The consensus is that it would be more economically efficient for the Bulls to either let Deng walk or trade him for expiring contracts at the deadline. Jimmy Butler's youth and lower salary has made Deng expendable. After that, they can amnesty Carlos Boozer, let Kirk Hinrich walk and have enough money to possibly woo LeBron, who can opt out of his contract after his bid to three-peat with Miami. Even if that doesn't work, they say, someone like Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce or Ray Allen could reasonably sign a contract here. No financial restrictions or luxury tax would be a problem and that will easily pave the way for the Bulls to win a title. Everyone's happy, the end.
Not so fast, I say. Deng is coming off two consecutive All-Star selections and, in my opinion and many others, has never looked better. Both his offense and quiet leadership kept the Bulls in a lot of games last season. Until his spinal tap sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs, a team that knew it had no chance to win a championship routinely looked to him so that he could provide a badly needed boost on any given night. No, he wasn't a factor in closing out Brooklyn, but the Bulls in that position to begin with thanks in no small part to him. If he signed a lifetime contract with the team now, I wouldn't be against it, even if he has a smaller supporting role as he gets older.
There's also quite a large risk involved here. The Bulls essentially punted on the 2009-10 season so they could have a shot at all or part of the Big 3 that eventually ended up in Miami. Their response was to sign a power forward whom everyone is calling to be amnestied and a cult-worthy bench that couldn't rise to the occasion when the stakes were at their highest. There's no guarantee LeBron even leaves Miami after the season, although he himself is not sure where he'll be next year at this time. If that does happen though, my gut tells me he'll head back to a Cavaliers team he so famously spurned three years ago. Having landed two top draft picks since then, Cleveland is a hot place to consider.
Plus, we can't even tell what goes on in LeBron's head routinely when thinking about Chicago. Us Bulls fans haven't exactly been kind to him ever since he strung around our team. In fact, only Cavs fans are probably the group of people that hate him more. I know our opinion of him would do a 180 if he did team up with Derrick Rose here, but what about Nazr Mohammed's shove and bloodthirsty reaction from the United Center crowd in last year's playoffs? Did that destroy any goodwill he held toward the organization? Suiting up here is not something I'd put my money on. Even those upcoming free agents I listed earlier are all getting older and the Bulls can't just put a old bandage over a fresh cut. You have no way of knowing whether an aging star will be a Duncan-era David Robinson or the Celtics version of Bill Walton. The Bulls' front office has to take these and the money they'll undoubtedly demand into account.
Through all this rambling, I'm saying not to instinctively agree that cutting your losses with Deng is a good idea, at least not now. Although Butler is a small forward, I'm not opposed to see him at shooting guard alongside Rose for the foreseeable future. Yes, Deng and his agent have every right to explore the best possible deal for beyond the season. And yes, I'm sure there's another team who'd like to overpay for his services. To just let him walk without a hitch is maddening though. Once the season ends, I'm sure I'll have a better idea of what I'd like to see done about him, but for now, the veteran who has been a part of the Bulls' rebirth every year is the right man at his position here. Unless Gar Foreman has absolutely no doubt in his mind LeBron will head to the Windy City, he must do all he can to protect this valuable asset. Potentially leaving a hole at a position that's been stable for almost a decade? I don't think so.
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