Finally, another Bulls blog(?)

from the message board nonsense passing as Bulls blogs, and thank you for pointing it out, Matt. I could certainly be more critical (uh, the Hinrich math is far from conclusive and the Hinrich post was written by 'BenGo07', Simmons idolatry, stathead who thinks Nocioni is a good PF), but 'tis the season or something like that.

As far as the notion of a 'core' goes, it would seem the only players with long term deals are Hinrich and Wallace, so considering both untouchables would probably be sound thinking. I'm not discounting Deng, Gordon, or Nocioni's future with the Bulls, only stating the obvious that the organization is officially sold on keeping Hinrich and Wallace. Sure they gave a big contract to Chander, but there wasn't much choice in the matter.

BASKETBALL MIND GODS....I think you need a gf. I get the creeps just reading this crap. Like watching a Harry Potter movie.

Like Thank You Isiah, this team is headed towards the conference finals this year, and probably the NBA finals.  Why doesn't everyone want to keep the players we have and let them continue to get better, especially Deng and Nocioni.

If we have Ben and Kirk locked up at around 22 million combined the next 3 years after this one, what's the harm in giving Gordon, Noce, and Deng all 8-9 million and Duhon 6?  That's around 55-60 million dollars, plus the entry level contracts of Thabo and Thomas.  That's an 8 player rotation, plus our draft picks this year that will be entry level deals long enough until Wallace's contract expires.  What's wrong with this plan?  On top of that, we'll be losing PJ's contract too at the end of this year, so adding a couple 9 million dollar deals isn't as unfeasible as it sounds, considering we're like 26th in the league in salary right now, with PJ's included.  

Leaving these guys together for the next 3 years is going to provide more winning than mortgaging the future on KG for a 2 year window before his knees fall apart.  And who's to say he would elevate us to the championship anyway?  I say stick with these 8 guys, plus the rookies next year, for the next 4-5 years, and see how many rings we get.

the right deal comes along for Hinrich?  Meaning we get a quality guard in return that saves the team salary cap space in the future?  We may still be 1 or 2 players away from truly contending for a championship.  Hard work alone does not win rings.  You have to have the talent too.  Deng may be our go to guy when its said and done.  
So what if the Hornets offer C. Paul for Hinrich, would you bite on that deal?  We get younger, faster, better passing and decision making.  We do lose a little on the defensive end, but Paul is no puss on the defensive end.  This sort of move will help our transition game that will be created from good defense.

That we can trade the ghost of Bryce Drew for Basketball Jones.  

Matt, Hoopinion, perhaps you could help me out on this:

I looked at Hinrich, Duhon, and Gordon's stats at the point guard position, which is what you're looking at above. I chose minutes for statistical reasons, PER is almost essential (and I don't need to list points, rebounds, assists, etc.), and the team offense, defense, and win% to show how well the team plays with a specific point guard.

Obviously Gordon hasn't played enough point guard for those stats to mean anything. Hinrich and Duhon have surprisingly comparable numbers, and Duhon has a better PPR (which I didn't list) as well. The glaring exception here is PER, and Hinrich's 19.7 has him producing at a near-elite level.

The biggest problem I have with Duhon's numbers, especially team points allowed, is that he is often  playing alongside an out of position Hinrich. Kirk is still out there guarding the better perimeter players and making up for Duhon's offensive weaknesses. I wish I could come up with more really solid conclusions from this, but Skiles' insistence on limiting Jizzle's minutes and playing Hinrich out of position skew the stats.

I think it's pretty obvious as an observer and fan that Kirk is the best point guard on the team, and a Hinrich/Gordon backcourt gives the Bulls the most balance despite size problems. Hopefully Sefolosha replaces Duhon's minutes, and Kirk can play his natural position with more frequency. A good point guard is almost as hard to find as a good big anyway.