Sources: Deng for No. 3 pick explored The first decent NBA Draft trade rumble of the week involves an All-Star who's no stranger to the speculation game. Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that the Chicago Bulls, in their latest attempt to gauge the trade value of All-Star swingman Luol Deng, have had exploratory discussions with Washington about a deal that would land Deng with the Wizards and bring the No. 3 pick in Thursday's draft to the Bulls. The most likely trade construction, if talks were to progress to the serious stage, would send Deng to the Wizards for the No. 3 pick and center Emeka Okafor, who would have to formally opt into his contract for next season ($14.5 million) this week for the trade to go through. Yet it's worth noting that Cleveland, sources say, has interest in Deng as well ... and there will surely be other potential trade partners to surface if the Bulls decide they're legitimately ready to part with Deng after years of flirting with the idea.
That's a lot to give up, but.... PG - John Wall SG - Bradley Beal SF - Loul Deng PF - C - Nene Hilario is a nice little line up
Deng expires after next season, as does Okafor... seems strange that the Wizards would want to give up someone like Otto Porter at the 3 on a rookie deal, who seems an awful lot like a young Deng, when they're probably not going to contend this coming season regardless.
Could be Nerlens Noel and the pick has potential but, yeah, you're not getting a Carmelo Anthony at 3 overall here.
What stops Deng in this scenario from walking right back to Chicago and signing as a free agent after this season?
Indeed. Deng is a great player but, I would not give up the 3rd pick for him. Deng is not going to resign with the Wizards anyway and it's better to have a young core of Wall, Beal & the guy they draft.
If you think Deng is going to boost you into the playoffs...go for it. What if he doesn't want to resign after this season?
Maybe the Bulls believe in Jimmy Butler long term at the SF position and have eyes for Ben MacLemore as their SG of the future. Chicago's weakest link in the starting 5 has long been the SG position. They've tried out Kyle Korver, Bellinelli, Bogans, Rip Hamilton, Ronnie Brewer, etc. as starters over the past few years. If they fully believe in Butler long term this is a good opportunity to get another consistent scoring threat (albeit for a price) to relieve some of the pressure on D. Rose to do everything for them on offense. I like this deal for them. Washington I think could do better. Which ever big is left between Noel and Len should be their guy. They are already a low playoff team in the East with a healthy John Wall for a full season. Their record post-allstar break proved that. I dont think adding Luol Deng while losing Okafor and whoever is drafted at #3 gets them into a situation to win a series or have home court.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine">@ESPNSteinLine</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/funnydanny">@funnydanny</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TrueHoop">@TrueHoop</a> Already hearing Bulls are trying to up Deng's value and nothing to it, for what it's worth.</p>— Mike Wise (@MikeWiseguy) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeWiseguy/statuses/349229179419635719">June 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Important to remember: According to <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine">@ESPNSteinLine</a>, the Bulls reached out to the Wizards. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23StayCalm&src=hash">#StayCalm</a></p>— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) <a href="https://twitter.com/BulletsForever/statuses/349226573116878849">June 24, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"Weak draft" or not, I would easily make this trade if I were the Bulls. The question for anyone who think differently is this: How good is Luol Deng? His PER for the last 5 seasons are 14.7, 16.1, 15.5, 14.1 and 15.1. His career ORtg is 107, TS% 52.6, and usage rate 21.4. He really didn't, and likely couldn't have, step up his offensive output when Derek Rose went down. Now, he is a respected veteran and a good defender. He also plays a ton of minutes fo the Bulls. These things have value, but it's not like we are talking about a true elite player here.
would be dumb trade for deng who's contract expire next year. Don't see Deng staying with the Wizards and so they can lose their 3rd pick for a 1 year rental. but as the tweets said, it was the bulls who propose the offer not Wizard
This makes sense, and it's exactly why I believe the Bulls were the ones to reach out to the Wizards....not the other way around. If I'm the Wizards, I'm expecting more from Chicago than just Deng.
