Top Ten Things This Trade Means to the Bulls

The Bulls agreed in principle to a three-way trade that sent Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown and Cedric Simmons. Veteran Adrian Griffin and the Bulls' second-round pick in 2009 were sent to the Seattle Supersonics as a part of the same deal.
We're going to take you through the top ten effects this trade will have on the Bulls for the rest of the season and beyond.

No. 10 The Trade Deadline is Officially Over

This should take the weight off the shoulders of the remaining Bulls players. Almost every person on this team was mentioned in some version of a reported trade rumor, so it's not a stretch to say it played a part in their struggles on the court. Now that the deadline has passed, the players can relax and not have to worry about whether or not their address was going to change unexpectedly. However, if the poor play continues, this can no longer be an excuse for this year's shortcomings.

9. The Exodus of the Fro

I'll be the first one to admit that I applauded the Bulls for snatching Ben Wallace from the Detroit Pistons in 2006. Unfortunately the move didn't work out the way the Bulls had hoped and Wallace rarely looked like the player he was during the Pistons' championship season in 2004. He never really stepped up as a leader and the Bulls lucked out in finding a team that would take on his bloated contract.
Big Ben won't be gone for long though. The Bulls and Cavs square off three times before season's end, the first meeting coming Mar. 6 at the United Center.
Think he'll have something to prove?

8. D-Wade to the Bulls?

Before you say anything just hear me out. Wade has a player option in 2010 that would allow him to opt out of his contract and enter free agency. This just also happens to be the year Hughes' deal expires (two years, about $26.5 million remaining) and his salary is off the books. Only Kirk Hinrich has a deal that runs through 2010, meaning the Bulls will have to sign some of their younger players to contracts soon to soften the blow to their salary cap.
Depending on what the Bulls do with Ben Gordon and Luol Deng (more on them later) in the off-season, this team could be setting itself up to be major players in the race to sign one of the NBA's elite players. Being a Chicago native only adds to the list of reasons why Wade coming to the Bulls makes sense.

It could happen...right?

7. Maybe Home Cookin' is the Answer for Shannon Brown

The top picture of Shannon Brown is what he looked like the last time he played for a Chicago team. After starring alongside former University of Illinois star Dee Brown at Proviso East High School, Brown went to Michigan State University and shortly thereafter the Cavs drafted him with the 25th overall pick in 2006. Brown was averaging seven points, one rebound and one assist in about 14 minutes per contest.
It's unclear what Brown is going to add to the Bulls, but I think he's definitely an upgrade over veteran Adrian Griffin. Ol' Girff was the steady presence a playoff team needs down the stretch, but that's not what the Bulls need right now.
Early on Brown may have trouble cracking the Bulls lineup, but coach Jim Boylan will eventually give him a chance and it's up to him whether or not he takes advantage of it.

6. Time to Step Up

The void that Ben Wallace leaves behind at center means big minutes for Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray immediately. Depending on the opponent, Noah could see the biggest boost in playing time due to his size (6'11") and experience at the position. Thomas' athleticism is undeniable, but his size is better suited to back up newly acquired Drew Gooden at power forward or start next to Noah. Add rookie center Aaron Gray into the mix and the Bulls front court suddenly becomes more intriguing.

The Bulls can run with teams like the pre-Diesel Suns and slow it down to a half-court contest with teams like the Pistons.
No matter what, the play of these three will be crucial in the team's performance down the stretch and could help Pax determine what he's got in his young core of big-men.

5. Larry Hughes Could Be Good for This Team

I'll give you a chance to stop laughing before you read this..........done?

Hughes has the potential to be a very interesting piece of the puzzle for the Bulls. Just like Wallace with the Bulls, Hughes never lived up to the contract he signed with the Cavs in 2005 coming off a season with the Washington Wizards where he averaged 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. If he can regain that form with the Bulls, it could give Paxson something to think about when it comes to deciding whether or not to resign Luol Deng or Ben Gordon.
He is a slasher that has a propensity to rely on his jump-shot too often and settles for ill advised three-point attempts while sometimes taking plays off on the defensive end. I doubt Pax would have made this move if Skiles still was running the show, but with the responsibility of having to find a new coach in the off season, all bets are off.

4. Fear the.....Ducktail?

Unfortunately, the Ducktail no longer resides on the back of Drew Gooden's head. Instead, he's currently engaged in a contest with DeShawn Stevenson of the Washington Wizards to see who could go the longest without shaving their beard.
But in terms of what Gooden can do for this team, I'm surprisingly optimistic. I'll admit to not being Gooden's biggest fan when he was playing alongside Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich at the University of Kansas.
But the 2002 fourth-overall pick has surprised me by being a solid contributor and on occasion a legitimate double-double threat. Nobody is saying he's going to replace the 14 boards a game the Bulls thought they were getting when they signed Wallace, but he does bring 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds to a team screaming for some form of consistency.
(In case you were wondering, Wallace was averaging 8.8 rebounds before the trade)

3. Paxson Pulls the Trigger...FINALLY!

It seemed like every week Bulls GM John Paxson was being criticized for not shaking up this roster sooner. Things got even worse for the embattled GM after the Western Conference decided to collectively go for broke and turn this year's trading deadline into an arms race.
Shaq to the Suns, Gasol to the L.A. Lakers and Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks were trades with enormous implications in the race for this year's NBA Championship. Meanwhile, Pax stood pat and watched his team limp into the All-Star break with a putrid 21-31 record.
The Bulls needed to get an All-Star caliber player if the playoffs were to become a reality this season. This move helps to do away with the idea of Pax as a gun-shy GM, but my only concern is he made this deal for the sake of making a deal.

Something needed to be done, but the question is, could something better have been done sooner?

2. One, or both?

Before the season started, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng turned down contract extensions and have been hearing about that decision ever since. Neither have played up to the level that was expected by fans and media alike and have been the symbols of all that has gone wrong with this team from the word 'go'.
Deng doesn't look like the player Pax declared off-limits when discussing a deal with the L.A. Lakers that would have sent Kobe Bryant to the Bulls. And Gordon continues to be the streaker shooter that makes the most basic mistakes at the worst possible times. Unfortunately, he's the only realistic go-to-guy the Bulls have and they live and die by his ability to create a shot for himself. A feat that doesn't happen very often because everyone in the building knows it's going to Gordon and you know he's not taking it to the hole.
Bottom line, if Larry Hughes and Shannon Brown come in and make an immediate impact alongside promising guard Thabo Selfolosha, the Bulls won't be as tempted to match offers from other teams this off-season.

1. They Actually Might Win a Few Games

Look, I'm not jaded to the point where I think this trade is going to put the Bulls back on track just in time for a playoff run. But then again, the East, well, it just isn't very good. The Celtics have looked beatable lately and so too have the Pistons; arguably the two best team in the conference. Unlike the West, you don't need over 50 wins to get into the postseason and as crazy as it sounds, the Bulls actually have a shot.
More than likely, the team will show improvement towards the end of the year, but miss the playoffs for the first time since 2004. There's a long list of things that need to be done to make the Bulls legitimate contenders again and as much as it pains me to say it, this season is over.

It's just too late.

By: Matthew Olsen