CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago and Toronto have agreed to a
six-player trade that will send Jalen Rose to the Raptors for
Antonio Davis, Bulls general manager John Paxson said Saturday
night.
- Janna Hutz
- Jalen Rose will leave Chicago to join the Toronto Raptors, who are seeking an offensive punch. (AP PHOTO)
Rose played at Michigan in the early ’90s as part of the
Fab Five.
The deal is pending league approval today.
The Bulls will also ship Lonny Baxter and Donyell Marshall to
the Raptors and get Toronto’s Jerome Williams and Chris
Jeffries.
“We’re giving up talented players,’’
Paxson said, adding that the presence of Davis and Williams will
help the Bulls on the inside where they have young and erratic
prep-to-pros Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.
“This is hard to do, but I think it’s right for the
organization right now,’’ Paxson said.
“It’s been a long tough week in a lot of ways. I think
we’re in position now where we got a big basketball team.
We’ve still got issues and I don’t expect miracles
right away, but I expect us to be a competitive
team.’’
Paxson fired coach Bill Cartwright last Monday after Chicago
lost 10 of its 14 games. Then on Friday, he named Scott Skiles to
replace him. The Bulls are 4-12 overall.
Rose, a small forward in his 10th NBA season, is averaging 13.3
points — third best on the team — but has shot just 38
percent from the field this season. He would give Toronto, which
has struggled to score points, an offensive punch. He came to the
Bulls in February 2002 in a trade from the Pacers.
“Antonio Davis can’t help but be a good influence on
the other guys and Jerome Williams hustles all the time. He gets up
and down the floor,’’ Skiles said.
“Sometimes you have to give good things up for things that
make more sense at the time. I think we’ve become a more
physical and tougher team that can rebound and defend
better,’’ Paxson said.
Marshall, averaging 8.7 points and six rebounds, said he got a
phone call Saturday from Paxson telling him of the deal.
“I feel a little in shock right now. I kept hearing about
it for a week and a half now,’’ Marshall said.
“Usually when trade rumors go around that long, usually
they’re dead. I was laying at home getting ready to come into
the second practice and my phone rang and it was Pax,’’
he said.
“I’ve been in this league 10 years. I know
it’s a business, I know you gotta do what you’ve got to
do to make this team better. I guess it was a trade that both teams
felt they got something good out of it.’’