If you were a betting man, would you place a wager on Eddy Curry dominating the league for the next 5-7 years, or would you place that wager on his being a solid but likely overrated player for his size and skill set? I choose the latter. And that assumes good health. So the end of the Eddy Curry era draws nigh, although medical tests have to clear him first. I would categorize my feelings about him leaving as slightly disappointed. But from a basketball sense?
Eddy needs prodding. He came in overweight as a rookie out of high school. "I never really lifted weights in high school. Usually when you're a star athlete in high school, you don't have to work very hard," Eddy honestly admits." This problem repeated itself, and there were also bouts with Eddy regarding his poor conditioning and lack of hustle defensively. Only with free agency looming did Eddy get serious about getting in shape. And he had a good campaign last year before the heart condition.
It's easy to be swooned by a 6'11", 290lb center catching the ball in the paint and making a quick move and roll to the bucket. Eddy is a fantastic scorer. He has excellent moves. He can run the court. But perhaps all that is negated by his poor rebounding and defense. At 6'11", Eddy is averaging 0.9 blocks per game for his career, and only 4.9 rebounds. Who can forget Scott Skiles' famous quip when asked by a reporter how Eddy could improve his rebounding. "Jump", Skiles said. He has also never averaged 30 minutes per game. Part of that is foul trouble. Also conditioning. Also his defensive skill level.
Maybe most telling about Curry is this: he has almost as many DQs as Double-Doubles in his career. Fouled out 18 times and dbl-dbl'd 25 times in 289 career games. Kevin Garnett had 69 DDs alone last year. Emeka Okafor, as a rookie, had 47. The point is that Curry is far from a complete player. Yes, he is a great scoring option in the post, especially late in games. But you need more than that.
Reader PV writes, "As for the Knicks, well, I can't wait to see how Larry Brown deals with Crawford and Curry, and vice versa. Maybe they can buy a second ball for Starbury, JCraw and EC. And then maybe a 3rd for Q and Allan Houston. Lotsa luck playing D and team ball. If Larry Brown pulls this off, well, he's already a great coach. Maybe a Nobel Prize."
The Bulls will receive a 1st rounder and 2 2nds, along with Sweetney and Tim Thomas. Sweetney shows promise. Thomas can score and extend the defense because he is a 6'10" 3-pt. shooter. He can also get to the basket. Tyson Chandler will now have more opportunites to prove he can score the ball. Othella Harrington is an excellent post-player. Antonio Davis will be back. Malik Allen is another big who can score. This is an excellent deal. Thomas' contract expires after the season and the money earmarked for Eddy can go elsewhere.
ESPN's John Hollinger writes, "But don't weep for the Bulls just yet.
Sweetney will start at power forward while Tyson Chandler to move to his natural center position, and he could replace much of Curry's missing post production. Sweetney shot even better than Curry at 53.1 percent, and while his 17.1 points per 40 minutes doesn't touch Curry's, he's a vastly superior rebounder (11.0 to 7.5 per 40)."
He adds that they will be thin at center, but who isn't? Plus AD can play center. Skiles will have many options as far as matchups are concerned. The Bulls squad will be deep and it might even be better, and more exciting this season.
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