K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune writer, joined Brian Paruch on 670 the Score to talk about the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. They discussed Gordon and Deng, the value of the Bulls guys around the league, Derrick Rose’s initial role, and more.

Brian starts off the conversation by asking K.C. Johnson what is going on with Gordon and Deng. He sees the Bulls getting something done with Luol Deng, but sees Gordon as a wild card. Gordon’s camp is asking for a lot of money, and the Bulls are showing no indication that they are going to meet his demands. K.C. sees both Gordon and Deng being in uniform next year, but thinks Gordon will not be on a long term deal.

Brian then asks whether Deng and Gordon’s bargaining power is less because of the poor years individually and as a team. Gordon and Deng both turned down their deals because they thought both were going to be have better years and that the team would have a better year. K.C. thinks the plan backfired because the Bulls derailed, and as a result, the arrow is no longer on the upswing for either player or the team. Gordon and Deng still have a bit of leverage, because they can threaten to take the qualifying offer and become restricted free agents, putting the Bulls at risk of losing them for nothing.

They then discuss Gordon’s role on the team as a starter or bench player. Paruch would like to know if Gordon is even interested in being a Bull if he wasn’t the starter. K.C. thinks the backcourt is an absolute mess. K.C. gives Gordon a lot of credit for while saying he wants to be a starter, but has never been effected coming off the bench, or ever had any complaint. Ben has the mindset that he is a starter in this league.

Both Luol and Ben have always told K.C. in the past that they wish to remain as Bulls. Young players like to stay with the franchies who drafted them because there is a familiarity there and they know how things work with that particular team.

Bulls can’t deal Hinrich now, because they put themselves at risk of losing Hinrich this summer, and Gordon next summer, and being left with Derrick Rose, Thabo Sefolosha, and Larry Hughes as the backcourt, which isn’t good.

The Bulls are saying publicly that Derrick Rose will not be the initial starter this season. K.C. thinks that Rose will be a starter at some point this season. Whether Rose starts from the beginning of the season is dependent on whether or not Hinrich is still on the roster. K.C. thinks Rose will start on the bench if Hinrich is still on the roster. Thinks Rose and Hinrich can see a lot of minutes together if they are on the roster together. Once Rose gets his feet under him, he will be a starter.

K.C. thinks that the Bulls will absolutely trade Kirk Hinrich if they get something done with Ben Gordon. Kirk Hinrich still has a lot of value around the league, especially when paired with an expiring contract in Drew Gooden, or a guy like Andres Nocioni, who also has a lot of value throughout the league.

The Bulls could not get something done in a sign and trade for a guy like Elton Brand because they don’t have the pieces to get anything done. Guys like Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas don’t have any value around the league. Most teams, especially the good ones, see Thomas and Noah as barely being rotational guys. It is very difficult to parlay these guys in a mega deal.

According to K.C. Johnson, the Bulls are now in a rebuilding mode. They still have some moves to make on the roster, and they are going to have some growing pains.

The chat can be listened to online at 670thescore.com.