Crawford to Knicks

[VivaNajera]

Just saw on NBATV that Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams have been sent to the Knicks for Mutumbo, Moochie Norris and cash

[Finley4ever]

This Article says that as of now he is rejecting the deal because he isn't getting paid enough.

[MavKikiNYC]

They're contenders now for sure.

[EricaLubarsky]

awful deal on Bulls side.

[GP]

Come on. Getting rid of Crawford will have no effect on their team. Heinrich is 10X the player that Crawford is and he plays team ball. Crawford was a major mistake when drafted and won't help the Knicks one bit either. Heck, I'd rather have Speedy Claxton.

[MavKikiNYC]

I actually like what Chicago gets out of the deal--1) expiring contracts; 2) a serviceable backup, a role player, and a project; 3) Mutombo to work with Curry.

Knicks in Agreement to Acquire Bulls' Crawford
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: August 4, 2004

After weeks of negotiating, the Knicks have agreed on a deal to acquire guard Jamal Crawford from the Chicago Bulls, his agent said last night.

"They've come to an agreement as far as players," Crawford's agent, Aaron Goodwin, said. "We're trying to work out details that work out for Jamal. I'm confident we'll have something by tomorrow."

The Knicks would receive Crawford and Jerome Williams for Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski.

Although the Knicks would be getting the best player in the deal, they are surrendering four expiring contracts, the chips that they had hoped to use in other deals. Crawford, a restricted free agent, must agree to a seven-year, $55 million deal to make the numbers work.

"I'm very optimistic it's done," Goodwin said. "Unless for some reason New York changes their mind, I think Chicago is on board.''

[FilthyFinMavs]

The above deal just having Crawford and Jerome to the Knicks for Mutombo and Norris with cash sounded like a pretty bad deal for the Bulls. Sounded too good to be true for the Knicks but the article adds what really was dealt and now I see how the Knicks got Crawford. They gave up all of their expiring contracts. Once again the Knicks give up expiring contracts and take on some pretty bad ones. I guess they've come to the realization that even with cap space no free agent would want to be a Knick I guess. Is everyone now looking at Crawford as a 2 guard now?

[EricaLubarsky]

Memo to the Knicks: Crawford won't make you a competitor, so you'll have an even worse payroll and you'll still be a lottery team.

[Jamisonite]

I really dont understand NYs thinking here. They have plenty of overpaid guards. See houston, hardaway, anderson, tim thomas. Why overpay another

[MavKikiNYC]

Picnic delays Crawford deal

August 4, 2004 -- It's been five weeks of tedious negotiations, so what was another day.

Agent Aaron Goodwin confirmed the Knicks and Bulls agreed on a sign-and-trade deal yesterday in what is believed to be a six-player package that will make combo guard Jamal Crawford and rebounding forward Jerome Williams Knicks as soon as today.

The only holdup is working through the details of Crawford's estimated six-year, $55 million contract, regarding trade kickers, incentives and physicals.

"There's a deal on the table," Goodwin said. "Barring something unusual, we should have something [today]."

The Knicks and Bulls couldn't officially consummate the Crawford deal yesterday anyway because the NBA ran its company picnic and couldn't approve the deal.

According to a source, Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington and Frank Williams, all in the final years of their contracts, will head to Chicago. Moochie Norris' inclusion was a sticking point during last-minute talks yesterday, until Isiah Thomas relented and substituted Harrington. With Norris out, Thomas will not be required to fork over $3 million in cash. Cezary Trybanski was a late throw-in. The only true loss is Williams, who's expendable with Crawford aboard.

While Crawford's Knick future is a virtual certainty, the chance of pulling off a second sign-and-trade for Golden State center Erick Dampier is still possible, even with Mutombo and Harrington out of play. Kurt Thomas and Nazr Mohammed will be the pawns.

Dampier is expected to fly to New York tonight and visit tomorrow. Plans call for Dampier to work out at the Knicks' Westchester facility.

According to a source, the Warriors would be willing to do a deal with the Knicks if Isiah would take center Evan Eschmeyer, who is coming off multiple knee surgeries and has three years and $10.2 million left on his contract. There's doubt if Eschmeyer will play again.

When the Knicks obtain Crawford, it will be interesting to see if Isiah changes his mind on Stephon Marbury's availability. For three weeks, reports out of Toronto had Vince Carter trying to force a trade to the Knicks. It's believed only an offer of Marbury would have a chance of flying with Toronto GM Rob Babcock, who drafted him with Minnesota.

Isiah has said he won't trade Marbury, but if he did, the Knicks would field a threesome of Crawford at PG, Carter at SG and Tim Thomas at SF, with Allan Houston the sixth man.

The Knicks signed their second-round pick Trevor Ariza of UCLA to a one-year guaranteed deal at the league minimum with a team option.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Straight from the press.

Isaiah is a moron that has that team in the salary cap gutter. I'm sure there were reasons that he was fired as coach of Indiana. I think he was telling management to trade Jermaine O'Neal for Antoine Rigadeau and a conditional second round pick. Too bad.

[uberfan]

Originally posted by: Jamisonite
I really dont understand NYs thinking here. They have plenty of overpaid guards. See houston, hardaway, anderson, tim thomas. Why overpay another

NY doesn't have to worry about Luxury Tax as the make tons of money, much like the Yankees. The expiring contracts would not have brought them under the cap so would not help them obtain FA on the open market.

Houston and Hardaway have health issues. There have been whispers that Houston may not be able to play this year.

TThomas and Anderson are basically SFs.

They are still in the hunt for Dampier. Isaiah is looking at a potential starting line up of

Marbury
Crawford
TThomas
Sweetney
Dampier

with Houston/Penny off the bench.

[MavKikiNYC]

Knicks get closer to Crawford

By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

The Knicks finally may be getting Jamal Crawford and perhaps the short end of a long-anticipated trade as well.
A deal that would bring Crawford to New York could be finalized as early as today, according to Aaron Goodwin, who represents the Bulls' free-agent guard. Goodwin, Chicago GM John Paxson and Knicks president Isiah Thomas were still working out details of Crawford's contract, which could be worth $56 million over seven years.

"There are still some things we're working on," Goodwin said. "I think it could happen (today)."

The Knicks would acquire Crawford as well as veteran forward Jerome Williams while the Bulls would be getting what they've coveted all along: four players in the final year of their contracts.

Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski would all be headed to the Bulls, according to a source. Apparently, Paxson stood firm in his refusal to accept Moochie Norris instead of Harrington.

The trade will have many ramifications for the Knicks once it is finalized. Crawford's arrival is a clear indication that the Knicks are not convinced Allan Houston can stay healthy for a full season. Of course, if Houston is ready to play by opening night, that means that Crawford becomes one of the highest-paid backups in NBA history.

Williams would be playing for his third team in two seasons, and most general managers feel that Harrington is the better player with a much better contract. It's also debatable whether incumbent center Nazr Mohammed is better than Mutombo.

Thomas is trying to upgrade the center position by acquiring Erick Dampier in a sign-and-trade. But with Mutombo and Harrington both included in the Crawford deal, the Knicks' only chance is trying to convince Dampier to take their $5 million mid-level exception.

Originally, Thomas was trying to shed several bad contracts from the Knicks' payroll by offering Shandon Anderson and Norris in the Crawford deal. Instead, the Knicks are holding onto two players Thomas clearly has no use for while adding nearly $80 million in payroll.