http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bulls.asp?intID=37894121 Could Bulls lose Williams in expansion draft? By Mike McGraw Daily Herald Sports Writer Posted September 30, 2003 Jay Williams is hoping to begin his basketball comeback next year in training camp. Will he be coming back with the Bulls? Or could he belong to the Charlotte Bobcats by then? Early next summer - perhaps before Williams has a chance to prove his health - the Bulls must settle on eight players to protect in the upcoming expansion draft. One possible list of eight would include Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Marcus Fizer, Kirk Hinrich, Donyell Marshall, Jalen Rose and Scottie Pippen. In this scenario, Williams, Eddie Robinson, Roger Mason Jr. and possibly some others would be unprotected. If that turns out to be the case, Williams would be a tempting selection for Charlotte, which begins play next season. Should Williams fully recover from his June 19 motorcycle accident, the Bobcats would have a talented guard who played college basketball nearby at Duke. If Williams did not pan out, his contract could expire in 2005. "There are going to be tough choices for every team," Paxson said. "Since we have so many young guys, we're going to have it more difficult than some. Contracts will be involved. We've talked about it already and I have a preliminary list in mind." There are other strategies for the Bulls to employ. One is leaving Rose unprotected, gambling that Charlotte would not select a player owed $47 million over the final three years of his contract. Or the Bulls could leave Pippen, who will be 39 by next season, off the list. But if Rose improves his poor shooting from last season and Pippen helps lead the Bulls into the playoffs, it would be difficult to risk losing either player for nothing in return. Unrestricted free agents are not eligible for the expansion draft, but restricted free agents can be chosen. So even if Crawford and Fizer become restricted free agents next summer, the Bulls must protect them in order to keep them. According to Bulls legal counsel Irwin Mandel, if a team does not protect a restricted free agent, that player automatically becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is forbidden from signing with his former team. Besides Crawford and Fizer, Trenton Hassell and Lonny Baxter could be restricted free agents next summer if the Bulls make a qualifying offer. Considering the options, though, the Bulls might be better off letting Hassell and Baxter become unrestricted and then take their chances on re-signing the two players. -- 擁有很多潛力股的公牛這下碰到難題了，留，不留，都是問題。該怎麼辦呢 ... --

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