Asked who might be the first big-name player to be traded this season, New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas answered Eddy Curry and Philadelphia 76ers president Billy King guessed Kurt Thomas.
They might both be correct.
PHOTO: AP
Six teams reportedly contacted Chicago about Curry on Thursday after his agent issued a trade demand and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was said to have OK'd the notion of parting ways with the No. 4 overall pick from the 2001 draft.
"I'm not going to be intimidated or persuaded by any agent who goes public and tries to do what he thinks is right for his client," Bulls general manager John Paxson told reporters in Chicago. "I think it only hurts him and doesn't do us any good either. They went about things the wrong way.
"And I won't just do something to make any kind of move. It's going to have to make sense for us."
Curry is being paid US$3.9 million this season, his last under the rookie salary scale. He will be a restricted free agent after this season, giving his team the right to match any offer he receives on the open market.
But which team will have that right?
New York, Phoenix, Minnesota and Memphis are some of the most obvious teams with a desire for a new center, the Knicks having soured on Nazr Mohammed, the Suns making do with Jake Voskuhl and Jackson Vroman, the Timberwolves tired of waiting for Michael Olowokandi to contribute steadily, and the Grizzlies dissatisfied with Lorenzen Wright and Jake Tsakalidis.
Curry has been a disappointment for the Bulls, who selected him and Tyson Chandler straight out of high school with two of the first four picks in the 2004 draft.
Former Chicago general manager Jerry Krause, who dealt Elton Brand to the Clippers for the draft rights to Chandler, later made the disastrous move of sending Ron Artest and Brad Miller, both of whom became All-Stars, to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose.
Curry lost nearly 18kg over the summer, but the Bulls never offered him an extension and dared him to prove he's worthy of a long-term investment.
"Until Eddy's not a part of our organization, we have to find a way to get him going, get him playing, get him believing," Paxson said.
Curry, who banged his right knee at practice Thursday and underwent an MRI, has backed off from his agent's comments and now says he does not want to be traded.
Curry, 21, averaged 14.7 points and 6.2 rebounds last season as the Bulls went 23-59. His three-year record with Chicago, entering this weekend, was 74-175.
If Curry is traded, the Bulls likely would package him with another player or two. Paxson would be eager to include Antonio Davis, who makes US$12 million both this season and next. Pairing Curry with the expiring contracts of Othella Harrington (US$3.15 million) and/or Frank Williams (US$957,000) would be a more likely scenario.
New York could be an aggressive player in the bidding for Curry, but Isiah Thomas wouldn't want to make too hasty a move if he thought it might cost him a shot at Vince Carter or Chris Webber.
One of the Knicks president's most tradable commodities is Kurt Thomas, who makes US$5.4 million but has a 15 percent trade kicker in the contract extension he signed last spring.
Following the Knicks' buyout of Shandon Anderson, Kurt Thomas is one of the few remaining links to the tenure of Scott Layden, the team president ousted 10 1/2 months ago. Another holdover is Allan Houston, who has yet to even scrimmage with the team while slowly making his way back from chronic knee soreness related to the effects of microfracture surgery.
Webber also underwent microfracture knee surgery, and other teams have been scared off by Webber's struggles since his return last spring -- although his triple-double of 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists Tuesday night against Toronto could change a few minds.
Wally Szczerbiak is the name most mentioned in Timberwolves trade rumors, while former Rookie of the Year Mike Miller is on the radar as the most likely Memphis player to be moved by Jerry West.
The Suns held onto Shawn Marion all summer when many expected him to be dealt, and Phoenix is not likely to tinker too much with the chemistry of a team that came within an overtime loss at Cleveland of starting the season 5-0.
The Denver Nuggets, desperate for backcourt help following the season-ending injury to starter Voshon Lenard, also could be a possible destination for Curry if the Bulls included Eric Piatkowski (US$2.8 million) in a deal.
Steve Francis scored a season-high 32 points, and Grant Hill added 27 points and 12 rebounds to rally the Orlando Magic to a 122-113 comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
The Magic were behind 39-21 early in the second quarter but used an impressive performance from Francis and another encouraging outing from Hill to get back in the game.
"We're an explosive team," said Hill, who also had four assists and four steals. "It's just a matter of when we're going to explode. We did that and got ourselves back in the game."
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring for the seventh consecutive game, finishing with a season-high 41 points on 14-of-31 shooting. He was 11-of-12 from the free throw line.
"It's great to see him out there. It really is," Bryant said of Hill. "He's always been a guy I looked at and patterned my game after, even when he was at Duke. I've been a fan of Grant Hill's for a long, long time."
76ers 106, Pacers 104, OT
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson sank a 14-footer as time expired in overtime and scored 15 points to lead Philadelphia over Indiana.
Kyle Korver made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Marc Jackson had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and John Salmons and Corliss Williamson each scored 15 points for the Sixers.
Korver capped Philadelphia's furious fourth-quarter comeback by hitting a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left, tying it at 100-all.
Artest scored 29 points, Jermaine O'Neal had 39 points, and Stephen Jackson 17 for Indiana, which was down to five players by the end of the game because of injuries and foul trouble.
Celtics 91, Bobcats 74
In Boston, Gary Payton had 10 points and Ricky Davis added six in the third quarter as Boston turned a tight game into a runaway victory over Charlotte and extended its winning streak to three games.
Davis scored 19 points, Payton finished with 15 and second-year point guard Marcus Banks added 13.
Eddie House finished with 15 points and Jason Hart added 13 for the expansion Bobcats, who are 0-2 on the road and 1-3 overall.
Knicks 110, Clippers 96
In New York, Stephon Marbury had 21 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter, getting a little extra rest before beginning a tough road trip as New York defeated the Los Angeles Clippers. Jamal Crawford added 19 points, Tim Thomas had 15, Michael Sweetney 14 and Jerome Williams 12 for the Knicks, who reached 100 points with more than eight minutes remaining against the defensively disinterested Clippers.
Corey Maggette shot 10-for-17 and scored 29 points, Chris Wilcox had 21 and Elton Brand 20.
Spurs 93, Heat 84
In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 29 points and San Antonio held longtime nemesis Shaquille O'Neal of Miami scoreless down the stretch.
O'Neal, who had 23 rebounds, scored 12 of his 23 points in the third quarter before getting into foul trouble. His putback with nearly five minutes remaining pulled Miami within 77-76.
The Spurs then seized control with a 13-3 run.
Tony Parker finished with 18 points for the Spurs, and Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds. The victory was the 400th for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
Grizzlies 96, Warriors 67
In Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Memphis beat winless Golden State.
The Warriors (0-6) are off to their worst start since dropping nine straight to open the 1997-98 season. The Warriors had their poor shooting to blame, making only 25 of 91 attempts (27.5 percent).
Hawks 96, Hornets 95
In New Orleans, Antoine Walker scored 27 points and Atlanta earned its first victory of the season by defeating winless New Orleans.
Kenny Anderson and Al Harrington each added 17 to help Atlanta.
SuperSonics 88, Raptors 87
In Seattle, Antonio Daniels' driving 2.5m shot with 7.2 seconds left, lifted Seattle over Toronto.
The Sonics (5-1) won their fifth consecutive game.
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