If you thought It was over before, the latest Bulls loss courtesy of the Orlando Magic probably did nothing to sway your thinking. With Noah, Deng and now Derrick Rose going down with an Injury in the Bulls matchup with the Magic, The Bulls have now  lost three of there five starting players.

The Injury to Derrick, which happened with 55 seconds to go in the First quarter, looked eerily similar to the Injury he suffered from Dwight in the bulls first meeting, with the result being a sore hip.

In typical Derrick fashion, he drove hard to the hoop weaving in and out of traffic, challenging the 6' 11", 265 pound Howard. Howard exceeded the challenge, and this time Derricks back didn't break the fall, his wrist did.

Now things look even bleaker for the Bulls as they try to salvage what Is left of the season, with players they never thought they would rely on to do it.

In some ways, It all seems like a bad joke played on the Bulls courtesy of the basketball gods, whoever they are. You simply do not anticipate having to go with a starting five of Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, James Johnson Taj Gibson and Brad Miller to close out the season.

Most fans would look at that lineup and laugh at the thought of a playoff birth. Most skeptics and columnists would write the Bulls off immediately, which they already have begun to do.

If this is indeed a joke, its not a very good one for obvious reasons, and unfortunately, the laughter might not stop anytime soon. With Miami, Memphis, Dallas and Cleavland coming up, the Bulls will face two of the best teams in the NBA and two teams who are clicking at the right time.

For the Bulls to have any success during this stretch, the current nucleus of players on the floor will have to do just that, Click.

Not having any significant playing time together doesn't help, neither does having a coach who's confidence has been hit multiple times during the season with threats of firing and losses.

However this is where Vinny must make his money. This is where Vinny must step up and command his troops and prepare them for war, because It will certainly be a battle these next few weeks.

Where do the Bulls go from here? Perhaps now is the time to really give James Johnson extended minutes to see what he can do. Johnson showed flashes of what he's capable of in the loss to Orlando. Acie Law also is intriguing with his ability to drive and finish. Could we see more minutes going to Law down the stretch?

Next up, The Miami Heat who currently sits in eighth place and a win ahead of the Bulls.

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Mike was happy, Stern was happy, and of course Jerry was; just look at that smirk, as if to say, "Yeah, I put this together." The money was coming in and everyone was feeling good. The NBA was profiting and the Bulls were not only turning into a franchise powerhouse but a profitable one also, as one of the most bankable franchises along with Los Angeles and New York. Oh, but things have changed now.

Now everyone takes notice of the Bulls, albeit for all of the wrong reasons.

Bulls fans, this is what happens when money and bad decisions take precedence over winning. We are all seeing what happens when the big heads get big-headed, figuratively speaking, and turn a franchise into a laughing stock.

From Jerry Krause to Jerry Reinsdorf, from Tim Floyd to Jim Boylan and now to My Cousin Vinny—bad decision after bad decision and now the reality becomes apparent. It isn't the players or the coaches who are jokes; it's management. We've been down this road before haven't we? Let's take a not so good ride down memory lane. 

Remember that 1999-2000 Bulls team that won 17 games? The starting lineup looked something like this: Elton Brand, Dickey Simpkins, Ron Artest, Hersey Hawkins, and Randy Brown. It was supposed to be a rebuilding period, post-Jordan, with Jerry Krause at the helm. Elton Brand was on his way to becoming co-rookie of the year with Steve Francis. All eyes were supposed to be on the big summer free agency of 2000; things looked bad, but promising.

Instead, the big heads screwed it up again. Failing to use all of the so-called cap space cleared out to land anybody significant and instead coming up with the likes of Ron Mercer and Marcus Fizer. In 2000-2001 the Chicago Bulls starting lineup looked like this: Elton Brand, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Fred Hoiberg, and Bryce Drew. The result? A 15-67 record.

Finally in 2001-2002 Jerry about had enough with the team and decided to start over...again. This time by trading a sure thing in Elton Brand to the Clippers for a project in Tyson Chandler.

These are moves that get you fired, moves that get you hate mail from fans, moves that any competent GM would not make on a bad day. As a result Mr. Krause stepped down at the end of the season.

So here we are in 2009 embarking on 2010 and, eerily, in the same position. We have oddly the same kind of GM that screwed up the Bulls' chances nine years ago. It's funny how things come full circle, isn't it?

What happened to this franchise?

We're in an era in Bulls history now where cutting cost seems to be the norm and winning now seems to be the afterthought. If this season implodes for the Chicago Bulls, as it appears that it might, everything will be tied back to Jerry Reindsdorf, in the same way it was with Jerry Krause.

Krause wanted the flexibility, he wanted the cap space, and he was willing to do anything to get it.

He wanted the adoration of Bulls fans for finally making a good decision, even if it meant following his own instincts instead of listening to the people that kept his pockets fat. Even if it meant trading half your team to get it, even if it meant trading your sure-thing No. 1 pick, Elton Brand.

Still, many will look back and say that it was the Bulls players in those seasons as well as now, who give half an effort, and it is why the losing continues. It is those fans who also see the glass as half-full instead of half-empty.

Here is the reality: Reindsdorf hired a rookie coach on a rookie salary for a reason other than basketball, because you can't expect a rookie coach to come in and coach with the emphasis on getting something out of the season on his first go-around. You see where that has gotten the team.

We know that attendance is not Jerry's main concern as an effect of losing because Chicago has always ranked in the top percentage in average attendance, according to Street & Smiths business daily article.

If attendance is steady, and money is steady, where is the urgency to change anything major? If it's not broke don't fix it, right? Well, you're wrong, Jerry. You're very, very wrong. It's definitely broken, and it's been broken for quite some time now.

In any case, it's clear to see that something isn't right at the top. Basketball is just as much entertainment as it is a business and it's not a stretch for anyone to see that the moves this GM makes stinks of greed.

Trading away your star shooter in Ben Gordon and hiring Vinny seem to be ways to save money, but is this really the best option? Is the gamble really going to pay off? Reinsdorf should hope so, or he could end up like that other Jerry guy, and the Bulls with a rotation full of Marcus Fizers and Ron Mercers instead of future Hall of Famers and All-Stars.

For Bulls fans, it's a tough time but here's a trick you can try at home: Just pretend the guy in the picture to Phil Jackson's immediate right along with the six trophies never happened.

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