The dust has settled on the trade that sent Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers while Andrew Bynum and three future draft picks headed to Chicago. The Cavaliers were tired of the Bynum drama and the Bulls wanted to save money. After getting rid of the forward on the brink of free agency, what is next for Chicago? Could Carmelo Anthony be the answer?
First, the Bulls will likely waive Bynum after this trade becomes official. At 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the center's contract of over $12 million becomes fully guaranteed. Chicago has no plans of taking that on or Bynum. By waiving the center, they save around $20 million including the salary Deng was owed in his final year with the team.
The next move (according ESPN.com and Yahoo! Sports) will be the amnesty Carlos Boozer and take his $16.8 million cap hit off the books. Just with that, Chicago has $14 million to spend in the summer. If the Bulls trade a player like Taj Gibson, they can buyout the contract of Euro star center Nikola Mirotic and sign a free agent to a max contract.
Hello, Anthony. It is well documented that the New York Knicks star will hit free agency in the upcoming summer and has every intention of testing his worth with the team. Chicago has been linked to Anthony for some time now, using Derrick Rose as the player to recruit him. Anthony has expressed the desire to form a Big 3 of his own, Could Rose and Joakim Noah be enough?
If Anthony goes to the Bulls, he will be taking a pay cut. The Knicks can offer him significantly more than any other team in the league, plus at least one more year on the deal. But do they offer the chance to win? New York has certainly taken every opportunity to say they will re-sign the star in the summer, but anything is possible.
No matter what, Chicago will have plenty of money to work with in order to add players around Rose and avoid another let down season as long as the point guard stays healthy. The team has draft picks to get youth and can easily add another star player in the summer.
