Is Kirk Hinrich Minnesota Bound?

Rumors have Bulls sending Hinrich to Timberwolves

By TOM FORNELLI

Updated 12:45 PM CST, Sat, May 30, 2009

Print Email Share TWITTER FACEBOOK

Getty Images

While the NCAA and University of Memphis are all focused on what Derrick Rose may or may not have done before going to college for a year, Rose's current team is going about the business of improving a playoff team next season. With Gar Forman taking over for John Paxson as the team's general manager, his first order of business is June's NBA draft.

Now, the Bulls seem to be pretty high on Syracuse point guard Johnny Flynn, and on the surface, it seems like an odd move. First of all, Flynn probably won't even be around by the time the Bulls get to make their first round selection, so if they were going to draft him they'd have to trade up. Second of all, the Bulls already have their point guard. His name is Derrick Rose, and he's not very good on standardized tests, but he's outstanding on a basketball court.

Some theories as to why the Bulls would take Flynn say that the team is considering moving Rose to the two-guard, which to be pretty blunt about it, is downright stupid. So there has to be something else in the works here, right? Turns out there may be. Some people think that the Bulls are interested in Flynn because they're looking to move Kirk Hinrich in a trade. A trade that would land them the draft pick necessary to grab Flynn.

Sources close to me have told me that Kirk Hinrich will be traded sometime before next season starts. His status seems to be independent on whether the Bulls are able to bring back Gordon.

So where is Hinrich going to go? Well, Captain Kirk was nearly traded to Minnesota not too long ago, and it seems the Timberwolves are still interested in him. According to a report from Minneapolis radio station KFAN, the Bulls would send Hinrich to the Wolves for the #6 pick in the draft, or possibly straight up for Mike Miller.

Now rumors are rumors and we can't be sure how valid these are, but given the Bulls interest in Flynn and the fact that they've come close to sending Hinrich north before, this idea isn't exactly insane. Of course, giving Hinrich's value to the team as a backup guard who can play on both ends of the court -- he gave Paul Pierce fits in the playoffs -- we're not so sure why the team would want to move him.

We tend to think that if the Bulls were to lose both Hinrich and Ben Gordon in the same offseason, that could only be considered a step backwards.

Along with writing for NBCCHICAGO.com, Tom Fornelli can also be found contributing at FanHouse, SPORTSbyBROOKS, and his own Chicago sports blog Foul Balls.