Is a Bulls blockbuster coming?
By Mike McGraw Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Tracy McGrady reportedly is headed to Houston. Shaquille O'Neal has demanded a trade.
This has been a predraft period when NBA stars seem to be on the move, and the carousel could make a stop in Chicago.
The Bulls and the Boston Celtics have discussed a trade that would send three-time all-star Paul Pierce to the Bulls for Tyson Chandler, the No. 3 pick in Thursday's NBA draft and another player to even out salaries, according to a source close to the Bulls.
If such a trade occurs, Scottie Pippen, Eddie Robinson and Jerome Williams would all work as the additional player. One theory has Boston eyeing Connecticut guard Ben Gordon with the third pick.
Neither Bulls general manager John Paxson nor Boston GM Danny Ainge returned calls requesting comment.
Late last season, Paxson suggested he needed to do something major this summer to jump-start the Bulls' rebuilding project.
Already a proven star, the 6-foot-6 Pierce should be heading into his prime as a player. He turns 27 on Oct. 13.
In six NBA seasons, Pierce has averaged 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists, while shooting 43.2 percent. The Celtics have made the playoffs three years running with Pierce as their leading scorer.
Without Antoine Walker as a teammate last year, however, Pierce shot a career low from the field (40.2 percent) and from 3-point range (29.9 percent).
A story in Tuesday's Boston Globe suggested that Pierce might be on the trading block. Ainge already has made unpopular trades that sent three starters - Walker, Tony Battie and Eric Williams - out of town.
"Paul is huge. He's our best player. He's the greatest asset our franchise has," Ainge said in the Globe. "He's not untradable. There's no such thing. I would be asking about Paul Pierce. He's worth the money. He fits the criteria everyone is looking for."
One potential problem could be salary. The Bulls have been cost-conscious since the NBA's luxury tax took effect last year, and Pierce is scheduled to make $11.3 million next season. He has $69 million left on his contract over the next five years.
If the Bulls traded Chandler, it would leave them thin in the power-forward department and there aren't many suitable players available in free agency this summer.
The top of the list would include Memphis' Stromile Swift, Phoenix's Antonio McDyess, Boston's Chris Mihm, Washington's Etan Thomas, Adonal Foyle and Brian Cardinal from Golden State. Swift, Mihm and Thomas are restricted free agents. New Jersey's Kenyon Martin and Detroit's Rasheed Wallace figure to be out of the Bulls' price range.
Another rumor that surfaced Tuesday raised an intriguing possibility for the Bulls. Several news outlets claimed that Indiana is willing to trade defensive player of the year and former Bull Ron Artest.
Pacers president Donnie Walsh told the New York Times, "People are calling us about Ron, but we're not shopping him."
Artest has a volatile history, and that reputation was resurrected late in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals when he was assessed a costly flagrant foul for hitting Detroit's Richard Hamilton in the face with a forearm.
Paxson had nothing to do with the seven-player trade that sent Artest to Indiana in February 2002, and he still admires the 6-7 small forward as a player.
The Bulls have been reluctant to trade the No. 3 pick for Pacers forward Al Harrington, unless Indiana throws in some extra incentive. Artest for the No. 3 pick could be more equitable in the Bulls' eyes, but league sources reported no evidence of serious discussions between the Bulls and the Pacers on Tuesday afternoon.
