There are plenty of guys the Bulls should trade before Kirk. He's had a bad season, but he's a more than capable player, he's very unselfish and I think he still has a bright future. When his confidence is up he's a good shooter and even when he's struggling he's still a good passer. And he's a great defender, easily the best small defender at the Bulls and always gets the best guard regardless of position. The Bulls need a gun defender playing point guard, you don't want Gordon defending the oppositions star players. I don't think Boylan helps his confidence. His minutes are too inconsistent, if he starts a game slowly he doesn't get much of a look in, doesn't get the chance to build up his confidence. Same with Gordon, if he misses a few shots he's quickly benched. Boylan should place more faith in him, especially now, with the playoffs completely out of reach, there is nothing to lose, the Bulls need Kirk playing well. The Bulls look at their best with Kirk running the team
I think you're being very kind to Kirk. He is a good shooter, but his shot selection is poor. He's an average passer at best. He's a good, but not great, defender. Gordon (who I think should continue to come off the bench) doesn't need to defend the star players - Thabo does that now.
Basically, it comes down to a matter of identity. As I see it, the Bulls
must become a running team if they're to be competitive again (and I believe they can be very competitive given the right coach). The problem is Hinrich is not a pure PG, overdribbles way too much and rarely makes the right pass. He's fine in a deliberate half-court set-up where the coach calls the plays, but he's no good at running a team. Duhon is clearly the Bulls' best facilitator, but he's got little else going for him.
Compare, for example, Chicago's roster and Philly's roster. I'd take Chicago's every day of the week, but they don't have a smart PG like Miller who can push the pace.
I think the Bulls are preparing to use Gordon in a trade for an inside scorer. They've picked up Hughes who can score which has made Gordon more expendable, and got rid of Wallaces disgraceful contract. The Bulls are completely unbalanced, too many guards, no center, no legitimate inside scorer. Duhon could be traded as well, he's not getting the minutes with the Bulls being over populated with guards, but he's a handy player.
I doubt Gordon will be able to land them an inside scorer, unless it's someone really flawed like Zach Randolph. I think Gordon is likely to be let go, with Deng being re-signed for roughly 50M.
I don't agree on no center - Noah's basically been their best player in the second half of the year, and he's definitely a starting C. They either need to find a starting PF who can bang inside (won't happen), or focus on being a running team - which means targeting the best available PG. And everyone on the team should be available other than the core of Noah/Thomas/Deng/Thabo.