We are still after Curry!!!

[NickJYD]

From the Sun Times:

Curry's agent, Leon Rose, said the Atlanta Hawks remain interested in the restricted free-agent center even though they haven't offered a contract. Atlanta is the only place Curry has visited, and Rose broke his silence with the media to put a more positive spin on Curry's sliding market appeal.

''I called [Hawks general manager] Billy Knight on Friday, and he assured me that their extending an offer sheet to [Milwaukee Bucks reserve center] Zaza Pachulia did not mean they no longer have interest in Curry,'' Rose said Sunday night. ''The Hawks still have $13 million worth of salary-cap room left, and they are still interested in Eddy.''

Asked whether any progress was being made in Curry's negotiations with the Bulls, who have been hesitant to extend anything beyond the $5.2 million qualifying offer, Rose said: ''I won't say that no other offer has been made, but talks continue with the Bulls, and it's business. It is true that we also are exploring insurance options [outside of Trustmark, the league's group carrier] that include Lloyd's of London, New York Life and others.''

The Hawks extended a five-year, $70 million offer sheet to Phoenix Suns guard Joe Johnson and a four-year, $16 million offer sheet to Pachulia. But a power struggle between owners has held up the sign-and-trade acquisition of Johnson. The Bucks didn't match the offer sheet to Pachulia, so he's Hawks property.

Rose said he was compelled to break his media silence to clear up reports suggesting that Curry's trip to Atlanta ended on a negative note when Curry, accompanied by fiancee Patrice Coye, trimmed a two-day stay to one so Coye could return to Chicago for her wedding shower. Curry and Coye plan to get married Aug. 20 in Mexico.

''There was a mix-up in communications regarding Eddy's stay and the shower, and I may be to blame for that,'' Rose said. ''Eddy and Patrice said they wanted to attend a concert by Destiny's Child while they were in Atlanta, and they had told the Hawks about the shower. I may have given Eddy the wrong impression that the concert was Thursday night, the day he arrived, when the concert in fact was on the next night. So when Eddy returned to Chicago on Friday for Patrice's wedding shower, it was what they had planned to do all along.

"As for Eddy not taking any physical examination, that also was not something that had been definitely set up for that visit. I told the Hawks that if they were prepared to go further into the talks, Eddy would take an exam.''

Rose said the bottom line is that Knight assured him Curry's visit went well and ended on a positive note.

''And it's my understanding that they still have interest in acquiring him,'' Rose said.

Rose refused to comment about whether any other team had expressed interest in Curry, but no additional visits to Atlanta are scheduled.

I find this interesting. Perhaps if the JJ situation gets resolved, we make a run at Eddy. Anyone have numbers on what we would have available after the Zaza, MW, and JJ signings? I think wed have about 10-11 million left in cap space.

[mrhonline]

I dunno...this smacks of desperation by Curry's agent to me. It's not like Curry is the ownership's first priority right now...

[NickJYD]

Agreed. But if we get JJ locked up, we may throw Eddy a bone. If he gets insurance, we may throw him a nice sized contract.

[Lascar78]

I would love that. I really think we are going to regret passing on Curry. Of course all of this assumes that we have a somewhat functional ownership sometime soon.

[swolehawk2]

"this smacks of desperation by Curry's agent to me"

Yep

[TheRedStripes]

i think it would be a mistake to not sign Curry, i realize he doesnt rebound or block as many shots as a center should, but he is one of the top scoring centers in the league and still very young, he also takes up a lot of space and would definitely help clog up the lane and keep other bigs from putting up a lot of points and grabbing tons of rebounds

[TheDude]

and desperation by Curry is good for Hawks.

[Final_quest]

Good point. If Curry is desperate, perhaps we could sign him to a reasonable deal for 3 years instead of 5. Chicago would probably match, but you have to take that chance.

We could sign an unprecedented 3 RFAs in one offseason.

[cyman3]

I love the situation. Knight is a true poker player.

Its this simple-

Knight- "we're interested. we need all the talent we can get. Curry would help us out, but hes no savior. if we can get him, cool. if not, thats cool too."

Rose- "so, this means ur still interested- rite?"

Knight- "sure. do ur thang and see how much u can get from Chicago. then before you sign, let me know where the offer stands. ill think about it and see if i can beat it or not. and ill let u know"

Rose- "Chicago is willing to go $5.2 million. Can u beat that?"

Knight- "let me think about it. i got to deal w/ this ass name Belkin first. but ill think about it on my flight to Boston. give me a few days. i gotta take care of this and JJ first. then we'll continue our talks"