[h1]Bulls weigh trade options for Thomas[/h1]
By
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
So far, NBA general managers are still passing judgment on their own teams, evaluating needs and slowly, surely feeling out the market. The February trade deadline is more than two months away, but conversations are beginning to gather momentum.
For starters, multiple league executives believe the
Chicago Bulls' shopping of forward
Tyrus Thomas(notes) could result with him moving sooner than later. As Thomas has rehabbed a broken forearm, the Bulls have had discussions with several teams, but perhaps none as serious as the ongoing dialogue general manager Gar Forman has had with
New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh.
Several sources believe the Bulls are agreeable to a package of Thomas and Jerome James(notes) for Knicks forward Al Harrington(notes).Thus far, Walsh has resisted parting with Harrington, but discussions are still active and the teams have explored different combinations in recent days that would ultimately deliver Thomas to the Knicks.
"Nothing is imminent, but both sides would like to figure out a way to do this," one league executive briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.
The Bulls are determined to shed more salary-cap space for the summer of 2010, and believe Harrington's ability to score coupled with a $10.2 million expiring contract make this a worthy exchange. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni has long been fond of Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward whose nimbleness and athleticism makes him an intriguing fit for New York.
Thomas, 23, was the fourth pick in the 2006 NBA draft, and started to fulfill his promise with 10.9 points and 6.4 rebounds last season. Nevertheless, Chicago believes it has a worthy power forward successor on the cheap in rookie
Taj Gibson(notes), and jettisoning Thomas would also eliminate his approximate $13 million cap hold for the Bulls next season.
Thomas' agent, Brian Elfus, tried to negotiate a contract extension with Chicago, but talks never pushed past perfunctory.
