I cant beleive the "curry era" ended like, after all those years we went through praying that he'd pan out.  I hope we at least got a #1.  This could be for the best, since now we can get players who will hit the boards, and play skiles type "D".  Sweetney (Ebrand lite?) will be a tough player who could team up with nocioni and Duhon for no nonsene typle play.  (yes, i know y'all hate duhon, but cmon, he's not that bad).   One question, where do the points down low come from now, songalia?  

I'm just not happy with this trade. It's sad. Sets the Bulls back

Curry and Davis for Thomas and Sweetney? I think they're being WAY too paranoid about this heart condition if that's what they're willing to settle for.

I really didn't think that a trade would happen.  And I really didn't think that Pax could come out looking no smarter than Isiah.  But that seems to be what occurred. (Pax looks ethic, of course, but not so hot from a bottom-line perspective.) Tim Thomas is worthless and overpaid, Michael Sweetney has some promise but doesn't play D, and Jermaine Jackson-- what the **?  A lousy SG? He's probably going to be waived.  Plus, I think if the Bulls do get a 1st round draft pick it'll have to be the 1st rounder from the Spurs (for Nazr), which means it'll be a late, late 1st rounder.

I had been hoping for at least Trevor Ariza if the trade did go through. Effectively, it was Curry and AD for Sweetney and a pick-- not exactly great value. Who'll play center for us now?

Of course, we have to remember that Curry might not be able to play at all. Also, with a big, guaranteed contract he has little incentive to stay in top shape. Nonetheless, with only the available information it's hard to feel very good about all of this.

Feh.

hopefully they extracted lee / ariza and some picks...  tough situation all around.

I was stunned too. I didn't expect Pax to pull the trigger unless Lee/Ariza was involved. That AD was included really disappointed me as well. One of my biggest fears was always that the Bulls would give up on Curry too soon and that he'd realize his potential elsewhere.

I can't say Pax didn't make the right move. Eddy and his camp pretty much left him no choice. If Eddy can't/won't get his shit together playing for Larry Brown, he's pretty much a lost cause.

While Tim Thomas doesn't seem like he fits the mold of guy that Pax and Skiles are looking for, he definitely gives us some depth. I don't know how the rotation is gonna look though. Will Thomas or Deng see time at SG? And who's going to play center? Allen? Harrington? Sweetney? Chandler? (Where's Drago Pasalic when you need him? Ha!)

This season will definitely be interesting.

What's he going to write about now that Curry has been traded? Most of his material came from whimsical trade scenarios involving Eddy.

(And it seems like Sam is also under the mistaken impression that Sweetney's contract is up after this season.)

Interesting that the Knicks are going to release Davis.  The original offer was Sweetney and Thomas for Curry...the only additional thing we got in the deal so far was for the Knicks to pay Davis' salary for the year (yippee, I'm so happy that Reinsdorf gets to pocket $14M).  I think the Bulls didn't want to pay Tim Thomas $14M this year, so this was the roundabout way of getting the Knicks to pay that.  I'm very interested to see how well we did with the picks.

I'm just surprised that Paxson didn't get one of the two young guys he wanted.  Oh well, Ariza is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year anyway, so we can get him then if we really want him....And just a couple of months ago, 29 teams passed on David Lee for some reason.  Sure, lots of good players have slipped that far in the draft, but we shouldn't lose too much sleep over not getting him at this point.

Let's look at the positives, Sweetney will provide scoring in the post, and he and Chandler should dominate on the boards. Sweetney and Curry both averaged 5.4 rebounds per game, but Sweetney did it in less than 20 minutes per game, compared to Curry's 29. In addition, with Sweetney's low cap figure next year ($2.7), the Bulls will have an additional $6-7M to spend next offseason, as compared to giving Curry the $10M per year he was looking for.  In that sense, this trade won't really be completed until next offseason, when we sign someone else with Curry's cap money.

One other thought...Paxson got Songaila to sign with the Bulls for less money than elsewhere because he sold him on the idea that the Bulls are a talented, hard-working team built up of guys that haven't had things given to them.  I'm not sure Curry fits that mold.  He was unappreciative when Pax sent him and his family and friends on private jets all over the country for his heart testing...he completely dissed the Hawks on his visit there.  For some reason, Curry always seems to think that he's owed more.  I'm not sure a long term investment in him would've been wise.

Are there enough basketballs to go around to keep Curry, Crawford, Richardson and Marbury happy???  If David Lee can rebound, he's going to be one busy guy.      

His only hunger is for food, after all.

Bulls can hold their head up high no matter how things pan out.  They were in a horrendous situation but stuck to what they believed was the right/moral ground.

We'll get improvement from all our other guys, and really, the last player who whined constantly and didn't work hard has left the team.  Jamal-Erob-Jalen-Curry, etc.  All gone.  No more headache of watching someone who clearly doesn't love the game or wants to give it his all.

The future may be even brighter now.  Plus, who knows, maybe we'll grab Peja next summer if we need some more scoring.  Maybe Nene?  Both?  We'll have even more cap space and a good situation to attract the best FA has to offer.

Well, that's my happy speech for tonight--
Go Bulls!

Isaiah must be braindead if he thinks Larry Brown can coach Starbury, Q-Rich, Crawford, Curry and Jerome Frickin James to win ANY games at all.  There is no defense on that team at all, and the only one who can (or is willing to) rebound is James.  And the only reason he looks good is because of the playoffs last year.  Thomas has done a bang-up job of screwing the Knicks for years to come, and you can't help but think Paxson was willing to take the risk rather than making the mistake of singing Curry long-term.

applies here in all kinds of different ways.  Before I get to that though, I'd just like to say that the Gordon/Deng/Duhon/Nocioni draft/offseason more than made up for the mediocre drafts that proceeded it, IMHO.
From where I'm looking, the two biggest issues here are going to take a while to pan out.  First, there's no telling how good this trade is until A) we find out what draft picks we got (S-T says first and second; trib says first and 2 seconds) as well as where those picks end up in the draft.  Somebody mentioned previously that we might get the Spurs' pick but I thought that was from that last draft (hence David Lee getting picked 30th).  If we get three picks, this trade is a coup as long as Pax follows it up with his eye for talent.  Two picks would still be good as long as one is mid-first; B) the New York effect needs to play out with Eddy.  If Eddy's anything, it's petulant to a fault.  That's what doomed him in Chicago and, chances are, that is what will crush him in New York.  Give them three months of lackadaizical effort at 7-10 million per (not to mention the entirety of next year's draft class) and The Apple's gonna get all 'Deliverance' on his ass.  This is where the Ewing theory applies.  I think NYknicks might have actually been better without Eddy just like they were without Ewing.  I'm very interested to see how Eddy holds up.
My major immediate concerns are what effect Tim Thomas' horrible, HORRIBLE attitude will have on this team (See, Eddie Robinson on Acid) and whether or not we can get A.D. back.  He's been pretty important to us outside of his ordinary on-court contributions.  Hopefully we do get him back, as has been reported.  Eddy will be a loss offensively but this was a move that HAD to be made.
Oh yeah, and Larry Brown's health is about to be seriously tested (James, Curry, Q, Marbury and Crawford? ouch.).

If I'm not mistaken, Thomas is in the last year of his contract.  Therefore, instead of risking a bad attitude in the locker room we can shuttle his expiring contract to someone who could have a use for him, for picks, or anything really.  Or we could have skiles make his life hell, take his 12 ppg, and get him out of here after the season.  We all know that expiring contracts are gold to GM's, so that could be our way out of an E-rob flashback.  

Or does the idea of a Chandler/Sweetney front line sound pretty good? Especially in the East, where outside of Miami (and maybe Detroit) who has a better 4/5 combo? Along with the other improving parts on the Bulls I think this is not a bad move at all for you guys, particularly in the face of the Curry situation.

You live with Thomas for a year unless a good deal comes up and keep building with good young players. You need some help at the two, but frankly that is one of the deeper positions in the league so, over time, you can get someone.

... and I'm feeling a lot better. A lot will depend on which draft picks we get, but regardless I've made my peace with the idea that Eddy didn't want to play for us and that we had to get something for him. Sure, I would have loved for Eddy's health and attitude to have rebounded and for him to have been a very good Bull for years. But it just wasn't going to happen.  That's finally sinking in.

Matt, a side note:
Twice now I have made posts to this board (one on this thread, one on the thread about anti-blogging attitudes in the media) and had them show up on the board but then disappear shortly thereafter. I don't think that I wrote anything objectionable that would have warranted censorship, so I'm wondering if there's some sort of technical glitch with this new site? I'm sure that I hit "post" instead of just preview... Anyone else had this problem?

i thought this was kinda funny off espn.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2180298

While Curry is undoubtedly talented, his heart problems are enough of a risk that insurers run screaming in the other direction, and his sloppy conditioning and work habits should make him and James fast friends. Or fast-food friends, anyway.

In addition, New York conveys to Chicago, New York's 2006 regular first round draft choice on condition that the pick does not actually go to Utah (due to not being number 26-30) and also on condition that New York receives San Antonio's 2006 regular first round selection (due to being number 11-30). If New York's 2006 first round does go to Utah (due to being number 26-30), and New York does receive San Antonio's 2006 first round pick (due to being number 11-30), New York conveys to Chicago that San Antonio first round selection.

In addition, New York also conveys to Chicago the right to switch first round draft picks with New York in 2007 provided that New York's first round selection does not go to Utah (is not number 25-30).

from:
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/curry_traded_051004.html

I think I've made my piece with this trade too.  There's a lot to shake out but we have a young front line that has talent.  Another certainty that I'm taking solace in is the nightmare that is Larry Brown's next nine months.  Throw in Trishelle and Johnny Fairplay and your one Cuervo shot away from the most scandalous reality entertainment this side of "The Surreal Life".  Even without Double T. Thomas, their line-up reads like a Who's-Who of malcontent, under-achieving, self-serving wannabe's.  Detroit will seem like a long lost dream to L.B.. ...just wait until the first time Lebron rolls into town and drops a Quad-Triple on the Garden.  
As for us, I think we'll weather the storm.  This year could be a little dicey but three draft picks is nothing to scoff at, especially with Paxson's track record (albeit an abbreviated one).  20 million to spend and two firsts next year?  I'll take it.  
Watch Utah get the pick next year and us get to swap a 20-something 2007 first for the #1 2007 rights to..... ..Greg Oden.  
At any rate, enough day dreaming.  Let's kick some Eastern Conference ass!