While the Bulls wait for restricted free agents Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo to sign offer sheets that will determine their market values, they have their sights on other players in the open market.

According to a source close to the situation, veteran Tom Gugliotta has emerged as the most likely candidate for the Bulls to sign with their midlevel exception.

Agent Richard Howell on Wednesday indicated the 35-year-old Gugliotta is interested in four of the six teams that have inquired about his client recently, but he would not elaborate further on the subject.

"I don't negotiate through the media, so I would rather not comment on any of the possibilities until a contract has been signed," Howell said. "What I will say is that Tom has every intention to play somewhere next season."

Bulls general manager John Paxson also declined to comment on the situation.

If and when Duhon re-signs, the Bulls are expected to have nearly half of their $5 million-plus midlevel exception available.

"Until the situation with our restricted free agents is resolved, we won't know exactly what we have to offer," Paxson said. "Until then, there are several possibilities that we'll consider."

The Orlando Magic reportedly wanted to extend an offer to Chris Duhon, but instead turned to Miami reserve guard Keyon Dooling, an unrestricted free agent.

The Magic, according to one report out of Orlando, backed away from Duhon, a restricted free agent, because the Bulls are likely to match any offer.

Dooling's deal is worth an estimated $10 million over three years. Duhon's initial offer from the Bulls was in the range of $6 million over three years, and his shopping for a better offer probably isn't done. Portland and New Jersey reportedly are interested in him.

The Bulls haven?t come to terms with any of the six free agents they plan to re-sign this summer, but a breakthrough may come soon.

Philadelphia center Sam Dalembert, a restricted free agent, agreed to a new deal with the 76ers over the weekend believed to be worth about $60 million over six years.

The Bulls are hoping that Dalembert?s contract helps establish the market value of Tyson Chandler. The Bulls were expecting to make an offer in the neighborhood of six years and $60 million but may have to go slightly higher.

The two young big men are similar scorers (8.0 points per game), but Chandler was a much better rebounder last season, averaging 9.7 per game compared to Dalembert?s 6.6. Cleveland?s Zydrunas Ilgauskas (16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds), another top free-agent center, re-signed for a reported $60 million over five seasons.

When Dalembert agreed to terms, he canceled a free-agent visit to Atlanta scheduled for Monday. There is the chance that Chandler?s camp will wait to see if the Hawks, with about $24 million in cap room, make a bigger offer.

Chandler was married over the weekend in California and is presumably on his honeymoon.

The Bulls are no closer to an agreement with restricted free agent Eddy Curry.

The team is waiting while Curry?s representatives explore insurance options. Trustmark, the NBA?s insurance carrier, informed both parties last week that Curry?s next contract will not be insurable because of his heart condition. That means teams will most likely be hesitant to give Curry a big contract.

Point guard Chris Duhon, another restricted free agent, was hoping to get an offer sheet from Orlando last week. Instead, the Magic opted for unrestricted free agent Keyon Dooling.

Duhon may keep looking for another interested team to help drive up his value.

According to Chicago Sun-Times writer Lacy Banks, a source close to free agent guard Chris Duhon said that the former Dukie will re-sign with the Bulls in the next couple of days.

Playing for the Bulls next season appeals to Toni Kukoc, and the Bulls are interested in him, Kukoc's agent said Thursday.

"The Bulls are certainly a team he would be interested in coming back to, without question," agent Herb Rudoy said.

Kukoc, who began his NBA career with the Bulls in 1993, is a free agent after playing the last three seasons for the Bucks. He is not expected to return to Milwaukee, which extended a substantial offer to the Clippers' Bobby Simmons and will re-sign guard Michael Redd.

Rudoy said the Bulls are among several teams who have called to discuss Kukoc. Kukoc was a teammate of Bulls general manager John Paxson in 1993-94 and helped the Bulls win three straight NBA championships from 1996 to 1998.

"There's definitely interest on their part," Rudoy said.

A potential glitch in the Bulls' pursuit of Kukoc is the time and money they will spend to bring back restricted free agents Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Chris Duhon and Jannero Pargo.

"They have to do the other things first," Rudoy said. "They can't make a commitment until they see how much money they have left. They've always had the interest. It's whether they have the ability to do it once they get their free-agent signings."

Jay Williams spent nearly two full years rehabilitating the injuries he sustained in a June 2003 motorcycle accident.

When it finally came time to decide whether his dream of returning to the NBA was realistic, Williams needed some convincing.

Tim Grover, personal trainer of NBA stars, did not.

In April, Grover estimated that he spent five minutes putting Williams through simple drills at Hoops the Gym on Chicago?s West Side before coming to a conclusion.

?I put him through a five-minute workout,? Grover said. ?I walked over to Jay and said, ?I know we can do this.?

?We would not spend this much time and effort, waste his time and our time if we did not think it was possible. He will be in a training camp in October and he will be on a team?s roster. No doubt in my mind.?

Quiet throughout the first three weeks of the NBA's free-agent courting period because of roster and financial restrictions, the Orlando Magic appear poised now to spring into action.

Intent on upgrading their depth at point guard, the Magic could be on the verge of extending a contract offer to either Memphis' Earl Watson, Miami's Keyon Dooling or Chicago's Chris Duhon.

Orlando is in no hurry to make a splash in free agency, assistant general manager Otis Smith said Thursday, but the team would like "to have something concrete in the next two to three days."

Such a signing would allow the Magic to move Steve Francis exclusively to shooting guard and signal that the team does not believe Jameer Nelson is ready to start at point guard.

With contract talks being tough due to Eddy Curry's health problems, the Bulls could try to swing a deal with another NBA team, assuming Curry would go along with it according to SI.com. The Warriors, Grizzlies and Sonics all have long been interested in Curry.

Golden State's Troy Murphy, for example, would fill Chicago's need for a sweet-shooting big man with whom to run the pick and roll.
The Warriors, meanwhile, have rookie power forward Ike Diogu, whom they took with the No. 9 pick in last month's draft. But Diogu is probably not ready yet to step in as a full-time starter at power forward and he has already signed with the Warriors, and Murphy is a base-year compensation player, making him almost impossible to trade to a team like Chicago that is over the salary cap.

The Sonics have a restricted free agent of their own in Vladimir Radmanovic, but the Sonics might have the same health concerns about Curry as do the Bulls. Grizzlies GM Jerry West is said to be shopping Jason Williams and Bonzi Wells, but Chicago is not likely to want any part of those guys.

Whereas the medical news Eddy Curry has received lately has been positive, there has been no encouraging news for the Bulls center when it comes to a long-term contract.

Curry probably will have to settle for a short-term deal that includes clauses to protect the Bulls--or any team that signs him as a restricted free agent--if his heart condition prohibits him from fulfilling his contract. Just a month ago, it was believed Curry could command a salary of about $67 million over six years with the Bulls.

Since then, Bulls officials have been notified Trustmark, the NBA's carrier, will exclude Curry's heart issues from insurance coverage, a team source confirmed Tuesday.

Now it's up to Curry's agent, Leon Rose, and his financial advisers to seek insurance coverage for the 22-year-old. Efforts to reach Curry and Rose were unsuccessful.

The NBA's policy allows the Bulls or Curry to find an alternative carrier, but the chances of finding a company that would assume the liability appear bleak.

"He can get insurance," said Jim Padilla, an independent insurance broker from New Lenox who has worked with athletes. "He just can't get his heart included. They're going to exclude [it] until he can prove he can play without heart issues."

Padilla said Curry probably needs to play a season without symptoms related to his irregular heartbeat before a company will drop the exclusion.

Toni Kukoc's days in Milwaukee appear to be over.

"It's unfortunate because Toni really wanted to come back there,'' said Herb Rudoy, Kukoc's agent. "He really wanted to keep playing for them.''

The Bucks have locked up most of their money in Michael Redd, Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric.

"It's my impression that they aren't going to re-sign Toni,'' Rudoy said. "With what they've done in free agency, it isn't likely Toni will return. I think Simmons put them over the top.''

"There's a lot of interest in Toni,'' Rudoy said. "There are a half a dozen teams constantly calling about Toni. And there are some very good teamss that want him.''

Rudoy wouldn't disclose the teams that are pursuing Kukoc, although one of them is believed to be Chicago