In the comments section of the my last post, I provided the following quick scouting report for new Bulls player Hakim Warrick: “Long and athletic…excellent leaper…a dunk waiting to happen…good shot blocker…perimeter game needs work…too skinny. Sound familiar?”

Yup. It’s a skill set eerily similar to the one belonging to Tyrus Thomas. So it would seem that, between rookie Taj Gibson and Warrick, Thomas would be, shall we say, very expendable.

According to ESPN the Magazine’s Ric Bucher: “Sources say [Thomas'] likeliest destination is Charlotte for Acie Law, Flip Murray and a protected future first-round pick. That frees Chicago to let disgruntled Jannero Pargo go and adds some off-the-bench scoring punch for Chicago. The deal for Milwaukee’s Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander for John Salmons replenishes Chicago’s front line. Warrick is only six pounds lighter than Thomas, which is probably about the weight of the chip Thomas has on his shoulder against coach Vinny del Negro.”

Well, it appears to be official. Barring something unforeseen, the Tyrus Thomas era in Chicago has come to a banner-less end.

And, in all honesty, it kind of had to happen, didn’t it?

Things simply weren’t going to work out between the Bulls and Thomas. Too much baggage. The good news is that Tyrus is going to get a fresh start, plenty of minutes and a fantastic coach in Larry Brown. The bad news is that, if things don’t go well for him in Charlotte, people might stop blaming his organization for his low basketball IQ and general lack of progress.

As for the Bulls, they lose Ty’s “limitless potential” — whatever that means at this point — and get back a couple more expiring contracts. That makes Four! Four more expiring contracts! Ah, ah, ah! All of which means Chicago will have some extra cash to play with next summer.

So…yay. I guess.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m cautiously excited about the potential of picking up a star or two next summer. But I’m not ready to start kicking dirt on this season. And, really, it doesn’t feel like the Bulls are getting any better through these trades. Maybe not any worse, but not really any better, either.

I can’t say I’m going to miss Tyrus. In another reality, and with a different attitude, he might have been able to play All-Star-level basketball in the Windy City. If that ever happens now, it will be for another team.

But I’m not all that worried about the possibility.