Bulls, Chandler agree to contract extension

CHICAGO - Tyson Chandler and the Bulls agreed Thursday to a multiyear contract, keeping the restricted free agent and former No. 2 overall draft pick in Chicago.\nThe team declined to release the length of the contract or the terms, but Chandler said it's a six-year deal.\n"I'm ecstatic that this contract is done," said Chandler, who was drafted out of high school in 2001. "To know that I will be in Chicago for the next six years is definitely a dream."\nThe 7-foot-1 Chandler played in a career-high 80 games in his fourth season with the Bulls and averaged 8.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and nearly two blocks a game.\nHe shot 49 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free throw line.\n"In this business, things don't always happen at the pace you would like, but I knew from the onset that we would make this happen," Bulls general manager John Paxson said in a team release.\n"Tyson's play last season was an important factor to our success and we hope to take the next step forward with Tyson being a major contributor to our team."\nThe Bulls made the playoffs for the first time since 1998 last season before being eliminated in the first round by the Washington Wizards.\nStill unsigned is fellow prep-to-pro Eddy Curry, also a restricted agent, whose future has been clouded by heart problems.\nChandler was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2001 draft before his draft rights were traded, along with Brian Skinner, to the Bulls for Elton Brand.