Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ve heard from the Bulls before tomorrow’s 3pm est deadline, but it’s good news.  A few media outlets are reporting that the Bulls have made a deal with the Bucks:

The Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to a deal in principle that will send John Salmons to the Bucks for the expiring contracts of Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson, sources said on Wednesday.

As early as this past summer it became clear that in order to clear enough space to make a legitimate run at one of the big 2010 free agents, the Bulls would need to move the contracts of Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and/or John Salmons.  Salmons contract, while technically expiring this summer, has a player option for about $6 million.  It is presumed that Salmons will pick up that option.  Now that he is gone, that clears his salary off the books, which puts the Bulls at just around $20 million under the cap.  If they can also move Hinrich (or Deng, though that seems less likely), then they will be in very good shape.

Clearly the Bulls are not that concerned with the current season, as the pieces they got in return are pure garbage.  Elson and Thomas, both old big men that can’t play many minutes, will not contribute much to the Bulls, if they contribute at all.  What becomes crucial now is that if the Bulls do move Tyrus (which seems imminent), they must get someone like McDyess from San Antonio in return.  If not, their already thin frontcourt will get even thinner especially with Noah hobbled by Plantar Fasciitis.

In other trade news, the Bulls still seem to be in the T-Mac sweepstakes, although word is that the Rockets have continued to up the price and may not move him at all.  One rumor has the Rockets asking for Taj in the deal, which should kill any deal for the Bulls.  Stay posted for more updates as the deadline looms.

• Deron Williams dressed up like a goof with recspecs, a ghostbusters tee, and high socks playing dodgeball.  You have to see it to believe it. [BDL]
• I don’t usually link to this kind of stuff, but Maria Sharapova is a real looker. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• So the Milwaukee Bucks are still an NBA team, at least for fantasy purposes.  Kind of. [Give Me The Rock]
• Drew Barrymore is playing a Packer fan dressed like the Joker?  How strange…Also nice redesign Zoner! [Zoner]
• 21 different pictures of Packers fans doing what they do best: looking like fat white trash. [JCS]
• Cris Collinsworth is a complete idiot in the booth, but did you know he was a total jackass during his playing days as well? [Deadspin]
• With McNabb questionable for Week 2, it looks like the Eagles are pursuing Jeff Garcia.  Too bad Vick isn’t available. [Inside the Iggles]
• Here’s your NFL Week 2 Preview.  It’s got everything you need to know. [MidwestSportsFans]
• NFL players are donating their brains to science.  Just to make sure everyone is clear, let me die before giving me some football player’s “brain”.  Thanks.  [Bootlegger Sports]
• Another Chicago Blogger’s take on the Bears game.  Yeah, it’s negative. [Tremendous Upside Potential]
• It was NOT a good weekend for Ohio teams.  Browns, Bengals, Indians, Reds, Buckeyes all lost.  Ouch. [Paneech]
• Bruce Levine seems to think the Cubs are looking to trade Milton Bradley AND Carlos Zambrano.  It seems unlikely that they would trade both, but if the Cubs can shed bad contracts, they should.  Which begs the question: is Z a bad contract? [Bleacher Nation]
• I guess the Bengals prematurely ejaculated on the Broncos on Sunday, or at least that’s what Keith Olbermann ALMOST said.  You know he was thinking it. [Detroit4Lyfe]
• D-Wade held a charity bowling event at Ten=Pin in Chicago and a local blogger went and interviewed him.  It made me realize two things: Wade is awesome, and bloggers are dorks. [Docksquad]
• Patrick Swayze passed away, and here is a tribute to him by some sports guys. [Outside the Boxscore]

In light of all the recent trades and rumors swirling around Paxson, people have been analyzing his legacy.  My focus has been mainly on how much Reinsdorf was really calling the shots and whether that interfered with Paxson’s job.

But was someone else really pulling the strings from 2003- 2007?  Scott Skiles put his imprint on the team and gave them an identity on the court.  With his attitude and coaching style (angry, disrespectful and a bully), he was able to get the Bulls to play ferocious defense and win a lot of games.  Was Scott Skiles also calling shots in the front office?  Tim Thomas seems to think so.  When asked if he has hard feelings about his last stint with the Bulls, he answered:

”[Paxson] really didn’t go into it,” Thomas said. ”I’m pretty sure he felt a certain way about the whole situation. There was a lot of heat on the organization at that particular time. There’s really no need to talk about it. That’s in the past. The guy who was pretty much controlling things is gone.

Now this is Tim Thomas, and its not to say that Paxson and Skiles weren’t on the same page for Skiles’ entire tenure, but this does make some sense.  Guys that Skiles didn’t like were shipped out without playing a game.  Tim Thomas and J.R. Smith are just two examples, but how many other deals were forced or made by Skiles?  Was Curry really traded because Skiles wanted him gone?  Chandler?  We know Skiles sat Thomas and to a lesser extent Noah, even after Paxson made clear numerous times that he wanted the young guys to get minutes.  Who knows, but Skiles is one controlling, stubborn person and his pattern of coaching continues in Milwaukee.  He comes in, bullies his team into playing with intensity, team starts winning, Skiles imposes his will on the entire organization, players get sick of being treated like shit, players tune out Skiles, Skiles gets fired.  Annoyingly we have to deal with him getting Milwaukee to compete for our playoff spot this year before the inevitable meltdown when the team turns on him next year.