Hinrich for Butler?

Latest rumor buzz has Bulls swapping Hinrich for Caron Butler. Before I weigh in on whether this is good or bad for the Bulls, let's look at why this is possible. Strangely, Butler is on the block because of the misbehavior of his teammates, namely "Agent Zero" Arenas and Javaris Crittenton, who allegedly pulled guns on each other during a gambling dispute in the Wizards locker room. Did these guys not get the memo that they are no longer the Washington Bullets? Or do the Wizards issue handguns out as standard equipment? I'm tempted to make a third joke about their "run and gun" offense, but am stopping myself from going too far.

What this highly publicized incident does is put even more pressure on the woeful Wizards to blow up their team and start anew. And when that happens, the most valuable assets always get swapped first. In this case, with Arenas proving to be far more trouble than his contract is worth, the Wizards really have only two valuable assets: Butler and Antawn Jamison. And Butler seems to be the more disenfranchised of the two.

I like Butler, but still have mixed feelings about the two. Hinrich has been playing extremely well of late. He is a big factor as to why the Bulls have won their last three games. He's the Bulls best defender and backs up both the 1 and 2 spots. Butler is a better offensive player and fills the 2 or 3 spots. I have to vote for the trade because Rose has been playing a lot better recently and we need someone to take minutes away from Salmons and Deng, who are not playing well. It would not be easy to see Hinrich go though, and I suspect the Wizards will want even more than him for Butler.

Of course the Bulls need Jamison even more, to add a scorer to the frontcourt, but it would take more than Hinrich to get him. I would happily give up both Deng and Thomas for Jamison, but I don't think the Bulls would do that, even if they could make the salaries work out.

Bulls can't delude themselves into thinking that this mini winning streak has set them on the right path. They need to make a trade. Of course I always want to see Thomas and Deng on the block, but I'd take anything that improves this bad team.

Update 1/06: Stern gives Arenas an indefinite suspension because of his gun play in the locker room. Understandable, but what I can't figure out is how Crittenton avoided a similar fate. Not that it matters a lot to the Wiz because he is injured and isn't any good when he isn't injured anyway. But how does he not get the same suspension as Agent Zero? Maybe Stern doesn't even know about him? Finally, best of Letterman's top ten Washington Wizards explanations for the gun incident: #3 "Wanted gun close by in case team tried to trade me to the Nets."