Crawford... will... be...traded... any... day... now...

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 4, 2004 2:54PM

Chicagoist thought that the Jalen Rose trade talks last season took forever before the deal was consummated, but the trade talks involving Jamal Crawford are setting a whole new standard! After weeks of negotiations, the Bulls and New York Knicks seem to finally have hammered out all the players who will be included in the deal. Last week, Bulls GM and former on-court adversary Knicks President Isiah Thomas even met face to face to push trade talks forward. The agreement in place sends Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams to the Knicks for Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski.

So the deal looked imminent yesterday, but now Crawford is delaying the deal by balking at the latest contract offer. Since he is a restricted free agent, the Bulls have to actually sign him to a contract before they can trade him. The most recent trade scenario has Crawford signing a seven-year, $55 million contract. However, earlier scenarios put Crawford's contract at Crawford six-years, $55 million and possibly $70 million over seven years. All has to do with the complicated NBA salary cap.

Stayed tuned, because Crawford should be a member of the Knicks any... minute... now...