ESPN: Bulls "determined" to NOT trade Deng

[transplant]

If the Bulls pay Deng $15 million, and bring over Mirotic, where are they going to find an offensive minded SG? Trading Deng for Waiters and pieces gives you an offensive minded 6th man type, plus money left over to fill in other pieces while still having Butler ready to step in at his natural SF position and excel the way he did in the postseason last year.

If the Bulls DON'T pay Deng and bring over Mirotic, and are paying your boy Waiters $4mil to be a 6th man, how are you going to find an offensive-minded SG for the $3mil that's left over?

[Polynice4Pippen]

For me, all the quotes out there are just noise. I'm using logic:

1) Bulls are committed to contending for a championship.

2) Deng is critical to the Bulls contending for a championship.

3) If an amnestied Boozer is replaced by a MLE Mirotic, the Bulls can give Deng $15 mil w/o paying the LT.

4) Virtually any scenario that doesn't include Deng remaining a Bull is contrary to the goal of contending for a championship.

My advice is not to worry so much about what "sources" are saying. You're being played. Think about what makes sense considering the mindset of management, and keep in mind that the thought processes of most posters are diametrically opposed to those of Bulls' management.

If the Bulls pay Deng $15 million, and bring over Mirotic, where are they going to find an offensive minded SG? Trading Deng for Waiters and pieces gives you an offensive minded 6th man type, plus money left over to fill in other pieces while still having Butler ready to step in at his natural SF position and excel the way he did in the postseason last year.

There is disgreement that Butler is a natural SF though here. Have the Bulls hinted? But if you keep Denb then Butler is the SG.

And Deng and Butler together has been pretty much a disaster offensively.

[Red Larrivee]

If the Bulls DON'T pay Deng and bring over Mirotic, and are paying your boy Waiters $4mil to be a 6th man, how are you going to find an offensive-minded SG for the $3mil that's left over?

Well, Waiters is an offensive-minded SG. You would also still have a likely lottery pick and a mid first from Charlotte. So while that might not give you immediate satisfaction, it could be very beneficial in the long run.

[Polynice4Pippen]

If the Bulls pay Deng $15 million, and bring over Mirotic, where are they going to find an offensive minded SG? Trading Deng for Waiters and pieces gives you an offensive minded 6th man type, plus money left over to fill in other pieces while still having Butler ready to step in at his natural SF position and excel the way he did in the postseason last year.

If the Bulls DON'T pay Deng and bring over Mirotic, and are paying your boy Waiters $4mil to be a 6th man, how are you going to find an offensive-minded SG for the $3mil that's left over?

Dion Waiters is your offensive minded SG in the Jason Terry/Jamal Crawford mode off the bench. Then you have another 3 million for another offensive minded guard on the cheap, a Nate Robinson type scorer off the bench. The more firepower and shot creators, the better.

[transplant]

Red, you're a great poster, but I fear we waste each others time. You have no confidence in Bulls management and I have every confidence in Bulls management.

You will win our little war because the goal is a championship and odds are that the Bulls won't win one in the next 5 years.

This said, Cowley really is irrelevant. I mean, his claim to fame is being Ozzie Guillen's bitch...c'mon.

[Red Larrivee]

That's fine, but Cowley isn't the only source reporting that the Bulls and Deng are far apart, and that a divorce is likely. There hasn't been much if any "optimism" reported on the matter. I could see brushing off one source, but not when there's a choir of people singing the same tune.

[dougthonus]

1) Bulls are committed to contending for a championship.

2) Deng is critical to the Bulls contending for a championship.

3) If an amnestied Boozer is replaced by a MLE Mirotic, the Bulls can give Deng $15 mil w/o paying the LT.

4) Virtually any scenario that doesn't include Deng remaining a Bull is contrary to the goal of contending for a championship.

The problem with this theory is that it was highly advantageous for the Bulls to sign Deng to an extension this summer if they wanted to extend him (the max time would have been a year less).

They (reportedly) did not even engage in any real negotiations, instead saying it wasn't something they wanted to do right now. If you think about what makes sense, it does not make sense that the Bulls didn't seriously explore extension in the summer if they wanted to keep him past this season.

[WinCity]

1) Bulls are committed to contending for a championship.

2) Deng is critical to the Bulls contending for a championship.

3) If an amnestied Boozer is replaced by a MLE Mirotic, the Bulls can give Deng $15 mil w/o paying the LT.

4) Virtually any scenario that doesn't include Deng remaining a Bull is contrary to the goal of contending for a championship.

The problem with this theory is that it was highly advantageous for the Bulls to sign Deng to an extension this summer if they wanted to extend him (the max time would have been a year less).

They (reportedly) did not even engage in any real negotiations, instead saying it wasn't something they wanted to do right now. If you think about what makes sense, it does not make sense that the Bulls didn't seriously explore extension in the summer if they wanted to keep him past this season.

Is it possible Deng's camp told them not to bother talking until they could discuss a 4 year deal?

[dougthonus]

1) Bulls are committed to contending for a championship.

2) Deng is critical to the Bulls contending for a championship.

3) If an amnestied Boozer is replaced by a MLE Mirotic, the Bulls can give Deng $15 mil w/o paying the LT.

4) Virtually any scenario that doesn't include Deng remaining a Bull is contrary to the goal of contending for a championship.

The problem with this theory is that it was highly advantageous for the Bulls to sign Deng to an extension this summer if they wanted to extend him (the max time would have been a year less).

They (reportedly) did not even engage in any real negotiations, instead saying it wasn't something they wanted to do right now. If you think about what makes sense, it does not make sense that the Bulls didn't seriously explore extension in the summer if they wanted to keep him past this season.

Is it possible Deng's camp told them not to bother talking until they could discuss a 4 year deal?

It was reported by sources that Deng's camp wanted to discuss the extension and was disappointed the Bulls did not.

[WinCity]

The problem with this theory is that it was highly advantageous for the Bulls to sign Deng to an extension this summer if they wanted to extend him (the max time would have been a year less).

They (reportedly) did not even engage in any real negotiations, instead saying it wasn't something they wanted to do right now. If you think about what makes sense, it does not make sense that the Bulls didn't seriously explore extension in the summer if they wanted to keep him past this season.

Is it possible Deng's camp told them not to bother talking until they could discuss a 4 year deal?

It was reported by sources that Deng's camp wanted to discuss the extension and was disappointed the Bulls did not.

Wow. Interesting. It seems we have a lot of contradictory info right now. Interested to see what really happens.

[kyrv]

If the Bulls pay Deng $15 million, and bring over Mirotic, where are they going to find an offensive minded SG? Trading Deng for Waiters and pieces gives you an offensive minded 6th man type, plus money left over to fill in other pieces while still having Butler ready to step in at his natural SF position and excel the way he did in the postseason last year.

There is disgreement that Butler is a natural SF though here. Have the Bulls hinted? But if you keep Denb then Butler is the SG.

And Deng and Butler together has been pretty much a disaster offensively.

Not really last year? With Rose those 3 played well when they played well right? Maybe I'm misremembering though.