Deng Traded to Cleveland Cavaliers

[luburch]

@SportsCenter: UPDATE: Cavs acquire Luol Leng for Andrew Bynum, three future draft picks and the right to swap 2015 first-round picks with Cleveland.

Kyrie and Loul is pretty cool, but I have to think the Bulls got the better end of this deal.

[Duvall]

@SportsCenter: UPDATE: Cavs acquire Luol Leng for Andrew Bynum, three future draft picks and the right to swap 2015 first-round picks with Cleveland.

Kyrie and Loul is pretty cool, but I have to think the Bulls got the better end of this deal.

Oh, man. Does Cleveland need a new Stepien Rule?

[luburch]

Unless their goal was to offload Bynum's contract and free up space.

[brevity]

Here's a link.

Regarding the draft picks:

The Cavs will send a first-round pick -- top 10 protected over the next two years -- that the Sacramento Kings owe them to the Bulls, plus two future second-round picks that belong to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bulls will also have the right to swap 2015 first-round picks with the Cavs as long as the Cavs' pick is outside the lottery.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert issued this tweet:

Welcome @LuolDeng9 to the Cleveland Cavaliers!

Man, that never gets old.

[Duvall]

A Cavaliers front office with draft picks is like a mule with a spinning wheel - no one knows how they got it, and danged if they know how to use it.

[throatybeard]

A Cavaliers front office with draft picks is like a mule with a spinning wheel - no one knows how they got it, and danged if they know how to use it.

The ring came off my pudding can.

[kAzE]

Am I the only one who thinks giving up up 3 draft picks, no matter how they are protected, is a lot to give up for a 6 month loan on a guy who has played more minutes than anyone in the league the past few years? Deng is a great player, no doubt, but the wear and tear have definitely begun to catch up to him, and he's been a fixture on the injury report since the second half of last season. Granted, they were going to cut Bynum regardless, but still. That Kings pick could turn out to be a decent value. Even if they could resign Deng, I'm not sure he's worth a huge contract (which he is going to ask for, and which he justifiably deserves) at this point in his career.

Look, I love Deng, he's one of the most consistent players in the league, and a wonderful representative of Duke University, but I'm speaking as a fan of the Cavs right now, this deal makes me nervous. Really, any All-Star player on the team who is in a contract year makes a Cavs fan nervous. I just don't think he is going to want to play for a rebuilding team. Why not just cut ties with Bynum, hold on to the picks, and see what you can get in free agency. This year is already pretty much tanking, sit on your lottery pick and see what happens. Why trade for a guy that is going to help your team get to the 7th or 8th seed in the East, where you will undoubtedly get trounced by the Heat or Pacers, and end up with a middling pick in the best draft of the past decade?

We only have enough cap space for 1 more big move before we put all the marbles on the table to keep Kyrie with the team in 2015. If this is it, Kyrie might just decide to take his talents elsewhere. Sigh . . .

[AncientPsychicT]

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert issued this tweet:

Welcome @LuolDeng9 to the Cleveland Cavaliers!

Hmm, I see you're trying to be 'comical,' so to speak, with the typeface; however, assuming Dan Gilbert knows how to type in bold is a bit of a stretch IMO.

Oh...

Am I the only one who thinks giving up up 3 draft picks, no matter how they are protected, is a lot to give up for a 6 month loan on a guy who has played more minutes than anyone in the league the past few years?

...and to answer your question, I suggest you read the general appraisal of Dan Gilbert's mastery of the art of GM-ing in this thread (or anywhere, really).

[greybeard]

Perhaps the intensity of style, the coach seems a tad over-amped, is causing all the Chicago breakdowns, Deng's included, and that a saner approach to play might bring back Deng's health. Perhaps also Kyrie likes Deng. If that is so, then so does Cleveland's management, right.

[CDu]

I think it is a good deal for both sides. The Bulls desperately wanted to get out of the luxury tax, and needed to get something in return for Deng (there was no way they were going to re-sign him this offseason). The Cavs desperately wanted to get rid of Bynum but they also needed to maintain competitiveness this year to convince the fans (and Irving) that they are serious about winning. Chances are that Deng won't re-sign in Cleveland, but you just never know.

For Chicago, the actual picks themselves aren't necessarily terribly interesting. Two late-2nd round picks from Portland and a possible first round pick that could turn into a 2nd round pick or no pick depending on how Sacramento does.

The biggest thing for the Bulls was that they got out of the luxury tax this year and they now have a better shot at a lottery pick in this year's draft (with Deng they were going to make the playoffs in the crappy East).

[flyingdutchdevil]

I think it is a good deal for both sides. The Bulls desperately wanted to get out of the luxury tax, and needed to get something in return for Deng (there was no way they were going to re-sign him this offseason). The Cavs desperately wanted to get rid of Bynum but they also needed to maintain competitiveness this year to convince the fans (and Irving) that they are serious about winning. Chances are that Deng won't re-sign in Cleveland, but you just never know.

For Chicago, the actual picks themselves aren't necessarily terribly interesting. Two late-2nd round picks from Portland and a possible first round pick that could turn into a 2nd round pick or no pick depending on how Sacramento does.

The biggest thing for the Bulls was that they got out of the luxury tax this year and they now have a better shot at a lottery pick in this year's draft (with Deng they were going to make the playoffs in the crappy East).

The Bulls could have been a mid-seeded playoff team this year without Rose (The "Leastern" Conference is just pitiful sans Miami and Indiana). However, by getting rid of Deng, I think Chicago may try to do a little tanking. Deng was their best on-ball defender and gave you at least 15 points a game.

CDu - what do you think? Bulls looking for the lottery? Or too many terrible Eastern teams in the way?

[superdave]

From the Espn article

"Chicago plan to waive Bynum by 5 p.m. Tuesday and clear his $12.3 million salary off their books. That will enable the Bulls to get below the luxury tax threshold, which, combined with the savings from not having to pay Deng the balance of his $14.3 million salary, will save the team in more than $20 million."

Bynum will likely retire after he gets cut. He gone.

In conjunction with this move, I would imagine the Bulls amnesty Boozer and go all in for Jabari/Wiggins/Embiid/Smart. Yep. Here you go.

"The second part of their house-cleaning: They intend on using their amnesty move this coming summer to part ways with Carlos Boozer. Boozer is scheduled to make $16.8 million next season. As we reported earlier, Derrick Rose has caught wind of the plans and is none too thrilled about being part of a rebuilding project. Tom Thibodeau won't be very happy with it, either."

We've gone over the Bulls rebuilding project a lot here. It made sense with Rose's knee injury two seasons ago and makes sense now. Basically, they can reload rather than rebuild. Imagine getting a top 5 pick this year via tanking, getting an extra quality player or two through the Cavs draft picks, signing a big free agent and getting Rose back from injury. They will be set for the next 5 year run assuming Rose can stay healthy.

The two problems they had were they did not want to pay Deng more $10-$12 million and Deng's performance was commanding more than that, and Boozer was not quite performing up to expectations while they have Taj Gibson in the wings.

Next year, the Bulls could have Rose, Jimmy Butler, an awesome rookie, LeBron or Melo and Gibson/Noah/Dunleavy. Their moves this week seem pretty good to me.

[CDu]

The Bulls could have been a mid-seeded playoff team this year without Rose (The "Leastern" Conference is just pitiful sans Miami and Indiana). However, by getting rid of Deng, I think Chicago may try to do a little tanking. Deng was their best on-ball defender and gave you at least 15 points a game.

CDu - what do you think? Bulls looking for the lottery? Or too many terrible Eastern teams in the way?

I do think that the organization is now looking to tank this year (don't be shocked if Boozer gets traded as well - possibly Dunleavy, too). They see it as a lost season with the Rose injury. It's disappointing because I thought they had a decent shot at competing this year (prior to the Rose injury). But without him, their ceiling is middle of the pack in the East - good enough to give the Pacers and Heat a fight, but not good enough to beat them in a 7-game series.

The question is whether Thibs and the team will let a tank happen. Noah, Gibson, and Butler are competitors, and they'll claw their way to some victories. It'll be close, and it will depend on whether or not they can trade Boozer. But I think they can succeed in getting into the lottery.

Just a disappointing year for the Bulls, following a disappointing end of the 2012 season and the frustration of the Rose situation in the 2013 season.

[CDu]

Next year, the Bulls could have Rose, Jimmy Butler, an awesome rookie, LeBron or Melo and Gibson/Noah/Dunleavy. Their moves this week seem pretty good to me.

I think the more likely scenario is that they finally bring over Nicola Mirotic from the Spanish League. He's probably the best player in Europe, with a game similar to that of Nowitzki. It'd be great to sign a superstar, but I don't think James or Melo are realistic options.

That being said, I do think the move is the right one for the Bulls. They aren't winning anything this year, and they'll be financially strapped to have a chance next year (after which they'd have to rebuild with no assets). This approach officially kills this season, but it gives them a shot at a promising rookie and a shot at bringing over Mirotic or attracting an NBA star this summer. And (perhaps most importantly from the Bulls' management perspective) it gets them out of the repeater tax.

[flyingdutchdevil]

From the Espn article

"Chicago plan to waive Bynum by 5 p.m. Tuesday and clear his $12.3 million salary off their books. That will enable the Bulls to get below the luxury tax threshold, which, combined with the savings from not having to pay Deng the balance of his $14.3 million salary, will save the team in more than $20 million."

Bynum will likely retire after he gets cut. He gone.

In conjunction with this move, I would imagine the Bulls amnesty Boozer and go all in for Jabari/Wiggins/Embiid/Smart. Yep. Here you go.

"The second part of their house-cleaning: They intend on using their amnesty move this coming summer to part ways with Carlos Boozer. Boozer is scheduled to make $16.8 million next season. As we reported earlier, Derrick Rose has caught wind of the plans and is none too thrilled about being part of a rebuilding project. Tom Thibodeau won't be very happy with it, either."

We've gone over the Bulls rebuilding project a lot here. It made sense with Rose's knee injury two seasons ago and makes sense now. Basically, they can reload rather than rebuild. Imagine getting a top 5 pick this year via tanking, getting an extra quality player or two through the Cavs draft picks, signing a big free agent and getting Rose back from injury. They will be set for the next 5 year run assuming Rose can stay healthy.

The two problems they had were they did not want to pay Deng more $10-$12 million and Deng's performance was commanding more than that, and Boozer was not quite performing up to expectations while they have Taj Gibson in the wings.

Next year, the Bulls could have Rose, Jimmy Butler, an awesome rookie, LeBron or Melo and Gibson/Noah/Dunleavy. Their moves this week seem pretty good to me.

I'm not a Bulls fan in the slightest (I supported Utah growing up because my brother was a Jordan fan), but I have been following them closely ever since Luol was a key member of the team. I understand what they are doing, but I'm not sure that a) it's the smartest of strategies and b) they can land a blue chipper this off-season.

1) After Rose's second season-ending injury, he can't be trusted to build a team around. This has nothing to do about Rose's ability (he was an MVP three years into his career!) but rather that he's more injury prone than Yao Ming. Gutting the team and putting your eggs in a one handled-basket is insanely risky.

2) Given Rose's injury-prone issues, and given that the team doesn't have offensive talent outside of Rose, I don't see many blue-chippers being interested in Chicago. I think Melo may make the most sense (great offensive player with Noah to help him on D), but I see Melo going to a team with greener pastures (Clippers if they trade Griffin, Phoenix, Atlanta, or maybe even LA for the exposure). Lebron wouldn't join a team in the same division as Cleveland unless that team is Cleveland.

3) I'm not sure the Bulls can be as bad as the Bucks, Magic, 76ers, and a handful of other teams, even if they tried. Unless they luck-out with the lottery like they did with Derrick Rose, I don't see them landing a top 5er.

4) This team is really putting a lot of faith into Butler and Gibson, two players that I feel were so underrated that they are now overrated. They are great role players, but you need around 3 stars / semi-stars to win + plentiful role players, and right now they have a star-on-crutches and a stellar defensive post player. They may need a little more to compete with the best.

[Troublemaker]

I do think that the organization is now looking to tank this year (don't be shocked if Boozer gets traded as well - possibly Dunleavy, too). They see it as a lost season with the Rose injury. It's disappointing because I thought they had a decent shot at competing this year (prior to the Rose injury). But without him, their ceiling is middle of the pack in the East - good enough to give the Pacers and Heat a fight, but not good enough to beat them in a 7-game series.

The question is whether Thibs and the team will let a tank happen. Noah, Gibson, and Butler are competitors, and they'll claw their way to some victories. It'll be close, and it will depend on whether or not they can trade Boozer. But I think they can succeed in getting into the lottery.

Just a disappointing year for the Bulls, following a disappointing end of the 2012 season and the frustration of the Rose situation in the 2013 season.

Hmm, probably not much of a chance Boozer gets traded to a contender, right? Due to his huge contract. I'd rather Chicago amnesty him then, so he can go try to sign with a contender.

I think a trade of Dunleavy could land him with a contender.

[superdave]

Ownership is dead set on making the playoffs. The East is weak and the Cavs are only 3 games out of the 8th seed in spite of being a dozen games below .500.

They did a nice job structuring Bynum's contract to be low-risk. Now, do they have another move to go? They could package some B players and try to get an A player from another team wishing to tank or to fin some tax relief. I have not seen much on the Dion Waiters trade front lately. But that seems like it would be good for the locker room (of course, why sell low?)

The Cavs going forward are Irving, Waiters, Bennett, Thompson, Zeller. They'd have to re-sign Deng and Varejao to have them for next season. They may be all-in for Deng at this point (who just turned down 3 years and $30 million from the Bulls) and they may get Anderson back for about $8 million. That leaves little wiggle room going forward and an average team. Dealign Waiters may be their best option to get a shooter to spread the floor for Irving.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Hmm, probably not much of a chance Boozer gets traded to a contender, right? Due to his huge contract. I'd rather Chicago amnesty him then, so he can go try to sign with a contender.

I think a trade of Dunleavy could land him with a contender.

I agree with you on Boozer. But what contender? Certainly not Indy, as they already have two offensive, power 4s in West and Scola. Miami won't get him because teams will be willing to pay a lot higher so Miami can't get him (plus Miami has zero cash). The Clippers are an interesting choice, but money is also an issue and they need more help at the 5 than any other position. The Thunder are in the same boat as the Clippers. San Antonio could be a target, given that Duncan can slide to the 5, focus on defending, and have Boozer get all the rebounds. Golden State essential has a 'Boozer' type player already in Lee (good rebounding, really good offense, poor defense).

Most contenders already have really solid 4s. I guess Boozer could come off the bench, but I think he's way more valuable than that. Unlike Elton, Boozer is still in his prime and can add real value to a team in need.

[Dukehky]

Deng was gone after this year anyway because the Bulls' doctors almost killed him, which apparently he didn't really appreciate. Also, the Heat are going to sign Bynum within the next 24 hours if they aren't crazy. So Dan Gilbert just helped LeBron win another title.

My goodness, the Cavaliers suck. Kyrie is going to bail as soon as he can and Lou is gone after this year too. I want no Duke players in that horrible organization so that I have to pull for them. They are atrocious. If I were Kyrie, I would have pulled a Danny Ferry, and gone to play in Europe rather than have to go play for Cleveland.

[Des Esseintes]

I agree with you on Boozer. But what contender? Certainly not Indy, as they already have two offensive, power 4s in West and Scola. Miami won't get him because teams will be willing to pay a lot higher so Miami can't get him (plus Miami has zero cash). The Clippers are an interesting choice, but money is also an issue and they need more help at the 5 than any other position. The Thunder are in the same boat as the Clippers. San Antonio could be a target, given that Duncan can slide to the 5, focus on defending, and have Boozer get all the rebounds. Golden State essential has a 'Boozer' type player already in Lee (good rebounding, really good offense, poor defense).

Most contenders already have really solid 4s. I guess Boozer could come off the bench, but I think he's way more valuable than that. Unlike Elton, Boozer is still in his prime and can add real value to a team in need.

The amnesty would not be for this year. Since the Bulls are now under the tax, they have no reason to cut Boozer. Over the off-season, however, they are expected to amnesty him, and who knows what teams will have a need then, especially on a very low post-amnesty deal?