Hello Lakers fans,

Since your guys will probably beat ours (Bulls) by 30, 40 or 50 points tomorrow night, it seemed a good time to run this trade idea by you.

http://www.realgm.com/src_tradechecker/3/ and Trade ID #5323914 or http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=ycdqwl9

Why the Lakers do it:

- Tyrus Thomas (TT) is very talented, but the Bulls have been awful at developing players. Since Phil Jackson & Co. >> Vinny del Negro & Co., TT could likely be developed into a defensive force and acceptably good offensive player.

- Kirk Hinrich has shot like garbage this year, but will likely rebound at some point. He can help keep Fisher's regular season minutes down. Hinrich has acceptable ball handling, and would be a good defensive back-court complement to Kobe.

- The Lakers championship window is now and the remainder of Kobe's prime, and the three players they give up are not part of the essential team core.

- Buss is willing to spend to win, so the Lakers can take on the additional $2M in salary. The Lakers also will not be under the cap next summer, irregardless of this trade.

Why the Bulls do it:

- They need to cut salary to have a chance at signing a 2010 free agent to a max contract. This season is already a loss, so it does not matter if Adam Morrison contributes nothing.

- Jerry Reinsdorf is too cheap to exceed the salary cap, so the $2M saved could be used to pick up a veteran 3-point shooter the Bulls desperately need. Sasha Vujacic is also better at 3-point shooting than anyone currently on the Bulls roster.

- Jordan Farmar replaces Hinrich at a much more reasonable salary for a back-up guard.

- Jerry Reinsdorf has a personal dislike of TT, so the Bulls will likely let him walk for nothing next summer if he is not traded by the deadline. (See Ben Gordon.)

What do you think?

P.S. Since the Bulls will not win the championship this season, I am rooting for the Lakers to win no. 11 for Phil.