(surely Bryan Colangelo is aware that Andrea Bargnani will require a bigger jersey?)
After a night of ping pong in which the Toronto Raptors’ long term prospects look awfully rosey (no. 1 overall selection in ’06, tons of cap room, etc.), Bulls GM John Paxson revealed himself to be a master of sarcasm. From the New York Times’ Howard Beck.
Asked by the ESPN anchor Dan Patrick, who emceed the lottery, whether he would trade the pick to get Eddy Curry back, Paxson said, “We’re happy to be here, so I’m not touching that one.”
The Knicks have been criticized for not placing conditions on, or “protecting,” the first-round pick in case it ended up high in the draft. Teams rarely trade first-round picks without some sort of lottery protection.
But Paxson confirmed what the Knicks had been quietly saying ” that the Bulls would not accept any conditions. “It would have been a deal breaker,” Paxson said.
He declined to say whether Curry would one day validate the Knicks’ decision but said, “Eddy’s a very good basketball player, a very good center in this league, and I’m sure that over time the Knicks will be very happy.”