Would you swap Eddy Curry for Kwame Brown?

Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford's recent strong play in the middle is eliciting an unusual reaction from some in the Chicago media. Are the Bulls putting them in a position to succeed in an effort to boost their trade value this summer?

It's not an uncommon thing for teams to "showcase" a player they want to trade. But do the Bulls really want to trade Curry and Crawford? Maybe if they could get Kwame Brown and Brendan Haywood according to Chicago Tribune writer Sam Smith.

Smith, who usually plays Bulls GM on Monday, not Wednesday, has been pushing the Bulls to trade Crawford forever. You can understand why. Neither Crawford or rookie Jay Williams have benefited from the direct head-to-head competition. Both of them have been looking over their shoulders all season. We all know that both of them can't be the Bulls point guard of the future. Sooner or later GM Jerry Krause has to pick one and trade away the other one before both point guards revolt.

But trading Curry? The 6-foot-11, 285 pound bruiser that did a number on Shaq last week (of course now Shaq's claiming he let Curry play well because he didn't want to embarrass him in front of Curry's parents)? The guy who may be the most talented young big (at least on the offensive end) in the league?

Smith is convinced it's the right thing to do if the Bulls can land Brown and Haywood in return.

"The deal would establish Williams as the point guard. It also would give the Bulls an athletic, defensive front line: Tyson Chandler at small forward, Brown, whom the Bulls wanted in that 2001 draft when they got Chandler and Curry, at power forward, and Haywood at center. The Bulls would have a frontcourt of three athletic 7-footers who can defend and block shots. And Chandler should be agile enough to defend at small forward.Why do it, especially with Curry looking like he could become a top scorer at center? Because you win with defense and Brown, held back in Michael Jordan's farewell tour, has the potential for big-time stardom. And it's not likely to happen in Washington."

I love Sam Smith, but let me get this straight. Trade two guys Jordan covets (both Crawford and Curry play with Jordan each summer at Hoops gym) for two guys he can't wait to get rid of? While Jordan isn't the best GM we've ever seen he's played with all four players extensively. Don't you think he has some insight into what each kid brings to the table?

Of course, Smith is probably trying to be provocative. What the story does flesh out is that the Bulls are still a ways away from the playoffs and that Jordan is unhappy with the young building blocks he's trying to build around. Both teams need more balance. The Bulls need another veteran or two (you think they'd rekindle those Jalen Rose for Michael Finley talks this summer). They also need a sweet shooting small forward or at least a solid all around player like Shane Battier.

The Wizards need balance. They have a bunch of slashing two guards, no front line, no point guard and no perimeter shooting. I think Larry Hughes has a chance to be a star if the Wizards move him back to shooting guard next season. If they can land a decent point guard, perhaps move Stackhouse and Brown for an All-Star caliber four or five, and develop Jared Jeffires at the three, they'll be in much better shape down the road.

Posted by martin:

here is one tid-bit from Insider:

NBA Draft: Darko Milicic had a huge game against Latvia on Tuesday. Milicic scored 37 points, 9 boards, 9 assists on 17-19 shooting in just 30 minutes.

yeah, I saw that... and MJ also has said that LeBron isn't going to be more than an average NBA player... for some reason, I'm not feeling the LBJ hype.