Luol Deng to CLE

[barefacedmonk]

And Pau Gasol is still a Laker...

This.

If I was Chicago, I should have just traded both Boozer and Deng to LA for Gasol.

Outside of salary relief, realistically speaking, they just traded Deng for a "potential" first rounder but really is just a bunch of second rounders and a chance to save $6 million.

Read Boozer is going to be amnestied in the off-season.

How is the rehab going, Derrick? 

Thibs is not going to be in Chicago for very long.

[JSD]

Steal for Cleveland...

[Yoki_IsTheName]

And Pau Gasol is still a Laker...

This.

If I was Chicago, I should have just traded both Boozer and Deng to LA for Gasol.

Outside of salary relief, realistically speaking, they just traded Deng for a "potential" first rounder but really is just a bunch of second rounders and a chance to save $6 million.

Read Boozer is going to be amnestied in the off-season.

How is the rehab going, Derrick? 

Thibs is not going to be in Chicago for very long.

Which makes more sense if they just traded for Gasol. Gasol expires next year, and keeps them contenders this year.

IMO this deal has the potential of being smart, or being ultra dumb. I'm going in the middle. I think by 2016 SacTo will break from the top 10 pick so it will be conveyed to the Bulls. But I think it's still not enough value for what Deng brings.

[Nerf DPOY]

The Lakers probably don't want Boozer on their books next year, if trying to sign Melo is really what their aim is.

[barefacedmonk]

Correction on protection on Sacramento pick the Bulls now have via Cavs: top 12 in '14, top 10 from 2015-17, then becomes a 2nd rounder.

Brian Windhorst via Twitter.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

The Lakers probably don't want Boozer on their books next year, if trying to sign Melo is really what their aim is.

With Deng, they won't need Melo. And Boozer expires at 2015, so they'd have money to sign Love.

That Deng + Boozer for Pau is a Simmons idea. I thought that was a good deal for Chicago compare to this.

[tarheelsxxiii]

This is a steal for Chi, imo. If they release Bynum, they open up salary and jumpstart their rebuild. Deng has been gone for a couple years now, it was only a matter of time. Same with Boozer. And Rose is far from a guarantee. I like it for them. And no way Thibs is gone... how is their mediocrity his fault? Dude is a top-notch coach.

[action781]

This is a steal for Chi, imo. If they release Bynum, they open up salary and jumpstart their rebuild. Deng has been gone for a couple years now, it was only a matter of time. Same with Boozer. And Rose is far from a guarantee. I like it for them. And no way Thibs is gone... how is their mediocrity his fault? Dude is a top-notch coach.

Thibs is the one that may want to leave.  He reportedly does not have a good relationship with management.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

This is a steal for Chi, imo. If they release Bynum, they open up salary and jumpstart their rebuild. Deng has been gone for a couple years now, it was only a matter of time. Same with Boozer. And Rose is far from a guarantee. I like it for them. And no way Thibs is gone... how is their mediocrity his fault? Dude is a top-notch coach.

Respectfully disagree, they do not need to rebuild.

Deng, Jimmy Butler, Rose and Noah is a very solid core. They have Taj Gibson as well if they resign him.  They will eventually have Charlotte's pick the latest would be 2016. Boozer expires at 2015. They have a solid core, good coach and some solid assets to build a team around.

If they kept those four, and Rose is healthy, you're looking at a contender. The only reason IMO Chicago is doing this is because Jerry Reinsdorf is cheap.

Edit: Forgot that they have Nikola Mirotic too, who's a solid young prospect. See, they are loaded, and don't need a rebuild. Management just don't want to pay their players.

[barefacedmonk]

And no way Thibs is gone... how is their mediocrity his fault? Dude is a top-notch coach.

I had read that Forman and Thibs weren't/aren't getting along. They let go Ron Adams who Thibs really liked and wanted as an assistant...and now with Deng. Deng was Thibs' workhorse. He wanted the Bulls to keep Deng beyond this season.

I don't know. Maybe I am reading too much into this trade.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

With all that said. Is Chicago trying to save money.

How about we throw them Humphries and a pick for Noah. I mean if they are willing to get this kid of compensation for Deng, we might as well try.

Throw Jordan Crawford in there too, they need a Rose replacement right?

[action781]

I like this deal for both squads.  I don't know how exactly many years into the repeater tax payments Chicago was or were headed, but their future couldn't have been looking pretty.  Getting under that threshold this year is huge.  If they do amnesty or deal Boozer, then they will have cap space to spend with 4 quality starters (Rose, Butler, Gibson, Noah) in place.

For Cleveland, they need a veteran presence and they need to start winning now before Kyrie becomes too comfortable losing.  I'm not sure that ship hasn't sailed yet either, but this move was a must-make.  They'll have a very good chance at retaining him this offseason as they can use bird rights and I don't see Deng wanting to go to sign with some depleted team where he is the #1 option at this point in his career.  Deng's FA options this offseason might be worthy of exploration in another thread.

[action781]

Those who are blaming Chicago management for being "cheap" need to take a good hard look at the repeater tax rates.  They are crippling and especially hard to swallow if you're not even in contention.

[Nerf DPOY]

With all that said. Is Chicago trying to save money.

How about we throw them Humphries and a pick for Noah. I mean if they are willing to get this kid of compensation for Deng, we might as well try.

Throw Jordan Crawford in there too, they need a Rose replacement right?

I'm thinking they're not looking to move everybody. I think they're just getting their ducks in a row for next year in hopes Rose is full strength by some point. They could seriously reload if Mirotic is the player some say he is and they'll likely have two picks in the teens to play with.

 Also, Gibson was resigned through '16-'17.

[Who]

With all that said. Is Chicago trying to save money.

How about we throw them Humphries and a pick for Noah. I mean if they are willing to get this kid of compensation for Deng, we might as well try.

Throw Jordan Crawford in there too, they need a Rose replacement right?

Deng wasn't part of their long term future. Noah is. Chicago didn't want to pay Deng the money he would have gotten this summer and had a quality replacement in Jimmy Butler already on their roster. Add in long term concerns about restructuring their team around D-Rose and needing that financial wiggle room and Deng was expendable.

That isn't the case with Joakim Noah. He is younger and harder to replace. The Bulls will keep him and D-Rose and rebuild their franchise around those guys.

Like Deng, Boozer won't be part of the Bulls future either. So you could probably Boozer in a straight swap for Humphries if that is a deal you wanted to do. Taj Gibson may even be available at the right price. Say cap flexibility and a first round pick.

---------------------------------------

Moving Deng is not purely about saving money. It is about building a new team.

The previous core of Rose - Deng - Boozer - Noah had run it's course largely due to bad luck with Derrick Rose's injury problems. They needed to restructure to find a younger All-Star talent(s) to put alongside Rose + Noah in order to compete for a title once again a few years down the line and for the 3-5 year window beyond that point.

Moving Deng and creating the cap flexibility to do that was a necessary step in that long term plan.