Dear Kirk, I appreciated your play for the time you were here, and I appreciated you didn't bitch when you had to play out of position the last two years because this org had a strange man-love for you. Good luck being Washington's third string PG! What? Too soon? We kid because we love! Seriously, though, I hope they trade at least one of those guys, because you deserve better. I mean, have we stopped to consider just how weird it is? 1. We shouldn't forget the reality that we traded Kirk two years later than we should have. If we'd traded him when we should have, we probably could have fetched a cheap and potentially useful player. Instead, we had to give up a cheap and potentially useful player. 2. As silly as it was for us to keep Kirk around at his salary for the last two years, it's even sillier for the Wizards to trade for him. Seriously. John Wall are there, and they think, "gee, I really, really need Kirk Hinrich"? What the hell is that about? 3. As Kelly Dwyer notes, the Wiz are paying a fortune to get the 17th pick and Kirk compared to what the Thunder paid to get the 18th pick from the Heat. He seems to worry a little that this trade might fall through. 4. When I try to figure out what the hell possessed anyone to take someone named Kevin Seraphin at #17, I find myself desperately hoping this was done at the Wizards' behest and this trade doesn't, somehow, fall through. I mean, I'm pretty knowledgeable about basketball, and I've never even heard of that guy. No one else seemed to either. Weird. But I digress from appreciating Kirk. I do appreciate you, and know that Jerry Reinsdorf will have #12 retired and hanging from the rafters one way or another some day!
If they want to move Arenas, they could have been searching for depth. The Wizards have just over 9 million in cap space in 2010. Not enough to make a difference or sign anyone meaningful. They'll have enough cap space to sign two max guys by 2012, just after Kirk's contract expires. If they wanted this Seraphin dude to develop along with their roster, I can understand why they take the hit now.
A likable guy who always played hard. Hard enough to make up for all the missed shots he took at ill chosen times. Once the guy in the Jordan seat (announced last at the games), he's tossed aside like he's all used up. As a PG, it must have sucked to see Duhon run the team better, and then a slew of point guards drafted in subsequent years turn out a whole lot better. The 6 assists per game were hard to peg to good passes, or just finding a guy 6 times in a game who was able to hit a shot with the clock running out. Running out after Kirk dribbled the ball for 20 seconds. I never hated the guy, and always wanted the Bulls to keep him and Gordon. If the Bulls cared about the player, they'd have found a way to get Kirk to the Lakers or to Portland, where he'd likely have been the starter. As usual, cap space rules.
It's pretty simple, isn't it? People compare John Wall to Derrick Rose in terms of their style and level of experience at the time of the draft. Kirk Hinrich was the fellow backcourt mate of Derrick Rose during his development. Derrick Rose turned out damn good. So . . . it's time to get Kirk Hinrich. I think the Bulls got a pretty good deal, also. But if John Wall is the future of your franchise -- if you need to take every step possible to ensure that he reaches his potential -- acquiring Kirk Hinrich makes some sense. John Wall is the Bullets' meal ticket. I can understand the move, even if I think the value is a little out of whack.
If I'm Hinrich, I'm sure as hell not interested in going to a dysfunctional rebuilding Wizards team to tutor another 19 year old kid. I bet he tries to get a buyout. If he gets half of the money left on his deal and signs for the mle this year, he doesn't lose any money. And he probably ends up on the lakers.
