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 Sorry for my delayed reaction to this, after Friday I wasn't really interested in doing any reading or writing so I put this off for awhile.
In short, this trade was horrible for the Bulls. Sure, getting rid of Ben Wallace and his contract was a good thing and moving Joe Smith and Adrian Griffin out so that Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah could get some more playing time is nice but....isn't this a team that was supposed to push for the Eastern Conference crown this season? Isn't the 'core' of this team still intact? Is this the move that the Bulls needed to get them back on track?
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 Ok, let's answer those questions. Yes, this is the team that was supposed to push for the Eastern Conference crown this season. Behind Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich the Bulls were supposed to make the cold winter, yet so warm in Chicago. This did not happen because of...injuries, poor play, bad coaching, etc. Nevertheless, this is the same team that many, including myself, predicted to win at least 50 games. Now they'll be lucky to win 35.
Next, this is not the move the Bulls needed to get back on track. I'm all for the 'new place, new attitude' line of thinking but Larry Hughes has shown that A) he's not really that good and B) he's not going to be happy coming off the bench. That will collide with the Bulls starting Hinrich and Thabo Sefolosha in the back court and lead to a Hughes trade in the off-season depending on how much cash Ben Gordon asks for/demands. If the Bulls can't trade Gordon, because he takes the one year qualifying offer, Hughes will be gone. If the Bulls can trade Gordon, Hughes will move into the sixth man spot, hate it and be traded/not playing by the All-Star Break next season. This is not good news. What kind of assets could the Bulls get in return for Hughes this Summer if Gordon stays? Not much. What can they get for Hughes next season if Gordon goes? Not much. That's why they need to figure out this Gordon situation ASAP in the Summer and move on Hughes. If he's around next season he's only there until his contract comes off the books. All the images that Bulls fans might have of Hughes becoming that defensive stopper/slasher to the basket are as far fetched as their dreams of Ben Gordon learning how to handle the ball while playing the point. Not. Going. To. Happen.
 Now, onto Drew Gooden. When he feels like playing, he's pretty good. When he didn't feel like playing in Cleveland he was receiving scowls from LeBron while growing a beard. I'm not a fan of players who are more motivated to grow body hair than making their game grow. Gooden will be fine for a little while but this is probably the beginning of his career as a journeyman in the NBA. Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are going to be starting up front for the Bulls the majority of the time, so how Gooden adapts to his role on the bench, which his role should be, will determine his worth. Right now, his worth to me is a good laugh when I think of just how good his Father thought young Drew was at Kansas. Gooden will show some inside scoring, with the word 'some' being used loosely. I think he's been living off Big Z the past few seasons in Cleveland and it's allowed him to sneak away with some rebounds and putbacks that he won't be getting in Chicago. There is a difference in the NBA between having a serviceable 7-footer to work with each night and not. The Cavs have one, the Bulls do not. Look to see how Ben Wallace deals in Cleveland now that he can slide in next to Big Z. He does work hard on the offensive boards, but I wonder how many of those boards are off of his own shots since he shoots less than 50% from the floor, which is horrendous for a supposed low post player. Gooden will take a little bit of playing time from Thomas and Noah when he's on fire, but for the most part his job is to stay out of the way and not give the kids any bad habits. Man, this trade is sounding better by the minute, no? NO!
Is this the move to get the Bulls over the top? No. This is the move that gets John Paxson fired. Things have spiraled out of control since.....well, I hate to say this....Tyson Chandler was traded and Ben Wallace was signed. Bulls fans thought we'd have two shots at the title with Wallace and it really only turned out to be like a half of a shot, so trading Chandler, no matter how horrendous his contract is, was pointless. The firing of Scott Skiles and the mismanagement of re-signing Gordon and Deng this past off-season put Paxson on the ledge and this trade has pushed him over.
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