djsunyc
Posts: 44927
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
|
For trade to work, Curry needs strength of six men By Chris Sheridan
Memo to all New York Knicks fans planning to check out Eddy Curry's return to Chicago Wednesday night: As you're basking in the glory of watching the young behemoth pile up points against the Bulls' overmatched and undersized front line, take a brief moment to ask yourself the following question:
Was Curry worth the price?
We're not just talking about Michael Sweetney and Tim Thomas, the two main players the Knicks jettisoned in the October deal to acquire the 23-year-old center.
A greater concern is what basically amounts to four draft picks -- two No. 1s and two No. 2s -- that Chicago will get from New York between 2006 and 2009 when the price for Curry, if the Knicks miss the playoffs, could turn astronomical.
Fans in New York can already forget about Greg Oden ever becoming the Knicks' savior. He'll go No. 1 in 2007, but Knicks president Isiah Thomas gave the Bulls the right to swap first-round picks in 2007, even if New York wins the lottery.
You like Adam Morrison, LaMarcus Aldridge, J.J. Redick or anyone else expected to be in this year's lottery? Don't like 'em too much, because the Bulls get the Knicks' pick this June, too -- even if it's No. 1 overall.
Isiah also gave the Bulls second-round picks in 2007 and 2009, and don't forget that he still owes another first-round pick to Utah as part of the package he sent to the Suns to acquire Stephon Marbury. That pick becomes unprotected in 2010, meaning the Knicks already are out of the mix on Lincoln (N.Y.) High School freshman Lance Stephenson, already averaging almost 20 points for the school that produced Marbury and Sebastian Telfair.
That's a heck of a jumbo mortgage to take out on a player with significant health risks, and the question needs to be asked whether Thomas had to include all those draft picks. It's not like other teams were beating down GM John Paxson's door after a heart abnormality was discovered and Curry refused to take DNA tests that might have shown whether he was genetically predisposed to the type of ailments that likely contributed to the deaths of NBA players Reggie Lewis and Jason Collier.
The trade left Chicago woefully undersized along the front line, and it hasn't helped that they haven't gotten much production out of Tyson Chandler (4.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) after granting him a contract extension. But this is a transitional year in Chicago, with the Bulls sitting on more than $15 million of cap space for this summer.
One way or another, they'll replace Curry's size before they turn their attention to extensions for Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni. After that, they can add a few enhancements -- and maybe even Oden -- with the draft picks Thomas tossed into the deal.
See, Knicks fans, that's what a real "rebuilding" plan looks like.
"I don't think that Isiah and our doctors would have taken the risk if we didn't know Eddy was 110 percent, and thus far, thank God we haven't had any problems," said Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, a teammate of Curry's with the Bulls for three seasons. "I don't know what happened in Chicago as far as tests went, but I'm glad he's with us and I'm glad he's healthy."
Curry has been a load for opposing teams to handle in the deep low post, but the Knicks have tended to run plays for him early before switching their offensive sets to get others involved. Curry is averaging only 14.5 points, a drop from his 16.1 last season, and has fallen nearly 10 percentage points on free throws, giving opponents all the more reason to foul him and make him earn his points from the line.
When Curry goes to the foul line Wednesday night, Knicks fans should keep an eye out for the amount of time -- measured in nanoseconds, not seconds -- he spends looking at the rim before releasing his free throw. Watch his footwork, too, for its fundamental flaws, and prepare to cringe if you see Curry get ready to shoot from anywhere beyond 10 feet.
Practice that cringe, too, Knicks fans, because it'll come in handy on the nights of the 2006 and 2007 draft lotteries if this Curry thing doesn't work out.
Chris Sheridan, a national NBA reporter for the past decade, covers the league for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.
|