the center position after Omer Asik signed a $25 million contract with the Houston Rockets. Milicic, however, didn't provide much enthusiasm either given the team seems to be simply treading water this season.

This acquisition is another sign the Bulls are simply trying to stay competitive until their star pupil returns full strength, which could realistically be another full season. The Bulls open the 2012-13 season on Halloween at the "Madhouse on Madison" against the Sacramento Kings.