http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=11647Bulls Make Another Move
It seems as if one move wasn't quite enough for John Paxson before he called it quits as Bulls GM. ESPN.com's Chad Ford is reporting that the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks have agreed to a deal that will send Larry Hughes to the Knicks in exchange for Tim Thomas and Jerome James. This move is currently awaiting league approval.
The reasons for Chicago making this move are two-fold, and neither one of them has anything to do with improving the team. On the one hand, it removes the cantankerous personality of Larry Hughes from the Bulls' locker room, providing him with an opportunity to play--something he was not getting in Chicago. The other reason is that it saves Chicago a little bit of money, though not immediately. Thomas and James make a combined $12.49 million this year, and $13 million next season. Compare that to Hughes's $12.8 million this year and $13.7 next season, and Chicago saves themselves almost a million dollars in salary.
Otherwise, this trade is just a blip. Not too exciting, and doesn't really accomplish all that much. The Bulls are beginning to make it known that they hope to be players in the 2010 Sweepstakes, and this trade does nothing to help or hurt that. Moving Hinrich for shorter, expiring contracts, however, would go a long way in moving towards that end. It's the second time the Bulls will have acquired Thomas without much use for him, though with his contract spilling into next season it doesn't seem as though it'll be quite as easy to just send him home like they did last time. They may look to move him again this summer, or may explore buying him out at some point. In any event, the relationship between Thomas and the Bulls can't be particularly happy after the mess they went through a few years ago. James, on the other hand, has an injured Achilles and isn't expected to suit up for Chicago this year.
