In an interview during WFAN's halftime show Wednesday, Dave D'alessandro said he has spoken with Tim Thomas at about 5 p.m. and described the forward's mood as "delirious" at the prospect of joining the Phoenix Suns.
D'Alessandro who covers the Nets for the Star-Ledger and NJ.com added that another reason for Thomas's delirium was his ability to keep all the money owed him, around $5 million.
However, D'Alessandro added that the NBA may want to look into the circumstances in which the Bulls released Thomas to determine if it constituted a "circumvention of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement. Thomas, he said, would not comment on whether Bulls GM John Paxson had coerced Thomas into going out west rather than play for his first choice, the Nets. Paxson had said he didn't want Thomas to join an Eastern Conference team the Bulls might be "chasing".
D'Alessandro described Thomas as hemming and hawing about whether the Nets were an option. "They were an option, but they weren't an option," is the way D'Alessandro said Thomas described that part of the conversation. "It will be interesting to see if the NBA takes this up," added the writer.