The Chicago Bulls had no choice but to trade Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The forward had been on the trade blocks since the start of the season after he and the team failed to reach a contract extension in the offseason. Now Deng is gone and the Bulls have guaranteed a rebuilding phase to the team. Derrick Rose is not thrilled.
The Bulls tried one last push to keep Deng around. According to Yahoo! Sports, the forward rejected a three-year, $30 million extension with the Bulls last week, sealing his fate. So Chicago made the move to send Deng to Cleveland in return for Andrew Bynum and three future draft picks.
Bynum is expected to be released. The center has a deadline of 5 p.m. on Tuesday before his over $12 million salary becomes guaranteed. The Bulls will not take that on. Trading Deng and waiving Bynum will save the team upwards of $20 million that can be spent on the future.
This is Derrick Rose' nightmare. The point guard is once again going to miss the season due to a knee injury, setting the Bulls way back in what they had hoped would be a season where they intended to contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Instead, they are likely to not tank, but not win enough. NBA sources (according to ESPN.com) report that Rose had told teammates that he feared of a rebuilding phase and wants no part of that.
The next piece to the Bulls' puzzle will likely be Carlos Boozer. CBSSports.com is reporting the Bulls are expected to use the amnesty waiver to release Boozer and his $16.8 million cap hit next season.The forward has been on the decline for a few years now after essentially disappearing in the playoffs.
Without Rose, Deng and Boozer, the team still has Joakim Noah under contract until 2015-16. Jimmy Butler has a year remaining on his contract. Taj Gibson just started a four-year deal. Those are certainly strong pieces to build upon. The Bulls could buy out Nikola Mirotic and pair the center with Noah which could be a strong combo under the basket.
The Bulls have a first round pick for next year and could pick up multiple second-round draft picks to get some youth on the roster. A trade of at least one more core star could easily happen with the intention of signing a big name in the offseason free agency run, but time will tell.
Rose might fear a rebuilding phase, but the Bulls could be set up well to make it work in the end. Getting rid of Deng was a blow to the current season, but that might have been lost from the start when Rose went down.
