Well, I like the Bulls but I’m a Blazer fan. And, if you can figure out how to get Hinrich in the mix, maybe you could get your hands on Frye given the Blazers have Outlaw as a combo PF/SF at 6’9". And, maybe, in that mix if you could persuade the Blazers to give up a #2 PG such as Sergio – you might get close to a deal. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the Blazers are shopping players. And no, I don’t over-value them in relation to Hinrich – so don’t start an IBM war.

Let’s face it. The Hinrich as SG deal isn’t upping his trade value any. He’s already a year away from his best year. I was one that thought if Paxton was going to give the ball to Rose, then he needed to have been far more aggressive in using Hinrich to get more help on the front line, or at the SG spot. Hinrich is not a solid SG, and he’s too good to be a #2 PG. Combine this with Gordon’s attitude, and you had a couple of players with value sitting around – neither of which was going to take you to the promised land. What the Bulls need is a solid SG who’s going to stay around, or, a big man that can be the next Bill Cartwright. Cartwright was never an all-star but he could do some things decently you needed to have done.

Posey moved, Brand moved, Camby moved etc. Where was Paxton? How hard was Paxton digging when the Brand/Camby deals were floating? At the least, Gordon is a veteran twin to SD’s #1 draft pick (also Gordon picked at 7)- which clearly demonstrated they wanted a Gordon type SG guard. If Paxton had flipped Gordon to SD for their #7 and change – they could easily have picked up one of the Lopez’s, for example.

Frankly, Paxton puzzles me. Rose is going to be first rate. No question about it. But Paxton is sitting their which chips – and has been for months – and the only reason you have chips is if you want to play the game. So why isn’t he playing?

You got me. I threw it out. But on Gordon I was simply pointing out that the Clippers picked up Eric Gordon – a shooting guard at #7 – and he’s expected to become their version of Ben Gordon. As far as SD vs. LA – they may have the LA name, but that’s about it. The only team we acknowledge from LA is the Lakers in my area. In the end, someone speculated about Frye. And, at the end of the day, getting a solid backup to Rose and a front line player are your needs – not ours. Portland, on the other hand, needs a PG. And, you’ll also need an SG if Gordon and the Bulls can’t reach some compromise – and from where I sit, they certainly don’t seem to be on the same wavelength right now. Those are your two best chips. The rest, like the Blazers and others, are 2nd team players who will get more 2nd team players. So deal or stand pat – but the longer the Bulls stand pat, the less value those chips have.