Nocioni "wouldn't be surprised" if traded. Options

[madisonsmadhouse]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...bulls-headlines

Bulls have chip to play with Nocioni
Sign-and-trade deal could be forthcoming

By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
July 2, 2007

Nobody can accuse Bulls general manager John Paxson of not being direct.

Agents and players say his philosophy in negotiations is to attempt to be fair, honest and above board.

Perhaps that's why Andres Nocioni is telling contacts in Argentina he wouldn't be surprised to be traded this summer.

Nocioni, 27, told those same contacts that Paxson informed him in his season-exit interview that the Bulls' No. 1 off-season goal is to acquire a scoring power forward.

That might even further limit minutes for the manic Nocioni, who happens to play both at power forward and the same small-forward position as a burgeoning All-Star in Luol Deng.

The Bulls respect and appreciate Nocioni's grit, determination and skill.

They would also gladly welcome the restricted free agent back—at the right price.

But if Nocioni, resting in his homeland after a serious bout with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, commands an offer sheet in the $6 million to $8 million range, expect the Bulls to explore sign-and-trade options.

The Spurs and Lakers are two teams that long have admired Nocioni's style of play.

Neither team has salary-cap room, meaning they only could offer the midlevel salary-cap exception, to be set July 11 at approximately $5.5 million.

The Bulls would match that salary.

But the Bulls might attempt to offer Nocioni, whose first choice is to return to the Bulls, as sign-and-trade bait in a larger deal as they monitor the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes in Minnesota and perhaps revisit talks with the Grizzlies regarding Pau Gasol.

Sunday marked the first day of the free-agent recruiting period. Players can agree to terms but are prohibited from signing contracts until July 11.

The Bulls, as expected, contacted representatives for available big men such as Chris Mihm, Melvin Ely, Joe Smith, Corliss Williamson, Marc Jackson and P.J. Brown.

Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein said on Sunday that Brown is out of the country until the middle of this week and hasn't decided if he will retire after a solid 14-year NBA career.

That also means Brown hasn't decided on whether he'd be amenable to a sign-and-trade scenario should the Bulls be able to interest a team to take his expiring contract as part of a larger deal.

Only the first year of Brown's signed-and-traded contract would have to be guaranteed, perhaps making it attractive to teams looking to trim payroll.

The Mavericks are one team that could express interest in Brown, who, as an unrestricted free agent, can sign with any team without involving the Bulls.

Bartelstein also represents Mikki Moore, who might interest the Bulls but is expected to re-sign with the Nets.

Mihm might be the most intriguing possibility for the Bulls, who are armed with the midlevel salary-cap exception as well as the biannual veteran's exception worth approximately $1.8 million.

Mihm averaged 10.2 points on 50.1 percent shooting and 6.2 rebounds in 59 games for the 2005-06 Lakers before missing all of last season following two ankle surgeries.

A person familiar with Mihm's status said the 7-footer isn't in game shape but is 100 percent physically and eager to play after his initial ankle injury and first surgery weren't diagnosed properly.

It's unknown if the Bulls contacted David Falk, the agent for Keith Van Horn, who, like Mihm, sat out last season after averaging 8.9 points for the Mavericks in 59 games in 2005-06.

[rangercal]

Id be all for replacing Noch with Mikki Moore