http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bulls.asp
Has it come to Curry becoming a guinea pig?
By Mike McGraw
Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted Thursday, September 29, 2005
Analysis
It all started one night in Charlotte. Bulls center Eddy Curry returned to
the locker room following early warmups on March 30 and began to feel light-
headed or dizzy.
The irregular heartbeat Curry experienced that night spoiled his chance to
join the Bulls in the playoffs, postponed his quest for a lucrative long-term
contract, and may eventually cause him to sever ties with his hometown team.
One thing Curry doesn’t need on top of all this is to become the test
case for employee rights across America. Heck, the guy just wants to play
basketball.
Last week, however, there were signs that a fight was about to erupt. Bulls
general manager John Paxson voiced the team’s desire that Curry submit to
genetic testing before being allowed to practice.
Curry’s attorney, Alan Milstein, responded with a flat-out refusal, stating
in part that Curry would never set a precedent for any NBA player or any
employee by agreeing to the DNA test.
While Curry’s camp tries to make a point, there clearly is difference
between an employer seeking a DNA test as a condition of employment and an
employer pushing for a test recommended by a respected cardiologist because
it could help save Curry’s life.
It’s easy to see both sides of this issue. Morbid as it sounds, the Bulls
do not want to watch Curry die on the basketball court. Of course, the Bulls
are also protecting themselves against any liability if Curry’s health goes
bad.
Other doctors, however, have raised questions about the DNA test’s
effectiveness. At best, it would show if he’s at risk for hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy, a potentially lethal disorder when coupled with arrhythmia.
If he takes the test, depending on how the results were interpreted, Curry’s
basketball career could end, perhaps without sufficient cause.
Arbitration likely
This case appears headed toward arbitration, and Bulls fans can only hope it
is resolved quickly. If an arbitrator rules that Curry does not have to take
the test, the Bulls could appeal the ruling before a three-person panel. They
also could let the issue drop and allow Curry to begin practicing with the
team, knowing they did what they could to ensure Curry’s health.
An arbitrator could also rule the Bulls have a right to demand the test. The
NBA’s standard player contract has a section on physical exams with no limits
whatsoever. It simply reads that a player must “submit to all examinations and
tests requested of him.”
If the Bulls get the OK to demand the test, here is one possible compromise:
Curry agrees to take the blood test and has the results explained to him by a
doctor but keeps the information private. Then Curry can tell the Bulls
whether or not he wants to continue his NBA career. In this scenario, the Bulls
have done everything in their power to make sure Curry is aware of the risks he
faces.
There is some fallout from the Bulls’ testing demand. According to a team
source, some Bulls players and officials who have reached out to Curry and
invited him to visit the Berto Center have not met with success. He appears
alienated from his team and an absence during training camp could intensify the
awkward feelings.
The money at stake
The DNA debate obscures the fact that the Bulls made a generous contract
offer to Curry. They are willing to guarantee at least $19 million, with an
opportunity for the contract to grow beyond $50 million if incentives are met
.
That guaranteed money would be spread over 40 years if Curry is forced to
retire because of a heart condition. If Curry is confident that his heart is
healthy, then deferred money shouldn’t be a concern.
While it may be fashionable to criticize Curry’s value as a player, most
of those arguments are out of date. The facts are Curry was the Bulls’ top
scorer at 16.1 points last season, and he shot 53.8 percent from the field.
Every team in the league sends double-teams when Curry gets the ball, which
helps open the floor for everyone else. His defense improved significantly
last season and the Bulls outrebounded their opponent in 37 of 63 games he
played.
Coach Scott Skiles hasn’t always been a Curry fan, but the Bulls clearly
missed his size and ability to ignite the offense in the playoffs.
If Curry plays for the one-year qualifying offer of $5.14 million this
season, that’s far from an ideal scenario for him. He would become an
unrestricted free agent next summer, but only the Bulls, Atlanta, Charlotte and
New Orleans/Oklahoma City figure to have enough salary-cap room to make an
offer beyond the midlevel exception.
There will also be more big men on the market next year, including Ben
Wallace, Joel Przybilla, Lorenzen Wright, Kelvin Cato, Nazr Mohammed, Al
Harrington and Vladimir Radmanovic. Curry will have competition for a new home.
Don’t expect a trade
The chances of Curry being traded before the season begins are closer to
none than to slim. If Curry’s new contract is worth anything more than $4.68
million (a 20 percent raise) this season, he would be subject to base-year
compensation rules. Essentially, that means more players would have to be
included to make a deal fit under salary-cap rules, and the Bulls aren’t about
to mess with their successful chemistry.
If Curry accepts the qualifying offer, he could be traded with his
permission this season, but not until three months after the deal is signed.
Base-year compensation rules would still apply and Curry’s new team would not
get Larry Bird Rights. That means even if Curry was traded to, say, New York
after Jan. 1, the Knicks could not offer him more than the midlevel exception
next summer.
While there are plenty of losing propositions that could play out in Curry
’s future, Milstein made a good point when he said Curry had one episode of
arrhythmia and no doctor has stepped forward to say Curry should retire from
basketball because of his heart.
There are no close similarities between Curry’s situation and the deaths
of Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis in the 1990s. At least not yet. And that’s
what makes Curry’s dilemma so perplexing.
--
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作者: ruokku () 看板: ChicagoBulls
標題: Re: [情報] Has it come to Curry becoming a gui …
時間: Fri Sep 30 18:27:56 2005
這篇文章寫的很中肯，
還滿推薦大家看一下:)
至少比Sam Smith的異想世界好XD
其中有說到如果Curry接受qualifying offer的話
明年雖然成為UFA
不過明年有足夠薪資空間（大於中產階級）的球隊
除了公牛隊以外，目前看來也僅止於山貓，黃蜂，老鷹
而之前說到公牛提出的續約內容為19M~26M左右，
不過如果心臟無礙，
連同激勵條款預計超過50M（不過不知道是5年還6年@@）
所以很顯然的這樣的價碼尚且不能吸引或是說服Curry
因此明年Curry除了和上述幾支有足夠薪資空間的球隊，爭取更好的價碼外，
唯一的可能就是和公牛隊先簽後換，
但如果Curry簽下qualifying offer
要進行先簽後換，必須在此三個月後，
然而換到他的球隊，在明年的暑假根據BYC(Base-year compensation)
並不具有大鳥條款可以運用，
(對了，補充一下，其實我也不是很清楚
根據舊版的CBA規定，如果球員簽下QO
則球隊該年似乎不得交易他?!)
所以如果要先簽後換，最快也是到明年暑假才比較有可能，
但不管怎麼樣，現在的Curry是進退維谷，
公牛隊還是掌握了整體的優勢
--
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※ 編輯: ruokku 來自: 219.91.17.193 (09/30 22:19)