The Chicago Bulls are going through another tough season while dealing with an injury to Derrick Rose and as the calendar turns to 2014, all the questions will be on Luol Deng and what the team decides to do at the trading deadline and some options could be moving him for names like Kyle Lowry, Dion Waiters or Pau Gasol, as that could help supplement the loss of Rose.
The Bulls are still hanging on for second place in the central division with a 12-17 record, but they have no hope of catching the Indiana Pacers at this point and with Deng set to be a free agent, the team has big decisions to make.The Bulls have said that they would like to re-sign Deng, but discussions between the two sides broke down before the season started and now that is tabled and on top of that, Deng said he would like to retire on the team, but business is business. The team is hosting the Raptors on New Years Eve and that could be an interesting trade partner, as Kyle Lowry is a name that has come up in trade talks and he could be a solid replacement for Rose for the time being.
The Knicks have spoken with the Raptors about Lowry and those talks died out a few weeks ago when the Raptors asked for too much, but the Bulls could decide to make a run with Lowry if they feel they can't sign Deng to a deal. The Bulls have been solid playing defense this season, ranking second in the league, but the team is just 30th in scoring with 91 points per game and now they are on the precipice of falling off in the east and that would be another disappointment after losing Rose last season and losing in the playoffs to the Miami Heat.
This season the Bulls expected to be a big contender in the east for the Miami Heat and now they will have to make a comeback just to be one of the top teams and the way the rest of the season plays out will have to do with what happens with Deng. Deng is leading the team in scoring for the second straight season and Waiters is an interesting option as well, as the Cavs have made calls to the Bulls about Deng and it comes after Waiters had some falling out issues with Kyrie Irving and he could get moved soon.
Andrew Bynum is having some issues with the team as well and he could be an option to get traded and some reports have the Lakers talking to the Cavs about him for Pau Gasol. The Bulls have options if they want to make a move, but Rose has said that he hopes the team does not start a rebuild while he is out and Rose also said that he would try to comeback this season if his knee gets healthy enough, but that's the same thing that he said last season.