. Why did the Chicago Bulls give B.J. Armstrong away?
Apparently the Bulls want to see how many key players from their 1991 to '93 championship teams they can lose without getting anything in return. When the Toronto Raptors took Armstrong, whom Chicago had surprisingly left unprotected, with the first choice of the expansion draft, he joined forwards Horace Grant and Scott Williams on the list of valued players who have left the Bulls without Chicago receiving any compensation.
That's not to say there weren't reasons to leave Armstrong unprotected. Here, according to Bull sources, was Chicago's thinking: The 6'2" Armstrong's difficulty in guarding quick point guards or taller shooting guards, and his inability to penetrate, had become unaffordable liabilities. At the same time he quietly made known his displeasure over dwindling playing time—from 33.8 minutes a game in 1993-94 to 29.9 after the All-Star break last season—and restrictions on his offensive role imposed by coach Phil Jackson after Michael Jordan's return in March. Armstrong made $2.8 million last season, to be essentially a spot-up shooter. Steve Kerr can do that just as well, if not better, than Armstrong and for far less money: He made $620,000 last year.
That's why Armstrong was expendable. Why was he sent packing via the expansion draft instead of by a trade? The answer: Unless the Bulls could get the established power forward they wanted for Armstrong, which they quickly found out they couldn't, they really didn't want another player. They would rather have Armstrong's salary slot to sign a free-agent big man, to re-sign unrestricted free-agent center Luc Longley or to renegotiate the contract of disgruntled All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, who earned a paltry (for a superstar) $2.2 million per season.
Don't feel bad for Armstrong. Toronto general manager Isiah Thomas is ready to fulfill his request to move to a contender by trading him, probably to the Golden State Warriors. One rumor had Armstrong heading to the Bay Area for a package including forwards Victor Alexander and Carlos Rogers.
Ex-All-star guard B.J. Armstrong, who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, was picked by the Toronto Raptors during the recent NBA expansion draft.
But Armstrong, 27, who was left unprotected by the Bulls and was the Raptors' first selection in the expansion draft, said he wants out.
Raptors Vice President Isiah Thomas confirmed that Armstrong said he would like to be traded and handed Thomas a list of four teams he would like to be dealt to. Thomas would not reveal the names.
"B.J. Armstrong is a classy guy. We want to fulfill his wishes and move him to a championship caliber team," Thomas said in the Chicago Sun-Times.
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"We've had serious discussions with some teams about moving him. We felt we owed it to B.J. and B.J. wanted to leave so we thought that we would try to facilitate his wishes," Thomas added.
Armstrong, who was the very first player chosen by the Raptors (JET, July 17) when the Chicago Bulls left him unprotected, was dealt for centers Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander and the rights to 1995 second-round draft picks Dwayne Whitfield, Martin Lewis and Michael McDonald.
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