He doesn’t care if the offensive player is a star or that he’s going in for a dunk. He’ll get up there and contest it. And he does get above the rim to block dunks pretty frequently for a guy of his size.

But he’s a “bad” defender in terms of abandoning the game plan/ team defense or leaving his man to gamble on a steal too frequently, or to double-team when it’s not the proper thing to do.

Offensively, Harrington is something of a chucker who takes a lot of 3’s even when he’s playing PF instead of SF.

If he could agree to stay down low and play more of a conventional 4 with the Bulls, then I’d be very interested in a potential trade for him.

But the intangibles may still favor Noc. By that I mean that Noc’s cliche’d grittiness and spirit are a very positive influence on younger players. I’m not sure what Al H’s attitude and intangibles will mean to a young team like this. He’s not the crazyman that a Dennis Rodman or Rasheed Wallace type would be, but I don’t think he’s a PJ Brown type either.

The second round pick Hendrix will be wearing street clothes more often than a uniform this season in Golden State…They barely used first round pick Brandon Wright, who (should) play the same position as Hendrix…

The thing you are missing, when a player demands to be traded, his value is reduced to the point of matching contracts and little more…Granted, that could just play with an unhappy Harrington for the next TWO seasons (he has a player option for nearly $10 million) or try to move him for something of value in return…in this case, Larry Hughes.

Bringing in Harrington while Noc is still on the roster doesn’t make sense.

Golden State will probably want a PG in return. Realistically the Bulls will probably pawn off Noc with a PG.

Hinrich is the only extra PG we have.

To make the numbers work the trade makes sense. Brandon Wright is buried behind Randolph in playing time. Williams is buried behind Watson in playing time. Bellini is buried on the bench behind Jackson and Maggette.

IMO if I was the Bulls if Golden State will not take back Noc I would back off, wait until January, and then see if Harrington is still around and work something out with Gordon.

…especially if Gooden turns out to be crap. You lose Thabo, Nocioni and Gooden. I suppose they could go after Hedo or Odom and pay $10 million again for a backup there. Or something. Thabo backs up the 3. Gooden the 4. Nocioni the 3/4. You’re losing any depth they have at SF/PF after this season. You could replace any one of them, but not all three.

.but Noah is not that guy now and will not be for a couple years. Camby is, and his contract is conveniently up in a couple years.

Which is why Camby makes sense. Establish continuity, a way you want your center playing, and do it. It’s a great fit with Rose (you don’t necessarily want a hulking guy getting in the way), and let Camby hold down the fort and make us better for two years. Let Noah grow into the role.

It’s not a matter of “needing him” in the same way that we don’t “need” better players anywhere. It’s a matter of interior defense being crucial and being a current weakness for this team. So fix it and give everyone a good chance to succeed.