TT is a known underachiever. The main reason behind his departure. He showed signs of not working hard enough, both in practice and in games. Despite Penny being invisible on the roster, having TT would only worsen the roster mystery Brown is already having trouble adjusting and tweaking. We don't need TT to further worsen the situation at hand. Yes, TT can produce some points at the SF, but so can Ariza and Frye.
The fact that Penny isn'nt playing allows Ariza and Frye to get more playing time. I'm sure anyone wouldn't question that, nor choose TT over the aforementioned players.
But when all is said and done, these arguements are moot. Here's an exerpt from Newsday: "An NBA official confirmed Bulls GM John Paxson can not trade Tim Thomas back to the Knicks this season under collective-bargaining-agreement rules. Nor can Davis be traded back to Chicago. The Bulls will try to deal Thomas, but if they can't by February's deadline, they'll likely waive him and he'll be a free agent. Thomas said his first choice is to play for Indiana and isn't sure he'd want a reunion with Brown, who has traded him twice. "If it was up to me, I pretty much don't know if I would want to come back and play for the Knicks," Thomas told New Jersey's Herald News."