Bulls see no problem with Thomas this time
Should Tim Thomas bother reporting to the Bulls or should he just head home and wait until next year's trade deadline?
Thomas' first stint with the Bulls didn't work out so well.
After arriving from New York as part of the Eddy Curry trade in 2005, Thomas was injured in the preseason, then complained that he wanted more minutes and was told to stay home after playing in just three games.
He eventually was released after the Bulls found no takers at the trade deadline. He played for Phoenix and the Clippers before being sent back to New York early this season.
Thomas' troubles happened when Scott Skiles coached the Bulls. Current boss Vinny Del Negro spent two seasons as a teammate of Thomas in Milwaukee from 1998-2000 and felt optimistic that the 6-foot-10 forward will play a role this time around.
"I enjoyed playing with him," Del Negro said following Thursday's short practice at the Berto Center. "I expect him to be professional and do his job. He has the ability and skill level to help us in certain situations. I think it's a positive move for us."
General manager John Paxson agreed, reasoning that Thomas can help spread the floor with his 3-point shooting ability.
"I talked to him a little while ago and everything's fine," Paxson said. "Vinny's relationship with Tim will help. Bob Ociepka, one of our assistants, was with Tim in Milwaukee.
"In my opinion, it's a done deal. It's not even relevant to what happened a couple years ago. It's a totally different situation. He's excited to be here."
Financially, the deal sending Larry Hughes to New York for Thomas, center Jerome James and guard Anthony Roberson is pretty much a wash for both teams.
Hughes was set to make $13.6 million next season, while James is due $6.6 million and Thomas $6.5 million next year.
All three contracts expire in 2010, so the Bulls set themselves up to clear enough cap room to make a run at Toronto's Chris Bosh or someone else in free agency next year.
Hughes helped the Bulls early this season but hadn't played since Jan. 12, the day Kirk Hinrich returned from a thumb injury.
The Bulls committed to finding Hughes a new home because they felt he kept a reasonably good attitude during the past month or so.
A deal with Washington for Etan Thomas and Mike James also was on the table for Hughes, but the Bulls looked elsewhere because Etan Thomas has a trade kicker that adds value to his contract.
Pax says he's staying: Bulls general manager John Paxson began Thursday's news conference by putting to rest rumors that he is about to resign.
"I don't feel an obligation to have to respond every time something comes up about me or a trade or anything like that," Paxson said.
"So I left it alone. I'm the GM of the Bulls. I'm not resigning. I'm here. I'm going to here. So that puts an end to it. I'm not going to answer any questions about that.
"It's over with. I'm the GM of the Bulls. That's final. That takes care of that."
Miller checks in: Center Brad Miller arrived at the Berto Center late Thursday afternoon, eager to begin his second stint with the Bulls. He was one of two players acquired from Sacramento.
"I was pretty excited to come closer to home," said Miller, who grew up near Fort Wayne, Ind. "And to come back to a place I've played before, everything's real familiar and the comfort level's good.
"An opportunity to make the playoffs is one of the biggest things when I talked to my agent about getting traded. Winning is really what matters at this stage of my career. I'm definitely excited."
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=273555">Bulls see no problem with Thomas this time <span class="date"> [2/20/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>