I read somewhere that the Bulls have gone 21-10 since X-mas(which is 2nd in the Eastern Conference over that span). Enough said.

First let me start off by saying that I was at the game =] Warrick won't make nearly as many blocks as Tyrus, in that regard we will definitely miss him, but Warrick just may be the better overall defender. I'm not saying that he is, but he just might be. If that's the case, then we have without a doubt upgraded at PF. Either way, I'm liking what I see from Hakim(aka Hack'em).

"The Bobcats, determined to add an athletic big man to their front court, are close to landing Tyrus Thomas in a deal with the Bulls that would send expiring contracts and a future No. 1 pick to Chicago, a person with knowledge of the situation told CBSSports.com. While the source cautioned that the details were still being resolved and that the deal was pending final approval, it appears that Thomas will secure his exit from Chicago."

I'd prefer they trade Tyrus for an expiring contract and a 1st round pick, but if all else fails then go for Al Harrington. I completely understand why Bulls fans don't want him, and neither do I(beyond this season I mean), but I think it would be a decent move. Not only would we replace Salmons scoring, but we'd finally be able to let Rose play with an offensive big man(just so he can get an idea of what it's like). He might play with Bosh next season right? Well neither Harrington nor Tyrus are on Bosh's level, but Harrington is closer to that mold than Tyrus is. Again, I'm not saying I want Harrington for the future. Just to give Rose an idea of what it's like to play with a frontcourt player with some offensive talent, that's all.

I don't understand why the overwhelming consensus was that Salmons definitely needed to be dumped over Hinrich. He got off to a very poor start, yes, but coming off the bench he's been shooting 47.7%(47.1 3p%) over 23 games. At $5.8 million next season, that's not too bad for a bench player. Hinrich, on the other hand, is due what $9 million? For a guy shooting under 40%(who might not even be a starter next year), that's just not going to cut it in my book. If they were getting paid the same amount of money, then it would be a different story, but that's not the case. Is Hinrich's ball-handling skills and defense really THAT much better to warrant keeping his contract over Salmons'? I'm not sure it is, we could have gotten something of value for Kirk plus an expiring contract it seems. And on the off-chance that Salmons did decide to opt-out, they'd have even more money in free agency. I don't know...

Agreed on Noah, he needs to bulk up some more to be our center. I don't understand where you're coming from on this "super-athelete SG compliment to Rose" thing though. You seem to want Rose to do everything: Handle the offense, drive, push the transition game, take midrange shots, take outside shots, AND play great defense. Yet, you seem to think it's too much to ask for the other guard to play great defense and be the primary 3-point scorer(at least as far as the starters are concerned)? Rose may not play the greatest defense, but he still plays it to a degree that it takes energy out of him. He doesn't just stand there and not move at all. So if he has the energy to constantly attack the basket, push the transition game, and take midrange shots, then I don't think it's too much to ask for the other guard to be the primary guard defender while being the primary 3-point shooter.

Yep, I seen that as well. I never agreed with the plan of dumping even more salary to pursue 2 max free agents, but I hear you, it almost sounds like Wade has already agreed to sign with the Bulls but he just needs more insurance. It's still an extremely risky move going for 2 max free agents. Personally I wouldn't do it, I'd try trading for Bosh now(even if it takes Deng), but maybe they know something we don't. Maybe Wade really does have an agreement with them(or he has strongly hinted that to them) and they can use that to persuade another free agent. Again, I wouldn't do it, too risky. Grasping at straws here.

No, I mean after Rose went down, the Bulls should have lost this game. I didn't mean that even before Rose went down that the Bulls should have lost this game. The Bulls didn't really blow Orlando away the last time they played them anyway, they won by 8 with Rose and Noah. So the Bulls should have lost last night's game(which they did) because they didn't really have Rose(or Noah). That's 2 KEY starters, 1 of which is your All-Star. They should have played a little bit better after Rose got hurt, but they still should have lost.

Unfortunately, I had the displeasure of attending this game. But it would have been very surprising if the Bulls had managed to pull out the win considering they struggle against teams with solid bigs in the first place, not to mention that they were without their top scorer/player and top rebounder/double-double guy, and they were facing the 3rd or 4th best team in the league. That's a recipe for disaster. Losing by less than double digits would have been an accomplishment, actually winning the game would have been fantastic. The fact that they should have lost this game doesn't excuse the very poor play though. I would love to see Rose play in the All-Star game at the very least, but if there's a risk of further injuring himself, then we'll just have to wait 1 more year to see a Bulls All-Star on display(hopefully Joah will progress even more and join him).

Oh yeah, and I agree that filling MJ's shoes may have scared away T-Mac & Vinsanity. But not Kobe, he was the one who was lobbying for the Bulls to acquire him when he asked to be traded. I think he welcomed the challenge. I'm not sure if it's still a big issue, but I believe that after 12 years it's not as big of a deal as it used to be.

Wade said the deciding factor would be winning a championship, currently I think he has better chance at that with the Bulls than he does with Miami(even Miami fans think so). Of course Miami is going to make a strong push for Bosh, which if it happened would make them better than the Bulls, but not by a huge margin I believe. I don't think Wade would make us a title contender just yet. However, I'm not on board with dumping more salary to go after 2 max free agents. Going after 1 max free agent is a big gamble in itself, going after 2 is insane. If Wade is indeed the Bulls top target, then they have to trade Hinrich for a quality PF/C. It doesn't have to be a Superstar per se, just a player that would make the Bulls 1 All-Star(Wade) away from a title. Like an Al Jefferson(but I doubt it).

On yahoo "Thomas soon to be ex-Bull Chicago Bulls power forward Tyrus Thomas(notes) lost his temper with coach Vinnie Del Negro on Friday and now he's been suspended from the team. The Bulls will try to trade Thomas trade before the Feb. 18 deadline, according to the Chicago Tribune. After all, this is the third disciplinary measure the team has taken against him in his four seasons in Chicago. If they can't find somebody to take him, the team will likely renounce his rights this summer. One reason the team is able to think about losing Thomas is because rookie Taj Gibson(notes) has been delivering in his spot while Thomas was out with an injury." They're pretty much just stating the obvious, but it's nice to read it more and more.

Even some Miami fans believe that if Wade doesn't re-sign(which they don't blame him if he doesn't), that he'll most likely come here. I think so too(that is, that he will come here if he doesn't re-sign with Miami).

ESPN Rumor "Thomas done with Bulls? After his profanity-laced tirade, his days are numbered with the Bulls." That's all I can get without being an insider, it's not very much at all, and how many times have we thought Tyrus was gone? Plus, ESPN isn't exactly 100% right all the time. They actually reported that the Redskins had acquired Jay Cutler before the Bears did.

That wasn't my point, my point was you said "Now i'm hearing the objective this year is to get better" as if this were the first time you heard it. It's been said MANY times, is all I'm saying.

The objective has always been to improve, and it's been stated MANY times.

I completely agree. People try to place the blame on Vinny, but this isn't the 1st or even 2nd time we've blamed the coach. How many coaches are we going to blame before we finally realize that it's not the coach? Tyrus has no right to be frustrated, it's a priviledge to play in the NBA and make million$, not a right. Even some of his supporters are starting to abandon him. Just as you said, this is the perfect time for him to be humble and do the best he can, but his ego is getting in the way. I would be upset too in that situation, but I would NEVER talk c r a p to the coaches. What does that solve? It makes you feel superior for a few minutes/hours(or days/weeks/years, depending on how big your ego is), but it does nothing but hurt your career. It's not worth it at ALL, but he obviously felt that it was. Just another reason why he needs to go.

It's only 1 game, but Richard sure did look like a solid player. We can't even say he played 20 minutes, we have to include the word "solid". Richard played 20 solid minutes last night. I hope he does keep up the success and the Bulls do keep him, he could be a solid 3rd PF/C this season and next. They need to make a trade and then possibly sign both Richard and Byars(unless there are more impressive D-leaguers) for the rest of the season. The objective this season is to show progress, I doubt Richard/Byars would be worse than Gray/Pargo/Hunter. At least Richard/Byars might have a future with the Bulls, Gray/Pargo/Hunter were all stopgaps or player-coaches. It's a shame that these guys are missing out on opportunites when they clearly outplayed the "veterans" in preseason.

Well I'm not interested in talking to you anymore about basketball, but before I stopped talking to you I wanted to know how old you were because your jokes/insults were so weak and lame. Hefty bags? Seriously? That sounds like some 3rd grade b.s. right there, and I didn't come on here to talk to kids. So I just wanted to confirm if you are a kid, if not then I feel sorry that your level of maturity hasn't caught up to your age.

How old are you?

Lol you're a joke dude, you're so stubborn that you can't even comprehend another thought process other than your own. I've debated with you and tried to understand your arguement, but your arguement is flawed and I've shown you why because you obviously can't see it. Have fun with your misguided logic =]

And I think AlphaMan has convinced me that we shouldn't go after Amar'e(lol I know I keep going back and forth on that one)

Well I know AlphaMan would take Los Boozer, but I think he's an injury-prone snake. I mean the guy tricked the Cavs blind owner into letting him out of his contract with the idea of re-signing for a bigger contract, but then he signed with Utah. I just can't trust a guy like that. Besides, I hear he's a bad defender. I would sign Lee only if we signed Joe Johnson or Wade along with him. That would be a solid starting 5 of Rose, Johnson/Wade, Deng, Lee, and Noah.

Lol you're hilarious, you consider that an accomplishment? Being voted as the best PF in the west by people who voted Iverson as one of the best guards in the East, Garnett a better PF than Bosh(when Bosh CLEARLY was better), and nearly voted T-Mac in as one of the best guards in the West. Wow, what an accomplishment. I mean the majority of fans who voted obviously pay a LOT of attention and are very knowledgeable...lol what a joke. Just give it up dude, you lost on that one.

I think the most fair thing would have been to let Derrick decide which event he would like to drop(if any at all). It would have been nice to see him make history by playing in all 3 and possibly winning all of them(both MVPs and Skills Challenge), but I'm glad he will be a little more rested when he comes back to the Bulls.