Anyone got Jayson Williams’ telephone number?
Now that it looks like the NBA season and training camps will get under way as scheduled next month, the big question for the Bulls is how they’re going to improve from the team that was eliminated in the playoffs last May by the Orlando Magic.
The answer seems to be: mostly by hoping that Michael Jordan gets his legs back, Ron Harper gets his game back and Luc Longley gets a little hop in his step.
Because under the new salary-cap rules in the labor agreement expected to be ratified by team player representatives and owners in the next week, the Bulls are so close to the salary-cap maximum that they probably cannot attract a major free agent.
The cap, which is less flexible than before, is $23 million for the 1995-96 season. Already, the Bulls owe players under contract more than $20 million for the coming season, and they’ll pay rookie Jason Caffey about $600,000 this season under the rookie salary scale agreed to in the new deal.
That leaves a little more than $2 million for the Bulls to add two players to fill out their roster.
They’ll probably bring back Jud Buechler for the minimum salary of $225,000, which would leave Pete Myers again looking for a new team.
So with about $2 million to go shopping, the Bulls already would be out of the running for Knicks free agent Anthony Mason, who is expected to return to New York for at least $4 million per year, or for a trade to obtain Dallas’ Roy Tarpley, who makes about $4 million.
The Bulls’ primary need remains a power, front-line player, and they’ve expressed interest in the Nets’ Williams, who averaged 4.8 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 13 minutes per game last season. The 6-10 forward is considered a good offensive rebounder but something of a free spirit whose resume includes shooting up his car in the Nets’ parking lot and late-night soirees with Derrick Coleman after Nets playoff games.
He earned about $1.1 million last season and has said he wants to double that, which might eliminate the Bulls.
Otherwise, the free-agent pool for power forwards is weak.
There are a number of former Bulls available, such as Minnesota’s Stacey King, Mike Brown and Greg Foster, Denver’s Cliff Levingston, the Spurs’ Jack Haley, and Denver’s Mark Randall and Rodney McCray, the latter considering a comeback.
Other possibilities are either questionable power forwards or older players, such as New York’s Anthony Bonner, Indiana’s LaSalle Thompson, Houston’s Chucky Brown and Pete Chilcutt, Portland’s Mark Bryant, Charlotte’s Joe Wolf, Houston’s Carl Herrera, Phoenix’s Dan Schayes, the Bullets’ Kenny Walker, the Lakers’ Kurt Rambis, the Pacers’ Greg Kite, the Hawks’ Jon Koncak and the Pistons’ Eric Leckner.
The biggest-name free agent was to be the Suns’ Danny Manning, but he continues to rehabilitate from knee surgery, and Phoenix also is expected to re-sign free agent Wayman Tisdale.
Trades remain a possibility, but the Bulls reduced their inventory of players to trade by letting B.J. Armstrong go to the expansion Toronto Raptors. The announcement of Armstrong’s going to the Warriors for Victor Alexander, Carlos Rogers and two draft picks is expected when the lockout is lifted next week after the owners approve the new labor agreement.
Teams then will be able to sign free agents and make trades, and it’s expected most will immediately begin free-agent and rookie minicamps leading up to the opening of training camps Oct. 6.
One of the Bulls’ big problems under the new ground rules remains the long-term deal for Harper, which takes up almost $4 million of salary-cap room per year through 1999. Under previous rules, the Bulls could release Harper and get half his salary to sign another player. But that loophole was closed–along with one-year escape clauses, balloon-payment extensions and slots for departed, retired and free-agent players that made it easier to sign free agents. So Harper’s salary will count against the Bulls’ cap until his contract expires.
One problem the Bulls won’t face is renegotiating Scottie Pippen’s deal, which has three years remaining, because such renegotiation is precluded under the new deal. But Pippen’s attitude about that could become an issue.
Also, the Bulls face Longley’s becoming an unrestricted free agent after this season if they don’t give him a new contract, which figures to be around $3 million for a player of his potential, if not achievements.
And Jordan will be looking for that big payday after this season, when his contract expires.
