Bulls trade Curry to Knicks
October 4, 2005
BY BRIAN HANLEY Staff Reporter Advertisement
It was difficult telling which spoke louder Monday night -- John Paxson's action or his stern words immediately after his trade of Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks.
The Bulls confirmed only that Curry was being dealt, but a source said the deal sends Curry and Antonio Davis to the Knicks in exchange for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson and two draft picks -- perhaps a first-rounder and a second-rounder. A source said the deal also could include the option that the teams switch draft positions.
Davis, who was thrown in for salary-cap reasons, told the Sun-Times he might retire rather than join the Knicks. A source familiar with the deal said there's a strong possibility the Knicks would release Davis after one month, and he would re-sign with the Bulls.
''From a basketball standpoint, I understand what I'm doing, and I'm happy to be getting the players we're getting because they will fit into what we're trying to do here,'' Paxson said. ''But I have an obligation to this organization and to the people I work with to do the right thing. And I did the right thing.''
A source close to the situation said Curry would get a guaranteed six-year, $65 million contract from the Knicks that will not be contingent upon incentive bonuses.
"It's been a long summer,'' said Leon Rose, Curry's lead agent, "but I'm happy for Eddy and his family. Eddy's now able to get a fair deal and move on. I am also appreciative that the Bulls did the right thing. Everyone sacrificed in this one. Hopefully, things will work out for everybody involved.''
The deal culminates a summer of conflict between the team and Curry, whose heart arrhythmia late last season created an offseason contract stalemate for the restricted free-agent center, which included an insurance company refusing to indemnify Curry's heart.
The most contentious issue was the Bulls' request that Curry submit to a DNA test recommended by Barry Maron -- the specialist the Bulls believe to be the top expert on Curry's condition -- to ascertain if it's potentially fatal.
Curry -- on the advice of his agent Leon Rose and lawyer Alan Milstein -- insisted he would not take the test.
The Knicks reportedly won't require Curry to take the DNA test. A source said the Knicks recently were ready to sign Curry to a six-year deal worth $30 million-$40 million guaranteed with incentives that could boost the contract to $70 million.
The public impasse led to media commentary about the motives of the Bulls and Paxson. Commentary that the Bulls' general manager -- who acknowledged that the team offered to pay Curry $20 million over 50 years should he fail the test -- took issue with Monday.
''This has been about as uncomfortable and unusual a situation as I ever could have imagined, regarding Eddy Curry,'' said Paxson, who declined to take questions after his statement. ''We've attempted from Day 1 to do the right thing. And I'm absolutely confident that we have, every way we went about it. In a lot of ways, we've met resistance in trying to gather all the information we feel we need to make an informed decision.
''There have been a lot of things that have been out there and said and implied about me and this organization. How we've tried to handle this situation, Eddy's situation. And I take great offense at many of the points of views and angles that have been out there. A lot of people said we didn't show the right concern for Eddy or that we were trying to devalue him. We put a proposal on the table to keep Eddy a couple of weeks ago. As part of that proposal, we asked Eddy to take the genetic test. And if he failed the genetic test, we were offering him basically what amounts to a lifetime annuity so that he would have an above-average lifestyle that would put him in a position that most other people aren't in. ... We offered Eddy an opportunity to find out and live his life comfortably because that's how much we cared about him.
''Our intention through that whole process was to show him that we did care about him and that we were concerned about his well-being. The bottom line is this -- I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn't think I had done everything in my power to find out all the information that was available to us. You can debate the genetic test until you are blue in the face, but what I know and what I have been told and have learned over the last six months is that test could have helped us determine the best course of action. ... That's all I've got to say.''
Tyson Chandler joined the Bulls with Curry in 2001. Chandler was the No. 2 pick, drafted two slots ahead of Curry.
''It's definitely tough right now that it has happened,'' Chandler said. ''He's a friend before a teammate to me. I'm sad to see him go just because of that and that we were here since we were rookies. But I understand that the team has to do what's right for it, and he has to do what's right for him.''
Curry rejoins his close friend Jamal Crawford, whom Paxson dealt to the Knicks last season. It has been reported that Crawford worked behind the scenes to facilitate the deal. Part of the reason Paxson dealt Crawford was to improve team chemistry, and by dealing Curry, he eliminated the distraction caused by the impasse.
It also was very likely the Bulls would have lost Curry for nothing next summer when he would have become an unrestricted free agent.
NOTE: Jannero Pargo signed a one-year deal worth $875,000 with the Bulls.
Contributing: Lacy J. Banks
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bull04.html
October 4, 2005
BY BRIAN HANLEY Staff Reporter Advertisement
It was difficult telling which spoke louder Monday night -- John Paxson's action or his stern words immediately after his trade of Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks.
The Bulls confirmed only that Curry was being dealt, but a source said the deal sends Curry and Antonio Davis to the Knicks in exchange for Michael Sweetney, Tim Thomas, Jermaine Jackson and two draft picks -- perhaps a first-rounder and a second-rounder. A source said the deal also could include the option that the teams switch draft positions.
Davis, who was thrown in for salary-cap reasons, told the Sun-Times he might retire rather than join the Knicks. A source familiar with the deal said there's a strong possibility the Knicks would release Davis after one month, and he would re-sign with the Bulls.
''From a basketball standpoint, I understand what I'm doing, and I'm happy to be getting the players we're getting because they will fit into what we're trying to do here,'' Paxson said. ''But I have an obligation to this organization and to the people I work with to do the right thing. And I did the right thing.''
A source close to the situation said Curry would get a guaranteed six-year, $65 million contract from the Knicks that will not be contingent upon incentive bonuses.
"It's been a long summer,'' said Leon Rose, Curry's lead agent, "but I'm happy for Eddy and his family. Eddy's now able to get a fair deal and move on. I am also appreciative that the Bulls did the right thing. Everyone sacrificed in this one. Hopefully, things will work out for everybody involved.''
The deal culminates a summer of conflict between the team and Curry, whose heart arrhythmia late last season created an offseason contract stalemate for the restricted free-agent center, which included an insurance company refusing to indemnify Curry's heart.
The most contentious issue was the Bulls' request that Curry submit to a DNA test recommended by Barry Maron -- the specialist the Bulls believe to be the top expert on Curry's condition -- to ascertain if it's potentially fatal.
Curry -- on the advice of his agent Leon Rose and lawyer Alan Milstein -- insisted he would not take the test.
The Knicks reportedly won't require Curry to take the DNA test. A source said the Knicks recently were ready to sign Curry to a six-year deal worth $30 million-$40 million guaranteed with incentives that could boost the contract to $70 million.
The public impasse led to media commentary about the motives of the Bulls and Paxson. Commentary that the Bulls' general manager -- who acknowledged that the team offered to pay Curry $20 million over 50 years should he fail the test -- took issue with Monday.
''This has been about as uncomfortable and unusual a situation as I ever could have imagined, regarding Eddy Curry,'' said Paxson, who declined to take questions after his statement. ''We've attempted from Day 1 to do the right thing. And I'm absolutely confident that we have, every way we went about it. In a lot of ways, we've met resistance in trying to gather all the information we feel we need to make an informed decision.
''There have been a lot of things that have been out there and said and implied about me and this organization. How we've tried to handle this situation, Eddy's situation. And I take great offense at many of the points of views and angles that have been out there. A lot of people said we didn't show the right concern for Eddy or that we were trying to devalue him. We put a proposal on the table to keep Eddy a couple of weeks ago. As part of that proposal, we asked Eddy to take the genetic test. And if he failed the genetic test, we were offering him basically what amounts to a lifetime annuity so that he would have an above-average lifestyle that would put him in a position that most other people aren't in. ... We offered Eddy an opportunity to find out and live his life comfortably because that's how much we cared about him.
''Our intention through that whole process was to show him that we did care about him and that we were concerned about his well-being. The bottom line is this -- I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn't think I had done everything in my power to find out all the information that was available to us. You can debate the genetic test until you are blue in the face, but what I know and what I have been told and have learned over the last six months is that test could have helped us determine the best course of action. ... That's all I've got to say.''
Tyson Chandler joined the Bulls with Curry in 2001. Chandler was the No. 2 pick, drafted two slots ahead of Curry.
''It's definitely tough right now that it has happened,'' Chandler said. ''He's a friend before a teammate to me. I'm sad to see him go just because of that and that we were here since we were rookies. But I understand that the team has to do what's right for it, and he has to do what's right for him.''
Curry rejoins his close friend Jamal Crawford, whom Paxson dealt to the Knicks last season. It has been reported that Crawford worked behind the scenes to facilitate the deal. Part of the reason Paxson dealt Crawford was to improve team chemistry, and by dealing Curry, he eliminated the distraction caused by the impasse.
It also was very likely the Bulls would have lost Curry for nothing next summer when he would have become an unrestricted free agent.
NOTE: Jannero Pargo signed a one-year deal worth $875,000 with the Bulls.
Contributing: Lacy J. Banks
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bull04.html
