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NYKniCksFan87
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Joined: 7/13/2004
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October 4, 2005
Bulls' Curry Is Traded to Knicks
By HOWARD BECK
CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 3 - In a bold attempt to accelerate the Knicks' rebuilding effort, the team president Isiah Thomas made his greatest gamble yet Monday night, striking a deal in principle to acquire the promising center Eddy Curry from the Chicago Bulls.
The Knicks will send forwards Tim Thomas and Mike Sweetney, and next year's first-round pick, to the Bulls, according to an Eastern Conference team executive who had knowledge of the deal. In exchange, the Knicks will receive Curry, veteran forward Antonio Davis and possibly draft picks. For salary-cap purposes, the Knicks will also sign and immediately trade guard Jermaine Jackson to Chicago.
The team executive spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final.
Curry has shown immense promise in four seasons since going directly from high school to the N.B.A. in 2001. At 6 feet 11 inches and 285 pounds, he is strong and athletic and is generally regarded as one of the most talented young big men in the league.
Yet Curry has had his dedication questioned at times. More significant, he has a heart condition that concerned the Bulls so much that the team felt compelled to trade him rather than put him back on the court.
Curry sat out the final 13 games of last season, and the Bulls' first-round playoff series, after experiencing a benign arrhythmia. Chicago management wanted Curry to take a DNA test to determine whether he had a potentially fatal condition. Curry has refused to take the test, and doctors who have examined him have offered conflicting opinions as to whether the test is necessary.
But the Bulls remained steadfast and said they were prepared to bench Curry this season if he did not take a DNA test.
"I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn't do everything in my power to find out all the information that was available," John Paxson, the Bulls general manager, told reporters in Chicago. "You can debate genetic testing till you're blue in the face. But from what I know, from what I've learned over the last six months, that test could have helped us determine the best course of action."
The Knicks declined comment Monday night.
Precise details of the trade were still being worked, and as of 9:30 p.m. Eastern, the teams had not conducted the required conference call with league officials to have the deal approved. It was expected that it could be completed by Tuesday morning.
"It's a done deal," said Tim Thomas, who had the trade confirmed to him by his agent, Arn Tellem, earlier Monday afternoon.
The deal was contingent on all players passing their physical exams. Curry and Davis were expected to travel to New York on Tuesday for their exams. Thomas said he and Sweetney would be boarding a flight to Chicago on Tuesday, not long after their teammates complete their first training camp practice at the College of Charleston.
Curry was a restricted free agent this off-season, and was a top target of the Knicks, although they did not have the cap room to sign him outright. Had the Bulls not traded him, Curry would been forced to accept the Bulls' qualifying offer of $5.14 million. But he probably would have spent the season on the bench.
Instead, Curry will sign a five-year deal, believed to be worth about $10 million in the first season, and join the Knicks. Curry will be reunited with guard Jamal Crawford, his close friend from their days together in Chicago.
"He's excited, man," Crawford said just after 10 p.m. Monday night, minutes after talking to Curry on the phone. "I'm excited. I can't wait to get started tomorrow."
The Knicks are short on star players, but they are flush with solid ones, which means no one aside from Stephon Marbury has a lock on a starting job. When they open the season Nov. 2 in Boston, there will be worthy players, and perhaps former starters, reduced to bit parts and obsolescence.
What the Knicks do from there could well determine the course of their season. With gluts at some positions, it might not take long for bruised egos to override high-minded platitudes about teamwork.
But for now, the platitudes will reign.
"All of us are going to have to sacrifice in some way," said Crawford, last year's starter at shooting guard and a candidate for the bruised ego list.
Who is sacrificing what will be determined in the coming weeks as the Knicks adjust to life under Larry Brown, their demanding new coach.
"There's nothing penciled in right now with Coach Brown," said Penny Hardaway. "One thing about him, he's his own man. He's going to come in and make his own assessments of what's going on. I don't think anything is predictable right now."
Even Marbury's role is subject to change. Brown has spoken of using him more at shooting guard, the way he once did with Allen Iverson in Philadelphia. Marbury said he is open to it. But a full-time move there seems unlikely, and Marbury is the only sure starter, at point guard.
Jerome James, who signed a five-year, $30 million deal in July, should win the starting center job by default. Everything else is hazy.
In a few weeks, the sore spots could be more mental than physical. The Knicks play their first preseason game on Oct. 15, which should provide clues about where Brown is heading. Brown has so far offered no hints about his lineup or rotation.
Crawford's job was thrown into uncertainty the moment the Knicks acquired Richardson, in a trade for Kurt Thomas, in June. Richardson is a proven 3-point shooter and is both taller and brawnier than Crawford, who spent most of his life at point guard.
''We don't have the luxury to take anybody lightly,'' New York's Quentin Richardson said. ''We're not that good.''
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All I did was repeat Briggs' comments. I'm happy that the team has enough players with upside that such a harsh critic could now be optimistic. 
10/3/2005 11:16 PM