Bulls roll in green; turmoil in Toronto

Two interesting bits of NBA news came up on Wednesday. This first item is no surprise, but Forbes Magazine released its annual list of estimated franchise value.
The fact that the Bulls are third, at $504 million, behind the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers is no revelation, considering Chicago is entrenched as the third-largest market in the U.S.
But according to Forbes, the Bulls were the most profitable team in the NBA last season, with estimated operating income of $55.4 million. This is also business as usual. The magazine believes the Bulls have been the most profitable NBA team this decade. The estimate may not be completely accurate, but it makes sense because the United Center is usually full and the Bulls haven't paid the NBA's luxury tax.
The inevitable question is whether those profits should effect the team's salary structure. Right now, the Bulls' payroll is out of balance. Derrick Rose is the team's best player, but he's glued to the rookie salary scale until at least 2012.
Larry Hughes, Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni have expensive long-term deals (to be precise, Hughes has one more season after this one), but the Bulls refused to go into luxury tax territory to lock up Ben Gordon last summer. Now a month into the season, Gordon is once again the team's leading scorer and has arguably been the second-best player. He'll take some bad shots now and then, but a top point guard such as Rose needs a perimeter scoring threat to be most effective and Gordon is easily the best option for the Bulls.
Most people assume Gordon will bolt the Bulls next summer as an unrestricted free agent, but money always talks. I suspect he'll stick around if the price is right, no matter how bad the relationship between management and his agent, Raymond Brothers.
One line I heard last summer about the Gordon impasse is if signing the 6-foot-2 shooting guard would make the Bulls a championship contender, they would gladly pay the luxury tax. That makes sense, but signing Deng, Hinrich, Nocioni and Ben Wallace (who was traded for Hughes) hasn't made the Bulls a championship contender, either.
Drafting Rose, a complete stroke of luck, has brought the Bulls a potential elite player, which is usually the first step toward contending for a title. Getting the right pieces around him won't be easy and it might eat into some of those profits.

TROUBLE IN TORONTO
The other relevant news story on Wednesday was Toronto firing coach Sam Mitchell, who led the Raptors to the playoffs twice and was named NBA coach of the year in 2006-07.
The chance to hire Canadian-born Jay Triano to coach the team is an obvious marketing plus for the Raptors. But there's no doubt that Toronto is in a desperate race to keep Chris Bosh from leaving as a free agent.
Bosh is one of the stellar group of stars that can become unrestricted in 2010, joining LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki and Manu Ginobili, among others. The Raptors want to prove to Bosh he can contend for a title in Toronto and they don't have much time.
The Raptors could use a good second scoring option to pair with Bosh, but don't have much trade bait beyond some expiring contracts.
Should the Bulls and Raptors look to make a deal? One option for the Bulls is to sit tight and hope that Toronto decides to trade Bosh. If he doesn't sign an extension next summer, that might become a strong possibility.
Could Andres Nocioni average 15 points per game as a starter in Toronto? Maybe, since his shooting stroke usually improves with more minutes. But would the Raptors be willing to swap, say, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham, who both have shorter contracts?
Such a deal could pave the way for the Bulls to create some cap room in 2010, when Nocioni is set to make $6.85 million. They could even re-sign Gordon, theoretically, and still have room to go after a major free agent, if they let Drew Gooden walk away next summer. The Raptors would have to think twice about aiding a potential future suitor for Bosh.

ANY BIG MEN AVAILABLE?
There has been rampant speculation that the Clippers might be ready to move one of their big men, now that Zach Randolph has arrived from the Knicks. Seven-footer Chris Kaman's numbers are down slightly this year, but he's still not a bad value, with a contract that peaks at $12.2 million in 2011-12.
I'd have to think if someone is going to go, the more likely candidate is 34-year-old Marcus Camby. Here's a question for the Bulls: Camby has two years left on his deal, Drew Gooden has one. Would it make sense for the Bulls to swap Gooden for Camby and have an expiring contract worth $7.7 million available for trading purposes next year, when the 2010 free agents could be in play? The Clippers could create cap room next summer by making such a deal.
Of course, Kaman, 26, could be an asset for the Bulls in future deals, as well. I would imagine the minimum price would be Kirk Hinrich and at least one of the Bulls' younger big men, if the Clippers are even interested.