Ah, the trade deadline. What was previously wrong is now right; what before was fiction is now fact, or something resembling fact, anyway. It's a wonderful time to write about sports. It's not such a wonderful time if you're actually, you know, trying to figure out what's going on. Things change from day to day, hour to hour.
Today is no different. With just a day to go before the trading deadline, it appears the Bulls are resurrecting the Amare Stoudemire rumors. Instead of a straight swap, though, they're reportedly considering a three-team deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves that would send Stoudemire to the Bulls, Tyrus Thomas and Drew Gooden to Phoenix, and guards Kirk Hinrich and Thabo Sefalosha to Minnesota. Quoth Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski:
That three-way scenario remains improbable, but there are several possibilities between Chicago and Minnesota that are alive. The Bulls want expiring contracts and draft picks to dump Hinrich and forward Andres Nocioni. Chicago has shopped them separately to several teams, but sources say Minnesota has no interest in Nocioni. However, sources say the Wolves and Bulls are discussing Hinrich and Sefolosha for Collins and Brian Cardinal. The Wolves are intrigued with Hinrich’s ability to play the point and off-guard and see him as a good complement to Randy Foye. Collins and Cardinal have shorter-term contracts that bring Chicago payroll relief.
As Matt at BlogaBull notes, getting merely cap relief for Hinrich and Sefalosha would feel a bit like an unfair deal. Hinrich is something of a proven NBA point guard; those are rare. Sefalosha has a bit of upside. Still, if it makes facilitating the Amare Stoudemire deal easier, cap relief is cap relief (it appears to be about $5.5 million off the books next season) and you don't turn your nose up at Jason Collins. He's a decent piece.
Again, just a trade rumor. The Bulls are likely still in talks for Chris Bosh, even if the Raptors are denying those talks are happening, while Wojnarowski says the Bulls have also been discussing Chris Kaman with the Clippers. All sorts of things happening. It's probably safe to say about half of them are true.
Eamonn Brennan is a writer, editor and blogger hunkered down in Lincoln Park. You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, FanHouse, MOUTHPIECE Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com.
