The Chicago Bulls plan to pursue Rip Hamilton when he is bought out by theDetroit Pistons, according to a source familiar with the situation, and Derrick Rose said Hamilton would be a good fit.  Read more after the jump.
“Rip is a winner,” Rose said after the Bulls first practice Friday night. “I can’t say nothing bad about him.”
Hamilton, 33, spent the past nine seasons in Detroit, where he won a championship in 2004. Hamilton had a falling out with coach John Kuester, who was fired after last season, and was benched for a large part of a seven-week period. He averaged 14.1 points last season, which was his lowest output since his rookie year.
The Bulls had interest in Hamilton last season as they looked for help at shooting guard. Keith Bogans’ status with the Bulls remains in doubt. The team has until Dec. 19 to pick up an option on Bogans, who was pulled off the practice court Friday because of his contract status, a source said. The Chicago Tribune was the first to report Bogans was pulled off the court.
“He’s got a championship,” Rose said of Hamilton. “It’s great. He knows how to win. He came from winning programs. And if he comes along, I know that we’ll be happy to have him.”
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau did not want to discuss the possibility of bringing Hamilton to the team.
“I don’t know,” Thibodeau said. “I’m not going to comment on that because I haven’t heard that. Like I’ve said, I like the guys that we have here and whoever we decide to go forward with, I’m good with.”
The Bulls released the following statement regarding Bogans: “Keith Bogans is under contract with the Bulls and we have a December 19th option on that contract. At this time, we are exploring several options in finalizing our roster. We have always respected Keith’s professionalism and we hope to have more clarity on this situation soon.”
