Report: Luol Deng Traded For Andrew Bynum & Picks

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls have agreed to a deal sending All-Star forward Luol Deng to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Bynum and draft picks, tweeted ESPN’s Brian Windhorst last night. The deal drastically alters the fortunes of both franchises as the Cavs look to make a run to the playoffs and the Bulls take the inchoate step of a massive rebuild.

There had been strong indications Bynum would be back in Los Angeles as early as this past Sunday, since Cleveland coveted Pau Gasol, but those talks fell through. Then, it was suggested Utah’s Richard Jefferson might be involved in a deal for Bynum. But it was Deng who finally ended up being dealt for the Cavs big man.

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Here’s the official release from the Cavs:

The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired All-Star forward Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for center Andrew Bynum, three future draft picks and the right to swap 2015 first round picks with the Cavs (1-14 protected), Cavaliers General Manager Chris Grant announced tonight from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

“We are very excited for Luol to join the Cavaliers organization, ” said Grant. “We have worked to acquire and maintain flexibility in order to capitalize on opportunities such as this. Luol reflects all that we are striving for in building our team. He’s a tremendous defensive player that can impact the game on both ends of the court with a team first mentality and is a high character leader.”

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert welcomed Deng to town with a Tweet late last night:

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Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has more on the picks heading to Chicago with Bynum, including the right to swap first round picks with the Cavs in 2015, though pick swap is lottery protected, and after 2015, the swap rights are done.

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Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports adds that Deng declined a three-year, $30 million extension last week, which hastened last night’s trade since the Bulls didn’t show any indication they wanted to pay market value for Deng this summer when he becomes a free agent.

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Woj adds in his column today that the Bulls balked at paying the $12-13 million market value for Deng this summer, so a trade made sense.

Don’t expect to see Bynum in a Bulls uniform, though. A league source tells Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago they will be waiving him before his $6 million option kicks in this year.

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Find out how the move helps both sides, but why it might also backfire.

The move works for Chicago because it cuts payroll this year enough to sneak under the tax line, add future assets and they’ll probably have a solid chance at a lottery pick in the loaded 2014 NBA Draft without Deng or Rose to help them for the remainder of the year. But coach Tom Thibodeau was a big fan of Deng’s 2-way game, and Derrick Rose has said publicly he doesn’t want to go through a rebuild, so keep an eye on them in the coming months.

All told, the Bulls now hold the rights to three 2014 first-round picks after the deal. Their own — which is looking a lot better with Deng gone, the Bobcats’ pick and the Kings’ pick. Except, the ‘Cats and Kings are heavily protected. Charlotte’s pick is top-10 protected in 2014, top-eight in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Sacramento’s pick is top-12 protected this year and top-10 protected in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The worst part about Sacramento’s pick is it turns into a second rounder if Chicago hasn’t used it after 2017. Jason Lloyd points out on Twitter that Cleveland had been trying to get rid of the Kings’ pick for some time:

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So while Chicago’s three, first-round picks in 2014 seem in a loaded draft, it’s actually a bit a canard because of all the protections.

For Cleveland, it was their dream scenario to land Deng. As Marc Stein notes on Twitter, Deng is the reason the Bulls were willing to let go of draft picks, something that kept the Pau-Bynum swap from happening.

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Now Cleveland will hold Deng’s Bird Rights when he becomes a free agent this summer, which means they can sign him for more than any other team seeking his services (similar to ‘Melo if he opts out in New York and then re-signs in New York for more).

For now, with the Bulls getting under the tax line while also getting draft picks, and with Cleveland picking up a small forward they coveted in their drive to make the playoffs this season, it appears win-win for the biggest trade of 2014 so far.

What do you think of the trade?

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