Salmons traded to Bucks for Kurt Thomas/Francisco Elson or Joe Alexander/Hakeem Warrick

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls made their first big move of the trade deadline late Wednesday evening by trading swingman John Salmons to the Milwaukee Bucks for either Kurt Thomas & Francisco Elson or Joe Alexander & Hakeem Warrick. Which ever deal the Bulls are dealt with, they'll be picking up expiring contracts and getting rid of a guy who had a player option that could have ruined the chances of signing a big name free agent this summer.

John Salmons was a great addition to the Bulls last season and was easily the biggest steal of the trade deadline last year. His ability to create his own shot and hit down a rather consistant 3 pointer was very helpful in the already famous 7 game series with Boston.

The Milwaukee deal also put all Tracy McGrady rumors to rest last night as Salmons was said to be one of the center pieces of a New York/Sacramento/Chicago three way deal. Tracy McGrady was later dealt along with Carl Landry & Joey Dorsey to the Kings for their star shooting guard Kevin Martin along with Kenny Thomas, Hilton Armstrong & Sergio Rodriguez. Landing Kevin Martin is HUGE for Houston. They got an all-star caliber player for a guy who wasn't even playing. Playing the waiting game paid off for the Rockets and they got a much better deal than what the Knicks or Bulls were offering.

The Cavs also made a decent 3 way trade earlier yesterday for forward Antwan Jamison. The trade sent Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first-round draft pick and the rights to Emir Preldzic, who was selected in the second round of last year's draft to the Wizards for Jamison. The Clippers shipped off Al Thornton to the Wizards along with Sebastian Telfair to the Cavs and received Drew Gooden. Drew Gooden is expected to receive a buyout along with Ilgauskas who will most likely return to Cleveland.

In lesser calliber deals, recent dunk champion, Nate Robinson was shipped off from the Knicks to Boston for Eddie House. The deal gives the Boston Celtics a solid but undersized back up guard. In a rather uninspired deal, the Knicks traded Darko Milicic to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Brian Cardinal.

The trade deadline is at 3:00 p.m. today. Everyone's eyes will be on a possible Amare Stoudemire to Miami trade. It was said last night that Amare met with the team owner and is most likely to stay with the Suns the rest of the season but anything can happen if Miami decides to finally throw Michael Beasley in a deal. Look for the Bulls in a last ditch effort to try to trade Tyrus Thomas & Jannero Pargo (who has requested a trade) to the Knicks for Al Harrington. The Bulls lost a solid bench scorer in Salmons and his double digit points will be missed unless another scorer is brought in.

Also, completely overshadowed by the trade deadline last night was the Bulls/Knicks game. The Bulls won 115-109 after coming back from a 15 point deficit. The Knicks were given a chance to tie in the last 20 seconds of the game but came up empty 3 times in a row from downtown instead of going for the easy 2 and fouling. Rose finished the game with 27 points and 6 assists. Taj Gibson had 14 points & 16 rebounds and Deng quietly had a solid game with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Al Harrington had 27 points for New York.

Bulls Destroy Knicks/Rumors Are Getting Crazy!

By Sean Mackey



In their first game back from All-Star break, the Bulls proceeded to annihilate the Knicks 118-85 Tuesday night. Derrick Rose played with some true all-star swagger scoring 29 points on 14-18 shooting, dishing out 6 assists and pulling down 4 rebounds. All this was done while sitting out the entire 4th quarter due to a ridiculous 30 point lead. Hinrich had a solid 14 points, 6 assists and 8 rebounds. Joakim Noah once again sat out with a plantar fasciitis related injury. With this win the Bulls improve to 26-26. The Bulls play the Knicks again tonight at 8:00 p.m. on CSN Chicago and NBA League Pass.

Although, it was great to see the Bulls finally tear apart a team at will, the whole game was overshadowed by league wide trade rumors. The Bulls have been said to be very active this year. They've been rumored to be in talks for Tracy McGrady, Amare Stoudemire, Al Jefferson, Al Harrington and most recently, Chris Bosh.

Tyrus Thomas is most likely to be dealt by Thursday's trade deadline at 3:00 p.m. I rumor via Yahoo Sports has indicated that the Spurs are the most interested in Thomas. A combination of probably Roger Mason (who has requested a trade) and another expiring contract or draft pick would probably be the most likely package. Other proposals have had him being shipped off to the Houston Rockets along with Brad Miller, John Salmons and/or Kirk Hinrich for former All-Star Tracy McGrady. There's also the popular scenario of Tyrus going to the Knicks for Al Harrington.

Supposedly, just yesterday the Bulls were said to have offered Luol Deng & Tyrus Thomas to the Timberwolves for Al Jefferson but the offer was immediately refused. That's one trade I would have LOVED to have seen happen. Noah, Jefferson, J. Johnson, Hinrich & Rose, a lineup that could have probably lured Dwayne Wade back home.

However, last night the most interesting of all Bulls related trade rumors came from Tech 9 at Rumor Press. The proposed deal would have Joakim Noah & Luol Deng being shipped off for All-Star forward Chris Bosh. Although, ideally it would be best for Noah & Bosh to play together, if this is what the Bulls have to do to secure Bosh, they need to do it. Chicago may be able to draft a solid center such as Cole Alrich to compliment Bosh later on. The Bulls also still may be able to just clear some more cap space and sign Bosh this summer. It all depends whether or not Gar/Pax think they have a chance of luring Bosh to Chicago this offseason.

By 3:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, we'll be able to get a glance at what direction the Bulls are taking going into the summer of 2010 free agency lottery. Very exciting!

Rose injured, Bulls get crushed, Tyrus is as good as gone

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls were defeated at home last night 107-87 by the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic. Luol Deng lead the team with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Derrick Rose was injured and had to exit the game after being hacked hard going up for layup by Dwight Howard. However, Rose made the shot and sank the free throw before leaving the game with a bruised hip from the foul. X-rays have been negative but but a fracture is still possible yet unlikely according to team specialists. Rose is scheduled to appear on NBA All-Star Saturday Night to defend his Skills Challenge title along with the actual NBA All-Star game on Sunday night. It is unknown whether or not Rose will be able to participate in the festivities.

It seems trade rumors are floating around everywhere on the web regarding Tyrus Thomas inevitable departure from Chicago. The Denver Nuggets seemed to have made the first offer for Free Money 2 days ago with a proposed deal that would ship Renaldo "he's a sleepa'" Balkman, Joey Graham & former Bull Malik Allen. Since yesterday, Yahoo Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Bulls have received several other offers including one from Charlotte that would send Acie Law, Flip Murray & a first round draft pick (which Doug Thonus of Bulls Confidential has called out as impossible since Minnesota owns the pick) and an offer from Portland that would send Steve Blake or Travis Outlaw plus two 2nd round draft picks.

The Bulls organization has made it clear that they're looking for expiring contracts and a 2010 or future first round draft pick. What Chicago gets for Thomas will probably be unknown until the day of the trade deadline but one thing is for certain, by this time next week, Tyrus Thomas will probably no longer be a Chicago Bull.

Report: Derrick Rose Makes All-Star Team!

By Sean Mackey

It has been reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that Derrick Rose will be named to his first NBA all-star game this evening when the reserves are announced tonight on TNT. Rose will be joined alongside Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace & Al Horford and previously announced starters Allen Iverson, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett & Dwayne Wade to complete the 2010 Eastern all-star squad. Western reserves include Chris Paul, Paul Gasol, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Zach Randolph and Brandon Roy.

Derrick Rose is the first Chicago Bull to be chosen for the all-star team since Michael Jordan in 1998. Congrads to him and the Bulls for finally having an all-star. As previously announced, Rose will also be starting in the rookie/sophmore game and defending his Skills Challenge title.

The only real snub this year is Chris Kaman who rightfully should have been chosen over Pau Gasol. New York fans are also probably a little upset that David Lee was left out, but who cares? Derrick Rose is in and that's all that matters :)

Is that 4 (Road Wins) in a row? Bulls finally at .500 again!

By Sean Mackey

The Bulls won their 4 straight road game last night with a 96-86 victory over the OKC Thunder. Derrick Rose was fantastic pouring in a total of 26 points and 7 assists. Rose took over in the 4th quarter and pounded dagger after dagger to the Thunder including a ridiculous slam dunk in the final 2 minutes. Taj Gibson was insane on the glass with 15 rebounds, Luol Deng had 17 points going 3-4 from downtown. Joakim Noah had another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. New Bulls guard Devin Brown sat out after not being able to participate in the morning shootaround. VDN wanted him to understand the "system" and get him properly acclimated before throwing him into an actual a game. Look for Brown to make his season debut with the Bulls against his former team, the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

With this win the Bulls improve to .500. A month ago, this was thought to be impossible. At this point last season (after 44 games) the Bulls were 18-26 so the Bulls are already off to a decent start even without Ben Gordon. 19 more wins and the Bulls will match last years record. Chicago is currently sitting as the #7 seed in the East. If the playoffs started today, we'd have an epic rematch of last years series with the Bostons Celtics.

While winning is great, the only downside to the Bulls doing this well on a roadtrip is that the front office might be reluctant to pull the trigger on a blockbuster trade. The Bulls have been winning games with Hinrich starting and Salmons coming off the bench. My gut feeling is that Salmons will be dealt by the end of February. Hinrich is overvalued and I doubt will never be traded. With Devin Brown coming off the bench, Salmons looks very expendable. I could also see Brad Miller leaving if an all-star like NBA big is brought in or just another expiring big.

The Bulls look to extend their win streak to 5 when they visit Aaron Gray and the New Orleans Hornets Friday night @ 8 p.m. on CSN-Chicago and NBA League Pass.

Rose & Gibson Heading to the Rookie/Sophmore Game!

By Sean Mackey

The NBA All-Star reserves won't be announced until tomorrow but it appears Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson will be competing against each other in the 2010 Rookie/Sophomore game at NBA All-Star weekend. Rose is currently averaging 19.6 points & 5.9 assists per game. Taj is averaging 8.5 points & 6.3 rebounds per game. Derrick had 4 points and 7 assists in a loss to the Sophomores last year.

The Amare Stoudemire rumors are starting to flair up just as they did at this time last year. It was revealed today by Mike McGraw of the Chicago Tribune that the Bulls turned down an offer last season which would have sent Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha & multiple draft picks to the Suns for Stoudemire. The multiple draft pick request was what apparently killed the deal and I'm okay with that. That was way too much to give up for a player who's had micro fracture knee surgery.

Mike McGraw also confirmed that Kirk Hinrich's name has came up in discussions between Chicago and Los Angeles. The Lakers would be able to offer a package of Adam Morrison & Sasha Vujacic. The only problem with that deal is that Vujacic has another year on his contract. If the Bulls are going to clear roster space for 2 free agents, they're going to need to get expiring contracts for Kirk. Personally, I don't believe the Bulls will ever trade Kirk Hinrich. He's the franchise's golden boy and a personal favorite of Reinsdorf. Plus over the last few weeks, he's helped the Bulls turn their season around. However, I could see Salmons getting traded if a decent expiring contract comes up.

New acquisition, Devin Brown makes his debut as a Bull this evening when Chicago visits the Oklahoma City Thunder @ 8 p.m. on CSN Chicago & NBA League Pass.

Report: Aaron Gray traded to Hornets for Devin Brown

By Sean Mackey

Holy crap! The Bulls made a trade!

The Bulls are shipping the "White Flag" Aaron Gray to the New Orleans Hornets for 6th man, Devin Brown. This is an interesting trade since I believe A-Gray had a no trade clause. This guy has been a fan favorite since day 1 but never got the chance to develop into the low post threat the Bulls wanted him to. He's been a cheerleader most of this year since he was injured and VDN's been on the hot seat.

Devin Brown recently lit the Bulls up for 22 points back on 12/26 shooting 6-7 from the 3 point line. According to Blog a Bull, Brown has a 10% trade kicker, which puts the Bulls over $200k more in 2009-10 committed salary.

I have a feeling that this was a lateral move but I'm sure it's the beginning of a bigger deal looming. Does this mean Salmons and/or Hinrich are on their way out? By this time next month, we'll know for sure.

Also, sorry for the lack of updates. The Bulls are sooooo average right now. They win 2 or 3 games, then lost 2 or 3 games and can't get over .500. I just can't get excited about it. The Bulls need a shake up. I'll be way more into this season when one actually happens.