The Chicago Bulls front office spent the past few months looking to fill the void on their bench left when C Kurt Thomas signed with the Portland Trail Blazers this offseason. When the team so badly needed a shooting guard, VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson turned to former Detroit Pistons SG, Rip Hamilton. Might it be another core player from that 2004 Pistons championship team that provides the finishing touch on an NBA title in 2012?

Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojinarowski is reporting that former Pistons PF/C is mulling a comeback to the NBA. With the available pool of free agent big men running thin on ability, several GMs told Wojinarowski 'Sheed's scoring and defending ability would probably be better than anyone currently available to them.

ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell tweeted "@WojYahooNBA reports Rasheed Wallace is thinking about a comeback If he does,Bulls will be interested. Thibs likes him&they need 1 more big."

Friedell continued: "Rasheed played with Rip in Detroit and Scal in Boston. He has a comfort level with Thibs. It makes sense to take a look IF he's in shape."

Question his age, attitude, and work ethic all you want. No one can dispute Wallace's toughness, his magnificent shooting touch, and ab innate ability to perform in the clutch when the lights shine brightest. The balding big man hit an immeasurable amount of clutch shots in 77 career playoff games with the Trail Blazers, Pistons, and Boston Celtics. Many Bulls fans can sheepishly recall a sneering 'Sheed showing off, draining off-handed threes with his left hand after the Pistons, up by 20, had already blown the doors off.

People don't realize that in his heyday 'Sheed was capable of a Dirk-like offensive impact, only tougher to handle insider! At six feet eleven inches, the four-time All-Star is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor. That's a weapon that comes around once in a generation. In the latter part of his career, Wallace, 37, made up in craftiness nearly all he lost in quickness due to age. When faced with a bigger stronger man in the post, the UNC Tar Heel alum would often "pull the chair" on the aggressor to neutralize the disadvantage. Great feel for the game on both ends.

If he's in shape and can manage to channel even a fraction of the player he once was, 'Sheed would elevate Chicago past the Miami Heat from contender to the NBA's odds on favorite.

The Dwight Howard to the Chicago Bulls chatter will persist until the six-foot eleven-inch center finds a permanent home, or the March 15th trade deadline passes with Superman still wearing Orlando Magic blue.

Bulls.com's Sam Smith discussed possible landing spots for Dwight, including Chicago. Howard's list of preferred teams that includes the Dallas Mavericks, L.A. Lakers, and New Jersey Nets were joined by another potential suitor not on the list, the Golden State Warriors according to ESPN Insider.

Howard to Bulls still in the works. (Photo viawikimedia.org)

New coach Mark Jackson is interested in bringing in Howard, and would bank on Dwight signing an extension with the team after playing half a season with the Warriors. The package of players that would return to the Magic Kingdom would likely include a few complimentary players centered around Steph Curry and his weak ankles, or Monta Ellis.

Smith identified a Bulls trade that would involve Charlotte's future no. 1 draft pick, European stash-away Nikola Mirotic from the last draft, the Bulls taking back Hedo Turkoglu, Joakim Noah (former popular Florida Gator) or Omer Asik, Taj Gibson, and a near All-Star caliber small forward, Luol Deng.

ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell recountedDwight's comments about a possible trade to Chicago after the game.

"We're not talking about trades," he said. "That has nothing to do with the position I'm in right now. At this point, my concern is helping my team get better. That's it."

When asked specifically about whether he wanted to play with Derrick Rose at some point in his career, Howard played off the question like a pro.

"We can play in the All-Star Game together," he said. "It will be fun. Come February [26th], me and Derrick will [be on] the same team so I'm looking forward to All-Star Weekend."

The Bulls (7-1) beat the Magic (5-3) in Orlando 97-83. D-Rose showed no signs of being affected by falling hard on his elbow in Detroit, nearly posting a triple double with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists. D12 countered with 28 points, 15 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Despite the loss, the Magic have played surprisingly well amidst all the speculation about Howard's next stop. The big man has lead the way, averaging 20.3 pointa and a career high 15.9 rebounds to go along with 2.6 blocks a game.

If you're a Chicago basketball fan, it might be difficult to see why bringing in Superman makes sense. The Bulls already has their superhero in D-Rose and the team itself doesn't need any saving.

The public has spoken, and Derrick Rose is their choice.

Ever since his arrival in the league in 2008, Derrick Rose has taken the NBA by storm. Through his first three seasons, Rose went from Rookie of the Year to being named an NBA All-Star to being named the NBA's MVP last year. He's made the playoffs every year with the Chicago Bulls and took them to the Eastern Conference Finals last season before being knocked out by the Miami Heat and their big three of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Rose has played like the best point guard in the league since his arrival so it makes sense that the public voted Rose as their pick for the best point guard in the game. According to a poll taken by ESPNand RealGM, Rose was voted as the best point guard in the league ahead of All-Stars such as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook and Steve Nash. Rose won both polls convincingly, winning the ESPN poll by garnering 52 percent of the votes and the RealGM by 57 percent of the votes.

Rose's recent performance against the Clippers did nothing but enhance his place atop the rest of the league's top playmakers. Rose had a monster game with 29 points on 8-14 shooting, 3-4 from three and 10-11 from the free-throw line. He also added 16 assists to go along with eight rebounds and a steal. He clearly outplayed his contemporary Chris Paul and lead the Bulls to a big victory. After nabbing a $94 million contract extension from the Bulls and a $250 million extension from Adidas, and now this, Rose is on top of the world.

The Chicago Bulls reportedly remain interested in trading for Orlando Magic C Dwight Howard and won't be deterred by the big man's unwillingness to sign an extension if traded to Chicago. In an interview Bulls VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson had on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000, it became clear that landing Howard is still on Chicago's radar.

(Photo credit: wikimedia.org)

"We don't want to talk about other teams' players but obviously there are situations out there that you know that you have to look at," Paxson said Wednesday. "The other part of it is you hope those types of players want to come here. Sometimes, at least what you hear from agents, it doesn't have anything to do with basketball. It has more to do with marketing and whatnot. Those are the things you don't have under control when an agent gets involved and doesn't even want to talk to you. All you do is keep trying, and we certainly will."

Paxson is most concerned with keeping up with the Eastern Conference Joneses, specifically the Miami Heat. "The Threetles" have looked much more comfortable this season with a year of familiarity and without last year's piercing media spotlight. The team followed up a landslide victory on Christmas day over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks with a convincing win over a tough Boston Celtics team Tuesday.

"We want to be considered a championship-level team," Paxson said. "The one thing that we know and we think about everyday is that a team like the Miami Heat aren't going anywhere. They're going to be around for a long time. We have to continue to try and find ways to compete not only with them but the other teams that are good. But we know they are going to set the standard here especially in the Eastern Conference. We've seen it in the first two games they've played here."

Despite the Bulls' uneven start through two games, the risk of bringing in "Superman" without a guaranteed contract extension is steep. A young nucleus coming off a 62-win season wouldn't figure to be a candidate for wholesale changes. That said, acquiring a once-in-a-generation center like Howard may very well be worth breaking all conventional wisdom.

Many have looked to Bulls PG Derrick Rose to reach out to Howard, in hopes the reigning MVP could sway the incumbent free agent to sign long-term in Chicago, given a trade. The New Jersey Nets Deron Williams is also a friend of Howard and has been very public in his affinity for the dynamic seven-footer, which has clearly aided the Nets in their pursuits. That's not D-Rose's style. Rose loves Chicago, feels the city sells itself, and will reportedly not openly recruit any players to the Bulls including Howard.

From a Bulls fans perspective, it's hard to see how Howard wouldn't want to sign an extension with the Bulls after spending part of a season in Chicago.

If Pax has his way, the city of broad shoulders could be the perfect fit for Dwight's extra-large frame.