AP - The Bulls agreed to trade center Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks on Monday, ending a contentious negotiation in which Chicago insisted the restricted free agent take a DNA test over a heart problem.
Chicago also sent veteran center Antonio Davis to the Knicks, who traded away forwards Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney and Jermaine Jackson. Several draft choices also changed hands in the deal, according to an executive in the Eastern Conference who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The trade was expected to be finalized Tuesday.
In making the announcement, an obviously frustrated Bulls general manager John Paxson did not specify what Chicago got in return and did not field questions.
"We will have an announcement tomorrow morning," Bulls public relations director Sebrina Brewster said Monday night. "All we can say right now is we traded Eddy to the Knicks."
Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said the team declined comment on Paxson's announcement.
bulls.com - Bulls GM John Paxson announced that the team has traded center Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks . Details of the trade will be posted as soon as they become available. “From a basketball standpoint, I understand what I'm doing," said Paxson. "But I have an obligation to this organization and the people I work for to do the right thing. And I did the right thing."
John Paxson Discusses the Eddy Curry Trade
John Paxson and Eddy Curry at an April press conference Paxson and the Bulls had offered Curry $400,000 annually for the next 50 years, guaranteed even if he failed the genetic test.
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October 3, 2005 – Below are comments from Bulls' Executive Vice President-Basketball Operations John Paxson, speaking from the Berto Center at the team's Media Day and discussing a trade that sent Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks.
An official release will be made by the team either late Monday or Tuesday.
“This has been about as uncomfortable and unusual a situation I could ever imagine. We've attempted from day one to do the right thing, and I'm absolutely confident that we have in every way we went about it. And in a lot of ways we've met resistance in trying to gather all the information we feel we need.”
On Curry’s refusal to undergo the genetic testing:
“I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn't do everything in my power to find out all the information that was available to us. You can debate genetic testing ‘til you're blue in the face. But from what I know, from what I've learned over the last six months, that test could have helped us determine the best course of action.”
On offering Curry a deal where he would have received $400,000 annually for 50 years:
“He would have an above-average lifestyle that would put him in a position that most other people aren't in. Our intention through that whole process was to show him that we did care about him and that we were concerned about his well-being.”
On the players received, to be announced:
“From a basketball standpoint, I understand what I'm doing. But I have an obligation to this organization and the people I work for to do the right thing. And I did the right thing. That's all I've got to say.”
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