Chicago Bulls: Will Grant Hill Finally Make His Way to the Windy City?

Everybody talks about how the Chicago Bulls need to acquire a shooting guard to play alongside MVP Derrick Rose in the backcourt.

Names that have come up include Jamal Crawford, Jason Richardson, Nick Young, Monta Ellis and a plethora of others.

It's true, the Bulls certainly do need to fill that position whenever the lockout ends.

But another area they should look to address is the backup small forward spot. One player that comes to mind is free agent Grant Hill, who has played the last four seasons with the Phoenix Suns.

The 39-year-old veteran definitely isn't a young guy anymore—at least not in basketball years—however he still has a lot left in the tank.

Hill was one of the main reasons the Bulls had saved up cap space for the summer of 2000. Back then, he was undoubtedly one of the top players in the league and the second best free agent on the market behind Tim Duncan.     

The Bulls hoped that Hill, who had drawn comparisons to Michael Jordan, would come to Chicago to help ease the fans' pain of losing Jordan and the rest of the dynasty squad which was broken up following the 1997-98 season.   

At the time, the rebuilding Bulls had solid young pieces to surround Hill with in NBA Rookie of the Year Elton Brand, future Defensive Player of the Year Ron Artest and 2000 lottery pick Jamal Crawford.

Hill however, would choose not to take his talents to Chicago, just like other major free agents such as Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and Tim Thomas.

Hill would be involved in a sign-and-trade deal that sent him from the Detroit Pistons to the Orlando Magic for future Bull and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace. 

Unfortunately, though, Hill would miss a great deal of time in Orlando due to injury and was never the same larger-than-life superstar that he was in Detroit. He eventually became healthy and signed with Phoenix in 2007. 

Now, eleven years after turning down the Bulls, will Hill finally come to Chicago?

The seven-time All-Star has been a starter his whole career, but in Chicago his role would be coming off  the bench to backup fellow former Duke star Luol Deng.   

Hill may want to return to sunny Phoenix, but let's face it, the Suns aren't going to win any championships anytime soon. With that said, signing with Chicago could give him the opportunity to pick up the first ring of his career while playing with Rose, Joakim Noah, Deng and a super-talented Bulls squad.   

Hill would provide leadership, defense and a little bit of scoring to the Bulls lineup. Plus, his superb point forward skills could help Rose focus more on scoring.  

Hill averaged 13.2 points per game last season in Phoenix, proving that he's no typical 39-year-old. He even dropped at least 30 points twice, 34 against Indiana and 30 against Oklahoma City.

His ability to score could take pressure off Rose, who carried the injured Bulls to the league's best record and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Hopefully when the 2011-12 season begins—if there even will be a season—Hill will be in Chicago. And hopefully he helps the Bulls capture their first title since the '90s, something Windy City sports fans had hoped he would do back in the early 2000s.