The season that could have been. That’s what this Chicago Bulls season will be remembered as and the last three games showed perfectly why.

The Bulls played the Cavaliers, Wizards and Pistons in an important three-game stretch. These were statement games because all three teams were in front of them in the standings and it was a chance to see how the Bulls stack up against the contenders.

The Bulls won the first two, but lost to the Pistons in a heartbreaker. To an outsider two out of three looks good, but it just reiterated what every fan knows about this team. They are good, but championship-caliber they are not.

The Bulls can beat teams like Cleveland and Washington in the second tier of top teams in the NBA. We took out the Cavaliers, 84-78, at Cleveland, which sounds impressive. But the Cavaliers are struggling with LeBron’s numbers dipping from last year and his intensity being questioned.

The Bulls manhandled the Wizards 106-90, but when the Bulls drop 106 points on a team, you know that team doesn’t play defense. As good as Gilbert Arenas is at scoring, he is about as bad on defense.

The win over the Wizards featured another subplot in that it was the team’s first game after the NBA’s trade deadline had passed. Rumors had been swirling all season long about the possibility of the Bulls acquiring Memphis center Pau Gasol to bolster their weak interior scoring.

The Bulls need someone down low who can score, not only to provide points, but to make the team’s existing players a lot better. The Bulls have a plethora of guards who can score, but they all have to create their own shot.

A presence who could command double teams, would create open shots for Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich.

Memphis wanted Deng, who at 21 is playing like an All-Star, but John Paxson, the Bulls GM, wasn’t parting with Deng. The Bulls dangled Ben Gordon or Andres Nocioni to Memphis along with PJ Brown’s expiring contract, but the Grizzlies wouldn’t budge.

So Paxson kept his young nucleus together, hoping they still have room to grow, but the team remains flawed and it was exposed against the Pistons. This game had huge pre-game buzz, as it was Ben Wallace’s first game in Detroit since leaving for Chicago last summer.

The Bulls gave a great effort, taking an eight-point lead into halftime. But as the baby Bulls have done many times this season, they struggled to finish. Detroit owned the Bulls on the offensive glass, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, and we are the team that has Ben Wallace.

The Bulls need another big man – not just for offense, but to help Big Ben out. Because as good as Wallace is, he can’t block out the entire opposing team. What happens a lot is Wallace will help out when an opponent comes into the lane, leaving it up to the rest of the Bulls to rebound. Since, the Bulls have a small lineup, other teams can take advantage of this.

This is exactly what occurred on the game-winning play. It was tied up 93-93 with fifteen seconds left and Detroit had possession. Chauncey Billups drove inside, and on cue, Wallace came over, making Billups alter his shot, causing him to miss.

But Chris Webber, ironically the man who replaced Wallace, was there on the offensive glass and tipped it in for the game-winning basket.

It is also ironic because Webber is the kind of player the Bulls needed, a power forward who can score, but he chose his hometown Detroit a month ago.

As good as a GM Paxson has been, he dropped the ball in this situation. He should have packaged the two first-round draft picks he received from the Knicks two years ago in the Eddy Curry trade and made a deal, especially when the Knicks were really bad. Instead he waited and drafted Tyrus Thomas, a raw talent. The problem is, with the Knicks playing better this year, the Bulls now have no shot at winning the rights to Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

Now the Curry deal, which looked like an absolute steal for the Bulls two years ago, looks better for the Knicks, especially since Curry is playing well.

The Bulls will win a playoff series or two, but are not good enough to run with the Pistons, Mavs or Suns. What makes it worse, is that the Bulls gave away the guy who they need right now, Eddy Curry.

Majesh Abraham is a junior in LAS. He wants readers to know that green represents envy, and his title should not be confused with a popular Basil Thai dish.