The Eddy Curry Saga: Part One

Eddy-Bull: Weight an issue again

August 1, 2004

BY LACY J. BANKS Staff Reporter
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Eddy Curry is not making things easy for Bulls operations chief John
Paxson.

Paxson was hoping to sign Curry to a long-term extension, with the
window for such negotiations opening today and closing on Oct. 31.
Tyson Chandler also is eligible for an extension, but the Bulls had
targeted Curry as the franchise cornerstone.

All Curry had to do to earn a possible six-year, $90 million extension
was stay in peak condition during the offseason. But he's not even
close.

''I'm sure that we will talk with Curry's and Chandler's agents, but
I'm not sure where the talks will go,'' Paxson said. ''Tyson has been a
model of consistency all summer. He has actually exceeded what we had
hoped for.

''With Curry, he has chosen for the good part of the summer to go work
with [personal trainer] Tim Grover. So we haven't been able to monitor
him as closely as to the quality of his work. Tim has a good program,
facility and reputation. But, ultimately, it's the effort the
individual chooses to put into his conditioning whether at the Berto
Center or Hoops [the Gym].''

One league source says the 6-11 Curry, hampered briefly by a mildly
strained right hamstring, is 35 pounds over the 285-pound target weight
the team has set for him. Curry appeared to be progressing earlier this
summer when he was working with Grover. But he left Grover for a month
and started working out at the Berto because he was rumored to be upset
with Grover.

Two weeks ago, when Bulls coach Scott Skiles was asked how Curry
looked, Skiles bowed his head and paused before answering with a grim
face.

''I don't even want to comment on that right now,'' Skiles said.

Curry reported to camp out of shape last season, and the Bulls got off
to a miserable start. When the season ended, Bulls chairman Jerry
Reinsdorf met privately with Curry and reiterated that the Bulls'
future success rested largely on his shoulders. Curry came out of the
meeting vowing to work harder.

''[Poor conditioning] definitely won't be the case this summer,'' Curry
said recently. ''After a couple of weeks of rest, I'm going to go into
the gym, work harder than I ever have and make sure I come to training
camp in shape and ready to have my best season.

"I can't let the team down. The team is depending heavily upon me, and
I have personal pride as a professional.''

But when Curry tipped the scales this week, he weighed 320 pounds. Now
he's back with Grover and also working out at the Berto.

''We don't have much time, but we're going to try to make a whole lot
of progress in a short period, and hopefully Eddy is dedicated to it,''
Grover said. ''If he does not get it in the next four weeks, it's not
going to happen. It's a matter of focus, commitment and investing in
yourself.''

Darren White, Curry's new agent, agrees.

''He took some time off to visit relatives and then he went on a cruise
with his family,'' White said. ''But thank goodness there's plenty of
time left.

''We have hired Patrick Huggins, a private chef who works with other
NBA players like Michael Finley and Juwan Howard, to help Eddy with his
diet. And Eddy is determined to work extremely hard in the next 60 days
to get his body and his conditioning where they ought to be. He
realizes that this is a contract year for him.''

If Curry is not signed to an extension, he'll become a restricted free
agent next summer, and the Bulls would be able to match any offer he
receives.