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Chicago Bulls Profile: Kirk Hinrich

By Jeremy Karll

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The Chicago Bulls’ season is under two months away and Bulls fans are eager to get the season off and running. Until then, here’s the next Chicago Bulls profile: Kirk Hinrich.

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Kirk Hinrich is about to enter his 13th season in the NBA and his game has declined for the past couple of years now. With a new offensive-minded head coach, Fred Hoiberg, it will be interesting to see if there is still a spot in the rotation for an aging guard that doesn’t have much left in the tank.

NBA Career: 833 GP, 31.7 MPG, 11.4 PPG, 5.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 41.2 FG%

Hinrich has played 10 of his 12 NBA seasons with the Bulls after being the seventh overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Bulls. It’s easy to forget Hinrich was part of one of the best drafts in NBA history because LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony all turned out to be superstars in the league. Hinrich still managed to have a solid NBA career for the Bulls, being their starting point guard for a good part of his career.

During his rookie season for the Bulls, Hinrich was asked to start off the bat and ended up becoming the starter through most of his seven-year stint with the Bulls. He never made an All-Star appearance in his career, but still managed to average at least 15.0 points per game and 6.0 assists per game for three straight years (2004-07). He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2007.

In 2008, the Bulls drafted Derrick Rose and after Hinrich started dealing with injuries, the Bulls traded him to the Washington Wizards before the start of the 2010-11 season. Hinrich had been a fan favorite for a while at that point and while the move was hard for Bulls fans to hear, it was a good move by the organization. He only lasted half a season in Washington, where his game started to decline, and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. After playing a season and a half with Atlanta, Hinrich rejoined the Bulls for the 2012-13 season.

Since returning to the Bulls, Hinrich has yet to average over 10 points per game and only has been able to average over 5 assists per game once, but has seen over 24 minutes per game in each season.

Hinrich had a couple good seasons with the Bulls early in his career, but the prime of his career ended quickly after injuries started to occur and the Bulls drafted Rose. He has been considered one of the best defensive guards in the league during his career, averaging at least a steal per game in 10 of his 12 NBA seasons. Hinrich has also been considered a ‘true point guard’ because he was a pass-first guard who took care of the ball. He became a favorite for Bulls fans right away, but has frustrated Bulls fans since his return, as the decline in his game gets worse every year.

2014-15 Season: 66 GP, 24.4 MPG, 5.7 PPG, 2.2 APG, 1.8 RPG, 0.7 SPG, 37.3 FG%

It was a rough season for Kirk Hinrich last year and it left a lot of fans frustrated and wondering why he got so much playing time. Last season showed how much Hinrich’s game has declined. However, because of his tough defense Tom Thibodeau, still gave him almost 25 minutes per game. It was confusing why an aging, past his prime, veteran was getting more minutes than Aaron Brooks and Tony Snell.

Hinrich has never been a good shooter, but last year, he shot especially poor from the field and behind the arc. He shot a career low 37.3 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from behind the arc last season. Hinrich has never shot above 45 percent from the field throughout his career, but last season he couldn’t make anything, and still had a significant role off the bench.

The reason Hinrich played over other guards was because of his defensive tenacity. Thibodeau has always been a huge fan of Kirk Hinrich and was a big reason the Bulls re-signed him a couple of years ago.

Expectations For 2015-16

The years of Kirk Hinrich being a fan favorite are out the window, well at least for now. I’m sure fans will warm up to him a couple of years after he retires, but paying him $2.87 million this year makes Bulls fans cringe. He was smart to pick up his option because he wouldn’t have gotten more than the veteran’s minimum on the open market.

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    • It’s obvious to see that Hinrich is no longer the same player on either side of the ball. He doesn’t shoot the ball well, has lost a step on defense, and doesn’t rack up the assists like he once did. He’s always prided himself on his defense, so expect the same this season. But, it’s not going to be the same Hinrich.

    Fred Hoiberg wants to play at a faster pace this year, which means Kirk Hinrich could be the odd man out among the guards. If Chicago commits to this new offensive-minded system, then Hinrich could potentially see less than 10 minutes per game.

    I’d be surprised to see Hinrich get more than 15 minutes per game, but who knows what Hoiberg is thinking. I expect E’Twaun Moore to be the main defensive specialist guard coming off the bench because he’s younger and better than Hinrich on both offense and defense.

    Aaron Brooks is also a lot better offensively and fits Hoiberg’s new system perfectly. Brooks is a quick guard who can heat up fast and could be someone who leads fast breaks if the Bulls want to run. Hinrich is more of a half-court guard; another reason Thibodeau loved him. However, I think Chicago will play less half-court offense and try to run more this season.

    What To Watch For

    The way Kirk Hinrich’s game has declined over the past four years could mean this is not only his last year with the Bulls, but also in the NBA. It would be sad to see him out of the game, but he doesn’t bring enough to the table to appeal to any team, other than being an end of the bench veteran who mentors younger players. That means this season, he’s playing for his future. He needs to show that he can still be effective off the bench. The best way of doing that is to have a consistent outside shot.

    Right now he’s seen as a one-dimensional player that’s a liability on offense, and that needs to change if he wants to continue his career in the NBA. Hinrich needs to change the way he plays, but that’s not always easy after being in the league for so long.

    If Hinrich can improve his shooting from the last couple of years and get back around 42 percent from the field and 37 percent from three, then a team could be interested in signing him to a minimum deal next season.

    Something that won’t be seen to the public but could be huge is if Hinrich takes Moore under his wing and mentors him defensively. Moore is a tough defender and learning from Hinrich would help his game, and end up being huge for the Bulls. If an already good defensive Moore is even better, some credit should be given to Hinrich.

    Next: Chicago Bulls profile: E'Twaun Moore

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