Derrick Rose may soon become one unhappy Chicago Bull.
Remember last month we told you that Rose was concerned that the Chicago Bulls might go through a rebuilding period? Well it sounds like that process is going to happen.
The New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence reported on Saturday that the Bulls are looking to trade Luol Deng and will likely amnesty Carlos Boozer.
[The Bulls will] definitely be looking to deal Luol Deng before the Feb. 20 trading deadline. Deng is a free agent this summer and the Bulls don’t want to pay him anything close to top dollar. The second part of their house-cleaning: They intend on using their amnesty move this coming summer to part ways with Carlos Boozer.
There have been numerous trade rumors concerning Deng, so this should not come as a surprise. Deng is a very fine player who has consistently put up strong shooting and rebounding numbers since entering the league in 2004, so we have little doubt they’ll be able to find a trade partner for him.
Boozer is set to earn $16.8 million next season, so it sounds like the Bulls just don’t feel like he’s worth paying the money to, either. Boozer has been dealing with a knee injury lately.
The Bulls’ plan to rebuild rather than pay big money to these veterans next season (or beyond) makes sense. Back-to-back knee injuries to Rose have completely changed their plan longterm. If they don’t know if Rose will play like an MVP — or be able to play at all — why keep an expensive surrounding cast around him when they can acquire other assets instead?
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