Luol Deng to CLE

[indeedproceed]

If Deng stays healthy, he's got as good a chance of just about any non-superstar player you could add to that Cleveland rotation to turn them into a 50 win team. He's got well above average passing skills for a 3, he's an elite defender, a minutes soaker, he's exactly what the Cavs need.

But as others have said, he's probably too much, too soon.

They're currently on track to be a 27 win team IP. Deng is a good role player, but good role players who balance the roster don't add 23 wins. LeBron adds 27 wins, Deng will be doing well to add 10 to 12 by combining his own play and getting scrubs off the court.

Going in on being a 37 win team?

I mean a '50 win team' as in from opening night, not now.

[fairweatherfan]

Good move for the Bulls, they're not doing anything significant without Rose, and weren't resigning Deng anyway.  Though with the Kings and the West the way they are they might never get to cash that 1st and get stuck with a 2018 2nd.

This'll help the Cavs some, but the real goal seems to be to keep Kyrie from realizing how mismanaged that team is before the next contract.

[Fafnir]

If Deng stays healthy, he's got as good a chance of just about any non-superstar player you could add to that Cleveland rotation to turn them into a 50 win team. He's got well above average passing skills for a 3, he's an elite defender, a minutes soaker, he's exactly what the Cavs need.

But as others have said, he's probably too much, too soon.

They're currently on track to be a 27 win team IP. Deng is a good role player, but good role players who balance the roster don't add 23 wins. LeBron adds 27 wins, Deng will be doing well to add 10 to 12 by combining his own play and getting scrubs off the court.

Going in on being a 37 win team?

I mean a '50 win team' as in from opening night, not now.

I was talking about from opening night too.

50 wins is .609 W%.

27 wins is .329 W%

So that's a 23 win difference in pace over 82 games to get to a 50 win team. That's LeBron/Durant/Howard level impact on winning and losing, MVP caliber. Now with only 48 games left even if he has that level of impact they'll still only be a 40ish win team.

If he's more of a 10-12 game player they'll just be 34ish wins. Just to get to .500 is going to require Irving to bounce back along with help from the rest of the roster.

[Donoghus]

I like this trade a lot for CHI.

Never been a huge Deng fan.  As a role player, he's fine.  He's just not this stud that I see some people try to make him out to be. 

Like Who & some other mentions, its time for the Bulls to move on from the Rose/Noah/Deng/Boozer era and move forward.  This is a right step to make.  Build around Rose/Noah and hope for the best.

Tough for Thibs, though.  Bulls are clearly in rebuild mode now and not sure he'll be around for the dividends to be paid. 

As for CLE?  I give it an 'eh".  Deng isn't going to put them over the top and it looks like it'll push them just enough into that purgatory land this season.   I'm not even sure if you resign Deng after this season.  He's certainly not worth that $15-16 million range that reports said he was asking for.

[indeedproceed]

I like this trade a lot for CLE.

Never been a huge Deng fan.  As a role player, he's fine.  He's just not this stud that I see some people try to make him out to be. 

Like Who & some other mentions, its time for the Bulls to move on from the Rose/Noah/Deng/Boozer era and move forward.  This is a right step to make.  Build around Rose/Noah and hope for the best.

Tough for Thibs, though.  Bulls are clearly in rebuild mode now and not sure he'll be around for the dividends to be paid. 

As for CLE?  I give it an 'eh".  Deng isn't going to put them over the top and it looks like it'll push them just enough into that purgatory land this season.   I'm not even sure if you resign Deng after this season.  He's certainly not worth that $15-16 million range that reports said he was asking for.

You mean you like it a lot for Chi?

[indeedproceed]

If Deng stays healthy, he's got as good a chance of just about any non-superstar player you could add to that Cleveland rotation to turn them into a 50 win team. He's got well above average passing skills for a 3, he's an elite defender, a minutes soaker, he's exactly what the Cavs need.

But as others have said, he's probably too much, too soon.

They're currently on track to be a 27 win team IP. Deng is a good role player, but good role players who balance the roster don't add 23 wins. LeBron adds 27 wins, Deng will be doing well to add 10 to 12 by combining his own play and getting scrubs off the court.

Going in on being a 37 win team?

I mean a '50 win team' as in from opening night, not now.

I was talking about from opening night too.

50 wins is .609 W%.

27 wins is .329 W%

So that's a 23 win difference in pace over 82 games to get to a 50 win team. That's LeBron/Durant/Howard level impact on winning and losing, MVP caliber. Now with only 48 games left even if he has that level of impact they'll still only be a 40ish win team.

If he's more of a 10-12 game player they'll just be 34ish wins. Just to get to .500 is going to require Irving to bounce back along with help from the rest of the roster.

Yeah I guess I can agree with that. I've been over-estimating the Cavs for a couple years now.

[Donoghus]

I like this trade a lot for CLE.

Never been a huge Deng fan.  As a role player, he's fine.  He's just not this stud that I see some people try to make him out to be. 

Like Who & some other mentions, its time for the Bulls to move on from the Rose/Noah/Deng/Boozer era and move forward.  This is a right step to make.  Build around Rose/Noah and hope for the best.

Tough for Thibs, though.  Bulls are clearly in rebuild mode now and not sure he'll be around for the dividends to be paid. 

As for CLE?  I give it an 'eh".  Deng isn't going to put them over the top and it looks like it'll push them just enough into that purgatory land this season.   I'm not even sure if you resign Deng after this season.  He's certainly not worth that $15-16 million range that reports said he was asking for.

You mean you like it a lot for Chi?

Oops.  Typo. 

Yes, love it for Chicago.  Don't really like it for CLE.

[BballTim]

They'll only have 10 million in space this summer after waiving boozer. They'll need to make another move to get Melo, or sign and trade for him which is dicey with Dolan.

Don't like this move for the Cavs. They need more talent. Waiters, Thompson, and Bennett don't look like great pieces around Irving, Deng is just a high level role player.

I like the trade a lot for Cleveland.  I think Deng is the type of player that team needs.  He is a solid 2/3 option for a team and the Cavs need that role badly.  He will allow everyone else to shift down a role, which should improve the overall team flow i.e. Waiters becomes the 3rd option, Thompson the 4th option, etc.  Gee now moves to the bench to provide a boost to the second unit.

Great trade indeed. I've always loved Deng. He is just a solid starter that can put teams into contention with the right mix. A lineup of Irving, Waiters, Deng, Thompson, Varejo with Jack and Gee off the bench is definitely good enough to slide up to the three spot in the east...Now going up against Miami and Indy? They'll need some more fire power for that. But still a solid accusation none the less.

and they didn't give up anyone of value and a weak 1st rounder and some 2nd rounders.  Absolute steal for Cleveland even if Deng is just one and done, Cleveland had to go for it this year given the years of crap since Lebron left and the horridness that is the East.  This should get them solidly into the playoffs with a real shot at the 3 seed if they can stay healthy.

  They'd need to win about 63% of their games (win on the level of the Suns or Rockets this year) just to get to .500 ball by the end of the season. Right now they're on a 26-27 win pace, to get to .500 they'll have to play on a 50+ win pace. I wouldn't expect Deng to make that much of a difference, and even if he did a .500 record probably won't be in the running for the 3rd seed.

They are 6.5 games behind Atlanta, who without Horford is fading.  They are 6 games behind Toronto.  They are only 4.5 games behind Washington.  It isn't like they are in the West where they would have no shot at catching the teams ahead of them.  I think Deng makes the world of difference to them.

 Obviously this isn't the West. And while I haven't followed them much, don't be surprised if Toronto ends up more than a couple of games over .500. Deng could make the world of difference to them and still leave them a .500 (or worse) team going forward.

[Cman]

I like it for both teams.

CHI gets financial breathing room, and a few 2nd rounders (based on the protections on the Sacto pick, and how terrible I expect Sacto to pretty much always be, I doubt CHI ever gets the pick).

CLE gets Deng now (thereby keeping Irving happy?) and can decide what to do with him later (ie: resign, S&T, or let him walk).

This is the type of deal that sounds like a really big deal (two "big name" players and first round draft picks), but really isn't. The players are past their prime and the draft picks are really all 2nd rounders.

Its all about option value (Cavs) and salary flexibility (Chi).

[fairweatherfan]

I mean a '50 win team' as in from opening night, not now.

I was talking about from opening night too.

50 wins is .609 W%.

27 wins is .329 W%

So that's a 23 win difference in pace over 82 games to get to a 50 win team. That's LeBron/Durant/Howard level impact on winning and losing, MVP caliber. Now with only 48 games left even if he has that level of impact they'll still only be a 40ish win team.

If he's more of a 10-12 game player they'll just be 34ish wins. Just to get to .500 is going to require Irving to bounce back along with help from the rest of the roster.

Yeah I guess I can agree with that. I've been over-estimating the Cavs for a couple years now.

That sound you just heard was a dozen CB Draft owners bookmarking this post 

[indeedproceed]

I mean a '50 win team' as in from opening night, not now.

I was talking about from opening night too.

50 wins is .609 W%.

27 wins is .329 W%

So that's a 23 win difference in pace over 82 games to get to a 50 win team. That's LeBron/Durant/Howard level impact on winning and losing, MVP caliber. Now with only 48 games left even if he has that level of impact they'll still only be a 40ish win team.

If he's more of a 10-12 game player they'll just be 34ish wins. Just to get to .500 is going to require Irving to bounce back along with help from the rest of the roster.

Yeah I guess I can agree with that. I've been over-estimating the Cavs for a couple years now.

That sound you just heard was a dozen CB Draft owners bookmarking this post 

That's the advantage of 30,000+ posts...I've waffled on just about every opinion on every player in the entire NBA. Look hard enough, and I've said everything. I have one post that through a random series of coincidences is just an unabridged version of 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner. Seriously, its there.

[henr1k]

IMO Cleveland kinda had to do this deal because they can't afford another under 30 win season. Especially since the price they paid for Deng is more than fair.

When you think about it, this is their 4th year of tanking/being bad, how long does it takes for Irving to become another all-star wanting out? They will extend him next summer but they have to put some pieces around him and show him he can win there if they don't wanna decision #2.

They have a collection of young players that are without real veteran leadership, adding another young player/project won't bring them any closer to playoffs.

We all agree that a thought about TOP5 pick in this year draft sounds great but it's only potential. Can someone guarantee that Wiggins will be borderline all-star, two way player like Deng is today? No, especially considering their draft history.

Also, Deng is only 28 so even if they give him Iguodala's money (4y/48M) they can expect high quality play from him.

If things don't work out this year, they can let him walk and still have extra picks and cap flexibility.

[LooseCannon]

I would have picked Cleveland to finish with fewer wins than Boston before the season began, so adding Deng doesn't make their roster impressive to me.

If I were Chicago, I would quietly be thinking about a Plan B scenario which involves blowing things up and trading Rose after he comes back.

[Moranis]

The local Cleveland radio station has been discussing the trade all day and they all love the trade.  The media, the hosts, and the fans.  The general reasoning being that Cleveland didn't give up much for a very good player and that Cleveland needs to start advancing.  The young guys need to make the playoffs and learn about winning.  The team also lacked a veteran leader outside of Varejao.  They badly need Deng's toughness and leadership on the perimeter.

[RJ87]

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.

Someone may have pointed this out but Noah turns 29 next month so hes actually older than Deng. So is be really in their long-term plans?