Dennis Rodman and his agent, Dwight Manley, have given the Bulls a deadline. Sort of.
Now that Michael Jordan’s contract talks are out of the way, Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause says he will begin discussions with Rodman sometime next week. Manley and Rodman will be heading to Europe next Wednesday, which would give the Bulls just two days to wrap things up according to Krause’s timetable.
“But I’m sure this won’t take long,” Manley said from Los Angeles on Thursday. “We know what they want and they know what Dennis wants–to finish his career in Chicago.”
What the Bulls want is to give Rodman a base salary of around $2 million, with a chance for Rodman to make signficantly more money if he adheres to several behavioral stipulations and reaches a few incentives. Rodman’s contract was worth $9 million last season with incentives and deferred payments.
“I think the Bulls want to pay him–they just have to make reasonable thresholds for him to get paid,” Manley said. “The off-the-court stuff shouldn’t matter. That shouldn’t change what he does on the court. And if you have the best scorer in the league (Jordan), then you have to have the best rebounder (Rodman).”
Rodman was to meet with Jordan in Las Vegas Thursday.
Manley said Rodman is having no problems with the sprained knee that caused him to miss the Bulls’ final 13 regular-season games and hampered his productivity in the playoffs.
“Dennis is fine,” Manley said. “He’s ready to go for his seventh rebounding title.”
Foot loose: Scottie Pippen is concerned that the foot injury that bothered him during the Bulls’ title run isn’t healing properly. But Toni Kukoc’s sore right foot continues to improve, Krause said.
Kukoc is scheduled to meet with team doctors early next week when he returns from his vacation in Croatia. Foot problems caused Kukoc to miss 21 games last season and affected his shooting in the playoffs.
Krause said Kukoc has been working out with European scout Ivica Dukan.
“Ivica reports that Toni’s foot is much better,” Krause said. “We don’t anticipate any problems.”
Centers of attention: Having lost Brian Williams to Detroit and Robert Parish to retirement, the Bulls plan on making an offer to veteran center Joe Kleine, who has played with Sacramento, Boston, Phoenix and the Los Angeles Lakers. Kleine would make next season’s league minimum of $272,500.
“Joe still knows how to play,” Krause said. “We’re working on it.”
Krause said the Bulls will make an offer to No. 2 center Bill Wennington, a free agent who has sparked some interest from the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. Wennington was left off the postseason roster last season with a foot injury.
Future shock: Include Steve Kerr and Jud Buechler among those particularly interested in the future of the franchise. Krause and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf have said the Bulls will begin the rebuilding process after the coming season. Kerr and Buechler have one year remaining on their contracts.
“This is their career, their livelihood,” said Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein, who represents Kerr, Buechler and Randy Brown. “When you play for a team and the future is uncertain, there’s an anxiety attached to it. Jud and Steve would like this thing to continue for as long as possible. I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said they weren’t worried about the future.”
