There's a young, but maturing elephant in the Bulls' locker room. This little elephant is averaging 20.1 points per game, yet people don't seem to be talking about whether he'll re-crack the starting five or, more significantly, how his role on this team might evolve.

But they should be.

The little elephant, Ben Gordon, has served his time on the pine as admirably and effectively as anyone in the NBA. At his current pace, he'll be a sure-fire two-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year. But is that really where Gordon will best serve this team? Does a 20-plus points-per-night player belong on the bench? Given the makeup of the current roster, is there even room for him with the starters?

I was on board with Skiles when he sent Gordon to the bench after decidedly mixed results as a starter, but Gordon's no longer the same player who scored 6, 24, 5, 37, 2 and 3 points, respectively, in his six games in the starting lineup. So what, if can anything, can be done?

Gordon hasn't had a single-digit scoring game all month. He's scored at least 20 points in six straight and nine of his last ten. In December he's shooting 46.4 percent from the field (40.6 percent on 3s) and averaging 23.3 points a contest. On the season he's averaging a team-high 6.2 free-throw attempts per game. That average is at 7.5 this month, where he's converting on 92 percent of his attempts.

In last night's 109-103 win over the Miami Heat at the United Center, Gordon was off the charts: a career-high 40 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 17-of-19 at the charity stripe as well as five assists.

It's more than just numbers, though, and it's more than just last night. Over the past month, Gordon's impact has been unmistakable. Whenever he's been on the floor, the offense has been light years more dangerous, more effective.

And unlike in seasons past, Gordon's not just doing it with his jumper. He's creating off the dribble and commanding double teams in the process. He's getting to the line almost twice as often as last season, snaking his way into the lane with greater skill, frequency and force.

This is an exciting development for a player so often labeled as a mere spot-up shooter. Gordon's been handling the ball more this season and logging significant minutes at the point for the first time in his two-plus year career. The results have been eyebrow-raising, to say the least.

The flipside of Gordon's emergence as a ball-handler is how, where, when and with whom to play him. Gordon seems more comfortable at the point, where he can create his own shots instead of relying on off-the-ball screens to free him for jumpers. Trouble is, Kirk Hinrich is a point guard. So is Chris Duhon. Talk about a positional glut.

Ever since Gordon came to town, the prevailing thought was the former UConn All-American would share the backcourt with Hinrich. Hinrich would man the point and guard the opposition's top guard, while Gordon would play the two-guard and serve as the team's primary scorer, or so the theory went.

Fast forward to 2006, where Hinrich is starting and Gordon is coming off the bench. Save for his field goal percentage, Hinrich has seen his numbers decrease across the board. He's averaging 14.5 points per game, his lowest scoring output since his rookie season. His 5.9 assists a game, meanwhile, represent a career-low average, as do the 2.5 rebounds a night.

There are a few explanations for the drop-off, though the lame post-World Championships exhaustion hypothesis is not one we'll consider.

First, Hinrich is averaging a career-low 34 minutes a game this season, over two minutes less than a season ago. Why? Well, for starters, the 2006-2007 Bulls have more depth than ever before in Hinrich's time in Chicago.

In addition to that increased depth, the continued development of Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni, who, as starters, have provided the Bulls with nearly 34 points a contest, has taken away some scoring opportunities from Hinrich. Unless Hinrich is one of your fantasy league properties, though, these are positive developments for the team – signs of progress in Chicago.

Still, some of Hinrich's struggles have to be considered self-inflicted. In several instances this season, early foul trouble has forced the fourth-year guard to the bench for long stretches.

Perhaps more significantly, Hinrich seems to be having trouble finding his niche in the evolving Bulls offense. Too often Hinrich is hoisting up a three out of the rhythm of the offense or getting rid of the ball without even a casual look at the basket.

Now, if he were putting up 10 assists a game, we wouldn't be having this conversation, but remember, Hinrich's assists numbers are down as well. Bottom line: He isn't creating enough. He isn't attacking opposing defenses the way he has in seasons past, either as a scorer or passer.

Oddly enough, following three remarkably sluggish games, a bout with food poisoning seemed to perk up Hinrich Tuesday night in the Bulls' 100-98 loss in Minnesota. Hinrich scored 19 points, including 11 during a frantic fourth-quarter comeback attempt, and recorded six assists. (Gordon scored 27 in the loss.)

Unfortunately for Hinrich, this was an exceptional performance when compared to the month he's had (12.2 points per game, 5.6 assists in December). And doubly unfortunate, instead of forcing the T'wolves' Randy Foye to go left on Minnesota's final possession Tuesday, Hinrich allowed the rookie guard to beat him right for the game-winner with 1.8 seconds left.

Yes, even Hinrich's defense has been sub par, at least by the high standards he's set.

"Right now, frankly, [Kirk]'s not having as good a defensive year as he has had the past couple of years," said Skiles, who has rightfully lamented the Bulls' team defense as a whole. "Now we're talking to him more about being that type of all-league defender he has been."

None of this warrants a city-wide alert, but Hinrich's own lofty résumé demands better play. He's a team captain. He played on the U.S. national team at the World Championships over the summer. He signed a $47.5 million contract extension in November.

The fact that only now people are starting to talk about his underperformance is Hinrich's good fortune – the spoils of being the Bulls' golden boy. Even so, Hinrich seems to be getting off with a mere slap on the wrist from adoring fans and media personnel. And as far as he's concerned, this is all much ado about nothing.

"I have the confidence I can turn it on whenever I need to," Hinrich told the Tribune. "I just feel like I have to make plays for others and play my role. I don't have to score as much as I used to.

"I feel I can go out any game and be real aggressive and have a good scoring night. I just haven't had to do it as often."

So it's that easy, is it? You can turn your game on and off like a light switch, eh, Kirk? Who knows, maybe Hinrich got a Staples 'easy button' over the holidays, but if it's that simple, he owes it to his team to show up every night, not just when the mood strikes him.

For Hinrich, that doesn't necessarily mean scoring 20 a night; it does, however, entail getting teammates involved when his shot's off, and always locking down on the defensive end. That's why he's paid, quite literally, the big bucks.

As is, Hinrich's shooting woes tend to affect his entire game. Five or six assists is fine when you're scoring 20 points, but not when you're putting in four. Not when you're Kirk Hinrich.

Once upon a time, Hinrich had to log 40 minutes in order to ensure a Bulls win. Thankfully, that's no longer the case. This is a deeper, more well-rounded Chicago roster. While he's on the court, though, Hinrich must produce – consistently.

Still, there's something bigger going on here, something more fundamental to the structure of this team.

Hinrich is a point guard, no doubt about it. In fact, he's the point guard John Paxson wagered $47.5 million will help deliver the Bulls to the NBA's Promised Land. He's a strong defender, and when he's going well, can very skillfully lead the offense.

Duhon also mans the point, a craft he honed over four years at Duke. He provides great stability in the Chicago backcourt, if not much scoring punch. Given his abilities, he's a marginal starter in this league, but could easily slide back into an effective reserve role.

Yet that's your starting backcourt, Bulls fans: two point guards with nary a true scorer between them.

And now with Gordon's emergence at the point, the Bulls could very well have a third point guard on their hands, albeit a very different sort.

Gordon's not going to dish out double-digit assists every night, but with, say, 35 minutes a night at the point, he could certainly get five or six assists, not to mention 22-23 points, maybe more. Gordon's still turning the ball over too much (2.9 times a game as compared to 2.2 for Hinrich), but to a certain extent, that's part and parcel of adjusting to the increased minutes at the point. Given time, that number should fall some.

In his short-lived days as a starter, Gordon played off the ball while Hinrich ran the point. Coming off the bench this season, Gordon has finally been given some freedom to run the offense and create for himself and others. It's striking how much more dangerous he's been in that role.

On defense, Gordon will never be a standout player, but assuming he's paired with a strong defender in the backcourt, he shouldn't handicap the team.

The Gordon-Sefolosha backcourt is especially tantalizing. With Gordon at the point, his playmaking skills are plain to see. The Bulls are attacking and scoring and putting more pressure on opposing defenses with him on the floor.

Sefolosha, meanwhile, does well to complement Gordon, bringing good size and defensive skills into the backcourt to go along with a better-than-advertised jumper and a knack for getting to the rim. This backcourt isn't ready for the big time just yet, but a year from now? Could very well be.

Gordon has generally been discussed as the single most moveable part in Chicago. But how much sense would it make to ship him off? Gordon has a rare skill set in a league where the jumpshot is an endangered species. Hinrich is an unquestionable talent and the seeming embodiment of the Paxson-Skiles vision, but the Hinrich-Gordon backcourt looks more fatally flawed by the day. Something's gotta give.

With a 20-point lead vanished and the game on the line in the fourth quarter last night, it was Gordon out there with the keys to the offense – driving, shooting and passing at his discretion. He scored 18 points in the quarter, all of which came in the final eight minutes, and picked up two key assists. He was the difference between a win and a loss, and certainly not for the first time. Despite being on the court with Gordon, Hinrich was reduced to mere spectatorship. Not exactly the way John Paxson envisioned his backcourt.

Gordon unleashed his full arsenal on a, granted, depleted Miami team playing without Dwyane Wade, who was injured in the first quarter, and Shaquille O'Neal. Gordon, though, had the Heat's full attention and still torched them. When he wasn't hitting floaters, he was knocking down jumpers. When he wasn't drawing fouls and heading to the free-throw line, he was beating double-teams with slippery passes.

This backcourt dynamic wasn't as much an indictment of Hinrich, but an acknowledgment of Gordon's singular talents. He gets to the basket far better than Hinrich, has a first-class jumpshot and always wants the ball in his hands in crunch time.

Gordon's career-best scoring output was the product of 32 minutes of court time, three clicks above his 29-minutes-a-game season average. Hinrich, meanwhile, scored 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting to go along with five assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes. Seems like an awful lot of time for a guy hitting 35 percent of his shots and having his share of problems containing Miami reserve Jason Kapono. 

As the team's undisputed best scorer, Gordon needs to be on the court for more than 29 minutes a night. And while he's on the court, he should have the ball in his hands. But where will those added minutes at the point come from? Or, perhaps more appropriately, from whom?

Both Hinrich and Gordon have more success when manning the point, meaning whenever they're sharing court time, one player's skill set is left partially unused. In Gordon's case, playing the off guard seems to limit his ability to get to the basket and the foul line, though he remains dangerous coming off screens and hitting jumpers. For Hinrich, as was the case late against Miami, his effectiveness is severely curtailed at the two-guard. He just isn't comfortable as a wing player.

Chicago, we have a problem.

In doling out minutes at the point, the stakes are getting increasingly higher. The risk of wasting either player's talents – and perhaps, consequently, blowing a chance to run through a weak Eastern Conference – looms.

This may not seem like much of a problem now, but that's more a reflection of the minor-league competition the Bulls have disposed of in winning 14 of their last 17. Lottery-bound squads like the Sixers and Celtics have a way of masking any team's problems. Soon enough (i.e., January) the schedule will test just how good the Bulls are and how well-built they are for playoff-caliber competition.

With that in mind, can the Bulls afford to leave Gordon, who's proving himself much more than a one-dimensional, instant-offense sixth man, on the bench and playing a shade under 30 minutes a game? Unlike Hinrich, who's been a starter pretty much from Day 1, only now is Gordon getting the opportunity to showcase his wide array of skills, albeit in a reserve capacity. Still, the early returns are through the roof. Can Skiles realistically devise a plan that puts the ball in both Hinrich's and Gordon's hands? This isn't about satisfying egos, as both players seem to be genuine team-first guys, but about consistently beating good teams. I, for one, have my doubts.

Less than a week after the White Sox dealt their 'untouchable,' prized young pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, it seems fitting to bring up the possibility that Hinrich, not Gordon, could be the guy shipped out of town. The contract could be tricky, but if the Bulls are smart, they'll at least test the Hinrich market. Using Hinrich as bait to land a big four to complement Ben Wallace could solve two Bulls problems at once: adding a low-post scoring threat and another big body to help Wallace defend, and allowing Ben Gordon, whose ceiling seems higher than Hinrich's, the freedom to lead the Bulls' backcourt.

Of course, in Kirk Hinrich we're talking about the most popular Bull since Michael Jordan, and, not to throw race into the equation 2,500-something words in, a white guy, to boot. (Don't play dumb now, you know what I'm talking about.)

So I'm probably just wasting my breath, er, words here, huh? Ah well, it wouldn't be the first time.

[Sigh.]

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