Several sources believe the Bulls are agreeable to a package of Thomas and Jerome James for Knicks forward Al Harringtonn. Thus far, Walsh has resisted parting with Harrington, but discussions are still active and the teams have explored different combinations in recent days that would ultimately deliver Thomas to the Knicks.“Nothing is imminent, but both sides would like to figure out a way to do this,” one league executive briefed on the talks told Yahoo! Sports.The Bulls believe Harrington’s ability to score coupled with a $10.2 million expiring contract make this a worthy exchange. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has long been fond of Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward whose nimbleness and athleticism makes him an intriguing fit for New York.

via Bulls weigh trade options for Thomas – NBA – Yahoo! Sports.

Ah, my favorite part of the season. December through trade deadline. Let’s begin with the Bulls’ side of this, shall we?

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As for the Bulls, they would get a certified frontcourt scorer (which they desperately, desperately need) who can play both power forward (as a starter) and small forward (to relieve Luol Deng). Adding scoring and versatility never hurts. But just as (if not more) importantly, Harrington has a $10.2 million contract that’s set to expire next summer. Ergo, the Bulls would still have plenty of spare cash to pursue impending free agents like Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, et al. (I didn’t include LeBron James on that list because, let’s face it, he’s not coming here.)

It’s been fairly obvious since the preseason that Taj Gibson is being groomed to replace Thomas anyway. And, frankly, he’s probably worth about 70 percent of “Good Tyrus” and around 127 percent of “Bad Tyrus” already. So if the Bulls can bring in a stopgap player who can provide instant offense and frontcourt versatility with no long-term obligations, it seems like a borderline no-brainer.

via Tyrus Thomas for Al Harrington? » By The Horns.

BTH goes on to outline the numerous concerns regarding why it may not be a good deal, namely, Thomas’ unending potential, which like the fountain of youth, will never run dry, and the fact that Harrington is like a slimmer, less-problematic, more efficient Zach Randolph. Puts up the numbers, seems like a good player, never has been a part of a winning formula (unless you count the UNSTOPPABLE, BABY! year).  But you still get the feeling that he supports the deal, as he should. Blog-A-Bull has yet to formally weigh in on the subject, but their readers are predictably negative about it as I would expect Blog-A-Bull to be, since they could have cancer and be cured miraculously and would then complain about all the time they spent thinking they were going to die or the hospital food or something. (UPDATE: Blog-A-Bull weighs in and they do not disappoint with the “It doesn’t matter because the franchise already screwed up by not making him into a star even though Noah is becoming a star and Rose is becoming a star they suck at developing talent.” I should have noted, however, that the reason I even listed Blog-A-Bull here is because they have some of the smartest fans on the planet over there. It’s just that they seem to hate their team at an elite masochistic level. I get that Paxson, Gar, et al have not shone brightly as you may like, but they have 2010 cap space in a huge market with Rose, Noah, Miller, Deng, Salmons, and some young dudes. But to hear the commenters tell it not only is this a dumb trade, but there’s no trade they could manage that would be decent. Also, I totally wanted to respond to their criticism of me over there, but my Blog-A-Bull membership doesn’t approve until tomorrow. I’ve lost sight of what this was about. Let’s move on.) NQTC isn’t getting too excited about it because to them it means very little.

Key to what B-a-B’s fanpost is missing (and which is outlined in the comments) is that Harrington’s a bigger expiring contract. So let’s just review what the Bulls will be getting in this deal.

• A better low-post at-the-rim scorer (I’ve seen Harrington get some buckets out of the post, but there’s a lingering perception that he sucks at it. So I’ll rephrase. This could possibly limit the number of Brad Miller 18 footers for the Bulls offense, which would cut their available set-plays in half, but would probably be better in all. Harrington’s 16-23 footer numbers for last year are better than Thomas or Miller’s, but this year it’s lower. He does shoot fewer per 40 than Miller an Thomas, though.  His at the rim numbers, in particularly, are considerably better. Harrington’s at 65% on 7.8 attempts per 40, while Thomas last year (we’re scrapping this year on account of injury, while of course remembering that he could be primed for a breakout year, just like last year, and the year before, and the year before) was at 59% on 4.5 attempts at the rim, and Miller’s at 50% at 3.4.  A really important thing to remember is the difference of offenses that Harrington has been running in compared to Miller and Thomas.  Harrington’s been a part of the fastest and highest octane offenses in the league while the Bulls’ offense (and Kings last year) was much more plodding and average (or as a Bulls fan would say, “sucky”). Still, if you look at Harrington as a scorer, a majority of his shots are coming at the rim, which is what the Bulls need. Throw in Noah’s ability to get putbacks and his expanding offense, and the team looks drastically different.
• More flexibility in terms of play. Harrington is long enough to spell Deng at the 3 in a big-lineup situation. If Thomas is on the floor, you have to play Deng in order to be able to create scoring opportunities. Otherwise you’ve got the Miller and Noah combination, which is in their two best offensive sets. Adding Harrington to that combo means you can play those two and not lose the scoring punch without Deng, like you see when Salmons tries to play the three. You can run Harrington at the 4 and Miller at the 5 and have Miller draw the interior defender out because of his range, which will open up things for Deng or Rose. You can run Gibson at the 4 and Harrington at the 5 in a small-ball lineup which won’t completely decimate you on both ends of the floor, allowing you to rest both Noah and Miller for a fourth quarter surge/lockdown. The versatility it creates is important, plus, Harrington’s entering his prime. His PER has been climbing each year (please ignore the Nellie-doghouse era in 09 GS, since I think we can all excuse that), and is now at 18.93 this year.
• More cap flexibility, not less. As I said above, an important thing to remember is that Harrington’s contract is expiring. Thomas’ is a restricted free agent, qualifying offer year. Nabbing Harrington means you have a huge expiring contract, even after giving up the lifeless corpse of Jerome James, and keeps you in prime position for the Wade/Amare sweepstakes. So you get a better player for this season without damaging your long-term prospects. What’s the downside?

I get the “Harrington’s not a winner” aspect, but let’s remember how when he wasn’t being flogged on the bench by Captain Morgan that he was an integral part of that team’s success. And in New York, he hasn’t been a distraction, hasn’t been a problem, hasn’t done anything but worked hard and produced. The Knicks’ roster problems go far beyond Al Harrington. This is an excellent chance to get a guy in his prime, without having to give up 2010 dreams (a la, the Dumars route). I love the idea of giving Rose Harrington to work with, and the end result being Bulls fans backing off of Taj Gibson who they inexplicably hate (“He tries really hard! The bastard! I want a guy whose phenomenally talented and doesn’t make the most of it!” Okay. Maybe in actuality it’s just “I want DeJuan Blair!” which is reasonable.), then all the better.

So what about the Knicks?

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As for the actual meat of the deal…I just don’t know. Harrington’s an expiring contract and Thomas is, I believe, a restricted free agent this summer. If the Knicks were to trade for him then let him walk, it could be a wash financially, though it’s hard to see the logic of making such a move unless you’re actually interested in keeping the incoming player. As far as actual output, Harrington’s tendency to swallow the rock on offense has had P&T up in arms all season. Thomas is more athletic and capable of blocking a shot now and then, which is something we’ve been missing. Very interesting. Does this sparkle with all you crazy kids? Tyrus has always struck me as someone either love or hate, although I’ve never really felt that strongly one way or the other about him.

In closing…Jerome James!?

via Rumor: Knicks in the market for Tyrus Thomas? – Posting and Toasting.

Posting and Toasting is very warm to the idea, based on Harrington’s black hole issue (not really a problem with the Bulls, since they can pass all they want, no one can shoot). And Thomas is one of those guys who fans will always be allured by. The man can jump 14 feet in the air. Even if he can’t put it together, you want to see that.

I guess trying to evaluate him on the Knicks is useless. Their rotations are bizarre on account of D’Antoni trying to do something he’s very bad at: play the youth for next year instead of the best guys in order to win games. Benching Nate is a sign he’s moving in that direction, and a Toney Douglas-Wilson Chandler-Gallinari-Thomas-Jordan Hill spread is something interesting, but also kind of horrifying. And they might re-sign him, if he makes an impact and they land a big free agent, or if they don’t sign a big free agent. Committing to Thomas would be a big “we know we’re screwed on signing one of the free agency Big 3.” Ziller, though, likes the idea:

While we’re here and discussing a potentially less depressing future for the Knicks, might I suggest this non-LeBron, non-Bosh, non-Wade blueprint? Trade for Tyrus, throw a max contract offer at Amar’e, and offer restricted free agent Sergio Rodriguez a contract Sacramento will refuse to match. None of those individual ideas are either easy to accomplish nor obvious wins, but supposing Sergio’s recent electric play has a modicum of truth, and supposing either Danilo Gallinari or Wilson Chandler can defend high-powered wings with a few years, I’d say that’s a core D’Antoni can take to the playoffs. And there’s no sense building for anything other than that right now.

via Tyrus Thomas to the Knicks? Yes, Please — NBA FanHouse.

As usual, he makes a good set of points, but in reality, New York can’t go that route. Not after what they’ve put fans through. We’re past “we just want to see them get better” mode. That ship sailed in the last year of Isiah. From time to time I think about the immense damage that man did to this franchise. You realize that a year and a half after his departure, this team is still paying out free agents who he gave monstrous contracts to? That they’re still trying to dig themselves out of a hole? That they’re still giving up picks to try and just get back to zero? I understand Knick fans’ issues with the development of the team in terms of D’Antoni coaching, but seriously. This wasn’t a bad situation. Golden State is a bad situation, but the players are at least capable and the contracts are manageable. MSG is still a freaking disaster zone, and I’m not sure D’Antoni’s going to survive the crisis period to see the recovery efforts. And as much as Tyrus Thomas has always been an idol for this site and a personal favorite of mine, I’ve started to accept that idolatry as nothing more than gazing at the Wizard’s visage on the curtain. It’s impressive, but there’s just not anything there that will change your life.