Bulls Free Agency starts today. They’ve already driven one target into retirement

NBA Free Agency officially starts at 5pm central today. Of course, the idea that teams are waiting to make plans has been thrown out the window. And it looks like especially in this year there has been early ‘reports’ jumping the gun.

News coming from the weekend so far include Kyrie Irving going to the Brooklyn Nets, and the Celtics quickly pivoting by signing (sorry, ‘focusing on’) Kemba Walker to a 4-year max deal. Even teams without cap space are making noise for high-profile free agents like the Timberwolves (D’Angelo Russell) and Heat (Jimmy Butler).

The Bulls, of course, are shamefully sitting all this out, focusing on ‘their own terms’ of shorter-term deals on worse players, waiting for the market to come to them or whatever.

Hilariously, a player at that tier they were ‘headed for a marriage’ with was Darren Collison. Collison instead decided to retire from the NBA at age 31.

Some other Bulls (and Bulls-adjacent) bits:

• Reportedly there’s a meeting scheduled with Warriors restricted Free Agent Kevon Looney. Looney started in the finals and was given the Bullsian tag of ‘foundational’ so I’m not sure why he’d come here to be behind the Bulls ‘foundational’ core of Markkanen and Carter. Maybe just looking to get an offer sheet. He’s an interesting guy to pursue though, defender and lob finisher type.
• Thankfully, the Bulls are not in the lead to sign Derrick Rose. That team is the Detroit Pistons.
• Another Bull who left on bad terms, Nikola Mirotic, packed up and went to play in the Euroleague again. It was initially deemed a quality of life and happiness and stuff thing, but now it looks like the man is also getting paid handsomely too.