Bulls about to send Hinrich to Wizards to clear more cap space

DEERFIELD—The Bulls have been talking about trading Kirk Hinrich since the February trade deadline, for obvious reasons. Shedding his $9 million salary for next season would seriously enhance the Bulls already strong hand in the free-agent chase that begins July 1.One day after Tom Thibodeau was named Head Coach,that plan came to fruition Thursday when the Bulls agreed to send Hinrich and the 17th pick in the draft to the Wizards, which means they’re now riding shotgun with the Knicks as the two teams with the most cap space for the Summer of LeBron.By ridding the ’10-’11 payroll of Hinrich’s salary and the $1.3 million they would’ve had to pay the draft pick, the Bulls are now hovering around the $30 million mark in cap space — second only to the Knicks’ approximately $34 million. The Nets ($27 million) and Heat ($26 million) are in the back seat in terms of sheer cap room.Those numbers could change between Thursday night and July 8, when teams can begin consummating trades and officially signing free agents. The Heat, for example, have been very active in recent days in their efforts to unload Michael Beasley in a cap-clearing move. But that scenario is complicated, one rival GM said, because of Beasley’s status as a former No. 2 pick. They can’t just send him to a team with cap space and take no players back, as the Bulls did with Hinrich. “They have to get something for him,” the GM said.The Nets, owners of the No. 3 pick (for now), also have been involved in various conversations about moving Devin Harris — with the latest buzz centered around the Pacers in a swap of the third and 10th picks that would send Danny Granger to New Jersey. The Pacers have been actively discussing the 10th pick with numerous teams, but president Larry Bird and GM David Morway have long been opposed to dealing Granger. Asked if the Indiana-New Jersey scenario had legs, one person directly involved in the discussions said, “Nope.”