Standing pat isn't working for slumping Bulls

With the Bulls struggling on offense, defense, turnovers, bench strength, chemistry — you name it — a logical step is to consider seeking outside help.

The Bulls fell to 5-10 in their last 15 games with Wednesday's 101-90 loss at Houston. They'll get two more days off before facing New Orleans on Saturday. Maybe a night on Bourbon Street will cure the problems.

The slump began a couple days after an impressive 114-105 victory over the Rockets on Jan. 5 at the United Center. That game took place four days after Mike Dunleavy went down with an ankle injury and he's yet to return. Two days after the win over Houston, the slump officially began with a 20-point home loss against Utah.

Trade Taj?

We're about two weeks away from the Feb. 19 trade deadline, but it won't be easy to find a deal that makes sense long-term.

There have been rumors power forward Taj Gibson is the subject of numerous trade discussions, and the arrival of Pau Gasol made Gibson somewhat expendable. At the same time, Gasol is 34 and signed only through next season. He has an option for 2016-17.

So while it might sound reasonable to trade Gibson for, say, Denver's Wilson Chandler and solve the wing scorer issue, the bigger picture complicates everything.

For one thing, it might make sense to keep Gibson around for the post-Gasol years. Even though he's slipped a bit this season, Gibson has a reasonable salary and is signed through 2017.

At the same time, Dunleavy should be ready to play relatively soon. Whether that's next week or after the all-star break is anyone's guess, but there's no reason to believe Dunleavy will miss much more than that.

Then there's the guy who many expected to supplant Dunleavy as the starting small forward at some point this season, rookie Doug McDermott. He had arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 15, but has been back in practice for a couple weeks. His only game appearance since the surgery was two minutes of garbage time against San Antonio on Jan. 22.

McDermott wasn't contributing much before he got hurt, but maybe his learning curve will accelerate once he's ready to go full speed again. In theory, McDermott should be the ultimate court-spacer with his long-range shooting ability.

Possible solutions

The Bulls can't blame all of their problems on Dunleavy's injury, but the lack of a respected long-range shooter at his position has clearly hampered the offense. Coach Tom Thibodeau has tried different options in the starting lineup — Kirk Hinrich, Tony Snell and Nikola Mirotic — but has changed his mind frequently, often using a different lineup in the third quarter than he had starting the game.

So a trade would be complicated. The Bulls aren't going to give up Gibson, McDermott or Mirotic without a big return. Players such as Hinrich, Snell or Aaron Brooks probably wouldn't bring much in return.

The other option is to simply sign a player. A couple of notables are sitting at home right now waiting for the right opportunity.

• One is shooting guard Ray Allen. Even at 39, Allen could probably knock down some vital 3-pointers in the playoffs. There's a belief he's waiting to join a championship contender late in the season.

Bulls vice president John Paxson has admitted reaching out to Allen, so there's likely a standing offer to join the Bulls. The way things are going, Allen may not see the Bulls as a true title contender right now. But he knows Thibodeau from their days in Boston and the Bulls have a vacancy for late-game minutes, which may be an important factor.

• Another player waiting for the right call is former Bulls playoff hero Nate Robinson. He was traded from Denver and bought out by Boston. There's been talk Robinson is hoping to join the Los Angeles Clippers. The Bulls probably figure he'd be redundant with Aaron Brooks already on the roster. But if the slump continues, the Bulls might as well try something.

• Maybe the Bulls should take a flier on the best long-range shooter in the D-League, Seth Curry. We're all familiar with the bloodlines and Curry is shooting 49 percent from 3-point land for Erie (Pa.) on more than 8 attempts per game.

• There are also some players coming back from China who should be available soon. How about Michael Beasley at small forward? Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thibodeau probably wouldn't trust him on defense, but Beasley has always been able to score.

• Longtime Bulls killer Andray Blatche is also expected to return to the NBA from China. As a power forward, though, he'd only make sense if Gibson is traded or a big man gets injured.

• Some other guys playing well in China include Chicago native Will Bynum, another small guard; and former Dallas shooting guard Dominique Jones. Stats aren't really worth mentioning, since the level of play in the Chinese league is relatively poor. The league's leading scorer, guard Errick McCollum, is averaging 39.6 points per game, according to asia-basket.com.

Remember, even though the Bulls have been inconsistent all year, they won 13 of 15 games before Dunleavy was hurt. A panic move is not the way to go, but adding the right guy could end up making a difference.

Bull horns:

Former Bulls coach Scott Skiles is expected to be a candidate to fill the vacancy in Orlando, which fired coach Jacque Vaughn on Thursday. ... According to the Houston Chronicle, Rockets forward Trevor Ariza was given a warning for flopping after a 3-point attempt against the Bulls on Wednesday. Derrick Rose was (wrongly, the league says) hit with a 3-shot foul on the play.

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