Hinrich’s days in Chicago could be numbered

By Staff     Jan 8, 2014

Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, center, looks to pass as Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap, left, and guard Jeff Teague guard during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Currently in his second go-round as a Chicago Bull, and a former member of the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks, 10-year NBA veteran Kirk Hinrich could soon be playing in the Western Conference for the first time in his career.

[According to USA Today’s Sam Amick,][1] the Bulls could move Hinrich as they continue to deal with the absence of franchise point guard Derrick Rose and, simultaneously, make cost-saving decisions with their roster.

Speculation surrounding a Hinrich trade grew once Chicago dealt Luol Deng, one of its core members. As Amick reported, the Golden State Warriors could be Hinrich’s new home:

> “… it appears point guard Kirk
> Hinrich will be drawing the most
> immediate interest when it comes to
> the Bulls’ possible next move.
> According to a person with knowledge
> of the situation, the Golden State
> Warriors are among teams that had been
> showing serious interest in Hinrich
> long before the Deng trade.”

Considering the state of affairs in Chicago (15-18) – no Rose, no Deng, no way the Bulls will be able to contend in the East – joining the Warriors (24-13) could be an ideal situation for the Kansas legend.

Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore (16) shotts against the Charlotte Bobcats during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. The Bobcats beat the Kings 113-103.(AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

Hinrich, of course, wouldn’t start for Golden State. But the Warriors essentially have no backup point guard, with Toney Douglas playing just 11.7 minutes a game. If Golden State is able to acquire Hinrich, coach Mark Jackson would surely have him in the backcourt with either of the Warriors’ budding stars, Steph Curry or Klay Thompson (aka The Splash Brothers, who have combined to make 219 three-pointers so far), for long stretches.

Goggled and gritty, Hinrich [(7.8 points, 4.7 assists this season)][2] might not have the flash of his potential backcourt mates, but he could certainly facilitate and give the Warriors another ball handler.

Stay tuned, and let us know in the comments section if you would like to see Hinrich join one of the most entertaining teams in the league.

McLemore back on the bench
—————-

Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce (34) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jeremy Lamb (11) during an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

[In our last edition of ‘Hawks in the NBA,][3] we told you about the often cited comparison of Sacramento rookie Ben McLemore to renowned sniper Ray Allen, currently of the Miami Heat.

Well, the 17-year veteran Allen has spent most of his renowned career as a starter, until becoming a backup when he joined the Heat.

McLemore, who had started 26 games for Sacramento (11-22), returned to a bench role Tuesday for the Kings’ 123-119 home win over one of the West’s top teams, Portland (26-9).

After the victory, [Jason Jones, of the Sacramento Bee, reported][4] that Marcus Thornton will start instead of McLemore for the “foreseeable future,” according to Kings coach Michael Malone:

> “This is a not a demotion for Ben
> McLemore,” Malone said. “This is not
> us losing confidence or faith in him.
> Ben’s been struggling and I wanted to
> put him in a position where maybe he
> could have more success coming off the
> bench.”
>
> Malone said with the Kings having
> three volume shooters in the starting
> lineup, he’ll need Thornton and Jason
> Thompson to serve as facilitators and
> “ball movers” with the starting five.

Kings part-owner Shaquille O’Neal has other ideas about what’s next for McLemore:

Good call, Shaq.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZO0Kk0WM3k

Pierce climbing NBA career scoring ladder
—————————————-

The Truth has surpassed The Answer. That is, Paul Pierce moved past Allen Iverson on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Pierce took over 19th place, pushing Iverson to 20th, with 17 points [in a Brooklyn win over Cleveland on Saturday][5].

With 24,392 points to his name, and a 21.6 points per game career average, [Pierce is in elite company,][6] and the next three players in front of him on the list are all within 900 points. Already ahead of NBA legends such as Tim Duncan (21st, 24,249 points) and Charles Barkley (22nd, 23,357), next up on the ladder are Patrick Ewing (18th, 24,815), Jerry West (17th, 25,192) and Reggie Miller (16th, 25,279).

Former Jayhawks to rock nickname jerseys
—————————————-

Speaking of The Truth, Pierce will soon don a Brooklyn jersey with his nickname on the back of it, instead of his last name.

Both the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets will wear the gimmicky nickname jerseys when the teams square off Friday night at Brooklyn.

Check out a sneak peek of Pierce’s “Truth” jersey and Mario Chalmers’ “Rio” uni over at [Sports Illustrated’s Point Forward blog][7].

However, it remains to be seen if Chalmers will be able to wear his specialty jersey on Friday. [He missed Tuesday’s Heat victory][8] over New Orleans with Achilles tendinitis.

Keep up with all of the ‘Hawks in the NBA daily with [KUsports.com’s stat recaps][9].

[1]: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/01/07/nba-kirk-hinrich-chicago-bulls-golden-state-warriors/4359053/
[2]: http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=2550
[3]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/hawks_nba/2014/jan/3/a-ringing-endorsement-for-ben-mclemore/
[4]: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/08/6055021/postgame-notes-recapping-a-crazy.html
[5]: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20140104_CLE@BKN/nets-win-8982-as-cavs-struggle-without-irving
[6]: http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_all_time_leaders/AllTimeLeadersPTSQuery.html?topic=4&stat=1
[7]: http://nba.si.com/2014/01/07/miami-heat-nickname-jerseys-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-ray-allen/
[8]: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-01-07/sports/sfl-miami-heats-shane-battier-to-miss-pelicans-game-20140107_1_new-orleans-pelicans-mario-chalmers-achilles-tendinitis
[9]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/hawks_nba/

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