Larry Hughes = Stephon Marbury? Not Exactly.

So it seems as though Larry Hughes has been “Marburied” on the Bulls’ bench. Basically this just means that as a player, he has no future with the team, and he happens to be signed to a large contract; more than he’s worth. As a fan of the team, I’m happy. Larry Hughes does not belong on the floor. There were questions as to what would happen when Kirk Hinrich came back from his injury, and this seems the best solution moving forward for the team. He did play pretty well for a period, and actually has the only game-winning shot for the team this season, sinking the Jazz after a fortunate rebound went his way. But in the long term, Hughes has no future with the Bulls. So what’s wrong with Larry Hughes? Well, he takes a lot of bad shots. So many, that when he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, a fan created the website, heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com. That says it all. Too many times we have seen him jack up a shot literally inches in front of the 3-point line, with a defender in his face, and 20 seconds left on the shot clock. Not what you want to see. Don’t get me wrong – Larry Hughes is by no means a bad basketball player. He has some skills. He’s a capable scorer. But on this team, he’s one of the last options. The problem is that he believes he should be a 1st option. The team already has a shooter in Ben Gordon who takes a lot of shots. Hughes may be a better defender than BG, but he’s not nearly as good a shooter, and we don’t need them both taking 90% of the team’s shots. Anyway, the Bulls took him as part of the deal that sent Ben Wallace to the Cavs. Wallace was himself locked into a overpaid contract, so taking Hughes in return was not much of an option. Hughes was somewhat serviceable this season in the absence of Captain Kirk, but with Hinrich back in the lineup, that leaves no room for Hughes. Even as a bench player, Hughes was unhappy. He felt he should be a starter. Then, he had a long string of DNP-CDs, and was even more unhappy. Finally, the Bulls put him on the inactive list, making his career in Chicago all but over. The Bulls now have to hope that 1) they can find a team that is willing to trade for him, and 2) that the injury bug does not return to the Bulls backcourt. Point 2 isn’t even that much of a risk, as Thabo Sefolosha has proven a capable reserve, and the team still has Lindsey Hunter at the end of the bench. Now, I must say, I feel a little bad for Hughes. Yes, as a player, I’m glad he’s not playing for the team. But I feel bad for him as a person, because Hughes has been a fairly good sport during all this. He publicly complained about playing time once, and the coaches and management spoke with him and put a stop to that. Now, he is understandably unhappy at not playing. I would be too; but he appears to have been rather silent about it all. He is by no means one of the worst players in the NBA. The reason I feel bad is that during his string of DNPs, he was asked by the media how he felt. He responded that he just wanted to help the team and earn his paycheck; he doesn’t like earning all this money while not playing. I must say, this is rather commendable. In an era where players make more money than they know what to do with, and most athletes in general come off as greedy to the average fan, Hughes at least understands why he’s paid so much, and just wants to earn it. Good for him. The problem is, the Bulls don’t want him; they were forced to take him. I only hope that the team can make a deal soon, and Hughes can go earn his paycheck elsewhere.