Short version: The Bulls traded a guy they never played to fill a need in the backcourt with an expiring contract.

Long version: One of the Bulls’ shortcoming this season — well, up until John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich have been playing better this month — has been the play out of the shooting guard position. And this problem exacerbated itself whenever Jannero Pargo entered the game. Pargo has lingering back problems, is too small to defend at the position and is shooting only 33.8 percent from the floor this season. When Hinrich was injured, Pargo become the first guy off the bench to spell Salmons, and that left the Bulls weak.

Enter Devin Brown. Though not known as a stellar defender, Brown has the size to defend the position better. Where Baron Davis was posting Pargo up last week and winning the game for the Clippers in L.A., that wouldn’t have happened if Brown drew the assignment. He makes the Bulls’ guard depth better. And he’s no slouch on the offensive end either. He’s averaging almost 10 points a game and shooting almost 40 percent from the field. I doubt he’s going to come in and start playing over Hinrich or Salmons, but when those guys need a rest — and in a pinch, Brown can also play some point — Brown is a huge upgrade over Pargo. Bulls fans can feel a little better about the game when he’s in.

And he was added to the roster for essentially nothing; Gray rarely saw the court, and it was mostly during garbage time.

Not the sexiest of trades — this was no Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh heading to town — but it’s certainly a solid pull for the Bulls, especially because Brown has an expiring contract and the Bulls aren’t handicapping themselves for the free-agent market this summer.

When you’re a rookie, or really in any sort of role in life where you’re at the bottom, you just have to take what’s dished at you. A freshman in high school? Expect to get thrown in a locker. New to a professional sports team? Wear the goofy costumes or participate in the talent shows like a good little boy, let others get a laugh at your expense, and let that be that. It’s just how it goes.

Unless you’re Joakim Noah. If you’re Joakim Noah, you fight back. From the Trib:

Asked how bad the rookie hazing became for him, Noah said he actually lashed out the other way.

Noah said he and fellow rookie Aaron Gray once poured water on center Ben Wallace as he received a massage. Noah added that Wallace retaliated by taking Gray’s car from the Berto Center parking lot, parking it at the nearby Residence Inn hotel and hiding the keys.

“I was a rebel rook,” Noah said, laughing.

While I’m not surprised Noah would pull such a stunt, I’m wondering how long it took for poor Aaron Gray to get his car back. If there’s ever a time we need a blog dedicated to the details of NBA rookie hazing, that time is now.