The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Andrew Bynum To The Chicago Bulls In Exchange For Luol Deng

The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Andrew Bynum To The Chicago Bulls In Exchange For Luol Deng

FantasyBasketball: The deal is finally sealed! After days of speculation and rumors around the dissatisfied center Andrew Bynum, the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed with the Chicago Bulls to trade the 7-footer away. In exchange, Chicago will send All-Star forward Luol Deng to the Cavs. Cleveland will also send to Chicago multiple second-round draft picks and a first-round pick, too.

This a very important deal for both teams and for different reasons.

First of all, it means that the Chicago Bulls are officially entering a rebuilding process, which will revolve around Derrick Rose. The Bulls will now have the ability to waive Andrew Bynum and save $8.3 million for this season. This only makes sense, as the Bulls have almost completely dumped this season, following another severe Rose injury.

Trading away Luol Deng, who has an expiring contract this season only makes sense for the Bulls. Even if they retained him on their roster, the best thing they could have hoped for this season is a ticket to the playoffs. For a team that holds a 14-18 record after two months into the season, the expectations can’t be higher. Chicago would have made it to the playoffs but it would then struggled to do much more. Plus, the team would risk losing Deng during the summer and gain nothing in return.

The Cavaliers on the other hand wanted to make the most out of their big-man asset. Andrew Bynum was a target for several teams around the league, as his waive-friendly salary could be used by teams that have decided to focus on the future, like the Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland now landed a two-time All-Star who has supreme defensive abilities and he can be a big factor on offense, too. The Cavaliers currently hold an 11-23 record but the eighth seed that leads to the playoffs is only four games ahead. With Deng onboard, it a participation to the playoffs shouldn’t be considered as impossible.

Luol Deng is averaging 19.0 points, 6.9 boards and 3.7 assists this season, while his shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, too. Bringing in such a player instantly upgrades the Cavs’ firepower so much that it could make the difference between making the playoffs or not.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, of course, have all the rights to feel excited about their new addition. This is the first time the Cavs will have an All-Star caliber player at their small forward position since the LeBron James era.

As reported, Deng had previously rejected a three-year contract extension from the Bulls worth $30 million. So it’s clearer than even that sooner than later his time in Chicago was pretty much over.
During the last few days and after Cleveland’s decision to indefinitely suspend Andrew Bynum, lots of rumors arose regarding potential trade destinations. Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte were considered the top ones.

As sources around the Cavaliers stated, Bynum simply doesn’t have much will to play. It will be very difficult for him to find a team that will give him a viable role. When healthy, Bynum can be one of the best centers in the league. However, it’s clear that he hasn’t been that type of player since he came back from his injury.

Posted by Kade Quinn on Thursday January 09 2014, 3:53 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0