Crawford derby coming
Several teams may be seeking Bulls' free agent


By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter


Jamal Crawford spent Monday the way he has spent many days since the Bulls' regular-season ended: lifting weights and playing basketball at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Beginning Thursday, Crawford's schedule might change.




That's when teams can begin recruiting free agents, and Crawford is expected to draw interest from several teams. Players are eligible to sign with teams beginning July 14.

The Bulls have made Crawford a qualifying offer, which gives them 15 days to match any offers he receives as a restricted free agent. Even though they added two guards in last week's draft, general manager John Paxson has consistently maintained that Crawford remains in the Bulls' plans.

But that could change if Crawford receives a long-term offer starting with the midlevel exception—expected to be near $5 million—and including 10 percent annual raises. Then the Bulls might be prompted to pursue sign-and-trade scenarios, although those, too, are complicated by Crawford's base-year status.

Crawford's saga will have several twists and turns. The free-agent market has dragged out in recent years, and some teams with salary-cap room—Denver, Phoenix and the Los Angeles Clippers—might chase other free agents and then focus on Crawford if they strike out and he's still available.

But as a primer, here are a few situations that make sense for Crawford, with the likelihood gauged by temperature:

Bulls

Crawford and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, maintain that Chicago is their first choice. Paxson insists that drafting guards Ben Gordon and Chris Duhon doesn't preclude retaining Crawford. It's extremely unlikely the Bulls will commit to a big-money, long-term deal to keep Crawford. But if he doesn't get a long-term offer he likes, one possibility has Crawford playing one year on his qualifying offer of $3.5 million before becoming an unrestricted free agent after next season. Chances: Warm.

New York Knicks

General manager Isiah Thomas has long been a fan. He has tried to trade for Crawford before and indicated he would pursue him this summer. But the Knicks have only the midlevel exception to offer and are expected to make cursory calls to Rasheed Wallace and Kobe Bryant early in the free-agent period. If, as expected, they strike out there, they could turn to Crawford and offer him a six-year deal worth $37 million. The Bulls wouldn't match that. Would Crawford sign it? Chances: Hot.

Denver Nuggets

Denver has roughly $23 million in salary-cap room, and Crawford said last season he'd consider playing for the young, athletic Nuggets. General manager Kiki Vandeweghe has several off-season avenues he can take, so if he pursued Crawford, it would likely happen late. Chances: Lukewarm.

Seattle SuperSonics

Crawford's hometown team coveted him in the past, but the interest seems to have cooled. The Sonics have some assets that interest the Bulls, so a sign-and-trade is possible. Chances: Cool.

Charlotte Bobcats

The expansion franchise has to spend money somewhere, doesn't it? Charlotte is expected to make a run at one free agent. Will it be Crawford? Chances: Cool.

The rest of the pack

Phoenix, Utah and the Clippers have cap room and could use a veteran point guard. Crawford isn't a great fit for Utah, and Clippers owner Donald Sterling rarely breaks the bank for players. Phoenix might make a run at Steve Nash, which would eliminate the need for Crawford. Atlanta and Golden State also have cap room and point-guard needs but haven't been linked to Crawford—yet. Chances: Cool.
Copyright © 2004, The Chicago Tribune


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thanks...we'll see what happens in a few weeks, but it's beginning to sound better & better to me...that MLE will get us a good player, i'm confident of that.