I've been an avid reader of BaB for the last year but only just created an account. Why? Because I am actually pretty excited about the next 12 months.

I know a lot of the sentiment here, specially after our crappy draft has been pessimistic about the future, management and ownership of the Bulls. While all that pessimism is still justified, it doesn't change the fact that the next 12 months are going to present unprecedented trade and FA opportunities in the league. And as has been discussed ad nauseum, the Bulls are one of the few teams with the magical combination of cap room, attractive assets and a good enough core left over after the trade to keep us relevant or, dare I say, even make us instant contenders.

I'm not going to revisit the countless Bosh, Amare or Kirk to Blazers tradem scenarios. I'm going to see if we can take advantage of the latest big news out of the league, namely, Yao might be done...for the year, for his career.

Most likely, the Rockets already know this and are not saying it publicly. They will be thinking of blowing up and starting over. Trading T-Mac's 22M expiring contract is one of their big chips. They'd obviously be looking for young talent and picks, without any crappy contracts.

A few assumptions before I make my trade suggestion:
> The Bulls are not able to swing a trade for Bosh by the trade deadline
> T-Mac has not been traded to another team
> Bulls management decides to trade Kirk no matter what before the deadline, allowing them to reup BG since luxury tax is calculated after the season. (i know, HUGE assumption)

THE TRADE

kirk (9.5M)
Salmons (5.45M)
+
Either Tyrus (4.75M)
OR
James Johnson (1.6M) & Next years #1 pick

for T-Mac (23M expiring)

For the Rockets:

A starting PG on a reasonable contract (3 yrs for 27M is not bad for Kirk as long as he starts)
A starting 2/3 in Salmons for just 1 additional year
Either an explosive starting PF in Tyrus, or effectively 2 1st round picks

For the Bulls
In 2010, they will have Lu, Rose & Noah (combined at 20M) under contract, & if they re-sign BG (say at 10M/yr). That's it!. Leaves them about 45 M under the cap for 2010 (35M if they keep BG). If T-Mac is actually healthy and we do not keep BG, we get an All Star caliber 2 guard for the rest of the season


Now in the scenario where the Bulls are ~45 M under the cap, they are better placed as ANY team for 2010. Not only will they have more cap space than the Knicks allowing them to ink 2 max contracts, they have a core with 1 superstar (Rose) 1 potential All Star (Lu) and 1 solid starting center (Noah).

Target Bosh and Wade, or Bosh/Wade and any one of the other 2nd tier FA's (Joe Johnson, McGrady, Raja Bell, etc.) and spend the rest on the bench and you have a group ready to compete for titles for the next 10 years.

Is it the best move for the Bulls? No. But assuming they don't do ANYTHING between now and the deadline (a distinct possibility with Gar Paxdorf) it is a move that puts them in a better position for 2010. Yes they will not have Tyrus any more, but that would also be the case if they ended up trading for Bosh. Plus, they get rid of Kirk. They lose Fishdicks which makes me sad though.

Ok now as Mister Burns loves to say - 'Release the hounds'. I'm ready to be ripped apart. :-)