After an excellent game against Boston, the Bulls played some of their most pathetic ball of the year versus Golden State and the Clippers. Then the Bulls put together a pair of solid outings against Phoenix and Houston. They are becoming one of the most unpredictable teams in the league. I guess that beats being clearly one of the worst.
Bulls pull off a trade, but nothing to raise anyone's pulse: Aaron Gray for Devin Brown. You hate to see them trade big for small when they so clearly need front court help, but Gray isn't going to crack into the rotation. He's been a disappointment after a promising start during his rookie year. Bulls are desperate for some 3-point shooting and are hoping Brown can improve that a bit. He's not going to make much of an impact though.
Once again we have a multitude of Amare Stoudemire trade rumors just before the deadline. If you remember from last year, the Suns neglected to pull the trigger on a bunch of Amare trade offers, and then had Amare get injured a day after the trade deadline. So now, we have basically the same rumors as last year. On the Bulls side, that would be Tyrus and Deng for Amare.
Now, you'd think that I would be jumping up and down for a chance to trade away my two least favorite Bulls, but I'm actually only lukewarm to this deal. Both Tyrus and Deng have played better than last year, and Amare is a bit worse. Plus, Amare is still injury prone and a bad defender. That isn't to say I still wouldn't pull the trigger because I just couldn't resist getting rid of Tyrus and Deng, but I don't think Amare is that great a prize. The Suns really made a huge mistake by not trading him last year. I've said it before and will likely say it again: I loved Paxson and Kerr as players and think they are both intelligent guys, but they are both terrible in the front office.
Here's a trade rumor I like a lot more -- Al Jefferson of the Wolves for either Deng or Tyrus plus change. Jefferson has more of an offensive post presence and that is something that has been lacking in the Bulls game for quite some time.
Hinrich is most definitely on the block to get rid of his contract, but I hope the Bulls don't give him away. He's been playing rather well lately. Boston is a team that would love to snatch him away without giving up much. I don't mind including him in a good deal though. I still vote yes to swapping him for Caron Butler.
Right now the Bulls are two games under .500, yet still in the 8th spot in the East, with a reasonable chance of rising all the way up to the 5th seed. And yet they have no chance of winning the championship. So, are they content with a first or second round playoff exit (at best!) or do they start getting themselves in position to be better for next year?
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