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NBA Trade Deadline: Chicago Bulls Trade Kirk Hinrich

By Kenneth Teape

Jan 1, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich (12) looks to pass the ball against the New York Knicks during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich (12) looks to pass the ball against the New York Knicks during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls got a deal in right before the buzzer, as Kirk Hinrich will be returning to Atlanta in exchange for a second round pick.

With the NBA Trade Deadline now officially behind us, there are a couple of deals with the final details being sorted out. One of those deals involves the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, who agreed to a trade involving point guard Kirk Hinrich.

The veteran Hinrich will be returning to Atlanta for the second time in his career, as he was traded there during the 2010-2011 NBA Trade Deadline from the Washington Wizards. He spent the 2011-2012 season with the Hawks before returning to Chicago, where he had been since and where he played the first seven years of his career.

In exchange, the Bulls will be receiving a second round pick from the Hawks and save some money on their salary cap for this season. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst was the person to break the news of the trade between the Hawks and Bulls via his Twitter account.

Hinrich will go from being the third-string backup on the Bulls, to the third-stringer on the Hawks. With Derrick Rose proving to be healthy, and the Bulls unable to find a landing spot for Aaron Brooks, they decided to move Hinrich instead. Brooks should pick up most of the minutes being left with Hinrich’s departure, as he was playing a career-low 15.9 minutes per game.

Hinrich will step into the role vacated by Shelvin Mack, whom the Hawks traded to the Utah Jazz earlier in the afternoon in exchange for a second round pick. He will find it difficult to even reach the 15.9 minutes per game he was playing with the Bulls, as the Hawks decided to hang onto starting point guard Jeff Teague, and still have Dennis Schroder backing him up. Mack hadn’t reached 15 minutes played in a game since January 3rd, racking up nine DNP’s in that span.

Next: NBA Trade Deadline Live Tracker

Hinrich could help the Hawks out at shooting guard, but will find it difficult still to get any playing time as the Hawks have Kyle Kover, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Thabo Sefolosha already getting minutes there as well.