Less than 12 hours after we told you the Chicago Bulls were looking to trade Luol Deng, the team dealt the forward.
The Bulls on Monday evening traded Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Andrew Bynum and three picks. The Bulls don’t want Bynum to play for them; they’re acquiring him for financial relief. They get to waive Bynum before his $12 million guarantee (per his contract terms) kick in and won’t have to pay him anything. Bynum will likely become a free agent and be available for any team to sign him.
The Bulls will receive a draft pick the Cavs acquired from the Sacramento Kings (it could be a first-round pick; the terms of this pick are very detailed), and the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2015 and 2016 second-round picks acquired by Cleveland in a 2013 draft night trade. They also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Cavs.
Full terms of the trade are below, as explained in a press release by the Cavs:
In exchange for Deng, the Cavs send Chicago Bynum, Cleveland’s right to the Sacramento King’s first round draft pick conveyed in a June 30, 2011 deal, the right for Chicago to swap its own 2015 first round draft pick with the Cavs own 2015 first round draft pick (only in the case that the Cleveland 2015 first round draft pick is between 15 and 30) and the Portland Trail Blazer’s 2015 and 2016 second round draft picks acquired from the Trail Blazers via a 2013 draft night trade.
Eye on Basketball’s Matt Moore also shared the info on the Sacramento Kings’ protected pick the Bulls are receiving.
Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Deng turned down a 3-year, $30 million extension offer from Chicago, which led to him being traded. He’ll probably get a lot more than that as a free agent this offseason.
The 11-23 Cavs are obviously looking to put a much better product on the court, and Deng will help them do that. The Bulls are going into rebuilding mode, which is probably the smart thing to do given Derrick Rose’s health. They are likely to amnesty Carlos Boozer in the offseason.
News of the trade was first reported by Real GM’s Shams Charania.
