southsider2k5 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Eddy Curry's agent has asked the Bulls to consider a sign-and-trade for the restricted free agent, a source familiar with the negotiations confirmed Tuesday. Curry's agent, Leon Rose, did not respond to a message, and Bulls general manager John Paxson declined to confirm or deny the request. But Paxson acknowledged the parties are nowhere near reaching an agreement. "We're not anywhere close to having anything done," Paxson said. The workings of a sign-and-trade tend to be complicated. Last summer, after 34 days of negotiations, the Bulls and Knicks agreed to a sign-and-trade that sent Jamal Crawford to New York. The upside was the financial relief the Bulls received in salary-cap room. Curry seems an unlikely candidate for a sign-and-trade, mainly because his heart condition makes such a scenario even more complex than usual. Two months ago the league informed the Bulls that Curry's condition would be excluded from disability coverage by its insurance carrier, and since then Rose has been unable to secure a policy for the former Thornwood High star. Without insurance, the Bulls will not make a long-term contract offer, leaving the parties at an impasse, though Paxson said talks remain amicable. "There's nothing negative," he said. Nevertheless, he doesn't have any meetings scheduled with Rose this week and an Oct. 1 deadline is looming. If Curry does not have a contract in place by then, and if he does not have an offer sheet from another team, his only option is to play for the Bulls' qualifying offer of $5.14 million. The latter appears most likely at this point. Before they make a long-term commitment to Curry, Bulls officials want to see how the condition detected last spring affects his play. If he can play one season without incident, an insurance company is more likely to drop exclusions for 2006-07. Curry has an enlarged heart and an irregular heartbeat, which forced him to miss the season's final 13 games and the playoffs. Prominent heart specialists the Bulls consulted did not clear Curry to play, but he sought the opinion of a respected cardiologist in Los Angeles and received clearance. If he plays with the qualifying offer, Curry would need to play with the kind of intensity players exhibit during contract years to command mega-millions next summer as an unrestricted free agent—assuming his health would allow it. While the Bulls could make the most generous contract offer next year, they run a risk of alienating the 22-year-old center. He could spurn the Bulls if he believes they slighted him. A sign-and-trade would give the Bulls something in return, but as long as his heart issues continue to haunt Curry and the Bulls, his value diminishes. Meanwhile, questions continue to surface about Curry's weight and whether he's in shape. Earlier this summer he said he wasn't playing full-court because he didn't want to risk an injury while negotiating a contract. He has been drilling and lifting weights under the guidance of Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's former trainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelasDaddy0427 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 Anyone else get the bad feeling that we could see Curry drop dead on the court one of these days... I seriously doubt any team in the NBA is going to take a chance on a 6'10 center with a heart condition... Especially with no insurance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(Jeckle2000 @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 11:05 AM) Anyone else get the bad feeling that we could see Curry drop dead on the court one of these days... I seriously doubt any team in the NBA is going to take a chance on a 6'10 center with a heart condition... Especially with no insurance... There is a reason he hasn't been able to get an offer sheet from anyone. He will be playing for the 1 year qualifying offer this year if he plays at all...that is going to be the end of the story. If he's smart about it...he can really turn that into a huge payday for himself too, because he'll be an unrestricted free agent...if he can stay healthy the whole year and gets himself in the shape to have another good year, he can get a bigger contract after next year than he would have after this year if the heart condition never occurred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 01:39 PM) There is a reason he hasn't been able to get an offer sheet from anyone. He will be playing for the 1 year qualifying offer this year if he plays at all...that is going to be the end of the story. If he's smart about it...he can really turn that into a huge payday for himself too, because he'll be an unrestricted free agent...if he can stay healthy the whole year and gets himself in the shape to have another good year, he can get a bigger contract after next year than he would have after this year if the heart condition never occurred. This is of course assuming that the rumors about his weight gain are not true, or he loses a bunch of weight, quickly. Then again, why would anyone assume this to be the case when Curry has come to camp in shape once in his whole career. I wish the Bulls could find a sign and trade partner for Eddy, but no one is going to give a big uninsureable contract to a guy with questionable work ethic, a weight problem, and a heart condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyWhiteSox Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 01:50 PM) This is of course assuming that the rumors about his weight gain are not true, or he loses a bunch of weight, quickly. Then again, why would anyone assume this to be the case when Curry has come to camp in shape once in his whole career. I wish the Bulls could find a sign and trade partner for Eddy, but no one is going to give a big uninsureable contract to a guy with questionable work ethic, a weight problem, and a heart condition. You think him not being able to do much physical activity for all that time might factor into him gaining weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 11:50 AM) This is of course assuming that the rumors about his weight gain are not true, or he loses a bunch of weight, quickly. Then again, why would anyone assume this to be the case when Curry has come to camp in shape once in his whole career. I wish the Bulls could find a sign and trade partner for Eddy, but no one is going to give a big uninsureable contract to a guy with questionable work ethic, a weight problem, and a heart condition. I'm actually quite certain that the rumors about his weight gain are in fact true...with any luck however, Curry realized a month or two ago when his insurance was declined that he wasn't going to get a long term contract this year, and got started putting himself back in shape under the realization that this year would in fact be the year where he was playing for his contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 7, 2005 Author Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 01:59 PM) You think him not being able to do much physical activity for all that time might factor into him gaining weight? He admitted that he hasn't been playing at all because he is afraid of hurting himself and harming his free agent value, so he has only been lifting weights. Glad he is thinking of the team there... Earlier this summer he said he wasn't playing full-court because he didn't want to risk an injury while negotiating a contract. He has been drilling and lifting weights under the guidance of Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's former trainer. That excuse might have worked before he got cleared for physical activity, but now he has been cleared and is still more worried about himself than anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleepyWhiteSox Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 7, 2005 -> 02:13 PM) That excuse might have worked before he got cleared for physical activity, but now he has been cleared and is still more worried about himself than anything else. Hmmm...sounds like every single player in the NBA...as well as almost all of professional sports... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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