K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports: On a day general manager Jerry Krause called the worst in his 16-year association with the Bulls, the team fined an unrepentant Charles Oakley $50,000 for comments criticizing coach Tim Floyd following a franchise-worst loss in Minnesota the previous night.

At a hastily arranged Friday news conference, Krause said the Bulls considered suspending the 17-year veteran but ultimately decided that the fine?one of the largest in franchise history?sent a strong enough message.

Here's how bad matters are: Several team sources said an emotional team meeting ended with Oakley and Floyd shouting at each other and Floyd refusing to conduct practice, telling Oakley to "go coach the team." Floyd left his office only briefly to visit the practice court over the course of a three-hour workout.

Another team source said several players are considering helping Oakley pay the fine, which might be appealed by the players association. Calls to that organization were not returned.

No matter what, Oakley's Bulls future seems murky at best. He's in the final year of a contract that pays him $7.3 million.

In a related article, Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Sources said the Bulls  made calls about possibly trading Charles Oakley, who is in the last year of a contract paying him $7.2 million this season. One player said Oakley argued with Floyd and operations chief Jerry Krause before practice because he refused to apologize.