Pike mentioned, again: http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bull07s.html Other options Paxson is considering to add size and scoring skills to his backcourt are Bobby Sura, Eric Piatkowski and Calbert Cheaney. Stojakovic would love to be a Bull August 7, 2004 BY LACY J. BANKS Staff Reporter Sacramento Kings All-Star Peja Stojakovic told the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday he would love to play for the Bulls, and John Paxson has admitted calling the Kings to inquire about Stojakovic's availability. The main impediment to that courtship heating up is Sacramento ownership has said it has no plans to trade Stojakovic, despite his request to be dealt. And if the Maloof brothers change their minds, the Bulls don't have a lot to offer for the 6-9 forward, who was second in the league in scoring during the regular season at 24.2 points. The latter hurdle becomes even greater for the Bulls because Indiana is said to be offering former Bull Ron Artest, who is the reigning defensive player of the year. ''I love Chicago, and I have a lot of friends there,'' Stojakovic said by phone from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where he is shooting a Reebok commercial that also will feature Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson. ''I also feel the Bulls are a great organization, and I especially like the fact that Scott Skiles is the coach there. He was my coach in Greece when I played for PAOK in 1998. We almost won the championship under him. He's a great man and a great coach.'' Paxson proved he's not afraid to aim high when he and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf visited Kobe Bryant before he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. ''Yes, I called and expressed an interest, but I have not talked with [Kings operations chief] Geoff Petrie yet about it,'' Paxson said. ''So it was a one-sided phone call. Certainly, if a player of his caliber were available and he would be interested in Chicago, we'd obviously owe it to ourselves to take a hard look at it.'' The most sought-after commodities on the Bulls are center Eddy Curry and guard Kirk Hinrich. After losing Vlade Divac to the Lakers, which prompted Stojakovic's displeasure with Sacramento, the Kings need a center. But Artest is a special talent. ''Peja tells me he would love to play in a big city like Chicago with a strong population of Yugoslavians and Greeks,'' said Nick Papaioannou, who writes for Eleftheros Typos, an Athens, Greece, newspaper. ''He is Serbian, and he speaks both languages.'' Artest's salary of $6.5 million this season is compatible with Stojakovic's $6.8 million. Stojakovic has an option to get out of his contract in 2007. ''I've asked for a trade because I think a change of teams would be good for the Kings and me right now,'' Stojakovic said. ''It's nothing against the team, the organization or the city. They all have been good to me. I just think I've done as much as I can do for the Kings, the window of opportunity is closing down, this team needs changes and I would be perhaps the easiest player to trade.'' Other options Paxson is considering to add size and scoring skills to his backcourt are Bobby Sura, Eric Piatkowski and Calbert Cheaney. Meantime, although former New York Knicks teammates Othella Harrington and Frank Williams say they want to play for the Bulls, Paxson must wait until centers Dekembe Mutombo and Cezary Trabanski return from abroad to know if they want to stay and play.
I'm fairly certain the plan is for Spanoulis(sp?) to spend the year overseas. Lue's a free agent at the end of the year- we really need a PG to pan out or we're doing this same dance again next year, this time without even a serviceable PG in tow. Our roster breakdown is as follows- Yao Howard/Taylor/Spoon JJ/Nachbar/Griffin TMac/Pike/Gaines Lue We only have 11 players under contract. I don't see us in a numbers crunch at all. Try and get F. Williams or Duhon as a part of a deal for Mutumbo and then get your Charlie Ward on top of that. We can 1 for 2 (Pike for Deke/PG) and sign a PG (Ward) and be sitting with only 13 contracts. The more options JVG has, the better.
Is there any possibility that we could swing a three-team deal? Something like: Houston trades: SG Pike, SF Griffin & maybe all or part of the TE recieves: C Mutombo & PG A. Daniels Seattle trades: PG A. Daniels recieves: SF Griffin, PG F. Williams Chicago trade: PG F. Williams & C Mutombo recieves: SG Pike & maybe some or all of the TE and maybe a pick
hell no... in that deal Seattle get shafted... not only giving up for good talent for neat zero talent, those two contract would eat more too. GET ZEKE AND A. DANIELS AND THE ROSTER IS COMPLETE FOR THE UP AND COMING SEASON. and if you want you can add B. Sura for a chump change contract and 2 years max... but I'd be happy if we didnt use the MLE...
Last I checked Zeke retired... Dikembe Mutombo career blocked shots: 2996 Hakeem Olajuwon career blocked shots: 3830 The record's safe, bring him in
Exactly how does Seattle get shafted? They were looking for a decent pg, which Williams is, and they need a defensive-minded swing man, which Griffin is. And what are you talking about eating more salary? Daniels makes over $2 mil while both Williams and Griffin make less than $1 mil. Plus, both contracts end at the end of the season. Chicago gets the SG they need on the roster plus cap and/or pick, and Houston fills the holes on their team.
Please no Zeke. 5 years ago - maybe, but he was done 2 years ago. I'd rather that they sign a young guy to a 2-3 mil contract than take on Zeke at 4.5 mil. Please no. How much O does Zeke have - none. How much D does he have left - next to none. He's a liability the moment he steps on the floor. So why would we want him? Don't trade for a guy that once had a name but now has little to nothing left to offer. Please no.
and where do you think we could find a young guy at 2-3million who's 7 foot 2? No D left? If 1.89 Blocks in 23 mins qualifies for no D, then what does? It's not even a multiyear contract. And until we find your mystery young big guy at 2-3million, we have no choice but to sign an available 7 foot 2 vet with experience that could benefit not only our team but Yao individually.
Where are you getting your opinion from? From a place where the sun doesn't shine? Here's the link to his game by game stats from last year. Looks good to me. Mutombo would be the perfect backup center for this team. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dikembe_mutombo/game_by_game_stats.html
Compared to Yao... Mutombo per game: 6.7 rebounds 1.89 blocks 23 minutes Yao per game: 9 rebounds 1.9 blocks 32.8 minutes You are right, sounds like a great backup option this season. Let's get him.
Other options Paxson is considering to add size and scoring skills to his backcourt are Bobby Sura, Eric Piatkowski and Calbert Cheaney. http://www.suntimes.com/output/bulls/cst-spt-bull07s.html
My first thought would be that it might be the David Faulk influence, more than anything else, but I could be wrong. BTW there's nothing wrong with wanting to be traded. The problem is people who sit around, whine and don't honor their contracts because they want to be traded.
Assuming Maurice Taylor will still be here, Mutumbo and MoT sounds like a pretty good second unit of bigs. One's strength is defense while the other offense, so they might balance each other out.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-bull07s.html This is interesting because while Williams, and Harrington say they want to play for the Bulls, Paxon is waiting for Mutombo and Trabanksi's confirmation, it gives the impression that he's already trying to shop them. This coupled with his interest in Piatkowski makes things even more intriguing.
