MINNEAPOLIS -- Kirk Hinrich survived yet another trade deadline on Thursday afternoon.

Is anyone really that surprised?

The veteran point guard has been the subject of rumors for several years, but he somehow always finds a way to stay in Chicago. At some point, this has to be considered more than just an annual coincidence.

It's clear that the Bulls have shopped Hinrich at certain times throughout the past few seasons, but why haven't they ever been able to pull the trigger?

"We didnt want to lose Kirk, Hes a glue guy," Bulls GM Gar Forman said at one point during his press conference Thursday afternoon.

Could it be that the Bulls simply don't want to part with such a player? Or could it be that whatever the Bulls thought they were getting in return didn't stack up? My guess is that it was a little of both. Although, it did seem telling that Forman noted Hinrich as being part of the "nucleus" of the Bulls franchise, as if he had finally reached some kind of nearly untouchable status. It's as if the organization finally realized that (at least for the time being) they really didn't want to let Kirk go.

Whether you love Hinrich and his gritty style of play or can't stand him and his bloated contract, what's clear is that he provides a stabilizing presence for the team when he's on the floor. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro trusts him. He almost always singles out Hinrich as giving the team an added jolt of energy when they need it. He always praises him for being one of the best perimeter defenders on the team. He plays him when the game is on the line because he believes that he'll make the right decision in crunch time.

What people sometimes tend to forget with Hinrich is that he is still just 28 years old. He's entering the prime of his career. If the Bulls are really intent on moving him somewhere else in the future, and are in desperate need of more cap flexibilty, they aren't going to have much of a problem finding a taker for him. He's the type of player that provides the intangibles that coaches love. He's the type of player whose numbers can't be simply measured on the stat sheet.

Obviously, he's the type of player that really is difficult to part with.