Where as the Chicago Bulls are getting ready to make some noise in the 2010 free agency bonanza, the Washington Wizards are still trying to figure out how to rebuild from scratch. Thus, both parties agreed on a trade that sends shooting guard Kirk Hinrich and 17^th overall pick Kevin Seraphin to D.C. while the Bulls will receive a future second rounder from the Wizards.

Without any doubts, Washington receives clearly more talent than the Bulls, after all Kirk Hinrich has proven to be an excellent shooter and Kevin Seraphin from France is generally considered an excellent prospect. Yet, when taking a look at the bigger picture, the Bulls' move could turn out to be of crucial importance down the stretch. More specifically, the Bulls managed to further reduce their payroll by $9 million owed to Hinrich which leaves them with a total of just $23 million committed in salaries for 2010-11. In other words, the franchise from Illinois can now absorb two maximum contracts and will certainly make a bid for LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Taking into account that Chicago still has Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah on their squad, the Bulls will most likely have a very competitive squad next year. Depending on how successful their activities on the free agent market will be, it would be no surprise to see Derrick Rose and company emerge as championship contenders in 2010-11.

In contrast, the Wizards are much more concerned with their rebuilding process and do not even expect to make it to the playoffs next season. Although Gilbert Arenas' contract is a tough one to trade, everything points to Washington's front-office planning on dealing him nonetheless. After all, Hinrich looks like an excellent option at the off-guard position to play alongside number one overall pick John Wall. In 2009-10, Hinrich averaged 10.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per contest while shooting 38% from three point land.

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