One has to wonder if Jamal Crawford was ever destined to become a New York Knickerbocker.

After enduring over a month of constant rumors about potential sign and trade packages between the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks which would see Crawford playing in the orange and blue in 2004/05, the two teams finally reached an agreement on Tuesday.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes that general managers Isiah Thomas and John Paxson have agreed in principle to a six-player trade that would send Crawford and fellow Bull Jerome Williams to the Knicks for Dikembe Mutombo, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams and Cezary Trybanski.

Now that these two have finally got their acts together another spanner has been thrown into the works... Crawford's advisors have rejected the deal, at least for now.  That stance is expected to end as soon as Wednesday, when the NBA league office reopens for business and Crawford's camp accepts the deal.

The new deal depends on Crawford signing a sign a seven-year, $55 million deal while previous deals had him making the same money over only six years.

A league source said Thomas rejected a proposal to sign an unwanted free agent and include him in the deal as salary-cap ballast so that Crawford's salary could go higher.

If the trade collapses, it's almost certain Crawford will play next season for the Bulls at a qualifying offer of $3.5 million and then become an unrestricted free agent.

The Bulls' pitch to re-sign Crawford for six years at $39 million is no longer an option, but with Crawford already telling friends that he is headed for New York it no longer needs to be.