Let's get this out of the way: I'm a Bulls fan coming over from our sister-site at Blogabull. I wanted to come over and get your reaction to a few things from last night's game.

First, this is a cathartic experience for me. I'm still sick to my stomach from last night. I never believed we'd come back from Boston with a 2-0 lead and 1-1 is pretty darn good. But that was a winnable game and Ray-Ray just killed us. I'm hoping a reasoned fanpost will calm me down. And that's not possible over at Blogabull, peeps is popping off over there!

Second, gotta let you know that, as much as Ray Allen, Glen Davis and poor rebounding killed us, Bulls fans over at Blogabull are LIVID about Vinny del Negro's coaching. Lindsey Hunter and Linton Johnson all saw tick for a few moments in that game. Seriously? Because Rose was in "foul trouble" (he finished with those 2 fouls by the way)? And his insistence on keeping Brad Miller in the game at the end while sitting the Human Block Party (Ty Thomas) may have allowed for a couple of those key offensive boards you guys got.

Third, what happens to Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins at the United Center in Chicago? I've always believed that your best players get it done no matter where they play (see: Gordon, Ben) but it's the role players who get that extra bounce at home. Will Davis hit those mid range jumpers on an unfamiliar court? Will Perkins get those offensive boards? I'm honestly asking how these guys show up on the road cause, well, you watch them and I don't.

Finally, I'm worried about coming home, to a certain extent. The Bulls are playing balls-out and may clam up and feel the pressure of expectation in front of their home crowd. However, history suggests their jump shots may fall a little better (John Salmons has been under-performing the past couple games) and maybe we'll get some friendly calls from the refs. At the same time, I could see a hostile crowd waking up the sleeping giant that is Paul Pierce.

OK, I'm done. I feel better now. Wait. No I don't. I hate you Ray Allen!!

For months I've been logging on to Blog a Bull to be greeted with the "Derrick Rose Derrick Rose Derrick Rose" banner. It was a tongue in cheeck reference to the breathless optimism and heavy posting that accompanied landing Derrick Rose - everyone's safe bet to take on Micheal Jordan's heavy, yet dusty, mantle. The banner remained as summer turned to fall and the leaves changed. Summer league turned to two-a-days to preaseason to regular season and the banner remained.

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So I'm sick to death of the basketball universe right now.

I don't even need to go into the Ben Gordon saga. It's dead in the water and feels like it has been for the past several weeks. Hell, even the Blogabull message boards have dried up in terms of wacky trade ideas. You can practically hear the tumbleweeds passing by.

The men's Olympic team also isn't getting me going too much. Part of the reason is because I'm living in Hanoi, Vietnam and they keep cutting off the broadcasts to report on some dam building project "for make proud glorious nation of Vietnam" or whatever. And this team looked like crap against China: I'm sorry, if you can't defend the three or make an open J, Spain or Russia will cut the U.S. apart.

But watching the international competition and seeing some of the U.S. born players scraping by with international teams got me thinking about some of our own, beloved but not forgotten scrubs. Particularly, Rusty LaRue.

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Many fans here at Blogabull seem desperate to trade away some of our assets (Noce, Hinrich, Gordon, Thomas, etc.) to bring in complimentary pieces for Derrick Rose and the evolving New World Order at the United Center.

Some want to trade for a veteran: A proven winner. Someone to push the Bulls over the edge (edge of what is my question).

Others want build around Rose: Bring in a young, rising forward. Someone he can play with for a career. A beautiful tag-team to guarantee six more banners over eight short years.

I’m of the opinion that Pax should do what he can to resign Deng and Gordon and then turn the phone off for the summer. Go play golf. Take Vinny to a barber. Chill.

My reasoning: First, the objective is to buy low and sell high. Almost without exception (I include Gooden, Noah and maybe Thabo as exceptions), everyone on the Bulls roster is coming off a crappy season and their trade value is low. Simply allowing our guys to return to their average (not even improve) would raise their trade value. Second, as great as we all hope Derrick Rose will be, there is NO WAY in my mind that he could handle full point guard duties for the Bulls right off the bat. He’ll need to split significant minutes with Hinrich, Thabo and Gordon in the backcourt. I know Kirk is quickly becoming Chris Duhon 2009, but we need him to provide stability at the point (when I think of Gordon and Thabo, I think of many things, but stability is not one of them). And yes, I know Kirk’s turnover ratio sucked last season, but I’m assuming a general return to average here. Third, I just don’t know who we’d go after. If it’s trading for a frontcourt big (which seems to be most of the proposals), I can’t think of a serious player out there who’s been mentioned as on the block. Brand seems like he’s staying home (or close to home) and I like the Lamar Odom deals, but they seem the realm of fanboi fantasy.

I’m really looking toward the All-Star break. With half a season under our belt, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re working with on our roster. Is Thomas the second coming (not helping) of Sean Kemp or a bust worth trading? Can we get by without Kirk? Can Gordon and Rose live in the same backcourt without it looking like the Big Brim Bar in I’m Gonna Get You Sucka! In addition, other teams will have had a chance to assess their talent in comparison to their conference and may be looking to pick up late-season/playoff defensive help (again, my dream scenario to shop Noce and Hinrich). Plus, Gooden’s contract is a pretty sweet expiring deal at the end of next season and we may catch some down-on-their luck squad willing to cash in their chips and make a Grizzlies-like move (warning, wild speculation: could Dallas realize they don’t have the mojo and look to move Dirk and want to shave cap space?).

Sometimes winning in the NBA is about being at the right place at the right time (see Lakers, L.A. and Celtics, Boston) and I think the Bulls are in the right place (lots of nice young players that could be moved) but I think next season’s trading deadline is the right time. With the squad we have, I think we could make some noise in the East, continue to accumulate experience for our talented young guys and be in a championship position down the road. Being on the cusp of the Finals with Larry Hughes’ contract coming off the books for the 2010 season could be a great place to be.

For one year, maybe. Trading Hinrich while his value is lowest doesn't make sense and I think we can package him more effectively later.

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