Webber was the hottest free agent in the NBA last year, and he probably wouldn't even have taken a phone call from Jerry Krause. But that was before Krause traded for Jalen Rose last season.
It remains to be seen what impact Rose will have on free agents, but he helped lure some of the biggest names in the game for the inaugural Chicago All-Star Classic.
"If Jalen were here a couple of years ago, I know I would have looked at the Bulls,'' Webber said. "And I know other guys will look at them, just because of what kind of person he is.
"You know it's a great city and the organization has won, but you want to play with guys who have proven themselves to their peers. A lot of guys will want to play here solely because of him.''
"This is the biggest celebrity game this year, and I mean that,'' Webber said. "That speaks for itself, as far as the respect for Jalen.''
On Summer League Play :
Rose studied updates from each game and said he wasn't discouraged. He's also keeping abreast of the Bulls' free-agent plans, though he has his eye on next year's crop, which includes Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Jermaine O'Neal.
"If you look at the list of free agents this year, it's not in the same class as 2003,'' Rose said. "We probably won't sign any long-term contracts or anything significant until 2003.
"But hopefully, we can find a veteran who can help us.''
- Jalen just we won't sign anyone to a long-term contract this year. Does anybody know our cap situation for summer 2003? Will we be over the cap? I think Hoiberg / Bagaric will be off the books next year (assuming we choose not to pick up Dali's option, but I got a feeling Krause will ).
What difference will it make to have Jalen go out and woo free agents next year if we won't have any CAP SPACE?
It remains to be seen what impact Rose will have on free agents, but he helped lure some of the biggest names in the game for the inaugural Chicago All-Star Classic.
"If Jalen were here a couple of years ago, I know I would have looked at the Bulls,'' Webber said. "And I know other guys will look at them, just because of what kind of person he is.
"You know it's a great city and the organization has won, but you want to play with guys who have proven themselves to their peers. A lot of guys will want to play here solely because of him.''
"This is the biggest celebrity game this year, and I mean that,'' Webber said. "That speaks for itself, as far as the respect for Jalen.''
On Summer League Play :
Rose studied updates from each game and said he wasn't discouraged. He's also keeping abreast of the Bulls' free-agent plans, though he has his eye on next year's crop, which includes Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Jermaine O'Neal.
"If you look at the list of free agents this year, it's not in the same class as 2003,'' Rose said. "We probably won't sign any long-term contracts or anything significant until 2003.
"But hopefully, we can find a veteran who can help us.''
- Jalen just we won't sign anyone to a long-term contract this year. Does anybody know our cap situation for summer 2003? Will we be over the cap? I think Hoiberg / Bagaric will be off the books next year (assuming we choose not to pick up Dali's option, but I got a feeling Krause will ).
What difference will it make to have Jalen go out and woo free agents next year if we won't have any CAP SPACE?