My first thought is no. Straight-up it will not make sense for most teams. Add into the mix allow Bulls to get to premium FAs, I can's see most teams wanting to help out the Bulls. But digging a bit deeper, there might be an opportunity. Apparently 30% of Deng's contract is differed. This helps.. So here is an idea. Deng and Hinrich to Mavs for Dampier's exipring contract + Marion + Stevenson. This takes $9M off of our cap this season and next and ~$4-5M off our our cap the final 3 years of Deng's contract. Plus Marion will have some use to us as a backup.
To get Lebron + bosh, how about this trade at the 1st second the trade deadline opens up. Trade of Gibson + James Johnson + Hinrich for Dampier + Stevenson. That opens up $7.8M.
Hmm dont know. We shall see this summer. One way is to package them in a sign and trade. The trick is getting the other team to accept. Off of the top of my head, I say no. But I hope someone will! Especially if it is for another star
Deng is a possibility, I think. He's not dramatically overpaid, he's young, and he's a quality player. So I'd say he's a guy we could unload to one of the teams under the cap that don't get one of the big guys, or he's a guy teams would consider taking back in a sign and trade. But what's the goal here? If we are looking for two max contract type of players, I think we just have to assume we trade Deng in a sign and trade. Trying to pre-emptively unload him seems risky since we might not get anyone, and then we lose a solid player. Deng's not my favorite guy to play with Noah and Rose, but I do think he's far and away the team's third best player and not a guy to just dump.
Kirk... why bother talking about it. Unless he absolutely has to be dealt, you have to know the Bulls will hold on to him like Grim Death.
When has a player like Deng (pretty good, non-AllStar, slightly overpaid, long, long contact) ever been part of a S&T for a premier\Allstar FA? Or been traded for cap space? It has never happened that I can think of. Can you think of an example?
Just to be clear, my proposed deals are contingint on a verbally agreement with 2 big-time FAs. You are going to have to trade Deng and Hinrich for pennies on the dollar in early July b/c everyone is going to want a max return for cap space\dampier contract\big trade exceptions. Think about what NYK had to give up to clear some space at the deadline.
Seems like adding LeBron would make Deng expendable, to say the least. Other teams may not be so willing to help us out of that jam.
I kind of think of they get the verbal agreement they'll be able to wrangle a sign and trade somehow. Although I don't have any real picture in my mind of how that'd work. I think what's likely (if any of the Lebron speculation is "likely") is that he agrees, and then he sets to work getting someone else, and then, only if whomever the victim team is doesn't want a sign and trade, would they look at dumping someone like Deng or Hinrich. How's about the Clippers? You mentioned Deng's deferred contract, and they could use a SF.
Also, I tend to think the Bulls could just play Deng and Lebron next to each other. They've both played a fair amount at the 4, and that very might well be Lebron's best use.
It wasn't a sign and trade but I don't see how the transaction was substantively any different. The Bulls traded a non-allstar to a division rival for expiring contracts. Cleveland would be doing the same thing. If they want Deng, we include him in a sign and trade for Lebron, giving them an asset and the Bulls cap space to pursue a marquis free agent. I understand that it's not the exact same type of deal, but how are the underlying considerations and equities any different? What am I missing? The way I understand the current structure, the Bulls can trade Cleveland any sized contract for Lebron provided whatever Lebron signs at does not push them over the salary cap, which it won't. The Bulls could pick a retired player, give him a minimum and send him off to Cleveland in return for Lebron. If James wants the largest and longest possible contract available, Cleveland has some bargaining power, but only to the differential between how much Lebron wants a full boat contract and how willing he is to sign with another franchise outright. I also think Lebron will consider in dollars and cents what a sign and trade will do to the talent on his destination roster. Lebron's income structure is different than any other player, with the amount he will make over his career and lifetime from endorsements and royalties if he wins a championship, let alone multiple championships. James is surrounded by savvy business individuals. I would love, love, love to see the actuary tables they build for him in regard to where it is most financially beneficial for him to play. The tables would have to account for city size, potential for winning (and the impact of an outflow of talent from a sign and trade), the Jordan factor in and of itself, the possibility that he will sustain a serious or career ending injury before he hits the sixth season, and reach at least twenty years into the future. Any salary LJ may receive for playing is only one component of his financial considerations. This is why I have allowed myself to dream of Lebron in a Bulls uni. Players seem to usually search for a contract and fit where they can make the most money. That situation may be Chicago.
As I understand it, Cleveland can give LeBron the biggest contract, 6 years vs. 5, and with bigger yearly raises. The Bulls did an S&T with Pippen way back when, to get Pippen the biggest contract he could get. Not sure Cleveland would do an S&T for a future 2nd round pick (or resigned retired player). LeBron would be bailing on the team, where Pippen wasn't really wanted anymore. Cleveland would have to be offered something in return as a sweetener. Maybe Deng would entice them, but you also have to consider a few things: 1) Does Cleveland want Deng's big contract? 2) Does Cleveland want to help the Bulls get even more cap space to sign a 2nd FA in this market? 3) Does Cleveland want to do anything at all to help a division and conference rival?
If you think Deng is garbage (which is wrong), then you are a lot more likely to pawn him off in a sign and trade to Cleveland than you are to dump him on Mark Cuban, one of the shrewdest guys in the nba. Cuban is going to turn Dampier into something very valuable. And Cleveland minus LBJ plus Deng is still the sixth seed in the East. Mo Williams, West/Parker/Deng, Jamison/Hickson, and a center with a decent coach makes the playoffs easily. I doubt Cleveland would want to dump all of their assets immediately if they lose LBJ because of all of the additional investors they brought on. They'd want to showcase those guys and trade for as many young players/draft picks as they could and if they did that this summer they'd be selling extremely low. As far as players in sign and trades go, Ben Wallace was part of Grant Hills s and t. It happens all the time, what doesn't happen is franchise players leaving their teams via free agency. Shaq is the only one that I can think of that happened in the last 20 years. And Atlanta would take Hinrich in s and t for Joe Johnson in a heartbeat. The problem for the bulls is that Bosh sounds like he is going to the highest bidder, not necessarily the best situation to win. He's going to hold out for that sixth year. Would the bulls have enough room left after a Deng s and t for LBJ to do something like Taj and JJ for Bosh?
Salmons had one year and $6M left on his deal. Deng has 4 years and $50M on the contract. Different considerations in my book.
