NBA Trade Rumors: Kirk Hinrich's Transfer Upset Bulls Players
The Chicago Bulls deliberately traded point guard Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta Hawks for Justin Holiday just in time for the February 18 trade deadline. From a logical standpoint, the whole decision was pretty much reasonable for a number of reasons: trade exception, second-round pick, and tax debt savings over $2.5million.
The 35-year-old veteran point guard, Hinrich, doesn't seem to have as much appearance as he could on the floor with his new employer, the Hawks. On the other hand, 27-year old Holiday seems to be at the top of his game as a Bull with a record of 39.7 percent of his 3-point shots to date as reported by CBS Sports.
However, speculations suggest an ongoing locker room tension among Hinrich's former teammates at Chicago.
"That those assets could become trade chips and Holiday has played well hasn't assuaged some players' puzzlement over Hinrich's departure. Beyond his limited-minutes defensive aptitude, Hinrich possessed a powerful, behind-the-scenes presence of accountability and quietly helped teammates in a well-received manner," KC Johnson of Chicago Tribune revealed.
Johnson further noted, "Hinrich's trade, which was strongly debated internally, had another ripple effect in an already fragile locker room."
Hinrich's former Bulls teammates weren't the only ones surprised following the deadline deal between Chicago and Atlanta. According to Bleacher Report, Hinrich was equally caught off guard and woefully admitted that he 'didn't see it coming'.
Meanwhile, Hinrich has since adjusted himself to Hawks' gameplay as the Atlanta franchise enters the playoffs. Unfortunately, Bulls would have to contend with the fact that with their current state of affairs, playoffs won't be part of their destination as a team.
Furthermore, Bulls would have to strongly pay attention to its rebuilding efforts starting with a serious house cleaning in the front office to getting injury-stricken players back into action before the next regular season starts.
