MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: This is a tough one, since no one on the entire roster met expectations this season. By default, it might as well go to guard Ben Gordon, who was the Bulls' leading scorer for the third straight season at 18.6 points.
MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: This honor could be split about eight ways and include one player now toiling in Cleveland. Ben Wallace aside, F Luol Deng might have to lead the disappointing category since he missed 19 games with injuries and didn't build on last year's promise. That said, Deng was also a strong candidate for team MVP by averaging 17.0 points while shooting 48 percent from the field. FREE AGENT FOCUS: Most of the focus will be on G Ben Gordon and F Luol Deng, who will become restricted free agents on July 1 because they turned down the Bulls' offers for contract extensions last summer. The Bulls won't let either player walk away, but may explore sign-and-trade scenarios. Beyond that, guards Chris Duhon and Shannon Brown are unrestricted free agents. Neither is likely to return. Rookie F Demetris Nichols is restricted.
PLAYER NOTES:
--F Joakim Noah was charged with possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol after being arrested in the early morning of May 25. On May 28, he accepted deferred prosecution as a first-time offender, which resulted in six months' probation and a $200 fine.
--G Thabo Sefolosha will visit South Africa in September for one of the NBA's "Basketball Without Borders" events. Sefolosha is a native of Switzerland, but his father is an accomplished musician from South Africa.
--G Kirk Hinrich does not plan to attend USA Basketball training camp this summer, which he has done the past two years. He and his wife Jill are expecting their first child.
--G Ben Gordon is expecting to join Luol Deng on the British national team late this summer. Gordon was born in London, then moved to New York before his first birthday.
