The Chicago Bulls have signed 31-year old guard Jannero Pargo.  Pargo played in 63 games (5 starts) for the Bulls last season and he averaged 13.1 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.  But, he only shot 34.6% from the floor and 27.5% from three point range so don’t expect any miracles out of him.  Pargo has now played in 378 games (18 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 15.8 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.  Pargo will likely be sitting near the end of the bench, but he could give the Bulls a few solid minutes the rest of this year.

31-year old SG/SF Rasual Butler is going to sign with the Chicago Bulls tonight after he clears waivers.  Butler played in 41 games (2 starts) for the Clippers earlier this year and he averaged 18.1 minutes, 5.0 points, 1.9 rebounds  and 0.7 assists per game.  He only shot 32.3% from the floor and 32.6% from three point range for the Clippers this year.  Butler has now played in 598 games (249 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 24.1 minutes, 8.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Despite having the reputation of being a good long range shooter, Butler has only hit 36.1% of his shots from behind the 3-point line so far in this career.  Butler might be able to help the Bulls off the bench this year if he gets back into a good groove shooting the ball.

The Bulls have dealt 24-year old small forward James Johnson to the Toronto Raptors for the Miami Heat’s first round pick in 2011.  Johnson played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this season and he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He played in 78 games (11 starts) in his two years with the Bulls and he averaged 11.3 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  This was a good deal for the Bulls who quickly got frustrated with Johnson.

25-year old center Joakim Noah’s rehab is going so well that he should be able to return right after the All-Star Break.  Noah has played in 24 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  It should be downright scary for the rest of the NBA (especially the Eastern Conference) to see the Bulls get Noah back as they are 34-15 on the year which has them as the #3 seed in the East right now, just 3.5 games behind the Boston Celtics.  Kudos to 38-year old center Kurt Thomas who has filled in for Joakim Noah.  Thomas has played in 30 games (24 starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 23.6 minutes, 4.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.  Thomas will go back to the bench when Noah returns, giving the Bulls even more depth on the bench.

The Bulls have sent 23-year old small forward James Johnson to the Iowa Energy of the D-League.  Johnson played in 12 games (0 starts) for the Bulls last season in which he averaged 10.2 minutes, 3.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.  He has now played in 77 games (11 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 11.4 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  The Bulls hope that James Johnson will find himself in the D-League because he’s still young enough to turn things around.

The Bulls will be without 25-year old starting center Joakim Noah for the next 8-10 weeks after he had surgery today on one of his thumbs.  Noah has played in 24 games (all starts) for the Bulls so far this year and he is averaging 36.8 minutes, 14.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocked shots per game.  This is a big blow to the Bulls who often feed off Noah’s energy and hustle on both ends of the court.

29-year old power forward Carlos Boozer made his debut for the Bulls tonight in a 107-78 home loss against the Orlando Magic.  Boozer played 20 minutes tonight and he had 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot.  Boozer played in 78 games (all starts) for the Jazz last season and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 19.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Boozer will bump Taj Gibson to the bench.  Gibson played well while Boozer was out of action as he started 14 games in which he averaged 26.9 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  The Bulls really need Boozer to make up for lost time.

The Bulls have waived 25-year old power forward Chris Richard. Richard played in 18 games (0 starts) for the Bulls this year and he averaged 12.4 minutes, 2.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He has now played in 70 games (3 starts) in his two years in the NBA and he has averaged 11.1 minutes, 1.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. This is absolutely no loss for the Bulls.

Starting power forward Carlos Boozer said that he tripped over some luggage trying to answer his doorbell and he broke his hand because he landed wrong. Boozer will be out of action for the next 8 weeks meaning that he will miss the first month of the regular season. This is a huge blow for the Bulls as they were depending on Boozer to team up inside with Joakim Noah so the Bulls could own the glass. Second year man Taj Gibson will replace Boozer while he is out of action.

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.