yodurk

This is definitely a concern. I have no doubt that the Bulls front office will give fair market value for a player who has a place on this team...and all 4 of our free agents certainly do (I'm including Othella as someone who Pax will try to retain). But I get a little nervous about a couple things...first, the players usually get bad advice from agents that make them think they're worth more than they really are (I'm particularly worried this will happen with Chandler). And secondly, there are teams like the Hawks who could sign one of them (again, Chandler) to an inflated offer sheet that will make the Bulls think twice about matching. Contract negotiations aren't meant to be hugs and kisses, so a little griping here and there isn't too frightening. But it does get frightening when players start publicly complaining and start making a scene.

And although I know many of you will say how these sorts of problems don't happen in other organizations, you're flat out wrong. Just a few recent examples include the Lakers and their inability to reach an extension with Shaq (which was a large reason for trading him)...there was also the Sonics' unwillingness to re-sign Gary Payton, which is why they traded him to the Bucks right before his contract expired. And these are players who were ALOT more proven than anyone the Bulls have.