Curry considering Hawks

[Kori Ellis]

Associated Press


ATLANTA -- Eddy Curry thinks he could be wearing an Atlanta Hawks uniform next season.

The Chicago Bulls center, a restricted free agent, visited the Hawks' facility on Thursday. An irregular heartbeat caused Curry to miss the final 13 games of the regular season and the playoffs.

"I realize that it's a chance I might not be in Chicago," Curry said. "I'm definitely open to come to the Hawks."

Curry, who averaged a career-best 16.1 points last season, worked out for the Bulls last week. He didn't work out with the Hawks but toured the arena and went to a music video shoot. :lol

After watching the end of the Hawks' summer league practice, Curry met with Josh Smith, Josh Childress and first-round draft choice Marvin Williams.

[Sense]

I think the Hawks are actually getting better, if he becomes a Hawk, they can become a dangerous team.

[strangeweather]

I think the Hawks are actually getting better, if he becomes a Hawk, they can become a dangerous team.

Remind me -- do they have anyone who can play the 1 or the 4 yet?

[TDMVPDPOY]

Its all about the money now for curry in a hurry.

Wouldnt make a difference to the hawks, they be at the lottery next season again. Should keep that low payrole and give out team offers to free agents so other teams have to beat the offer, example like that suns with JJ deal, now the suns will have to break the bank with 4 max contracts.

[ALVAREZ6]

The Hawks suck.

They are really athletic, but they aren't making the play-offs.

Josh Smith is a 100% dunker, Childress hasn't really developed, and I think Marvin Williams isn't going to be that great in the NBA. In other words, they still suck.

[lordswing]

Remind me -- do they have anyone who can play the 1 or the 4 yet?

The 4 isn't a big problem when you can switch guys like Al, Marvin and Smith around. The biggest concerns for the Hawks are at the 1 and 5, which if they can get Curry addresses that problem. And as I said before, you don't need to be Kidd to get the ball down to the Joshes or Al or Marvin. *shrugs*

[ALVAREZ6]

And as I said before, you don't need to be Kidd to get the ball down to the Joshes or Al or Marvin. *shrugs*
Then what happens when they do get the ball???


Nothin much.

[Sense]

Remind me -- do they have anyone who can play the 1 or the 4 yet?

They drafted a 4...

They got Lue..? :lol

[Kori Ellis]

Signing day approaching, but Curry still in limbo
July 17, 2005
BY LACY J. BANKS SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

http://www.suntimes.com/output/banks/cst-spt-banx17.html

Friday will be a happy day for a growing number of NBA free agents because that's the day the new collective-bargaining agreement goes into effect and veteran free agents can start signing their new contracts.

So far, the biggest winners in the free-agent sweepstakes are Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd, who got an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers before deciding to re-sign with the Bucks for six years and $94 million; and All-Star Ray Allen, who re-signed with the Seattle SuperSonics for five years and $85 million.

Washington Wizards guard Larry Hughes agreed to join the Cavaliers for five years and $60 million, center Zydrunas Ilgauskas re-upped with the Cavaliers for six years and $60 million and Los Angeles Clippers forward Bobby Simmons is switching to the Bucks for five years and $47 million.

Meanwhile, center Eddy Curry and forward Tyson Chandler, the Bulls' top two restricted free agents, remain available, even though operations chief John Paxson has said he will match any offers made by other teams.

Other top free agents still available entering the weekend were Phoenix Suns guard Joe Johnson, Boston Celtics forward Antoine Walker, Portland Trail Blazers forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert.

The Bulls are taking the conservative approach and letting the market dictate the values of Curry, Chandler and guards Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo. Because players are worth only as much as teams are willing to pay, the Bulls are taking the smart business approach of refusing to bid against themselves.

At the same time, Curry is being politically correct. He is not just whispering sweet nothings into the ears of Atlanta Hawks general manager Billy Knight, with whom he met Thursday; he is telling the world he loves Atlanta, thinks the Hawks have a good core to build with and would not mind being a part of the team.

''That's the whole business part,'' Curry told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ''The Hawks are taking a gamble on whoever they bring in, and you're taking a gamble when you go somewhere else. The Bulls have to handle their business [and] do what they have to do. Hopefully, when it's all said and done, they make the right decision.''

Curry is happy a team other than the Bulls has expressed interest in his services. It's leverage he can use to get a better offer. The Cavaliers were interested in Curry before new general manager Danny Ferry convinced owner Dan Gilbert to let him re-sign Ilgauskas.

Health issues still dog Curry, who was sidelined by an irregular heartbeat for three months. But a source close to the Hawks told me that if Curry passes their physical examinations, the team would have no trouble offering Curry his fair market value, which is close to $10 million per year.

Some fear that Trustmark, the Lake Forest insurance company that underwrites NBA players' contracts, will not indemnify Curry's heart. But a disability counselor for Trustmark, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told me the company won't just consider the documentation that doctors will provide giving Curry medical clearance to play. The counselor said Trustmark also has the option of having its own doctors examine Curry if the company has doubts about the condition of a particular body part.

''Nobody should presume anything until we study the issue and make our own decision,'' the counselor said.

[Dre_7]

Well, if they get Curry and Joe Johnson they may be in the playoff hunt. Still hard to see them do anything though. I mean its the Hawks.

[MI21]

2005-2006 Atlanta Hawks = 2001-2002 Los Angeles Clippers.

Exciting to watch on offense though.

[Kori Ellis]

Curry stays optimistic after insurance snag

By Marlen Garcia
Tribune staff reporter

July 31, 2005

The only certainty for Eddy Curry is his pending marriage. The Bulls' restricted free agent will marry Patrice Coye in Mexico on Aug. 20.

Maybe by then his contract will be in order. At the moment, that's a pretty big maybe.

While making a scheduled appearance at a children's track meet on the Northwest Side on Saturday, Curry shed no light on his contract negotiations with the Bulls and expressed frustration over the ongoing saga of not having disability insurance to cover his heart condition. But he remains confident the insurance matters will be resolved.

"I'm going to get insurance," Curry said. "I don't see why not."

In June, Curry had been buoyed by news from a leading cardiologist who cleared him to resume workouts despite an irregular heartbeat. Specialists consulted by the Bulls had wanted Curry to undergo DNA testing for a more definitive analysis.

The lingering questions led the NBA's insurance carrier to exclude his heart issues from coverage and caught Curry by surprise.

"I definitely had no idea insurance was going to be an issue," Curry said.

Clearly, it would bother Curry to play without total insurance coverage.

"Hopefully it won't come down to that," he said. "I think everyone that plays wants to have comfort in case something tragically goes wrong."

His agent is attempting to secure a policy for Curry.

Philadelphia big man Samuel Dalembert recently set the bar for Tyson Chandler, another Bulls' restricted free agent, when he accepted a six-year deal worth more than $60 million. Not long ago, Curry was believed to be in line for a similar long-term deal.

It's possible--if not probable--Curry will be offered a short-term deal. Although he visited the Atlanta Hawks earlier this month, they appear in no hurry to make an offer. Asked if he was prepared to accept a short-term contract, Curry hedged his response.

"You've got to talk to my agent," Curry said. Attempts to reach his agent, Leon Rose, have been unsuccessful.

Curry, who said he has no scheduled visits with other teams, has spent most of July working out with Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's former trainer. He said he continues to drill and lift weights without incident but will not compete full-court until he signs a contract, heeding Grover's advice.

[angel_luv]

I'm all for Curry going to Atlanta. They need a center not named Rasho. Besides, maybe Curry can spice things up down there.


:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[T Park]

Interesting.

Dalembert getting 10 million a year is a joke.

If I was Atlanta, youve got Eddy Curry, who rebounds worse than Nesterovic, but scores at a better clip.

But is mediocre defensively.

If I was Atlanta, I would go with the more reliable, defensive center.

Hell Nesterovic has a better jumpshot as well.


Do it Atlanta, Childress for Rasho!! :)

[tsb2000]

If I was Curry, I would look long and hard at the Hawks. They're about to get a whole lot better.

[angel_luv]

everyone thinks they real funny with spice/curry jokes huh?


:lol get newer jokes peoples


Awwwwwwww come on. Let me have that one! = )

[Guru of Nothing]

If I was Curry, I would look long and hard at the Hawks. They're about to get a whole lot better.


Nope. The Hawks had every opportunity in the world to get better, and they totally F*ed it up.

The Hawks will continue to suck; if they sign Eddy Curry, they will suck even more.

[T Park]

If the Hawks get Nesterovic they will win prob 35 39 games.

If they get Curry 25 to 30.

Tops.

Curry = Sam Bowie.

[tsb2000]

Even with Joe Johnson? I think adding him alone made them a .500 team. Add Childress, Curry, Salim Stoudemire, Williams, and Josh Smith, and that's a team that could do something in the East, IMO.

[Walton Buys Off Me]

I love how zeros like Eddy Curry say that they're 'considering' certain teams as if he's been contacted by so many squads who are just dying for the services of an overweight, underachieving bag-o-shit with a heart condition to boot.

Memo to Eddy- if you retired tomorrow, people would forget about your sorry ass within 48 hours. Maybe you should 'consider' that.

It's weird because if you watch Eddy Curry play basketball, you'd swear he had no heart whatsoever.......

[Kori Ellis]

Priorities?
Aug 5 - The Chicago Sun-Times reports that while the Hawks did not go the Eddy Curry route due to concerns about the center's health, the team was also disturbed that Curry and his fiancee cut their visit to Atlanta short in order to return to Chicago for a friend's baby shower. The Hawks were hoping Curry would stay two days, talk more with management and perhaps undergo a physical.

The only offer he has on the table is the Bulls' one-year, $5.2 million qualifying offer.

[Spurodamus]

http://members.aol.com/blackrose3000/images/negrodamus.jpg

Eddy Curry makes Rasho Nesterovic look like Bill Russell.