Playing GM

Last night the Bulls hung around in another road game they had no business being in before finally succumbing to the Pacers. (Incidentally, if the Pacers can get any real value for Danny Granger, they have the potential to be a nasty team as Paul George and Lance Stephenson develop.)

Sitting at 10 games over .500, on pace for 50 wins even without Rose, it's time to start asking what moves might be made at the trade deadline to get over the hump and put a real scare into the Heat and Knicks in the East.

Conventional wisdom says the Bulls need a second shot-creator. Now, for starters, I'm not sure this is so. If you have one possession at the end of a game, you have the option of putting Rose and Nate Robinson on the floor together. And Marco Belinelli can get his own shot better than any of the options we have seen with Rose since maybe John Salmons when Rose was a rookie. And he was actually playing the 3 with Deng injured in that epic series with the Celtics.

But in the bigger picture, I just don't believe in absolutes like that. The Mavericks took down the Heat without a second pure shot-maker to run with Nowitzki. I think the Bulls just need a better basketball player at the 2.

Now, I have been fairly impressed with Marco Belinelli. His ability to both defend and create his own shot have been pleasant surprises - two areas of his game in which he's an upgrade over Kyle Korver. With Rip Hamilton looking for all the world like the guy who doesn't know the party is over but for some reason is still there, could the Bulls turn the 2 position over to Belinelli and the emerging Jimmy Butler, along with spot minutes with Hinrich and Rose sharing the same backcourt? Truth is... probably. It would be better than the Keith Bogans/Rip Hamilton experience of the past two seasons. But I'd feel better with a legit starter plugged into that spot.

To that end, let's look at the guy who was almost a Bull in the first place: J.J. Redick. The Bulls signed him to a front-loaded offer sheet during the Summer of LeBron, which was meant to make the cash-strapped Magic swallow hard before matching. Once they did, the Bulls settled for Korver and Brewer. Well, Redick is having a career year this year, scoring 15 points per game, shooting 40% from distance, and is a willing enough defender for Tom Thibodeau. His contract expires after this year, and there is smoke that he is available.

Could the Bulls send Hamilton's expiring contract and a first round pick to Orlando for a Redick rental, along with the hopes of retaining him with his Larry Bird rights? It seems a worthwhile gamble given where the Bulls will be drafting, and even a late #1 for a rental is probably the best the Magic will do

One other element the Bulls continue to miss is a big-bodied, defensive-minded center to replace what they lost in Omer Asik. Nazr Mohammed is another veteran who looks like he has stayed too long at the party.

Denver's Timofey Mozgov might fit the bill. He is very low-priced - a bit over $2 million - and he is averaging fewer than 3 points per game in limited minutes. And the Bulls would not be counting on him for many, as they are comfortable in many matchups with Taj Gibson. But Mozgov is a club Tom Thibodeau would surely like to have in his bag,

The expiring contracts of Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic along with one or two second round picks should be sufficient for Mozgov. His market value is not high - he's a luxury item few teams have a distinct need for right now.

This would give the Bulls a bench of Hinrich, Belinelli, Butler, Gibson and Mozgov, which I submit is not just better but QUITE A BIT better than the fabled "Bench Mob" of recent vintage.

If the Bulls were to simply re-sign Belinelli, Redick and Mozgov, they would need to make no other moves this offseason to go into next year expecting to compete for the title. And they could keep their very valuable future assets - Nikola Mirotic and the Charlotte pick - as the roster someday turns over around Rose.