26-year old small forward Luol Deng has a torn ligament in his left hand, which has caused him to miss the last couple of games.  He is vowing to return to action this coming up Sunday….and that would give a big boost to the Bulls….if he can withstand the pain.  Deng has played in 18 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 38.3 minutes, 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  26-year old Ronnie Brewer has taken over at small forward with Deng out of action.  In his two starts at small forward, Brewer is averaging 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, as he has been playing well.  Brewer has now played in 20 games (12 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  As good as Brewer has been playing lately, the Bulls can’t wait for Deng to return to action.

The Bulls have waived 31-year old shooting guard Keith Bogans.  Bogans played in 82 games (all starts) for the Bulls last year and he averaged 17.8 minutes, 4.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He also shot 38% from three point range last year and the Bulls may miss that out of the starting unit.  Bogans has now played in 586 games (308 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 22.1 minutes, 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.  Bogans should be able to find a new job before the 2010-11 starts, but the Bulls aren’t going to miss him as they have replaced him at shooting guard with Richard  Hamilton.

The Bulls have signed 33-year old shooting guard Richard Hamilton to a 3-year, $15 million dollar contract to take over as the new starting shooting guard.  Hamilton played in 55 games (39 starts) for the Pistons last year and he averaged 27.2 minutes, 14.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.  He has now played in 843 games (710 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 32.9 minutes, 17.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  Hamilton fills a huge hole on the Bulls and this was an outstanding signing for them.

The Chicago Bulls picked 21-year old, 6’7″, 220 pound small forward Jimmy Butler with the 30th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.  Butler played in 37 games for Marquette last year and he averaged 34.6 minutes, 15.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game.  He played in 106 games in three years in college and he averaged 29.6 minutes, 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Butler will be able to give Luol Deng a break next season whenever he needs one.  This was a solid pick for the Bulls.

The Bulls dealt up for 20-year old, 6’10″, 220 pound power forward Nikola Mirotic.  He was picked 23rd overall and was then dealt to the Bulls.  Mirotic is a pick for the future as he is signed through the 2014 season with Real Madrid in Spain.  Chances are that he can be bought out before 2014, but he likely won’t be wearing a Bulls’ uniform any time soon.  Mirotic has played in 120 games in four years in Spain and he is averaging 19.7 minutes, 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

PF/C Kurt Thomas, SG/SF Rasual Butler and PF Brian Scalabrine are all unrestricted FA heading into the off-season for the Bulls.  I think the Bulls will try to bring Kurt Thomas back.  He was excellent in filling in for Joakim Noah when he was injured last year.  I think he’s a very solid backup big man.  Rasual Butler didn’t do much for the Bulls last year and I think they are going to let him go, even though they have problems at shooting guard.  Brian Scalabrine is a waste of a bench spot.  I think the Celtics would be better served to give a young player Scalabrine’s spot in 2011-12.

24-year old center Omer Asik only lasted two minuted last night.  The reason was because he was diagnosed with a fractured left fibula today which ends his rookie season officially.  Asik played in 82 games (0 starts) during the regular season and he averaged 12.1 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.8 rebounds  and 0.4 assists per game.  He also played 15 games (0 starts) in the playoffs in which he averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.0 point, 2.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.  The Bulls will turn to 38-year old Kurt Thomas to replace Asik as the backup center the rest of the year.  Thomas played in 52 games (37 starts) for the Bulls during the regular season and he averaged 22.7 minutes, 4.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has only played in 6 games (0 starts) during the playoffs and he is averaging 9.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  I have a feeling that Thomas is going to step up for the Bulls, just like he did when Joakim Noah was injured earlier this year.

22-year old point guard Derrick Rose became the youngest ever MVP of the NBA when he won the award earlier today.  Rose played in 81 games (all starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 37.4 minutes, 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  To me, he was by far the best player in the NBA this year as he was the driving force in getting the Bulls the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.  He has now played in 240 games (239 starts) in his first three years with the Bulls and he is averaging 37.1 minutes, 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.  The sky is the limit for Rose as he just keeps getting better every year.

53-year old Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau has made quite a splash in his rookie year as he has won the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award for the 2010-11 season.  He took a Bulls’ team that was 41-41 last season and he got them to improve by 21 games and have the best record in the Eastern Conference.  He led the Bulls to a 62-20 (75.6%) record in his first year running the bench for the Bulls.  Thibodeau stresses defense and his Bulls’ have responded.  To get out of Phil Jackson’s long shadow though, Thibodeau needs to win some NBA Titles…no pressure there.

The Chicago Bulls have signed 28-year old guard John Lucas.  Lucas played in 2 games (0 starts) earlier this year for the Bulls and he averaged 5.0 minutes, 1.0 point and 0.5 assists per game.  He has now played in 62 games (0 starts) in his first three years with in the NBA and he is averaging 8.1  minutes, 3.0 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Lucas is only shooting 39.5% from the  floor and 24.6% from three point range so far in his career.  Don’t expect Lucas to play much unless the Bulls suffer a big rash of injuries at guard.