Heard Paxson on the radio today responding to the surprise comments made by Eddy Curry's agents yesterday. Pax basically said he was disappointed that Eddy's representatives made these comments without talking to him first. He also added that the story about Reinsdorf influencing his decisions was completely false. And that's reassuring, at least.
Based on this interview though, I can just tell that Paxson does not think Curry's going to 'get it' any time soon. Just like when he was discussing whom to draft this year, Pax kept referring to how coddled NBA teens are, and how they are unprepared, and how certain players aren't receptive to coaching. He never referred to Curry by name, but its not hard to tell that Pax extends these philosophies to Curry's career projections.
I will not pretend that I know more about Eddy's personality than Paxson does. Paxson and Scott Skiles see him every single day. They know his true work ethic (and not just this summer's commitment to weight loss), his practice habits, and how motivated he is. I came into this season giving him one last chance, but if they together feel like he will never have the passion be a special player, then I trust them more than what I believe.
Even if Paxson has made up his mind, I do not think he will rush to trade Eddy. I'm guessing that he will wait as long as he can before the trading deadline to get the best deal available. Maybe Curry will play well and his value will increase, and that will work out best for both sides. But its also possible that this year will be most of the same old, and Paxson will just have to sell for scraps, or wait and just try a sign/trade in the offseason. Either way I don't see Eddy and Paxson being together for long.
But that's all for another day, we're only 3 games into the season, with Eddy playing *1* game so far. We do not know how his season will progress: If he truly doesn't want to be here anymore, or if he will finally be motivated to become a leading contributor for the Bulls. As far as the here and now is concerned Saturday's game can't come soon enough.