Post by Indiana Pacers on May 24, 2008 22:31:28 GMT
General Manager Erik Lassen made his first move a controversial one, with the placement of veteran players such as Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden in the upcoming expansion draft.
Hughes is coming off a trio of rough seasons since signing a goliath of a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before being traded midseason to the Bulls in a blockbuster trade. His lackluster numbers (in comparison to his contract) have made him expendable, and Lassen has said that losing him might not be for the worst.
As for Gooden (who is highly touted by most teams, and was also brought to Chicago in the same deal that brought them Hughes) Lassen says it is purely a move based on the youth movement that he is going for in the Windy City. With players such as Kirk Hinrich, and Andres Nocioni locked up to long term deals, Lassen's concern has moved onto clearing up cap space to lock up players (most notably Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, of the 2004 draft class) to long term deals. We will find out in the upcoming expansion draft whether or not this will pay off for the team or not.
Hughes is coming off a trio of rough seasons since signing a goliath of a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before being traded midseason to the Bulls in a blockbuster trade. His lackluster numbers (in comparison to his contract) have made him expendable, and Lassen has said that losing him might not be for the worst.
As for Gooden (who is highly touted by most teams, and was also brought to Chicago in the same deal that brought them Hughes) Lassen says it is purely a move based on the youth movement that he is going for in the Windy City. With players such as Kirk Hinrich, and Andres Nocioni locked up to long term deals, Lassen's concern has moved onto clearing up cap space to lock up players (most notably Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, of the 2004 draft class) to long term deals. We will find out in the upcoming expansion draft whether or not this will pay off for the team or not.
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