The Chicago Bulls traded veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich to the Atlanta Hawks at the Feb. 18 trade deadline as a way to procure a trade exception, a second-round pick and luxury-tax savings of $2.5 million, but the move reportedly didn't sit well in the team's locker room.
According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, the move—which was also internally billed as a way to free up playing time for Justin Holiday—painted the front office in a bad light from the players' perspective:
That those assets could become trade chips and Holiday has played well hasn't assuaged some players' puzzlement over Hinrich's departure. Beyond his limited-minutes defensive aptitude, Hinrich possessed a powerful, behind-the-scenes presence of accountability and quietly helped teammates in a well-received manner.
Johnson added that Hinrich's departure "had another ripple effect in an already-fragile locker room" after the floor general "took less money to sign with the Bulls under the assumption he'd stay."
Hinrich's teammates weren't the only ones caught off guard by the deadli ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Alec Nathan
Kirk Hinrich Trade Reportedly Upset Multiple Bulls Players
April 12th, 2016 by Alec Nathan Leave a reply »
Advertisement