Bulls Might Now Be More Likely To Trade Luol Deng

[Red Larrivee]

Is the new offense better for Deng? Does it maximize his talents?

From my standpoint it is an extremely good fit for him. I believe it will end up making him more efficient. Thus, making him and even better 2nd star. With that said will this offense fit Rose's game? If it doesn't we need to scrap it and probably dump Deng. That is why Rose's injury is so frustrating. We have no idea what works with this group and what doesn't. It makes it extremely difficult to team build.

If Deng keeps playing like he has the past week for the rest of the season he will be worth a near max contract.

Deng is having a very good season: 19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 46% fg, 18.2 PER, 53.8 TS%.

Those numbers would be very encouraging if his numbers the past five seasons were anything close. Right now it screams contract year, though to his credit you still have to make the shots and he's doing exactly that.

For the Bulls, it's great for his trade value. Teams are likely monitoring and might be convinced to give up a 2014 first if they believe Deng will extend their postseason run. I bet Dallas would love to trade Marion and filler for Deng, too bad they don't have a pick in this draft or I'd be all over that.

I don't think it has anything to do with this new, mythical offense. Everyone knows the Bulls are playing for nothing right now, so there's no pressure on Deng or anybody to live up to a bar. Deng is the #1 option right now, which is great for him and his next pay day. He's got no worries, just go out and play.

It wouldn't be surprising at all if Deng gets $52-56 million over four years, not that I think he's worth it, but it's going to be a very SF-friendly market. It would only be surprising if the Bulls were the team to do it.

[kingkirk]

If we’re quick to bring up Deng’s seasons of past in which he wasn’t performing at this level, i think it’s only fair we acknowledge the wrist issues as well as the additional play for his country.

[jmajew]

If we’re quick to bring up Deng’s seasons of past in which he wasn’t performing at this level, i think it’s only fair we acknowledge the wrist issues as well as the additional play for his country.

This was Deng's first offseason where he had nothing to do in about 4 years. Coincidentally, this was also the first season that Deng has started the season without any lingering health issues.

[dice]

i think you're making kind of a mishmash of comparisons there. if you're talking player quality, west and iguodala have been better than deng. josh smith is meanwhile the highest paid player on his team. and i think many if not most people would argue that ibaka is overpaid

the average 3rd option makes 14% of payroll (11 mil). the average 4th option makes 11% of payroll (8.5 million). so...on a team with the bulls' payroll, the typical salary range for the 3rd/4th highest paid player is 8.5 to 11 million. now, i'm not saying that's what lu is worth. just another way of looking at it

West, Ibaka Iguodala & Josh Smith are all comparable players to Deng. They're in the same tier and ultimately, on a title team, are all 3rd options at best.

i'd say that group is better than lu on average and they're making 12.5 mil on average. which would put lu's value right around what he got on his current deal (which overpaid him a bit - at least at the time). and he will be past his prime on whatever new deal he gets

the most comparable player is iggy, who is better and just got 12 mil per. lu will be the same age next summer as iggy was when he signed this past summer. and will have played an additional year in the NBA

The 11 million figure includes guys on rookie scale deals as well. Someone like Chandler Parsons who is making 1 million is a 3rd option and skews those numbers.

i went by 3rd and 4th highest PAID, which equates to 3rd and 4th option money. there are guys in the top 3 or 4 of their team's payroll that don't even play

[Red Larrivee]

If we’re quick to bring up Deng’s seasons of past in which he wasn’t performing at this level, i think it’s only fair we acknowledge the wrist issues as well as the additional play for his country.

Deng's played with unreported injuries before, so how do we know he isn't playing with one right now? Also, he's going to play for his country in the future, so it's not like he's stopping that.

He's a good player, I just find it convenient that he's performing at the level the Bulls expected when they paid him almost 6 years ago. Whatever the reason is, he's setting himself up for a big pay day.

[kingkirk]

If we’re quick to bring up Deng’s seasons of past in which he wasn’t performing at this level, i think it’s only fair we acknowledge the wrist issues as well as the additional play for his country.

Deng's played with unreported injuries before, so how do we know he isn't playing with one right now? Also, he's going to play for his country in the future, so it's not like he's stopping that.

He's a good player, I just find it convenient that he's performing at the level the Bulls expected when they paid him almost 6 years ago. Whatever the reason is, he's setting himself up for a big pay day.

I also find it convenient that were not factoring the new offense into Deng's good play to date.

He is receiving the ball in motion via a cut, slash or roll. That's where he is at his best.

If people want to assume that it's his pay day around the corner and that he is somehow turning on a mental and physical switch that he shut off for the last couple seasons, I think that's misleading and questioning something I never would with Luol Deng - his heart and character.

[wonderboy2]

Is the new offense better for Deng? Does it maximize his talents?

From my standpoint it is an extremely good fit for him. I believe it will end up making him more efficient. Thus, making him and even better 2nd star. With that said will this offense fit Rose's game? If it doesn't we need to scrap it and probably dump Deng. That is why Rose's injury is so frustrating. We have no idea what works with this group and what doesn't. It makes it extremely difficult to team build.

If Deng keeps playing like he has the past week for the rest of the season he will be worth a near max contract.

Deng is having a very good season: 19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 46% fg, 18.2 PER, 53.8 TS%.

Those numbers would be very encouraging if his numbers the past five seasons were anything close. Right now it screams contract year, though to his credit you still have to make the shots and he's doing exactly that.

For the Bulls, it's great for his trade value. Teams are likely monitoring and might be convinced to give up a 2014 first if they believe Deng will extend their postseason run. I bet Dallas would love to trade Marion and filler for Deng, too bad they don't have a pick in this draft or I'd be all over that.

I don't think it has anything to do with this new, mythical offense. Everyone knows the Bulls are playing for nothing right now, so there's no pressure on Deng or anybody to live up to a bar. Deng is the #1 option right now, which is great for him and his next pay day. He's got no worries, just go out and play.

It wouldn't be surprising at all if Deng gets $52-56 million over four years, not that I think he's worth it, but it's going to be a very SF-friendly market. It would only be surprising if the Bulls were the team to do it.

First off deng is healthy this season. And I dont judge deng like most posters do dengand gms and coaches dont either. Deng had a good season last year considering he was playing through a BROKEN THUMB. He was our leading scorer, best defender, and one of our best rebounders. Deng is finaly healthy and is entering his prime years(28-33). What people fell to understand is you dont have to be 20 point per game scorer to be worth 12-14 million. If you are a player like josh smith, andre igudola, deng you are worth 12-14 million because you are a lockdown defender, a rebounder, and a scorer all in one. So thats why GMs,Coaches value those players more then fans. If it was up to fans they would thing players like waiters,Jr smiths, jamal crawfords deserve to be allstars and get huge contracts but coaches and teams are not impressed by that. Those players come a dime a dozen players like deng, iguadoalas, are rare and unique.

[kingkirk]

i'd say that group is better than lu on average and they're making 12.5 mil on average. which would put lu's value right around what he got on his current deal (which overpaid him a bit - at least at the time). and he will be past his prime on whatever new deal he gets

the most comparable player is iggy, who is better and just got 12 mil per. lu will be the same age next summer as iggy was when he signed this past summer. and will have played an additional year

Didn't Iggy get a bigger offer from Sacramento?

He signed for a little under his market value if I recall correctly, though I could be wrong.

If Deng gets the same deal as Iggy, I don't see how anyone can consider him being overpaid.

If we give him that deal and he signs, he will be making dollars that are more comparable to a 3rd option than a 2nd whilst also being asked to be so much more than our 3rd option.

[Red Larrivee]

I also find it convenient that were not factoring the new offense into Deng's good play to date.

He is receiving the ball in motion via a cut, slash or roll. That's where he is at his best.

If people want to assume that it's his pay day around the corner and that he is somehow turning on a mental and physical switch that he shut off for the last couple seasons, I think that's misleading and questioning something I never would with Luol Deng - his heart and character.

I don't view it as a switch being shut off; I view it as extra motivation and incentive. It's like if your mom tells you when you in high school that if you get straight A's she'll buy you a new car or get you that new gaming system you want. My ass would never leave the library.

I don't recall the "old" offense ever asking Deng to be a playmaker off the dribble, or something else he wasn't good at. Typically his offense came from spot ups, cuts, and straight line drives. The only difference is he's being more efficient at it this season.

[wonderboy2]

i think you're making kind of a mishmash of comparisons there. if you're talking player quality, west and iguodala have been better than deng. josh smith is meanwhile the highest paid player on his team. and i think many if not most people would argue that ibaka is overpaid

the average 3rd option makes 14% of payroll (11 mil). the average 4th option makes 11% of payroll (8.5 million). so...on a team with the bulls' payroll, the typical salary range for the 3rd/4th highest paid player is 8.5 to 11 million. now, i'm not saying that's what lu is worth. just another way of looking at it

West, Ibaka Iguodala & Josh Smith are all comparable players to Deng. They're in the same tier and ultimately, on a title team, are all 3rd options at best.

i'd say that group is better than lu on average and they're making 12.5 mil on average. which would put lu's value right around what he got on his current deal (which overpaid him a bit - at least at the time). and he will be past his prime on whatever new deal he gets

the most comparable player is iggy, who is better and just got 12 mil per. lu will be the same age next summer as iggy was when he signed this past summer. and will have played an additional year in the NBA

The 11 million figure includes guys on rookie scale deals as well. Someone like Chandler Parsons who is making 1 million is a 3rd option and skews those numbers.

i went by 3rd and 4th highest PAID, which equates to 3rd and 4th option money. there are guys in the top 3 or 4 of their team's payroll that don't even play

Ive been watching Iggy since highschool and watched him develop his game. I wanted the bulls to draft him over deng. But at this point I would take deng over igudola but its close. It was a dream of mine to see iggy in a bulls uniform though. Deng is a comparable player to smith and smith is making 13.5 million. I would pick deng over smith aswell. I would also rate iggy over smith.

[dice]

i'd say that group is better than lu on average and they're making 12.5 mil on average. which would put lu's value right around what he got on his current deal (which overpaid him a bit - at least at the time). and he will be past his prime on whatever new deal he gets

the most comparable player is iggy, who is better and just got 12 mil per. lu will be the same age next summer as iggy was when he signed this past summer. and will have played an additional year

Didn't Iggy get a bigger offer from Sacramento?

He signed for a little under his market value if I recall correctly, though I could be wrong.

he got a "surprisingly aggressive" 14 mil offer that the nuggets wouldn't match. it was pulled hours after being offered

If Deng gets the same deal as Iggy, I don't see how anyone can consider him being overpaid

i think it's about what he'll end up getting, but we'd also be paying the same to a guy on the downside of his career as that same guy earlier in his career when we thought he had a higher ceiling

btw, there's no doubt in my mind iggy's the better player

[jcuuofd]

Make it a trifecta and bring over Rudy Fernandez too. He can't be any worse than Dunleavy.

[Dan Z]

Deng Bulls' indispensable man:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ba ... 4593.story

[TheGameChanger]

If we can't get Melo in a trade might as well keep Deng. Hopefully something can be worked out around 60 mil for 5 years.

[Rerisen]

I wouldn't get too caught up in Deng's numbers yet, its still early. He began the year utterly cold shooting and now has reversed it on a hot streak. His PER is floating up not just on a bit better efficiency but also more volume due to Rose being out. That part at least will continue to be needed.

We should remember though, Deng got his last contract after completing a season where he had even better numbers than right now, 18.7 PER, and .560 TS%, then one not too much worse but a bit down in 2008. But at the time he was just 22 years old and the contract was justified by people saying and expecting that Deng had not reached his prime or peak yet. Paxson even hoped he would develop a post game. But little did we know, he never really matched those years production wise again, amid being hurt and just scoring less well. 2011 was the closest, but the seasons prior and after were not so good.

It would be negligent not to look at his whole body of work over his current deal, injury history, and age, in projecting forward. Getting over hyped over a few game good stretch is reactionary and knee-jerk.

[kingkirk]

Who is getting over hyped though?

Any suggestions of keeping him around has largely been at market value as the ceiling. If we start talking 14+ million then yeah, that is reactionary, but 12 million annually sounds about right when you consider everything.

[TheGameChanger]

Who is getting over hyped though?

Any suggestions of keeping him around has largely been at market value as the ceiling. If we start talking 14+ million then yeah, that is reactionary, but 12 million annually sounds about right when you consider everything.

Agreed.

[Rerisen]

12 is about the max I'd want to do. And if he wants it to start at 14 and decline down to 11 that would be ideal too.

[Mech Engineer]

Thibs kind of indirectly says that Deng is a top 10 player in the league.

"His teammates know how important he is," Thibodeau said. "If you really study what he does, he's one of the few guys in the league who is a huge plus at both ends, probably top-10. He's a great defender. He's a great offensive player. And he's a winning player.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-1204-bulls-chicago-20131204,0,2454593.story

[GimmeDat]

They way he's been playing, I've felt inclined to want to pay him instead of trade him.

I'm still really skeptical about his durability/level of play towards the end of such a contract though. I agree that 12mil would be my tipping point.