October 1, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich (12) poses for photos during Chicago Bulls media day at the Berto Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

When Kirk Hinrich’s return to Chicago was first reported, there were a lot of mixed emotions. Some felt it was a great move, as Hinrich would be a great fit to fill in Derrick Rose’s shoes. Others questioned whether or not he would be able to handle that kind of workload nine years into his career, and it was for good reason.

Following his departure from the Bulls, Hinrich played for the Washington Wizards for half a season before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he would stay for one and a half seasons. During his tenure with those teams, he experienced several injuries. With the Wizards, there were various minor injuries. In Atlanta,  Hinrich suffered a torn right hamstring during the 2011 playoffs. Then, he dealt with a torn labrum and a cyst in his left shoulder during the lockout. Thinking injuries were behind him heading his way back to Chicago, Hinrich felt confident going into this past season.

“This offseason, I’ve been working really hard,” Hinrich said prior to the start of the 2012-13 season. “I haven’t really felt any ill effects. So hopefully, knock on wood, I’m going to stay healthy and be a contributor to a very good team.”

Unfortunately, that was not the case. Hinrich ended up suffering a plethora of injuries over the course of the season: a strained right hamstring, a sore big toe on his right foot, a bruised left knee, a strained right hip, a stress reaction in his right foot, an infection in his right elbow due to a burst bursa sac, and finally, the season-ending severely bruised left calf. With all of the injuries, it is safe to say that Hinrich’s season was defined by them. What may be worse is that it did not get much better for him either though when he did get to see playing time.

Aside from the never-ending injuries, his shooting is what really hurt. When he took shots, they rarely fell. Somehow, Hinrich actually managed to average over 40% on field goals for December, January, and April, but the other three months of the regular season featured him with a field goal percentage in the 30s. It took him until the end of the season to get into a good offensive rhythm that featured his shots falling and his confidence rising. This is not to say that Hinrich did a bad job when he was not injured though. He still did well running the team and getting shots for his teammates, as every point guard shot. Along with that, Hinrich showed a lot of hustle and remained the tough defensive player he had been known as throughout his career.  He ended the regular season with pretty decent averages of 7.7 points on 37.7% shooting from the field, 2.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists (team high), and 1.1 steals.

Apr 27, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams (8) dribbles the ball against Chicago Bulls shooting guard Kirk Hinrich (12) in the second half during game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the United Center. Chicago defeats Brooklyn 142-134 in triple overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The best part about Hinrich’s season was that, despite the struggles during the regular season, he stepped up in the time of most need: the playoffs. It may have taken him a game to realize that he needed to be more aggressive on both ends of the court, more of a threat to the Brooklyn Nets, but better late then than never. Hinrich’s increased confidence and level of play had a large impact on the Bulls being able to win the series. Not only did he defend Deron Williams well enough to prevent him from being a game changer in the series, but Hinrich also made sure to take his fair share of shots on the offensive end, something he was reluctant about during the majority of the regular season. This forced Williams to do work on both ends of the court, making Brooklyn’s job more difficult than it appeared to be.

What was most impressive about Hinrich in the playoffs was his performance in game four. The game ended up going into triple overtime with the result in favor of the Bulls: 142-134. During that game, Hinrich played 59:36 minutes, posted a double-double of 18 points (7-12 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-3 FT) and 14 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. After endless suffering with injuries, it seemed like they were finally behind him, and at exactly the right time as well. But to the Bulls’ dismay, that was not the case. Hinrich was actually kicked in his left calf during the game, but was able to play through the injury with adrenaline. Once the lengthy contest came to en end, he felt the effects of the kick, and it turned out to be a severely bruised calf.

May 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls shooting guard Kirk Hinrich (left) sits next to teammate point guard Derrick Rose (right) during the second half against the Miami Heat in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The calf injury marked the end of Hinrich’s season, as he was left sitting aside Derrick Rose on the bench for the remainder of the post season. He never felt well enough to be able to do more than ride a bike on that calf. Hinrich ended the postseason averaging 11.3 points on 43.2% shooting from the field, 2.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.0 steals. In an injury-plagued season, it only seemed fitting to have it end with an injury. It was just seemed so unfortunate and unfair though; it was the playoffs, and Hinrich had finally been playing well in all aspects of the game. Despite Hinrich’s regular season play, he redeemed himself greatly during the playoff series against Brooklyn.

Final Grade: B

May 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler (21) is pressured by Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena. Miami Heat won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

One year ago, the Chicago Bulls faced an offseason full of questions. Derrick Rose was down and people wondered how to approach the next season. Should the Bulls keep the band together in anticipation of his return and hope to compete immediately? Or should they regard the season as lost and try to position themselves for 2013-14 and beyond?

As you doubtless know, they publicly professed to trying to split the difference, although it seems clear in retrospect they were much more concerned with saving money than anything else. Of course, the retooled Bulls did about as well as they could have hoped for, even amid countless injuries and with Rose sitting out the entire season.

This year, the questions heading into the offseason are more about the micro than the macro. Derrick Rose will almost certainly be back at the start of next season, and he figures to start along with Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. Taj Gibson will also be back, having signed a four-year extension at the beginning of the season, as will Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague. The rest of the roster is less clear.

Let’s start from the bottom and work our way up. Vladimir Radmanovic and Daequan Cook will almost certainly not be back for reasons pertaining to their utter suckitude. Both were brought in to shoot threes and do little else, but given that neither showed any particular ability to actually make the threes they shot, methinks they’ll be elsewhere next year.

Apr 9, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls power forward Malcolm Thomas (3) shoots the ball against Toronto Raptors small forward Quincy Acy (4) during the second half at the United Center. Toronto defeats Chicago 101-98. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Malcolm Thomas signed a contract in April that will, in theory, keep him in Chicago for next year. However, it’s non-guaranteed for the time being, and his performance in the Las Vegas Summer League — where he was excellent last summer — and in training camp will likely determine his fate. I myself would like him to stick around, and would like to slot him in next to Gibson as the Bulls’ fourth big man. Keep an eye on this over the summer.

Nazr Mohammed’s a tough one to figure. He was downright awful for the first half of the season and more or less fell out of the rotation entirely until constant injuries forced Tom Thibodeau’s hand in February. From there, he was actually pretty decent, especially in the playoffs, where he averaged 14.5 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes on 51 percent shooting. I swear to god I’m not making that up. He’s also been in the league long enough to make Rip Hamilton look like a rookie by comparison, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hang it up this summer. Don’t be surprised to see him back, but probably as little more than a locker room presence/extreme emergency backup.

Rip Hamilton, playoff mini-renaissance aside, is almost certainly on his way out. The Bulls have a $1 million buyout option which they will presumably exercise rather than pay the aging Hamilton $5 million next year. Could they bring him back on the cheap afterward? They could, but I don’t see any reason why they would. Rip’s constant injuries and declining game make him hard to keep around.

May 15, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls point guard Nate Robinson (2) arrives before game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve reached Marco Belinelli and Nate Robinson now, and that’s where things start getting interesting. One aspect of last year’s purge that was almost entirely overlooked was that in signing players to one-year deals, the Bulls do not own Belinelli or Robinson’s Bird Rights. For those of you who are not CBA scholars, that means those two players — both of whom were starters in the playoffs — cannot be resigned while the Bulls are over the salary cap without using one of their exceptions. This summer, Chicago will have their $3 million mini mid-level exception and … that’s it.

So, the choice is pretty simple, albeit somewhat unfortunate. The Bulls can pay one player $3 million per year — or split it between them — and forfeit any ability to sign other free agents to non-minimum deals, or they can try to convince one or both players to take minimum-salary deals. Or they can say to heck with it and let them walk. This last seems most likely.

Marquis Teague plays the same position as Robinson and already is under contract for next year. It seems unlikely that noted cheapskate Jerry Reinsdorf would be on board with paying two guys to play backup point guard, especially when he’s already paying Rose and Hinrich more than $20 million combined next season. If Nate wants to come back on a minimum deal, that might work, but it seems likely that he’ll get quite a bit more than that on the open market. Same goes for Belinelli, although there isn’t a ready-made replacement already on the roster. But I think it makes more sense to let Belinelli walk and explore other options in the draft and free agency. Kyle Korver comes to mind, for instance.

Now, obviously there’s a lot more to the offseason than this. There are trade rumors to explore, there’s the draft, free agency and a whole summer to discuss everything remotely related to the Bulls roster. If you have any bright ideas, feel free to comment with your own take on the Bulls offseason.