Reinsdorf talks Big 3; Regrets Dealing Hinrich

[SpinninHouse]

Hinrich has positive and negative attributes. His positive ones were the work-hard, team-first max effort mentality be brought to the team. It's invaluable. He has been our best defender for several years now. I like the intangibles he brought to the team. But Hinrich was never able to take that next step and develop a consistent perimeter shot. If he had been able to do it, he'd be a hell of an NBA player. The inconsistency in his shooting hurt us pretty significantly. And for $9M, it was too much. We lost a key locker room guy with him but he was over paid. Hinrich would be ideal as a 6th or 7th man making around $5M a year.

Would I have traded Hinrich if I knew we'd replace him (along with our top pick) for Kyle Korver and (potentially) JJ Redick? Yes, I would. Redick is a team-first guy too and will be a positive personality to have in the locker room. He's a completely different player than Hinrich and his more consistent shooting will work better alongside Rose. That is assuming we get Redick however, which is a big assumption at this point. Korver + Redick > Hinrich + draft pick.

[heirdog]

I read it as...if the Bulls cleared enough cap space, they could have really convinced all 3 guys. Would clearing Luol, James Johnson and Taj Gibson accomplished that? The Bulls would be in the neighboorhood of $44MM ($46 when the cap was actually announced). So one must assume, Rose and Noah were untouchable as either would likely allow you to package Deng if included. So it was either, we couldn't unload Deng or the Wade/Bosh were more set on Miami. If we got Wade to commit (Friday night meeting to get a commitment which he balked at and thus Reinsdorf said "Wade was set on Miami unless something changed his mind.") We couldn't change Wade's mind (likely no 6th year and less salary) at that point and he went back to Miami and began convincing Bosh that they could do it there even without anyone else. So then LeBron had his choice between a big 3 with Rose/Boozer or Wade/Bosh. The decision became easier when Reinsdorf would not allow concessions to his bozo entourage. Also, why LeBron was so gung-ho on Reinsdorf's willingness to pay the tax (would he sign Rose, Noah?). I have a feeling the Bulls worked more on selling James as to the product they do have and could have with him as the lead (which you would think would be intuitive for a guy as talented as LeBron) but instead maybe we should have been focused on how he could play a facilitator role (Magic Johnson) to Rose dominant one (Kobe-like). That is what Pat Riley did..."LeBron you will be Magic, Wade will be Kobe and Chris will be Kevin Garnett."

I still dream of that incredible starting line-up...Rose, Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Noah...no need for a bench, guys could switch off taking plays off in order to rest. Lol.

But reality is what it is and at least we aren't the villains of the NBA...which I would rather be since we'd be great rather than a pretty good team.

[SolidSnake]

We lost the glue guy!

But in all honesty I'm mad about losing the 17th draft pick.

We could have got a decent SG. Bulls had a chance to move up in the draft as well.

[heirdog]

If we couldn't get Evan Turner, its not worth moving up. To get him, we'd have to give up a lot of assets. Paul George and Xavier Henry are not worth assets and James Anderson will not be better than Korver or Redick.

[DowJones]

IMO you guys did the right thing. The problem was that LeBron was the follower while DWade was the leader. LeBron was going to follow DWade and Wade was staying in Miami if he could help it.

IMO Bosh and LBJ would of had more supporting talent in Chicago. Rose+Deng+Gibson+Noah>Wade.

[Beryl 96]

I have little, wait no, no regret over Hinrich being gone, I regret him being here as long as he has. Hinrich is a great guy apparently, loyal at the very least, JR had to slaughter his dog so the family could eat. I understand why HE regrets it, on a personal level, but basketball wise, he needed to go. Day we won the lottery he should've been gone. Now we're stuck here without him and most importantly a certain midget.

Deng for Prince/Gordon, undo the evil!

[jax98]

I regret Kirk was here after Derrick got drafted, so I have no problem with the trade. Kirk flat-out stunk after he got himself removed from the starting PG spot, and he proved he couldn't just be a spot-up shooter. He's ball-dominant, takes low-percentage shots and earns too much money. It's simple math. Get J.J. Redick and Ronnie Brewer in here for Kirk's price and we've gotten:

- More depth for the same price
- More versatility for the same price
- More athleticism for the same price
- More shooting for the same price

But in all honesty. Did anyone expect Jerry to NOT regret this? Those two clearly had a good relationship.

[Dr Genius]

Great.

Then in two years, we should bring him back at 4-5 mil/yr so the guy can retire as a Chicago Bulls. Kirk Hinrich at 4-5 mil/yr is great value. At 9 mil/yr, he is an albatross.

[transplant]

Kirk fan here...so much so that I always spell his name correctly.

He's a very good player, but his greatest value to a team is at PG. When the Bulls drafted Rose, Hinrich's days in Chicago were numbered. When they needed the $9MM capspace, the time had come.

There are different kinds of regret. I regretted letting Gordon go and trading Thabo...I liked watching Gordon and wanted to see what kind of player Thabo would become. Now I regret losing Hinrich because he worked his ass off all the time. This said, I think all 3 moves were and are in the best interests of the Bulls so while I regret that they're gone, I don't regret the decisions that sent them elsewhere.

[boogydown]

1). Gordon
2). Salmons
3). Hinrich

Taj for Thabo exchange I'd take anyday.

We're going to have an extremely difficult time finding a #2 option next to Rose assuming Rose is the #1 option himself. We lost that with Ben Gordon who like everyone could have improved defensively himself.

Salmons was a solid 3PT Shooter if someone took pressure off of him. The guy finished the season shooting 38% from 3. He also is a pretty solid defender. At the contract he makes, I'd rather have Salmons than Deng.

Hinrich was a solid defender, but his natural position is PG. He is the least likely of the 3 to fit this team long term, and as much as we love playing him at SG, his presence on the offensive end only holds back Rose as he isn't the deadly long range shooter we need to prevent double teams on Rose.

If we had a lineup of

Rose - House
Gordon - Vet Min Defender
Deng - Salmons
Boozer - Gibson
Noah - Asik

We'd be contending now.

[boogydown]

I regret Kirk was here after Derrick got drafted, so I have no problem with the trade. Kirk flat-out stunk after he got himself removed from the starting PG spot, and he proved he couldn't just be a spot-up shooter. He's ball-dominant, takes low-percentage shots and earns too much money. It's simple math. Get J.J. Redick and Ronnie Brewer in here for Kirk's price and we've gotten:

- More depth for the same price
- More versatility for the same price
- More athleticism for the same price
- More shooting for the same price

But in all honesty. Did anyone expect Jerry to NOT regret this? Those two clearly had a good relationship.

Solid answer.

Winning didn't matter much for us. We could have moved Kirk for probably a 1st round pick back in 07.

Management has made so many little mistakes that if done right, we could be a contender right now.

[BuLLs>LiFe]

Management has made so many little mistakes that if done right, we could be a contender right now.

We're pretty close as is, so I'm perfectly happy with everything that management has done. Honestly, it depends on Rose. If he takes the next step next year and enters superstar status, then we're most definitely contenders.

[musiqsoulchild]

Salmons and Kirk were never really SG's.

Only BG was a real SG; however he lacked the physical attributes to be our long-term solution.

I think JR and the FO, know the importance of the SG position and at the same time they know that Rose is good enough to have JJ Reddick at SG.

He has all of the shooting attributes of BG and he's physically also more suited to be the ideal SG. Add to that, he's also a willing defender.

In essence, I feel like JJ Reddick will replace several of the basketballing skills that BG/Kirk used to give us. Of course, at lower levels.

[cot2]

Unless something totally unexpected happens, the Bulls will have a downgrade at starting SG, backup PG, and wing defender. When the Bulls finish bringing in players to fit those, role, even at a lower level, they will have committed more than $9M, and $17M total, owed to Hinrich.

I do not see how anyone that understands basketball could disagree that the Bull regret making the deal, but it was a bet they had to make. I am only surprised that they were willing to admit it publicly.

[coldfish]

Unless something totally unexpected happens, the Bulls will have a downgrade at starting SG, backup PG, and wing defender. When the Bulls finish bringing in players to fit those, role, even at a lower level, they will have committed more than $9M, and $17M total, owed to Hinrich.

I do not see how anyone that understands basketball could disagree that the Bull regret making the deal, but it was a bet they had to make. I am only surprised that they were willing to admit it publicly.

Just to note, Kirk Hinrich was really bad at being a SG. I really don't see how the Bulls are going to downgrade that position, but I suppose the jury is still out at least until Friday. Redick is definitely an upgrade at SG.

Hinrich and the 17 make around $10.7M this upcoming year. If the Bulls would land Brewer and Redick, I think they will make about that. For this Bulls team, Brewer + Redick >>> Hinrich + 17. Its certainly not a done deal yet, but I definitely see possibilities where the Bulls would have upgraded by making this trade.

http://www.82games.com/0910/09ORL4.HTM

Per 48 at the SG position
Redick 20.7p 4.2a 4.2r 53.2%efg
Hinrich 15.6p 5.5a 4.8r 49.6%efg

Hinrich's defense would have to be awesome at the 2G spot in order to justify 5.1 less points and noticeably less efficiency. That's not even getting into the impact that having a quality shooter is going to have on Rose and Boozer.

[thunderspirit]

The post from transplant sums up my feelings on Hinrich pretty well. I liked him, found him an effective player most of the time, but after the Bulls lucked into Rose his days were numbered.

Drafting Hinrich was the beginning of the end of the dark days of the Bulls as NBA punchline -- he helped the team reclaim a measure of respect around the league.

[bad knees]

Redick plus Brewer is better than Hinrich and the 17 pick. But if we do not get Redick, we will take a substantial hit at SG this year. All the more reason that we should have ensured that we got Raja Bell. And all the more reason for us to have made Redick's offer sheet even richer. If you are trying to get an RFA away from a contender with a rich owner, you have to do better than what we did with Redick. And if you don't want to do that, then go after someone else. This whole SG situation is going to end badly because the Bulls are more focused on value and flexibility than on winning. The net result? Bad SG play and lots of unused cap space.

[BbFlyEmCeE]

I do not see how anyone that understands basketball could disagree that the Bull regret making the deal, but it was a bet they had to make. I am only surprised that they were willing to admit it publicly.

Yeap. I'm surprised too.
I think when they traded Hinrich, they were 80% sure Joe Johnson would be our.
Nobody could be aware of the crazy deal Atlanta was preparing to offer to JJ, considering his playoff fail. At this time JJ+Booz ,to Chicago was a very probable scenario, for everyrone i guess. (For Hawks too so they didnt hesitate!)

[The 6ft Hurdle]

Drafting Hinrich was the beginning of the end of the dark days of the Bulls as NBA punchline -- he helped the team reclaim a measure of respect around the league.

He was the posterboy the Bulls tried hard to push, indicating this culture change. But we lost 7 more games his rookie year with him as the starting point guard. We went from 30 wins to 23 wins. We also went 0-9 to start the 04-05 season. It really looked bleak that November '04, winless month, worst team in the NBA.

As far as changing the actual losses into wins and becoming this always exciting (yet middling team) of the late 2000s, that came when BG started doing his thing in the 4th quarter --- everything else fell into place from there.

[cot2]

Drafting Hinrich was the beginning of the end of the dark days of the Bulls as NBA punchline -- he helped the team reclaim a measure of respect around the league.

He was the posterboy the Bulls tried hard to push, indicating this culture change. But we lost 7 more games his rookie year with him as the starting point guard. We went from 30 wins to 23 wins. We also went 0-9 to start the 04-05 season. It really looked bleak that November '04, winless month, worst team in the NBA.

As far as changing the actual losses into wins and becoming this always exciting (yet middling team) of the late 2000s, that came when BG started doing his thing in the 4th quarter --- everything else fell into place from there.

Talk about trying to skew statistics. What you failed to mention about the 0 – 9 start to the 04-05 season, is that the team tried to start Gordon, and that they did not win, until they changed to starting Hinrich, with Duhon, and the season took of from there. You may remember that they tried to Gordon starting experiment, for several season, in a row, and always had to pull the plug.

You seem to give all the credit for a turnaround, not mentioning that the Bulls added rookies Deng, Gordon, Nocioni, Chandler, who came back to play 80 games, after missing 47 games the previous season. Skiles put a great defensive lineup on the floor, with new starters Duhon, and Deng, and even Nocioni, at times, and changed the mentality of the entire team.

Ben Gordon had a very small, and not necessarily positive impact on turn the team around. It you want to gauge his contributions, just look at the fact that in the season you mention, that even though his only positive attribute is scoring, and that Curry was the leading scorer, Hinrich was 2nd, and also lead the team in assists, Chandler lead the team in rebounds, and blocks. As exciting as his wildly inconstant shooting was, he could have never been considered as one of the top players, on the team, and will not be missed, by anyone in the Bulls FO, and for good reason.

The Bulls FO regrets losing Hinrich, since the team will be worse because of it.