It seems that Vinny Del Negro has a lot of confidence in Hinrich. He's made a lot of key defensive plays in this series with Boston.
With Gordon hampered with a groin injury and in foul trouble last game, Hinrich was easily the best player available to replace him on the court. The Bulls do play a lot of small ball themselves. Often three guards (Hinrich, Rose, and Gordon) at the same time. If you consider Salmons an SG, then they play a four guard lineup with he and either Miller, Noah, or Thomas at the C. Since the Salmons/Miller trade, the Bulls became one of the quicker paced and high scoring teams (106 PPG); they went from a few games under .500 to .500 in about 1/4th the season. There is something to be said for small ball, but you need a coach who'll play bigs when the situation calls for it. Here's how I see the Bulls' situation. They've got big long term contracts tied up with Hinrich and Deng. Deng's something of a wildcard - if he's healthy and plays like he did two seasons ago and in spurts this season, he'd be our starting SF. If he's unable to play, then Salmons is our starting SF. Ben Gordon is a UFA, too, so if they lose him, they're going to need Hinrich to replace his minutes. If Deng is the SF, the Bulls could start Rose and Salmons in the back court with Hinrich the backup at both spots. Ultimately, with Gordon gone, the Bulls really couldn't afford to trade Hinrich, unless it was for two guards who are good enough to play lots of minutes. However, if Deng comes back and Gordon re-signs, then you're looking at Rose+Gordon+Deng at the wings with Salmons backup SG and SF. Someone has to play PG while Rose rests or is in foul trouble (or the unthinkable). If the Bulls want to re-sign Gordon, they're likely to need to free up some cap space. They're at $9M under the LT, but Gordon has basically turned down more than that (wise or unwise is debatable). Trading a Deng or Hinrich for a player coming back at 75% the salary would free up $2.5M, maybe enough to get Gordon to sign. BTW, you guys make terrific threads. I really enjoy reading them and your attitudes. Peace!
Thanks for the input Denny. Its always good to hear from real fans because often times a players' league-wide reputation is quite different from how they really are but only the hometown fans know. I'd gladly take Hinrich on if it meant swapping him for Mags or Craw. Hes smart, plays D, plays PG, can shoot. Good fit next to Monta. Good fit for our team in general.
I agree with Run, thanks for the post Denny. It brings better perspective to warriors fans. I personally love Hinrich. I think he's everything you want in a combo guard that can play point guard. He's tall, quick, basketball smart, he defends, he shoots, he passes, and handles the ball pretty well. I'd think a player like him would be an asset for sure. I'd definitely wish we had him as sixth man than Maggette, although Maggette isn't bad if you're looking at him as inside scoring/midrange scoring offense only. I just can't hate Maggette as much as I dislike Crawford's sloppy play and inconsistency. And even while hating Crawford's sloppy play and inconsistency, he does bring some good stuff when it comes to shooting off the dribble and ballhandling. His lack of D that is also frustrating as hell. At least Maggette (when healthy) is pretty darn consistent and in limited minutes and he won't f'n pout and whine to his agent about Don Nelson. I mean Nelson is Nelson, he's going to be an ass sometimes and leak stuff to the public. Stuff that should be kept in-house. He does it to light a fire under somebody. You can't hack it, you don't belong. Sorry for the over-explanation!
Definitely, the quality around here is still top notch. I hope GS is able to get rid of Mags/Craw like you guys want too.
Hinrich, although he blew that easy layup in GM 6 is tougher mentally than almost anyone on the W's except maybe SJax. With Gordon going out the door, its hard to see him getting traded.
Hinrich's cool. I've been wanting Hinrich in a Warriors uniform for a long time. But then again I wanted Brandon Roy in a Warriors uniform. Y'know I like polished, skilled, smart, hard effort at both ends, at least semi-athletic type players who can play some team ball. If we don't have any Lebrons or Kobes or DHowards we need team guys who play defense.
There's actually an article saying that the Bulls GM's top priority is to re-sign Ben Gordon. So maybe that will make Hinrich available for the Warriors. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24099667/
