The Chiefs did the right thing – in fact the only sensible thing — by not trading Tony Gonzalez.

Trading the future Hall of Fame tight end would’ve weakened an offense that already ranks 28th in the NFL. Because teams don’t give up high draft choices for a highly paid player who might retire any season, the Chiefs weren’t about to remotely get fair market value for Gonzalez. And their image would have taken a beating around Kansas City, not to mention the rest of the NFL.

The Chiefs cannot afford to be viewed as a team for which Pro Bowl players don’t want to play. The Jared Allen trade made sense and invited little criticism because the Chiefs received three draft picks – one in the first round and two in the third — and avoided getting strapped to the six-year, $72.36 million contract the star pass rusher received from the Minnesota Vikings.

But if the Chiefs had let Gonzalez leave just because he wants to play for a Super Bowl contender, what’s to stop any other disgruntled veteran from making a similar demand?

Building through the draft is a sound approach for the Chiefs, yet this season is making it clear that they have more holes than can be filled exclusively through the draft. They’ll need to fill a few spots next year with veteran free agents, including perhaps a quarterback, and any free agent they court will want to see as much light at the end of the tunnel as Gonzalez wants to see.

Herm Edwards is trying to assemble a roster of youngsters with great ability and great attitudes who will grow together into a championship team. But if you can’t acquire enough winning players, you run the risk of getting stuck on a treadmill of perpetual rebuilding. And how do you give quarterback Brodie Croyle a fighting chance to prove he’s the quarterback of the future if you take away a perennial Pro Bowl receiver?

Nobody has ever accused Gonzalez of being a negative locker room presence and the idea that he’s burned his bridges with the Chiefs doesn’t mesh with the reality of NFL locker rooms. Professional athletes, even the young ones, hear so many demands and gripes from teammates that they learn to tune them out and go about their business.

Losing always breeds frustration and you can’t let every frustrated athlete go out the door. Gonzalez’s desire to win a playoff game before his career ends is understandable, but perhaps he’d be less frustrated if he saw more progress. It has to be particularly frustrating for him to run routes for three different quarterbacks while the offense sputters and the team starts 1-4.

Young players need to observe star players and the work habits that helped them become stars. That’s why coaches who take over rebuilding teams often bring in a veteran who’s on the downside of his career but still can contribute on the field and in the locker room.

The Chiefs would have done Gonzalez a favor by trading him by Tuesday’s deadline. But the Chiefs need to do what’s best for the franchise, not for one player.

And you can bet your bottom dollar that the actual circumstances of a trade would be revised down the road in the minds of many players, and especially the minds of their agents.

The story would soon become: “The Chiefs don’t respect their great players. Look at the way they dumped Tony Gonzalez.”

There’s this old saw in baseball: Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make. Amen for this one.