Gone is Kirk Hinrich after quite a few seasons of decent service. The Bulls raided the Utah Jazz to replace Hinrich. 25-year old Ronnie Brewer will likely be the starting shooting guard for the Bulls this year. He played in 58 games (53 starts) for the Jazz & Grizzlies last year in which he averaged 30.0 minutes, 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Brewer has now played in 271 games (223 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.2 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Brewer is a 52.1% shooter from the floor but he’s not a long range shooter hitting only 23.4% from that range. Brewer is a very unselfish player offensively and he’s an outstanding defensive player.

29-year old Kyle Korver is a long range bomber as he hit an amazing 53.6% of his shots from three point range last year. Korver played in 52 games (0 starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 18.3 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. He has now played in 517 games (103 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 25.1 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Korver will give the Bulls something they didn’t have last season…..an outstanding long range shooter.

30-year old Keith Bogans will be #3 in line for minutes at SG for the Bulls this year. Bogans played in 79 games (49 starts) for the Spurs last season and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 4.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 504 games (226 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 22.8 minutes, 7.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Bogans has only shot 39.4% from the floor in his career but he’s still a solid veteran at the end of the bench.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLS SHOOTING GUARDS IN 2010-11: B-

The Bulls have signed 32-year old forward Brian Scalabrine to a non-guaranteed contract. Scalabrine played in 52 games (3 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 1.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He has now played in 474 games (61 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 13.8 minutes, 3.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Scalabrine has only shot 38.7% from the field in his NBA career which is awful for a big man. Don’t look for him to get much playing time in 2010-11 if he makes the team.

21-year old starting point guard Derrick Rose just seems to be getting better. He played in 78 games (all starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 20.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Rose makes everyone on his team better despite not being a pure pass first point guard. Rose has now played in 159 games (158 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he has averaged 36.9 minutes, 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. I look for Rose to take his game up another notch in 2010-11.

26-year old C.J. Watson was signed away from the Warriors to backup Rose this year. Watson played in 65 games (15 starts) for the Warriors last season and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He has now played in 174 games (33 starts) in his three years in the NBA and he has averaged 23.2 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Watson is not a pure point guard but the Bulls think he will be fine when Rose needs a break.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLS POINT GUARDS IN 2010-11: A