Bulls Rumors: Kirk Hinrich Will Reportedly Sign with Chicago

One more piece of the free agency puzzle is filled in as Kirk Hinrich is reportedly set to re-join the team that originally drafted him.

According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson, the Chicago Bulls have solved their point guard problems by verbally agreeing with Kirk Hinrich to a contract with yet-to-be-disclosed terms: 

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Kirk Hinrich has verbally agreed to sign with Bulls. Terms not yet finalized. Story up soon at ChicagoTribune.com.

— K.C Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 8, 2012"

Captain Kirk spent the first seven seasons of his career knocking down outside shots and running the show for the team from The Windy City. He was the team captain for four years and remains the franchise's all-time leader in three-pointers made. 

Since he moved away from the Bulls, Hinrich has played for the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks. During this most recent season, he averaged 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, career lows in all three categories. 

The Bulls have been hungering for a capable floor general to play alongside C.J. Watson (if the Bulls pick up his option) while Derrick Rose sits out with the ACL injury he suffered in the first game of his ill-fated 2012 postseason campaign. 

Hinrich is no longer an elite player in many facets of the game and he'll turn 32 during the middle of this upcoming season, but he can still play intelligently and provide valuable minutes in what I'd expect to be a backup role behind Watson. 

He's sure to be a fan favorite during the 2012-2013 campaign as he knocks down a few more triples and adds to his franchise-leading total from downtown. 

Don't expect for this point guard to make much of an offensive contribution at this stage in his career. He's not an elite shooter anymore, but still prefers to take the majority of his shots from well outside the painted area of the half-court set. 

Hinrich will make much more of an impact on defense, where he'll team up with Luol Deng to form a deadly duo of perimeter defense. 

While this isn't a franchise-altering move, it should be enough to help check the difficulties that will pester this team until the former MVP returns to his starting role.