Before the trading frenzy, the Bulls played a rare home/away back-to-back against the Knicks. I had the good fortune to attend the game at the United Center in a very nice halfcourt box. I always enjoy watching the Bulls beat up on one of the few teams consistently more hapless than they are.
Of course the real action between the Bulls and Knicks wasn't on the court, but in that huge T-Mac expiring contract competition. There was some surprising drama here as that coveted T-Mac contract first went to Sacramento from Houston, basically for Kevin Martin. But now it is looking like the Kings will now swap it to the Knicks. They paid a pretty steep price for it though. The Rockets get their draft pick two years from now and have the option to swap picks with them next year. So, the Knicks are gambling big time on getting prime free agents next year, but it is still probably a good move for them.
As mentioned previously, I wanted the Bulls to take this same tactic. They didn't get T-Mac, but they weren't completely idle either. They jettisoned Salmons to the Bucks for expiring contracts, and Thomas (!!!) to the Bobcats for expiring contracts and a protected draft pick. Looking at the glass half empty, tossing away Salmons is proof that their big trade last year was a failure; we didn't get much for Tyrus; and the Bulls didn't get rid of those bloated contracts of Hinrich and Deng, which will be a burden when free agent shopping next year. Also on the pessimistic side is the fact that the Cavs made a great trade in grabbing Jamison from the Wiz, making them the favorites for the title, which would drastically reduce the chances of LeBron bolting for free agency next year.
But let's also examine the glass half full position. First off -- Tyrus is gone!! I don't care that we're basically trading a former number two draft pick for what will be a non-lottery pick. He's gone and that's a good move! Next, tossing away Salmons was no easy task because he, like Deng and Hinrich, makes far more than he is worth, and in this current cash strapped NBA no team likes to take on salaries for under-achievers. The Bulls got lucky because the Bucks are in a rare playoff hunt and they've lost their shooting guard (Redd) to injury. They need someone like Salmons if they want to go to the playoffs, so they were inclined to pay for him.
One might question the wisdom of the Bulls sending players to two of the teams who are competing with them for a playoff spot, but the answer to that is simple -- the Bulls are bailing on this year, as they should. The big danger is that the locker room gets a poisoned attitude towards management waving the white flag. However, the Bulls still have a very good chance to make the playoffs, even with these trades. They did get Warrick and Alexander back for Salmons, and Murray and Law back for Tyrus. Of these four, I only expect Warrick and Murray to play, and while they certainly aren't great players, they should provide enough bodies for the Bulls to limp into their inevitable first round playoff loss.
Can't help pointing out that for two years running, Amare Stoudemire was most involved in trade deadline rumors, and yet he remains a Sun. Last year he got injured right after the trade deadline, so I'm expecting history to repeat itself.
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