Ah, Thanksgiving. This year, as always, it meant turkey, family and … trades? Yes. Not only trades, but good trades. Dare I say, great trades. The Cubs and the Bulls both made my week by pulling off some excellent swapping, improving their immediate futures considerably. Let's examine both of them, and then rejoice together.

First off, for the defending Central Division champs, Jim Hendry is moving closer and closer to "mastermind" status. It seems as if somebody is finally in charge who understands that, yes, the Cubs are actually a big-market team, and, even more important, a big-market team with a stocked farm system. So he took advantage of the situation and traded Hee Seop Choi and a minor leaguer to be named later to the Marlins for Derrek Lee.

This means so many things. First, the Cubs' offense gets a considerable boost. Second, Eric Karros will more than likely have to look like Patrick Duffy for another team next spring. Third, if the Cubs keep Randall Simon, they would have a platoon at first base that would cover both sides of the plate and put up serious offensive numbers. Fourth, the North Siders now have corner infielders in place who will, in all likelihood, hit over 30 home runs apiece and both are under 30-years-old. My God, man.

And the Cubs gave up very little. Now, I'm as big a fan of Big Choi as almost anybody, but in essence, you're trading a guy who could be Derrek Lee in two or three years for, well, Derrek Lee. And the minor leaguer to be named later? Well, the last one of those that was traded to the Marlins was Dontrelle Willis, but on the flipside, the last one that was traded at all was Bobby Hill. Let's be frank, the Cubs took advantage of the Marlins' financial difficulties. These are the types of moves Florida will have to be making to avoid the mass exodus that accompanied their last World Series win. The Cubs were simply there with open arms. And, hopefully, Jim Hendry has only just begun this offseason.

For the Bulls, they actually made two moves — firing head coach Bill Cartwright and hiring Scott Skiles was the first, but the trade they made with Toronto was even more significant. Sending Jalen Rose, Lonny Baxter and Donyell Marshall to the Raptors for Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams and Chris "Who?" Jefferies, the Bulls have, at long last, made a commitment to their youth. On paper, the trade doesn't look that fruitful. In fact, it drew a lot of criticism from some writers who apparently don't like it when players pass the ball.

In getting Davis and Williams, the Bulls get the veterans they needed when they acquired Rose. When you have young horses on offense, you need seasoned players in there to set them up, do the dirty work, and score every now and then. You don't need Jalen Rose going 4-17 with a rebound and not just zero assists, zero attempts at assists. Donyell Marshall wasn't gun shy, either. With these two offensive loose cannons out of the way, young players like Kirk Hinrich, Jamal Crawford, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler will get both the leadership and the looks they need on the court.

Jalen Rose is a pretty good player. The thing is, his attitude and his playing tendencies make his ceiling your team's ceiling. And Donyell Marshall is not someone you look at and say "Man, that guy will be a big piece of our future." I liked Lonny Baxter, but it makes no sense to keep him when you have a better version of him in Eddy Curry.

This trade comes just in time for the Scott Skiles "You're Lazy and I Will Destroy You Unless You Play Harder" Era in Bulls basketball, which I think, we can all agree, is going to be a lot of fun — for those of us watching, anyway. But with the Cubs positioning themselves to dominate the NL Central, the Bulls finally making smart moves to fit their personnel, and the Bears (gasp) winning, it was a solid week for Chicago sports. It's about damn time.

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