Trade deadline is exactly 6 days away. Here’s what I got for you. According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the Bulls are listening to offers for Luol Deng.
“In addition to peddling Kirk Hinrich, sources say the Bulls also are exploring interest in Luol Deng, who has four years and $51 million left after this season. Trading both of them – or packaging one of them with Thomas – would provide Chicago with enough cap space to score two max free agents this coming summer, effectively placing them on equal footing with the Heat in the 2010 chase.”
Hmmmm. Interesting. I have some problems with it though. First of all, trading Kirk Hinrich AND Luol Deng effectively places us into the lottery. No way Derrick Rose can carry this team offensively without Luol Deng’s 18 points a game. We are where we are at because of Luol Deng. The man is having an absolute stellar season, averaging 18 points a game and 8 boards. People complain about him because his contract is a little heavy and he probably got slightly overpaid. But with his numbers this season, did he really? I mean maybe, but can you really complain that much? I know he disappears after the 1st quarter sometimes, but 18 points a game is 18 points a game. That’s 18 points you’re going to have to find somewhere else once he’s gone. Plus he’s very active on defense and on the glass with his long arms, so perhaps, just maybe, he’s worth what we’re paying him. Especially, if he’s one of the pieces that helps the Bulls become title contenders once we sign whoever we sign this offseason. If we get a superstar (and all of them probably want to see Deng stay), paired with Rose and Deng, that’ll be quite the trio on offense. And if that happens, can you really say anything about paying him?
I think trading Hinrich is enough to do the trick to get two superstars. You have to be realistic, and please refer back to my cap space scenario for further analysis, but if they trade Hinrich they can sign two max contracts. With the luxury tax threshold being estimated at $61.2 million, the Bulls currently have about $20 million to spend on free agents before the luxury tax (with Salmons opting in). Trade away Hinrich, and you have $29 million. Two max free agents will cost you about $31.5 million. With a bit of maneuvering, the Bulls can get from $29 to $31.5 million. Clearly, all they need to do is trade away Hinrich. You have to remember the NBA has a soft cap, so the salary cap means pretty much nothing. The real cap is the luxury tax threshold because no owner really wants to surpass it, especially Reinsdorf.
The only reason I can see the Bulls entertaining offers for Deng is if they absolutely cannot trade away Hinrich. I’m fairly confident it’s their fallback option for not being able to trade away Hinrich/Salmons and Thomas. Assuming they can get a deal done for Kirk/Salmons, Deng isn’t going anywhere (More on Tyrus in the next post). Plus, if you trade away Deng, you basically MUST go out and get two max guys this offseason instead of just one, or else you traded away a very solid player and got one max guy after all, when you could have had that max guy anyway without trading Deng. It’s a risky move, and it has to be a calculated risk. I don’t think you can trade away this type of player without an absolute guarantee you will be getting talent in his place. I can understand them listening to offers just because you never know (as they say), but I highly doubt they are really entertaining the idea of trading him.
So if you saw this and got excited…don’t be. Unless the Bulls are getting long term All-Star talent in return, Deng isn’t going anywhere.
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