On Saturday night, the Bulls gave the fans their first Big Macs of the years, beating the Atlanta Hawks 101-98.

Monday night, it looked like the Bulls were set to give the fans Big Macs in back to back games. By the second quarter of the Bulls game against the Sacramento Kings, I was declaring that it looked like the Bulls would win this game. With 8:50 remaining in the third quarter, the Bulls were up by 35 points, 79-44, and easily on way to delivering the fans the greasy burgers they love.

However, the Bulls only scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes and 50 seconds of the game, falling 2 points short of the 100 points needed for the Big Mac. Not only did the Bulls fail to reach 100 points, but they also managed to squander their 35 point lead, losing the game 102-98.

This is just about the most embarrassing collapse in NBA history. It was the biggest comeback since 1996, when the Utah Jazz came back from

However, this game was looking like a blowout for the Bulls at one point, so what was going right that allowed the Bulls to create such a large lead in the first place?

Well the short answer is that the Kings were playing Andres Nocioni, who is horrible (and all the turnovers the Kings were committing early in the game). I was one of Nocioni’s harsher critics in his final years here. Loved the guy his first few years, but he had become an abomination in his last year or so here. The guy chucked up bad shots, and wandered around on defense like a chicken with his head cut off. He was simply an on the court cancer.

Unsurprisingly, this is the Nocioni that showed up at the United Center last night. Luol Deng took advantage of Nocioni’s horrid defense early, scoring on a variety of slash and cuts to the basket. Derrick Rose even got involved with a pick and roll that involved Deng. Nocioni appeared confused what to do on the pick and roll, which led to some easy scoring opportunities for the Bulls.

The turning point was when Paul Westphal benched Nocioni, who finished with 3 points on 1-7 shooting and a -28 +/-, for the rest of the game. The Kings defense tightened up, while their offense caught fire, leading their comeback.

Even after their collapse, the Bulls had the opportunity to win the game in the clutch, but no one stepped up and got them the win.

Kirk Hinrich didn’t step up, letting Tyreke Evans score on him at will. Tyreke Evans, who finished with 23 points, with 9 of them coming in the last 2:28 of the game, is a bit of an amazing player, as seen by his shot over Luol Deng’s tight defense, but Hinrich’s defense was weak, making it easy for Evans to score.

One of the more disappointing moments of the game was when Tyreke Evans missed a layup with 19 seconds remaining, and the Bulls failed to secure the defensive rebound, forcing the Bulls to foul.

Even then, the Bulls had a chance to tie. Derrick Rose missed short on a little one handed fall away in the paint with 8 seconds remaining in the game. The Bulls were forced to foul, and Udrih hit both free throws, making it a 102-98 Kings victory.

Luol Deng finished the game with 26 points, but faded late in the game. Deng scored 14 points making his first 7 shots, completely abusing Nocioni.

Derrick Rose finished with 24 points and 7 assists. Kirk Hinrich had 14 points and 8 rebounds, Taj Gibson had 10 points, and John Salmons had 14 points and 6 steals.

For the Kings, John Thompson had 14 points. The Kings got a lot of help off their bench, with Beno Udrih scoring 16 points, Ime Udoku scoring 17 points, and Sergio Redriguez scoring 10 points.

With the loss, the Bulls fall to 10-16 on the season.

Closing Comments:

It’s hard to see Vinny Del Negro lasting too much longer with a loss like this. The Bulls have a knack for firing coaches on Christmas Eve, and if the Bulls come out flat against the Knicks, Del Negro might join Tim Floyd and Scott Skiles as coaches fired on Christmas Eve by the Bulls.

The Bulls under Del Negro haven’t exactly been horrible as a whole. They are 51-57 in regular season games, and 3-4 in playoff games. 6 games under .500 isn’t bad for a coach with no coaching experience. Sure, it’s not a winning record, but Jerry Reinsdorf didn’t give Del Negro a winning team.

However, where Del Negro will likely lose his job is the style of losses the Bulls have suffered. When you’re losing to one win teams, being blown out, and blowing 35 point leads, it is unavoidable that you will end up on job life support, which Del Negro should now be on.

According to KCRA.com, former Bull, Andres Nocioni was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving last night.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings player Andres Nocioni has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, police said.

Police Sgt. Norm Leong said Nocioni was stopped while driving in downtown Sacramento at about 2 a.m. Thursday.

Leong said Nocioni’s vehicle was seen weaving and an officer smelled the odor of alcohol on Nocioni’s breath.

Nocioni was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher. He bailed out and is set to appear in court on Monday.

This is a shame that Andres Nocioni was out driving drunk. It doesn’t make him a bad person, I am sure most people know multiple people who have been arrested for drunk driving and are good people. However, Nocioni should be held to a higher standard. He is a professional athlete, making a lot of money. He can afford to call a cab. I am sure that the Kings would have even paid for transportation to avoid having one of their players driving drunk, if needed.

Nocioni has had a rough go of it lately, playing for a losing basketball team, which he has contributed to the losing culture with his poor on court play, and now this drunk driving accusation.

If Nocioni is convicted of drunk driving, he will likely receive a misdemeanor DUI charge. If he received these charges, he will face three years of informal probation and will have to take a three month alcohol education program, which will be elevated to a six month program if he had a BAC over .20, or refused to be tested.

Back during the 2003 NBA draft, John Paxson pegged an exciting guard coming from Marquette, who was fresh out of the Final Four as a potential star. The Heat were supposed to take Kirk Hinrich or Chris Kaman, and Dwyane Wade was to fall to the Bulls at seventh in the draft. Pat Riley, who kept his cards close to his vest, upset the Bulls draft plans by taking Wade with the fifth overall pick. The decision was a great one, and Miami has already ridden their superstar to a championship.

This summer, the Bulls will again have to beware of Pat Riley. The Heat seem sure to be interested in the Bulls’ unrestrictred free agent guard, Ben Gordon. This past summer, the Heat agreed to send Shawn Marion’s expiring contract to Chicago in exchange for Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni’s longterm deal, but the Bulls wisely declined. This summer, the Bulls will have to watch out for Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade recruiting Gordon to become a part of the Heat.

Because of Miami’s lack of state income tax, the Heat can stay competitive with the Bulls up to an $8 million per a year offer from the Bulls. Where does that leave the Bulls minimum offer at? Pretty much the $54 million over 6 year offer that the Bulls offered to Gordon last year.

Miami is a situation that makes a lot of sense for Gordon. He would get to be a starter, and get to play with one of the best players in the game, in Dwyane Wade. For the first time in his career, Gordon will be a second thought for the opposing defense, which should really free him up for some open shots. When Ben Gordon is wide open, he is deadly. Him and Wade could be a dynamic duo, who along with Michael Beasley, could compete for championships for years to come.

This past September, Dwyane Wade seemingly telepathed to Gordon that he should take the Bulls qualifying offer, when talking to the Chicago Suntimes Carol Slezak.

“He’s in a tough situation. Ben is a very good player. He’s taken a lot of knocks from people saying he’s not tall enough or he doesn’t play good defense. But scoring-wise he’s one of the best in the game.

“I think a player like him just has to understand that you have to do what you feel is right. Whatever you feel in your heart, you’ve got to go with it. You can’t do nothing that you don’t want to do, because you’re not going to give it your all. So he wants to make [Chicago] his home, do it. If not, wait it out.

“I don’t think he should go to Europe. I don’t think he’s at the Europe stage. He’s just such a good player. There are a lot of teams in the states that would love to have him. I just think he needs to be patient. But he could hop and go for it, and continue to start a trend that’s happening over there.

“His game is what his game is. Ben will score. He’s a great offensive scorer, a great catch-and-shoot player. That’s not going to change. As long as there’s a basketball and a rim, he’s going to be able to do the same thing.

Letting Ben Gordon slip away to the Miami Heat would be a double edged sword. Not only would the Bulls be losing their best player, but he would also be going to a conference rival. With a core of Dwyane Wade, Ben Gordon, and Michael Beasley, and the ability to still sign a 2010 free agent, the Heat would be a major obstacle for the Bulls in the playoffs every year.

How can the Bulls avoid this doomsday scenario? By coming out with an aggressive offer. Re-offering the $54 million offer that the Bulls pulled off the table and wouldn’t let Ben sign would be a minimum. A $60 million offer would greatly improve the Bulls chances.

Here is a scenario that is likely to play out. Pat Riley, Dwyane Wade, and Micky Arison will fly out to meet with Gordon. Pat Riley will begin by talking about what a special player Gordon is. The Heat will probably put some type of option in Gordon’s contract, and will talk about how they can pay him more money when they acquire his bird rights. Dwyane Wade will then appeal to Gordon as a potential teammate, and talk up how he thinks him and Gordon will be a great duo who could win a championship together. The Bulls best defense to this plan of attack by the Heat? Giving Ben Gordon a fair contract offer.

The Bulls were one of the busiest teams before the trade deadline yesterday, making three tradesk shipping out six players, and bringing back five.  Now tha the dust has settled, how do the Bulls stack up after the deadline, and what direction will they be taking the team?

Subtractions

• Andres Nocioni
• Drew Gooden
• Cedric Simmons
• Michael Ruffin
• Larry Hughes
• Thabo Sefolosha

Additions

• Brad Miller
• John Salmons
• Anthony Roberson
• Jerome James
• Tim Thomas
• 2009 San Antonio Spurs First Round Draft Pick

Starting by looking at the subtractions, the Bulls lost nothing of much significance.  Andres Nocioni was once an important cog in the Scott Skiles’ Bulls, but has really developed into a no defense chucker in the past two years.  Drew Gooden, while he could score from time to time, he was inconsistent, and not a very efficient scorer as a whole, and had weak interior defense.  Larry Hughes was no longer player, and said by some in the media to be a troublemaker.  Removing these three from the team could prove to be addition by subtraction.

Thabo Sefolosha was good sometimes, and played some good defense from time to time in his time here.  With the addition of John Salmons, he simply wasn’t going to play here.  A first round draft pick was good compensation for him.

Cedric Simmons and Michael Ruffin never played, so not much of a loss their on the basketball court.  Ruffin was one of the most active Bulls in the community season, and Simmons was very active as well, so I’m sure the Bulls will miss that aspect of having these two around, as both did a lot for the Bulls in terms of fan outreach.

Now, for the additions.  Jerome James and Anthony Roberson figure to never play in games for the Chicago Bulls, but Brad Miller, John Salmons, and Tim Thomas figure to play here.

Brad Miller is the new Antonio Davis.  That’s the way to look at this. He is the veteran big man who knows how to get things done in the NBA.  He can pass and shoot the midrange jumper, which will be big in the Bulls offense.  The Bulls also look to get a lot of leadership out of Miller. He will be a good guy to have around the team.

John Salmons is the second guy from the Kings that the Bulls acquired.  One thing to note, do not read too much into what Paxson said at the press conference yesterday.  Salmons is not the newly annointed great shooting guard of the Bulls.  Think back to the 2006 draft, and the press conference that followed it.  Paxson raved on and on about Viktor Khryapa.  The guy hardly played for us, and ended up being bought out.

This is not to say that John Salmons will not play.  He definitely will, and will be a rotation player.  He has a lot of talent, and I think starting next year, will be that elusive big guard, that backs up both Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon.  The bonus with John Salmons is that he can play at the small forward position as well, without the Bulls being undersized.  As long as the Bulls have four guards for these last 28 games of this year, Salmons role will probably be stunted.  But next year, if the Bulls trade Kirk Hinrich, which they nearly did at the deadline, then John Salmons will find himself in a big minute sixth man role.

Salmons isn’t quite as good as Paxson advertised.  Paxson was raving about his defense.  Just because Salmons is tall, doesn’t mean that he is a good defender.  On the season, Salmons has a D-Rtg of 116 and 0.0 defensive win shares, which makes him one of the worst defenders in the entire NBA.

You have to wonder how a guy like Salmons will hold up offensively when he joins a team like the Bulls, and is actually asked to exert some type of effort on defense.  With Salmons actually having to play defense, will we see his scoring efficiency fall?  Only time will tell.

Offensively, Salmons is pretty good.  He is averaging 18.3 PPG on 57.3 TS%, which makes him a really good scorer this year.  The one thing the Bulls needed was more efficient scorers, as they don’t have many guys that can score efficiently.  Salmons brings that component to the Bulls, joining Gordon as a player who has a TS% greater than 57%.  Salmons is shooting 41.8% from three point land.  Shooters are always welcome.

The big question is whether Salmons is just a one year wonder or not.  Prior to this season, the most Salmons has scored was 12.5 PPG in a season.  Outside of this year, Salmons hasn’t been a very good three point shooter.  Players as old as Salmons typically don’t make the kind of leap he has made this year.  This is eerily similar to the situation with Mike James in Toronto, an older player explodes for a big year on one of the worst teams in the league.

Does this mean John Salmons is a scrub in disguise?  No.  But he is not starter material, given his near league worst defense, and the fact that he has a better scorer and defender ahead of him in the lineup in Ben Gordon.  Salmons could make a good sixth man for the Bulls over the next few years, but anything more is just overreaching with him.

Tim Thomas is a decent acquisition.  He will be able to spread the floor with his jumpshot similar to what Nocioni did during his time here.  Thomas will do this in limited minutes at the power forward position.

What did these trades do for the Bulls in terms of building for the future?  It was simply asset building.

In terms of liquid assets going into next year, the Bulls have Brad Miller’s expiring contract, Jerome James’ expiring contract, Tim Thomas’ expiring contract, young prospects Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, the rights to Omer Asik, their own 2009 draft pick, and the 2009 draft pick of the San Antonio Spurs.

In addition to those, the Bulls also have Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons, who some teams are sure to be interested in.

The Bulls now are loaded with tradeable assets.  Paxson is ready to swing a blockbuster trade.  It is just a matter of waiting for the time to come.  It could happen at the 2009 NBA draft, or prior to the 2010 trade deadline.

The small flaw with this plan is that it depends on the actions of other teams in the league.  But I feel this is a brilliant plan.  When Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, and others start becoming available on the trade market, Paxson is ready to make a deal.

That was kind of the plan going into this trade deadline.  The Bulls tried to get Amare Stoudemire for the expiring contract of Drew Gooden and some young prospects.  It didn’t work out, but Paxson has reloaded the Bulls with expiring contracts to give it another go next year.

Following this trade deadline, the Bulls future looks much brighter to me.  A key to all of this, is for the Bulls to re-sign Ben Gordon.  He is their best scorer, and will be crucial in this team becoming great.  Yes, Gordon isn’t good enough to lead a team by himself.  But as one of the best three pointers in the game, the fourth best fastbreak scorer in the NBA this season, and a tradtionally clutch scorer, he is exactly what you want out of one of the complementry players around Derrick Rose. As long as the Bulls re-sign Ben Gordon, they will be in a position to become a championship caliber team with one, big blockbuster trade at the deadline next year.

John Paxson gave a press conference following the 2009 trade deadline.  In the press conference, Paxson used the word “component” over and over again.  Here is a recap of what was said during the press conference:

• Paxson started off the press conference by stating that he is the general manager of the Bulls, that he is not resigning.  He is here, and will continue to be here.
• Moving Andres Nocioni was hard for him.  The first time he saw Nocioni play in the Kings Cup in Spain was how he played for the Bulls for four and a half years.  Nocioni represented everything that Paxson wants out of a player who puts on the Chicago Bulls uniform.
• Paxon thinks that both players acquired from the Kings fit the Bulls really well.  The Bulls were in need of a big guy who fits what they were trying to do offensively.  Brad Miller is a good passer.  The Bulls run a lot of stuff at the elbows where the big guys have to pass and do dribble hand offs.  Paxson thinks Miller will help the young bigs.
• John Salmons is in Paxson’s mind, and underrated player.  The Bulls have been looking for legitimate size in the backcourt for sometime, and they think they finally have it in Salmons.  Salmons can also play some small forward.  Paxson likes that Salmons had to earn his way as a player, and feels that those guys who had to push themselves to become good players “get it”.  He was a big component to the Bulls making the trade with the Kings.
• The Bulls had been looking to move Larry Hughes.  Paxson told Hughes and his agent tha thy wold do whatever they could to move him.
• Tim Thomas can space the floor like Nocioni used to at the fourt spot.  After trading Nocioni, the Thomas component made a lot of sense in the Knicks trade.  The situation with Thomas is completely different than a few years ago.  Vinny Del Negro played with Thomas early in his career.
• The other players that the Bulls received from the Knicks were just part of the business, where you have to take on some guys.  Anthony Roberson will just be a practice guy.  Roberson is from Florida, and might be able to keep Joakim Noah in check.
• After the Brad Miller trade, he felt that Thabo Sefolosha wasn’t going to be playing much and would be the odd man out.  The Bulls got a first round pick to him, and Paxson found that to be a component of a good two days.
• Paxson thinks that it is always difficult to make a lot of seasons mid season and expect it to all mesh right away.  He is confdient in what they did as they did not give up any starters and added a component that they think can make the team better right now and looking towards the future.
• Likes the four components of Brad Miller, Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Aaron Gray in the front court.  Thomas has been coming into his own a bit and playing better with more consistent minutes.  Joakim Noah has been playing better as well.
• Thinks veteran players who already know the NBA will have a better chance of blending in with what you already have.
• Right now, everyone is talking about the players that will be available in 2010, but what’s really important is to see how the NBA landscape changes with the economy.  Paxson thinks you are going to see more teams that have flexibility be able to trade into players for financial reasons.  Paxson feels that the Bulls have positioned themselves well for next year as they now have three fairly large expiring contracts, and those are always really valuable.  He is going to try to keep his eyes open to see what might become available using those.
• The Bulls will have the opportunity to do something with Ben Gordon again this summer.  The Bulls have not ruled out keeping Ben Gordon.  They may have to do another move in the summer that makes sense if they re-sign Gordon.  Paxson says that he understands the value that Ben brings to what they’re trying to do.  Gordon’s ability to score is important.  But the Gordon situation is down the road.  There is nothing that Paxson can do today to allow him to definitively know what will happen.  He respects and values Ben.
• Right now, Paxson is very pleased with his backcourt wings and thinks they improved there today.
• The Bulls had several deals on the table that they would have done, but the other teams in the last few days were thinking about it, and didn’t want to do it at the end of the day.  He is comfortable that he has done everything in his power to lookat every option available and every player available.  Given what was avialble, he feels that the Bulls did what they needed to do.
• Brad Miller has always been a good 15 to 17 foot shooter.  That is the one thing that the current bigs don’t have.  When Sacramento acquired Miller, they ran a lot of the Princeton Offense, which required all players to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot.  As long as big guys know how to play on the court htey will function very well on the basketball court.
• Paxson thinks that the Bulls are a better team on paper now than they were 36 hours ago.
• John Salmons was really key in the whole thing.  He gives the Bulls a guard with size, who can defense, and who can post up a little bit.  He believes that him and Luol Deng can play together, and that they could slide Salmons over to the three, and Deng at the four, and play Gordon at the two, with Derrick at the one.  As long as the Bulls can move the ball and get shots, they are going to be a good team offensively.  Salmons gives the Bulls a defensive component.
• Vinny will make the decisions on who starts.
• Salmons has been playing better for a few reasons.  Sacramento has been playing a little quicker tempo.  Salmons has shot the ball better this year from the perimeter.  That was not always a strength of his, but he’s shooting a little over 40% this year from three.  Everyone in the league sees a players prime from 27 to 31, as that is when they have it both mentally and physically.  Paxson really likes that Salmons has good ball skills.  He feels the game now requires players to put the ball on the floor and make plays, and Salmons can do that.  Salmons can play in screen and roll situations.  With his size, he doesn’t always get trapped and overwhelmed with bigger players.
• Not totally there yet if the Bulls want to pursue 2010.  Going into this summer, if the Bulls made one other move they would be positions really, really well.  The big names are out there in 2010, but the reality of that is that most of them will re-sign with their current teams because they can make so much more money on their current teams.  The Bulls are looking at the economics of the businss that at the trade deadline next year, they have expiring contracts and trade chips.  Hope a significant player becomes available because a team is unable to retain him.  Already saw that with Tyson Chandler being traded to Oklahoma City.  Wants to be ready when those deals present themslelves.
• Thinks there are some players that would like to be paired with Derrick Rose.  The Bulls have to position themselve sto be able to do that and sell what they got there.  Rose is a really good selling point for the Bulls.
• The Sacramento trade was a basketball deal, and they tok on some salary in order to do it.
• Couldn’t quite accomplish everything in one full swoop.  Tried, but it didn’t come together.  They will have chances in the next year to significantly improve their team.
• The Bulls will receive San Antonio’s pick in the trade with the Thunder.
• Paxson talked with Steve Kerr a lot.  Amare Stoudemire obviously didn’t get moves.  He felt over the past 5 to 6 days, the reality was that Stoudemire was not getting traded.  It speaks of the environment tha they’re in that those things are even being considered.

Andres Nocioni appeared on Mully and Hanley to discuss the trade which sent him to Sacramento. Here is a recap of what was said in the interview:

• He was not shocked by the trade.  He had read a lot of rumors about the trade, so he was not surprised.
• It feels bad because he has to leave the Chicago Bulls.  He loves the team, he loves the city, he loves everybody.
• He is fine with the trade.  He understands the situation and why he was traded.  He is going to try to play as hard as he can in Sacramento and go there and play his game.
• Feels he was not having one of his better seasons.  Thinks it might be because of the system change after Scott Skiles left.  He is trying to figure out what he needs to do to be much better next year.  I is completely his fault for why he wasn’t playing very well this year.
• It is really tough for everybody because they were playing together for a long time.  He really appreciated what his teammates did for him.  He really appreciated playing with Luol Deng, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kirk Hinrich.
• He feels that playing for the Chicago Bulls was a great opportunity to play in the NBA.
• Nocioni thinks that Derrick Rose is going to be one of the best point guards in the NBA.  He thinks the Bulls are playing much better now and is certain that they will make the playoffs.  He understands that the Bulls needed a big guy, and thinks Brad Miller is a good player, who will help the Bulls a lot.
• He thinks that Vinny Del Negro is doing a much better job right now.  Thinks that Vinny is doing a great job as coach and that Vinny is a good communications guy.  No complains about Del Negro.
• Nocioni finished the interview by thanking Bulls fans.

You can listen to the interview at 670theScore.com

The Chicago Bulls agreed to a trade with the Sacramento Kings that will send Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons, and Michael Ruffin to Sacramento in exchange for Brad Miller and John Salmons.

John Salmons is the newest Chicago Bull. (photo by Arranging Matches on flickr)

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Kings are expected to deal Ruffin to the Blazers in exchange for Ike Diogu.

On the surface, the deal puts away any chance of a two way deal between the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns for Amare Stoudemire. Now in order to get Amare Stoudemire, the Bulls would have to get a third team involved, potentially the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Bulls still may deal with the Timberwolves, even if it isn’t in a three way, but rather a trade that would send Kirk Hinrich to the Timberwolves for Jason Collins and an unknown piece.

I would say to expect Hinrich to be traded. The Bulls no longer have the “insurance for in case Ben leaves” excuse, as John Salmons is their new piece of insurance. I don’t think Hinrich will be on the team after tomorrow, but I could be wrong. Bulls management has had difficulty letting him go up to this point.

If the Bulls are to complete the rumored Kirk Hinrich trade, it would show that the Bulls are serious about making a run in 2010 that involves Ben Gordon. The Bulls could even preempt 2010 at the trade deadline next year, with the massive expiring contracts of Brad Miller and Larry Hughes, if he isn’t moved in the next 21 hours.

The Bulls committed to Gordon as the starting shooting guard, even when Kirk Hinrich came back, so it’s hard to see John Salmons taking over that role. John Salmons will presumably take the sixth man role. I would expect Brad Miller to take over the starting center position once he gets some practice time in with the team.

It is good to see the Bulls finally get rid of Andres Nocioni.  I loved him his first two seasons in the league, and he really was up there with Gordon and Hinrich as the most important players on the team in that 2005-2006 season.  But he has really deteriorated to an on court cancer, and it will be nice to see him go.  Drew Gooden wasn’t a very efficient offensive player and a poor defender, which made him a poor overall big man, so I don’t think the Bulls will miss him at all, especially with Brad Miller replacing him.

So are the Bulls preparing to make a splash in 2010 free agency? This move and the potential Kirk Hinrich trade are a strong indication that they plan on doing so.