The Chicago Bulls are heading into the NBA trade deadline firmly in the playoff race in the east, but with Derrick Rose out and Luol Deng traded, could names like Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Kirk Hinrich or Mike Dunleavy be next to go heading in the Feb. 20 date as the team works to rebuild and contend at the same time?
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Bulls could explore moves regarding those players and they have already with Taj Gibson, as the site reports that the Bulls looked into the possibility of a deal with the Lakers. Bobcats and the Wizards and as the deadline gets closer that could go down. The team has said that they are not in rebuilding mode and the Deng trade was more of a money saving move than anything, but with Rose out for another year and a contract like Boozer's on the books through next season, the team could make some moves to give themselves some flexibility.
The team saved a ton of money with the Andrew Bynum deal and now they are setting themselves up for a run at Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James next summer and getting rid of some more big contracts could continue to help that pursuit. The team also could be interested in re-signing Deng this offseason after trading him and while he will be making a nice amount of money wherever he signs, the team would love to have him back after he led the team in scoring last season. Deng is a great player and the Bulls did not want to part ways with him and after the Cavaliers have been a complete disaster, chances are he will not stay there anyway.
Boozer will cost $16.8 million next season and that could be an issue and including Gibson, the Bulls have over $64 million in salary for just seven players and if they want to make a run at Anthony, they will need to start paring that number down a bit. The team likely needs to offer a max contract to get him and making trades now will help the team clear out space. Gibson makes $8 million and that would help put the team in better position and a team like the Wizards or the Lakers could be a nice fit for Gibson.
Boozer has been miffed with his playing time lately and said to reporters that he is annoyed with being benched in the fourth quarter for minutes at a time and while that isn't a reason he will be traded, it is something to keep an eye on over the next couple weeks. Noah just had an epic blowup at referees and while that won't be a reason he will get traded, the team could jump in on a deal if someone makes the right proposal. Boozer according to ESPN.com has played in only 117 minutes in the fourth quarter this season and be was critical of Tom Thibodeau's decision to sit him and the team is just 12-13 when he plays in the fourth quarter according to the report.