Tracking Trades

Portland wants him and the Bulls should give him to them. The potential Hinrich trade is just one of many trade possibilities at the NBA Draft.

This has already been an exciting offseason and the Draft hasn't even happened yet.

The Bucks made a painful trade to open salary cap room when they shipped Richard Jefferson to San Antonio for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. Shortly after, the Bucks made a brilliant move and shipped out Oberto to Detroit for Amir "My potential is endless" Johnson.

Many speculate the Bucks could cut either Bowen or Thomas or maybe both. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen. Trading Jefferson may have been their way of trading for Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villanueva.

Shortly after, Minnesota jumped on the trade game and sent perpetual shooters Randy Foye and Mike Miller to Washington for Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov and Darius Songaila along with the fifth overall pick.

I wouldn't expect the T'Wolves to hold on to Songaila or Pecherov, but they may opt to keep Thomas. And as far as getting the fifth overall pick, expect them to try to package that with their 28th pick to move to the two spot to assure themselves Ricky Rubio.

I like the move for Minnesota and meanwhile in Washington we have three guys now who will do nothing but shoot. Miller, Foye and Gilbert Arenas ... that combination should fail badly but will be entertaining to watch at least. Well at least the part where they scream at each other for the ball.

So now that those two deals are done, the rumor mill is churning and you can expect the following to happen on Draft night or shortly there after:

1. Cleveland begins their crusade: It's no secret GM Danny Ferry needs to make a move to keep the King happy and in Cleveland. It's all or nothing for the Cavs this year. A championship puts pressure on LeBron James to stay, but failing again would pretty much show him the door. The two most talked about names are Vince Carter and Shaquille O'Neal. Either would be nice additions to the roster, but I think Ferry is going for broke.

He wants to establish the Ming Dynasty. If Ferry could swing a deal for Yao Ming, you might as well hand the Cavaliers the championship. Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace's expiring contracts won't be enough to bring the big man in though. They will need to offer a draft pick and a promising young player at least. Will it be done? Probably not. Could it be done? Yes. If it fails, expect to see Vince Carter running the floor with James next season.

2. Just Kidding New York: Recent rumors have surfaced indicating the Knicks could be interested in Jason Kidd. I think not. With the Phoenix Suns ready to blow up their team and start all over again, I would expect Mike D' Antoni to make a big push bring in Steve Nash. The Knicks have also expressed interest in Marcin Gortat, while still trying to save cap room for the summer of 2010.

I think they will be careful spending their money this summer, and signing Kidd is not being smart. Speaking of not being smart with their money, the Knicks are talking about swapping one expiring contract for another with the Memphis Grizzlies. Apparently they like what they see in Darko Milicic and are willing to part ways with Quentin Richardson to get him. I mean ... well, they're the Knicks.

3. Is Gar Forman John Paxson: The answer is yes if he fails to trade Kirk Hinrich yet again. There is plenty of interest from multiple teams in Hinirch, and while he is a good player, he has worn out his welcome in Chicago. The backcourt tandem of Hinirch/Gordon didn't work and I don't think it works well with Rose either. If Portland wants him, which apparently, they sort of do, then pull the trigger. Trading for any player on that team would be a pretty good move as they are very deep. They could possibly convince the Blazers to part way with promising young guard, Jerryd Bayless.

4. Is the Celtics' front office smoking: That question will be answered if they trade Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen for Amar'e Stoudemire. For some reason unknown to man, they feel Rondo is a dispensable piece of their puzzle, despite not having any other point guard on the squad. I understand Allen is supposed to make loads of money next season and it would be nice cap relief to let him go, but come on. Stoudemire will not help the Celtics very much and they would have a real hard time replacing Rondo.

A very sick, gross feeling tells me the Celtics are going to make a trade happen on draft night.

Those are the big stories going into tomorrow night's draft, but be sure to follow TBDS all day tomorrow as I will have blog updates about the big stories and a direct twitter feed of all the night's action.

Have a good NBA Draft Night Eve

Bulls: Guarding from guards

Here's hoping Gar Forman has the (basket)balls to make a bold trade on Draft Night.

The NBA Draft is an exciting time for basketball fans and also a saving grace from an NBA hangover. Sorry baseball fans, but the crosstown rivalry doesn't really do it for me. 

So while I wait for next Thursday's draft, I will spend my time watching the Confederation's Cup and thinking big thoughts about how the Milwaukee Bucks should handle their draft. But since this is a Chicago-style blog, I am also going to give some thought to how the Bulls should handle their draft. 

First of all, Chicago is the envy of every Milwaukee fan, and really every NBA fan, as they have two great draft positions in the first round. With the #16 and #26 pick, they can't go wrong ... or can they?

This will be the draft that answers the question as to whether or not John Paxson is still running the show behind the scenes. If the Bulls draft Gerald Henderon, Paxson is still making the calls, it they do not, then it might be safe to say Gar Forman is in control. 

And that's not to knock Henderson, but if I wanted a player like Henderson I would just take Kirk Hinrich ... oh wait, they already have him. So another small combo guard is the last thing the Bulls need. 

There has been a lot of talk about Eric Maynor and Jeff Teague lately, but I don't think either of those fit the Bulls needs. With the #16 pick, they should bolster their non-existent frontcourt, and then with #26 they need to take a straight-up scorer. 

The problem for the Bulls is there is not a lot of depth at the forward and center positions. They could take a chance on Chase Buddinger, but he is pretty much Tyrus Thomas version 2. He has plenty of developing to do, but he is a great athlete, much like Joe Alexander for the Bucks last year. 

DeJuan Blair should be off the board by then, which is good for the Bulls. I'm still unsure if Blair will be able to do anything more than rip down offensive boards. So this leaves the Bulls with two options: Earl Clark and BJ Mullens.

Clark is a good shooter, and at 6'10" he can be a dual threat. But he doesn't have the tenacious post game the Bulls desperately need. Mullens could be a force in the paint, but he is only a freshman, which makes him a big question mark. 

If I were the Bulls, I would shock some people and takes USC's Taj Gibson at #16. He is a physical, aggressive presence and seems like the most NBA ready out of the players I just mentioned. It's a little high to take him at that position, but he would be worth it.

Notice I didn't say Tyler Hansbrough and for the sanity of Bulls fans, I hope they don't consider him.

Now for the second pick, the Bulls need to draft offense. With the exception of Ben Gordon and Derek Rose, the Bulls don't have much scoring power. I like John Salmons, but he isn't the explosive scorer to compliment Gordon and Rose. 

It's a no brainer that at #26, the Bulls need to select Wayne Ellington if he is still available. Ellington is known for his sweet stroke, drawing comparisons to Ray Allen. And though he is 6'5", he plays more like 6'7" with an impressive wingspan. 

I think a Gibson/Ellington draft would be a nice kick for the Bulls, but here is my best suggestion to my Chicago rivals. 

TRADE YOUR PICKS!

I have little doubt that if the Bulls traded their two first-round picks, they could convince Toronto to trade Chris Bosh. The Raptors know he won't be back in 2010, so they might as well get something for him. 

If your the Bulls, you make that trade and sign Bosh to an extension. The pick-and-roll possibilities with Bosh/Rose would make defenses tremble. It's time for Forman to be bold and make a deal happen next Thursday. 

Report: Gar Forman To Replace John Paxson As Bulls GM

The John Paxson Era was good, bad and ugly. But in the end, he should be fondly remembered if only because he rescued a franchise that was mired in a waist-high pile of doo-doo at the tailspin of the Jerry Krause regime.

Sure, Pax butchered the Ben Wallace deal and sent out Tyson Chandler, who would go on and flourish with Chris Paul in New Orleans. But there wasn't a Bulls fan out there that wasn't going to boo that trade. Until of course Wallace made a big stink about hairstyles, headbands and Chicago traffic.

What Paxson did best was draft. Kirk Hinrich hasn't been spectacular, but he has been a solid role player. Ben Gordon should get paid handsomely for his scoring efforts and before the back-to-back disappointing and injury-plagued years, Luol Deng was a budding NBA star.

The jury is still out on Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. You know who the jury is not on: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy and Rudy Gay. Wouldn't any of those guys look really good running the break with Derrick Rose?

I digress onto the news of the day.

Gar Forman, he of the scouting background and player development, has some mighty wide shoes to fill. As the new general manager, Forman will need to spearhead contract talks with Gordon while trying to build around Rose, Noah and vets such as John Salmons and Brad Miller. And he'll have two first round picks (Nos. 16 & 26) to work with as the Bulls should either use the picks to acquire a starting-five caliber player or to strengthen bench depth.

But moments after the conclusion of tomorrow morning's scheduled press confernce, I expect Forman to call the Los Angeles Clippers and inquire about Marcus Camby or Chris Kaman.

But as soon as someone mentions Zach Randolph, hang up the phone and run away.

And in the name of Air Jordan, if Kobe Bryant's name comes up in a trade offer accept it immediately!

John Paxson Turns Over Bulls role to Forman [Chicago Sun-Times]