Bulls stand pat ... so what’s up next?

There was a flurry of moves across the NBA before the trade deadline struck Thursday, none by the Bulls.

The team could be one smart move from returning to title contention, so here’s a look at some questions worth asking as the Bulls stand pat.

Q: Why didn’t the Bulls make a trade?

A: The easy answer is they didn’t find a deal they liked. The thought process was essentially, “Why make a small move now when a better move could be available this summer or at next year’s trade deadline.”

Q: What could they have done?

A: The usual suspects were in play — Houston’s Courtney Lee, Memphis’ O.J. Mayo, Cleveland’s Anthony Parker, Phoenix’s Gerald Dudley, the Clippers’ Rasual Butler. The Bulls thought they were close to a couple things, but the last hour before the deadline was relatively quiet. Another shooter or defender are the obvious needs.

As has been written before, the Bulls are reluctant to give up center Omer Asik and aren’t convinced Mayo would be a good fit next to Rose.

Q: General manager Gar Forman said the Bulls will add one or two players. What does he mean?

A: Next up on the list of possibilities is adding a player who agrees to a contract buyout and is released by March 1. There should be plenty of candidates.

If that doesn’t happen, Forman expects to add someone from the D-League. Four nondescript guys were at the Berto Center on Tuesday for a tryout.

Q: Which buyout candidates might interest the Bulls?

A: Parker or Butler, mentioned above, could be possible. Maybe Jamario Moon, just traded from Cleveland to the Clippers. Ex-Nets center Troy Murphy is expected to be set free, though the Bulls probably aren’t at the top of his list.

The Bulls will be keeping a close eye on Detroit veterans Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton. Prince has an expiring deal, while Hamilton has another two years left, which makes a buyout less likely. Prince has plenty of playoff experience and knows how to play defense.

Q: Will the cap room created by the James Johnson trade help the Bulls?

A: Maybe. Here’s their angle: Most players who receive contract buyouts don’t give back anything except what they expect to get from another team.

If that’s the prorated league minimum, the savings to the current team isn’t much. The Bulls can offer what they have under the salary cap, just under $3 million. For a guy like Prince, who carries a large salary, that’s a nice savings for the Pistons if he thinks he can recoup $3 million from the Bulls.

Q: Was the NBA’s expiring collective bargaining agreement a factor in the Bulls’ inactivity?A: They are definitely leery of a hard salary cap, which might limit their ability to add players in the off-season. That#146;s a reason they added a late first-round pick in the Johnson deal and are reluctant to give up the conditional first-rounder they got from Charlotte for Tyrus Thomas.