http://www.suntimes.com/output/bulls/cst-spt-roman24.html Paxson candid on camera May 24, 2003 John Paxson isn't afraid to state the obvious, which is one way he differentiates himself from Jerry Krause. If Krause were asked the day after the NBA lottery if he would consider trading his pick, he would have said, "I don't know.'' Paxson admits he will consider dealing the No. 7 selection, awarded to the Bulls on Thursday in Secaucus, N.J., and his candor has fueled a firestorm of trade rumors that assumes the draft pick is as good as gone. Not so fast. Paxson has identified his offseason goal as acquiring an athletic, defensive-minded small forward, preferably a veteran. And there will be a few to choose from this offseason in free agency. Scottie Pippen and James Posey are two the Bulls will consider very seriously. The Bulls have their $4.5 million exception to use on a free agent, so Paxson doesn't have to make a trade to achieve his goal. But like all general managers, he'll see what's available. The strategy of addition by subtraction makes sense. If Paxson could package the draft pick in a deal that would get rid of Eddie Robinson's contract, which has three years and $18 million remaining, the move could be beneficial. Robinson's disappointing production over the last two seasons is the reason Paxson is searching for another small forward. The problem is that when Robinson was a free agent in 2000, no other team bid for him, so why would any general manager take him now with three years left on a huge contract? And a No. 7 pick probably isn't enough to sweeten the deal. Paxson will have to be creative, but he should be careful. The Bulls' youth, which for a few seasons appeared to be an albatross, is blossoming. Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Jamal Crawford have played their way into the untradeable category, unless a superstar like Kevin Garnett is on the table. And for as much talk as there's been recently, that deal hasn't even been discussed between the clubs. A key player in any trade scenario will be Marcus Fizer, who is too valuable to discard easily. Fizer emerged as one of the top three sixth men in the league before tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament Jan. 31. He was cleared to start running Wednesday, and he should be ready for training camp in October. Jay Williams is a trade commodity only because of Crawford's drastic improvement over the second half of the season. Several teams, including the Pacers, are still very high on Williams, but Indiana's most likely offer would be Ron Artest, and the Bulls aren't interested. The key to the Bulls is no different than it was before the lottery: the continued development of Curry, Chandler and Crawford. If they continue to improve and Jalen Rose accepts a lesser role offensively and a greater role defensively, then the addition of Pippen or Posey will have the Bulls in the playoffs. Krause built this team to contend for a conference title in the 2004-05 season, and the Bulls may be able to keep that schedule. And for all of the talk about how this draft is three players deep, consider reigning rookie of the year Amare Stoudemire lasted until the ninth pick and helped lead Phoenix to the playoffs. Stoudemire, who jumped to the NBA straight out of high school, was considered such a risk that only four teams gave him a pre-draft workout. And the Bulls weren't among them. The No. 7 pick could add an impact player, or it could add depth, or it could be valuable trade bait. It's too early in the process for Paxson to know, but it's not too early to offer advice.
The Bulls will be under the cap, but not by much. So the question has to be: Can the Bulls offer him what we can? Also, if Posey is serious about wanting to win, what team does he have a better chance with? I think the Rockets win on both fronts.
WOW! Someone actually wants Posey?!?!?! What happened to Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose? Posey shoud be loyal and stick with us. I hope he does...unless Nachbar is the next Toni Kukoc or Peja Stojakovic.
I am pretty sure that Bulls are OVER THE CAP. They already have 9 players' salaries guaranteed next season at 42m. Read the article again: Bulls cannot offer more than MLE. We have Posey's bird right, we can easily match any MLE. And I doubt any team with real cap room (i.e. the likes of Spurs and Denver) would covet Posey over the likes of Kidd, JO, Brand, Arenas, Odom etc etc. So there is absolutely no worry of losing Posey. The key is NOT to overpay him. Offer/match him a MLE with length of 4-5 years at most. We can't repeat the same overpaying talent mistake over and over again.
Yeah. Well we also have 50m committed next season, and that's not counting the amount of money resigning Posey and Morris (do we resign him?) and possible use of MLE. Consider this: Detroit won 50 games for 2 straight years and made the ECF this year with a total payroll of 44m and only had 36m guaranteed next season. Spurs won it all this year with a total payroll of 53m and only had about 23m guaranteed next season.
Next year, the cap is projected to fall around $47 MIL (per RealGM.com and other pubs that I have read). The Bulls salary figure for next year is actually $43 MIL (not $42 MIL). Conclusion: Based on preliminary #s, the Bulls look to be UNDER the cap. There is still a worry about losing Posey. There are other teams that will be interested in him, other than the Bulls.
Rockets are over the cap. We already knew that it was pathetic girl. Mo Taylor. Kelvin Cato. Moochie Norris. Glen Rice. We know. And now next season...Steve Francis too. We are in the West and we have more talent than the Bulls. THE BULLS.......ALL THEY HAVE ARE ROOKIES AND SOPHOMORES ON ROOKIE CONTRACTS...and a few vets....and they are over the cap. And they suck. That's pathetic. But it will take time........they will be a good team in a few years...even better with KG.
I wouldn't be suprised if the Rockets don't match a MCE offer to Posey. They are already at the luxury tax threshold with Francis' big raise kicking in (if there is a luxury tax next year), and $4.5 million would put them over the threshold. Also, they have Boki waiting in the wings. Of course, with a new coach coming in, who knows whether he would want to go with Boki or with Posey.
But we own Posey's bird rights. We can give him the max if we want regardless of our cap situation. Of course we would have to be nuts to offer Posey the max I was one of Posey's harshest critics last season but I think I would keep him if the cost was not too high. He might be the most athletic small forward in the league, plus he was pretty damn good in the last month of the season.
Posey was a midseason aquisition asked to make the transition from being THE star to being a role player. He brings solid defence and can put up 20+ points when we need him to. SF have always gotten lost in Rudy's system unless they were dead eye three point shooters. I say keep him and pray the next coach will use him. He can play at SG as well, which gives us depth. We didn't get a chance to see him play all out this year because he, like us, had no idea what the team was trying to do out there. He needs to be signed, not for max but he needs to be signed.
Posey is worth the MCE, but please, and I say please emphatically, don't be pushovers and sign him to a 5-7 year deal. It's not the amount that the Rockets have been signing the Moochie's, Taylor's, and Cato's to that have got them in trouble but the length.
GOD. I'll do it with you. That would be the dumbest thing in hell. We could get Steve Smith or Eddie House or Walt Williams instead! I hope Posey just wants about 2.5 million.
The problem is that Paxson is talking about the Bulls using their 4.5 exception...something a team gets only if it is over the cap.
