All Bull - Chicago Bulls

The Bulls sent Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons to Sacramento for center Brad Miller and swingman John Salmons on Wednesday afternoon. Michael Ruffin will go to Portland while forward Ike Diogu is sent from the Blazers to the Kings. The Bulls haven't made an official announcement as of 5:30 p.m., but this one appears to be a done deal. Gooden, Nocioni and Simmons did not accompany the Bulls on their bus ride to Milwaukee this afternoon. A rumor that appears to have some validity is Kirk Hinrich heading to Minnesota for the expiring contract of Jason Collins and some other undetermined player.

There wasn't much to report from the trade front Tuesday, at least anything pertaining to the Bulls. The possibility of an Amare Stoudemire trade may not be closed completely, but it appears Phoenix has backed off plans to move the all-star forward. There has been no evidence to suggest Toronto is ready to trade Chris Bosh or Utah will deal Carlos Boozer. One trade consummated Tuesday sent former Bulls center Tyson Chandler from New Orleans to Oklahoma City for Chris Wilcox and another ex-Bull, Joe Smith.

The best way to illustrate why many NBA teams, not just the Bulls, might be wary of trading for Suns power forward Amare Stoudemire is to look at the list of highest-paid players. Here's the list, according to Hoopshype.com: 1. Kevin Garnett, Celtics $24.75 million 2. Stephon Marbury, Knicks $21.94 million (tie) Allen Iverson, Pistons $21.94 million 4. Jason Kidd, Mavs $21.37 million 5. Jermaine O'Neal, Heat $21.35 million 6. Kobe Bryant, Lakers $21.26 million 7. Tracy McGrady, Rockets $21.13 million 8. Tim Duncan, Spurs $20.6 million 9. Shaquille O'Neal, Suns $20.0 million 10. Steve Francis, no team $19.81 million

I'm going to go ahead and climb out on the limb today and say the “John Paxson is about to resign as Bulls general manager” bombshell was a colossal false alarm. If you happened to miss it, Peter Vecsey wrote today in the New York Post, “Do I know this to be fact? No. But two people in the know maintain John Paxson will resign as Bulls GM soon after Thursday's trade deadline expires. ... One of the above sources said he wouldn't be surprised if Doug Collins were approached again after the season regarding the coaching job (currently held by Vinny Del Negro) and as GM, or both.”

Obviously, Thursday's last-second loss to Miami was a blow to the Bulls' dreams of finishing strong after the all-star break. They are 5-4 since Jan. 25 with 3 losses by 2 points or less. They could easily have gone 8-1 during that stretch. But they were outplayed for three quarters by the Heat, so the Bulls were asking for trouble. Miami proved in a 90-77 win over the Bulls back on Dec. 26 that it can deliver some defensive intensity. Beyond that, the Heat made more winning plays on Thursday.

With a week left before the NBA's trade deadline strikes on Feb. 19, it's tough to predict what will happen with the Bulls. Phoenix power forward Amare Stoudemire remains a possibility. But I keep hearing and reading that there will be a flurry of activity in the final days because so many teams are losing money in this poor economy and are becoming increasingly anxious to dump salaries. That stinks for most of the country, but could be an opportunity for the Bulls. The salary structure is the same everywhere in the league, but the Bulls have a much easier time filling the stadium in a metropolitan area of 8 million than they do in the smaller markets.

One obvious thought following the Bulls' wild and crazy 107-102 comeback victory on Red Kerr night was how Tyrus Thomas is not making trade decisions easy. Thomas had some silly turnovers, 5 total, but once again made a huge impact. He finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals, while turning in some clutch plays down the stretch. During the Bulls' game-ending 17-2 run, Thomas scored on an offensive rebound and blocked a Rodney Stuckey shot. With the Bulls badly in need of a basket, Thomas reversed roles and used his own penetration to set up a Derrick Rose jumper that closed the gap to 100-99 with 1:14 left.

In a somewhat surprising development Monday, several sources indicated the Phoenix Suns do not have much interest in Miami's Michael Beasley and would prefer Tyrus Thomas in a trade for all-star power forward Amare Stoudemire. In my view, Beasley has star potential and tremendous scoring ability. There's little chance the Bulls will ever regret choosing Derrick Rose with last year's No. 1 pick, but Beasley (the No. 2 selection) is going to be good. The chatter on Monday, though, suggested the Suns aren't convinced Beasley would fit into their offensive system and they don't want to take back Marion, even for less than half a season. Marion has a $17 million expiring contract and was sent to Miami for Shaquille O'Neal a year ago.

The stereotype of sportswriters being jaded, cynical, joyless people is often accurate. But there is bound to be plenty of emotion Tuesday night when the Bulls honor longtime broadcaster Johnny “Red” Kerr at halftime of the game against Detroit. Personally, I think an appropriate ovation would be something similar to the one given Michael Jordan when he returned to the UC with the Washington Wizards in 2002. One of the privileges of covering the Bulls for the past 10 years has been getting to know Kerr. Now 76, Red is in poor health, but he's expected to attend the tribute. The guest list includes Jordan, Scottie Pippen, former Syracuse teammates Dolph Schayes and Al Bianchi, former Suns president Jerry Colangelo, among others.

The Amare Stoudemire watch picked up on Saturday and it probably won't fade until the Phoenix Suns all-star power forward is sent elsewhere or the NBA trade deadline expires on Feb. 19. ESPN.com suggested that the Bulls and Heat are showing the most interest in Stoudemire, which is easy to believe. One theory has Miami offering Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley, which sounds like it might be a winner. If, that is, Heat president Pat Riley is willing. By accepting Marion back (he was traded for Shaquille O'Neal a year ago), the Suns would get a $17 million expiring contract. They'd also get some real star potential in Beasley. Phoenix would have to throw in a couple players to make the salaries match. Matt Barnes and Alando Tucker should work.