http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bulls.asp Has it come to Curry becoming a guinea pig? By Mike McGraw Daily Herald Sports Writer Posted Thursday, September 29, 2005 Analysis It all started one night in Charlotte. Bulls center Eddy Curry returned to the locker room following early warmups on March 30 and began to feel light- headed or dizzy. The irregular heartbeat Curry experienced that night spoiled his chance to join the Bulls in the playoffs, postponed his quest for a lucrative long-term contract, and may eventually cause him to sever ties with his hometown team. One thing Curry doesn’t need on top of all this is to become the test case for employee rights across America. Heck, the guy just wants to play basketball. Last week, however, there were signs that a fight was about to erupt. Bulls general manager John Paxson voiced the team’s desire that Curry submit to genetic testing before being allowed to practice. Curry’s attorney, Alan Milstein, responded with a flat-out refusal, stating in part that Curry would never set a precedent for any NBA player or any employee by agreeing to the DNA test. While Curry’s camp tries to make a point, there clearly is difference between an employer seeking a DNA test as a condition of employment and an employer pushing for a test recommended by a respected cardiologist because it could help save Curry’s life. It’s easy to see both sides of this issue. Morbid as it sounds, the Bulls do not want to watch Curry die on the basketball court. Of course, the Bulls are also protecting themselves against any liability if Curry’s health goes bad. Other doctors, however, have raised questions about the DNA test’s effectiveness. At best, it would show if he’s at risk for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a potentially lethal disorder when coupled with arrhythmia. If he takes the test, depending on how the results were interpreted, Curry’s basketball career could end, perhaps without sufficient cause. Arbitration likely This case appears headed toward arbitration, and Bulls fans can only hope it is resolved quickly. If an arbitrator rules that Curry does not have to take the test, the Bulls could appeal the ruling before a three-person panel. They also could let the issue drop and allow Curry to begin practicing with the team, knowing they did what they could to ensure Curry’s health. An arbitrator could also rule the Bulls have a right to demand the test. The NBA’s standard player contract has a section on physical exams with no limits whatsoever. It simply reads that a player must “submit to all examinations and tests requested of him.” If the Bulls get the OK to demand the test, here is one possible compromise: Curry agrees to take the blood test and has the results explained to him by a doctor but keeps the information private. Then Curry can tell the Bulls whether or not he wants to continue his NBA career. In this scenario, the Bulls have done everything in their power to make sure Curry is aware of the risks he faces. There is some fallout from the Bulls’ testing demand. According to a team source, some Bulls players and officials who have reached out to Curry and invited him to visit the Berto Center have not met with success. He appears alienated from his team and an absence during training camp could intensify the awkward feelings. The money at stake The DNA debate obscures the fact that the Bulls made a generous contract offer to Curry. They are willing to guarantee at least $19 million, with an opportunity for the contract to grow beyond $50 million if incentives are met . That guaranteed money would be spread over 40 years if Curry is forced to retire because of a heart condition. If Curry is confident that his heart is healthy, then deferred money shouldn’t be a concern. While it may be fashionable to criticize Curry’s value as a player, most of those arguments are out of date. The facts are Curry was the Bulls’ top scorer at 16.1 points last season, and he shot 53.8 percent from the field. Every team in the league sends double-teams when Curry gets the ball, which helps open the floor for everyone else. His defense improved significantly last season and the Bulls outrebounded their opponent in 37 of 63 games he played. Coach Scott Skiles hasn’t always been a Curry fan, but the Bulls clearly missed his size and ability to ignite the offense in the playoffs. If Curry plays for the one-year qualifying offer of $5.14 million this season, that’s far from an ideal scenario for him. He would become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but only the Bulls, Atlanta, Charlotte and New Orleans/Oklahoma City figure to have enough salary-cap room to make an offer beyond the midlevel exception. There will also be more big men on the market next year, including Ben Wallace, Joel Przybilla, Lorenzen Wright, Kelvin Cato, Nazr Mohammed, Al Harrington and Vladimir Radmanovic. Curry will have competition for a new home. Don’t expect a trade The chances of Curry being traded before the season begins are closer to none than to slim. If Curry’s new contract is worth anything more than $4.68 million (a 20 percent raise) this season, he would be subject to base-year compensation rules. Essentially, that means more players would have to be included to make a deal fit under salary-cap rules, and the Bulls aren’t about to mess with their successful chemistry. If Curry accepts the qualifying offer, he could be traded with his permission this season, but not until three months after the deal is signed. Base-year compensation rules would still apply and Curry’s new team would not get Larry Bird Rights. That means even if Curry was traded to, say, New York after Jan. 1, the Knicks could not offer him more than the midlevel exception next summer. While there are plenty of losing propositions that could play out in Curry ’s future, Milstein made a good point when he said Curry had one episode of arrhythmia and no doctor has stepped forward to say Curry should retire from basketball because of his heart. There are no close similarities between Curry’s situation and the deaths of Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis in the 1990s. At least not yet. And that’s what makes Curry’s dilemma so perplexing. --

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