The Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off the much-discussed trade for Andrew Bynum this week and while that move for Luol Deng worries Derrick Rose, the Bulls could be in line to make more moves if they choose to do so, as players like Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler or Nazr Mohammed could be next.
Derrick Rose said he was worried earlier this season about a potential Luol Deng trade and how the team should avoid a rebuild, but now they have moved Deng for Bynum and it is likely that the team will waive him and they also got three future draft picks and some financial relief. The team may still try to sign Luol Deng as a free agent, but this likely means he is gone and the Bulls could continue dealing players to sort of reboot as Derrick Rose comes back from another knee injury and this is devastating for the core of the Bulls, as the team felt they were championship contenders coming into the year with Deng, Rose, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer.
According to ESPN.com, there is a chance that Boozer could get traded next and the team opted to trade Dung rather than lose him as a free agent for nothing and reports say he rejected a $30 million extension before the deal. Deng is 28 years old and comes over after leading the Bulls in scoring and this season he has played in 23 games and missed nine games while dealing with an Achilles issue and he has been a very solid all-around player for years and he is averaging 19 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season and comes over at a good time, as the Cavaliers feel they can turn around their season to get into the playoffs and Kyrie Irving is a bit banged up.
Dion Waiters may get traded now that Deng has been acquired and the team has reportedly been looking at that deal for some time now. The move for Bynum allows the Bulls to clear his $12.3 million salary on Tuesday and that will help get the team $20 million in savings with Deng getting paid $14.3 million this season and now Bynum could end up being signed by a team like the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks, as all could use a big man at a cheap price.
Things clearly did not work out for Bynum in Cleveland after signing there in the offseason and the trade brings the Bulls a number of picks, including a future first-round draft pick owed by the Sacramento Kings, as well as 2015 and 2016 second-round picks the Portland Trail Blazers and that Kings pick will be theirs "if it falls outside the top 12 in 2014 or outside the top 10 picks in 2015, 2016 or 2017" according to ESPN.com.
