Bulls Might Now Be More Likely To Trade Luol Deng

[HomoSapien]

If Deng always played like this, it'd be a completely different story. You have to wonder why he hasn't played like this for the rest of his contract. Like others, I think his stats are a result of it being a contract year as well as increased usage due to our lack of offensive talent.

He's responded great though.

[kodo]

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.

I actually feel the opposite, i'd trade high on Deng while the hot streak is on.

Outliers revert back to the mean unless there is a true breakout happening, and players don't break out in their 10th NBA season. They are who they are.

Carlos Boozer had a hot streak early last season as well. But ultimately he also reverted back to his normal play.

Carlos Boozer earned NBA Eastern Conference player of the week honors Monday and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant nabbed the Western Conference distinction, the league announced

Boozer led the Bulls to a 3-1 mark for games played Jan. 14-20, averaging 23 points and a league-best 14.8 rebounds. That included a season-high 20 rebounds in Friday's overtime victory over the Celtics.

Boozer also will be in the running for Eastern Conference player of the month. He has posted 11 double-doubles in his last 12 games and leads the conference with 23 double-doubles.

We also have to consider a lot of Deng's recent production is coming from minutes that can't be sustained.
POR: 43 min
UTA: 45 min
DET: 41 min
CLE: 39 min
NOP: 56 min

I worry Deng is heading straight down the kind of road that will give him a major injury, and at that point he won't be worth a bag of chips in a trade since his contract is only for this season.

[kingkirk]

We also have to consider a lot of Deng's recent production is coming from minutes that can't be sustained.
POR: 43 min
UTA: 45 min
DET: 41 min
CLE: 39 min
NOP: 56 min

I worry Deng is heading straight down the kind of road that will give him a major injury, and at that point he won't be worth a bag of chips in a trade since his contract is only for this season.

This is fair. Perhaps his totals won't remain as high but he has been efficient as hell of late. Shouldn't that deteriorate with heavy minutes like that?

He may level off, but the new offense is helping him. People can write off his good play as him playing for the coin, but their is clear basketball reasons for him succeeding at this point.

[GimmeDat]

I think the increased usage has been one of the reasons for his recent production, but to be honest I would've predicted that Rose being out would've hindered rather than helped Deng, much like it did last season where his numbers didn't look too flash hot.

Regardless of external factors, Deng's been amazing lately, and it can't really be contributed to 'hot shooting' considering how he's been scoring most of his points, it seems mental, mainly an increase in aggression.

That being said, it's easy to fall in love with players when they're playing well, so I probably agree about selling high.

[TankJob]

The question is do you want Deng or you want a chance to get a legit star player in 2015. while having talented & cheap options on the wing in Butler and Snell. It's an easy answer folks.

This is coming from a huge Deng fan. It's time for him to go.

I'm assuming by your username you're advocating getting that second star via the draft. I'm also assuming you think its probable that we land one of the top 4 jets.

Essentially, what you're saying is, 'Do you want a known all star commodity in Deng versus the very slim chances of getting someone who may be better down the line than Deng though its more likely we end up finding someone similar but younger i.e. not a top 20 type talent'.

You are assuming it wrong, as usual.

2015. free agency, one of LMA, Love or Horford will end up with the Bulls if they clear enough cap space, book it.

[mr.ankle]

How come he did play this aggressive on offense last year ?

[transplant]

How come he did play this aggressive on offense last year ?

Take your pick:

a) different offense

b) even though Rose was gone, he was never the #1 offensive option last season

c) he wasn't in a contract year last season

And for those who say $12mil is as high as you'd go, to me this means you must trade him. $12 mil may get it done, but it may not. I don't want to take that risk.

[DASMACKDOWN]

If Deng always played like this, it'd be a completely different story. You have to wonder why he hasn't played like this for the rest of his contract. Like others, I think his stats are a result of it being a contract year as well as increased usage due to our lack of offensive talent.

He's responded great though.

But it can also mean he is healthy as well.

The last few years he was dealing with Olympics and injuries. This is the first offseason in years that Deng really didn't do anything. And its paying off.

To me, we still have to have a lot of thought about what we do with Deng. He is too good of a player right now just to dump. The 16/6 Deng on 41%fg can go without question. The 19pt 7reb 4ast 46% Deng gives major pause.

The current Deng is a top 3 SF right now behind Lebron and Paul George.

We need to be careful here.

[Hangtime84]

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

Comments like this makes me wish bulls trade Deng

Btw I am a Deng supporter

[Ice the knees]

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

I read that, but I have to believe that he meant he was a top 10 offensive SF and top 10 defensive SF.

I also sort of think that a big part of Thibs praise for Deng is for Deng. Deng struggled with confidence and trust before Thibs got here. Thibs gave Deng a clearly defined role, a ton of minutes, and absolutely nothing but over the top praise...Superstar praise for 3 straight years.

I'm not sure I completely buy into it at face value...I think Thibs does believe it but I also think to him its a necessity that he expresses it verbally for Deng

[MadMike]

Deng never sits on the bench. I can't recall ever watching a player get more PT than Deng. Man! The Dude played 57 mins in a triple overtime game. He's got that Kenyan Marathon blood or something in him. He plays with the 1st unit and when they go to the bench good ole number 9 is still out there with the reserves. Thibs is running Deng into the ground and I am willing to bet anyone that he'll be injured before the regular season ends. It's just not humanly possible for a 10 year NBA player to log so many mins. I give him credit though, he's a gamer. Either, Gar Foreman thinks the world of Deng, or he thinks little of Butler, and Snell.
This is a problem w/ Bulls management. They get too attached to their staff. They never seem to make the big moves. It's just one big revolving door of replacement players to go along with Deng & Hinrich. Hell, why don't they bring back Duhon, and Gordon 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

I read that, but I have to believe that he meant he was a top 10 offensive SF and top 10 defensive SF.

I also sort of think that a big part of Thibs praise for Deng is for Deng. Deng struggled with confidence and trust before Thibs got here. Thibs gave Deng a clearly defined role, a ton of minutes, and absolutely nothing but over the top praise...Superstar praise for 3 straight years.

I'm not sure I completely buy into it at face value...I think Thibs does believe it but I also think to him its a necessity that he expresses it verbally for Deng

Not really. Whether you like him or not, Deng is easily a top 5/6 two-way SF in the league. Thibs probably feels Deng is better than guys like Blake Griffin or Melo or any player who are not good on defense. He probably feels if you consider all the factors(defense, offense, leadership,consistency, ability to switch between starters and bench, physical tools, rebounding), that makes him a top player in Thibs's thought process.

[Ice the knees]

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

I read that, but I have to believe that he meant he was a top 10 offensive SF and top 10 defensive SF.

I also sort of think that a big part of Thibs praise for Deng is for Deng. Deng struggled with confidence and trust before Thibs got here. Thibs gave Deng a clearly defined role, a ton of minutes, and absolutely nothing but over the top praise...Superstar praise for 3 straight years.

I'm not sure I completely buy into it at face value...I think Thibs does believe it but I also think to him its a necessity that he expresses it verbally for Deng

Not really. Whether you like him or not, Deng is easily a top 5/6 two-way SF in the league. Thibs probably feels Deng is better than guys like Blake Griffin or Melo or any player who are not good on defense. He probably feels if you consider all the factors(defense, offense, leadership,consistency, ability to switch between starters and bench, physical tools, rebounding), that makes him a top player in Thibs's thought process.

I agree that he's probably the 6th best SF...But that's a long long way from being a top 10 player. Thibs is silly for even suggesting Deng is a top 10 player, if that truly is what he was suggesting. And if that was what he was truly suggesting, he's just building up Deng more than anything else. Absolutely no one that follows ball would have Deng top 10...It's about as absurd of an evaluation as you can get...which is why I think there is more to what Thibs says regarding Deng

[coldfish]

Deng's last 5 games he is averaging 27.4p 6.2a 6.0r on 54.8%fg. No one is projecting that he continues that pace or valuing him based on that. If they were, people would be saying "max contract". His recent performance really does make him the 2nd best SF and a top 10 player.

The new offense works well with Deng's game though and its starting to click in for him as far as where his shots are going to come from and where his teammates are. For Deng, offense is all about motion. As soon as he stands around, things get ugly.

I know Deng isn't popular among a lot of people around here, but I really enjoy watching Deng play.

[AirP.]

Deng's last 5 games he is averaging 27.4p 6.2a 6.0r on 54.8%fg. No one is projecting that he continues that pace or valuing him based on that. If they were, people would be saying "max contract". His recent performance really does make him the 2nd best SF and a top 10 player.

The new offense works well with Deng's game though and its starting to click in for him as far as where his shots are going to come from and where his teammates are. For Deng, offense is all about motion. As soon as he stands around, things get ugly.

I know Deng isn't popular among a lot of people around here, but I really enjoy watching Deng play.

That's also with him playing on average 42.5 minutes a game. His adjusted PER36 is 23.2 points(great), 5.1 reb(ok) and 5.2 ast(great) on 54.8% FG%(GREAT).

The question is... can he do this against good defensive SF(J.Smith should be a PF) or are these inflated stats because of his movement to the #1 option and playing against lesser defenses? I'm sure that's part of it and part of it is being closer to 100% near his potential then he has in the past(last year getting use to his hand being 100% again).

Miami will be the true test, don't expect a big game from Deng if Lebron(great SF defender) is playing defense on him most of the game.

Even if this is Luol Deng feasting on lesser defenses, this shows that Deng SHOULD have been featured more in the offense when D.Rose was around to give Rose some help against most teams.

[micromonkey]

12M seems fair but I fear it isn't likely and for us a defensive wing with good but not great offensive talent and no more upside doesn't fit the team needs if we really think we want to build a title contender. Mirotic HAS to be the 2nd offensive piece, Rose has to return to at least 90% and Butler (Snell?) have to be able to be bigger pluses on the offensive side. We will need more shot creation from all those guys. It just seems like a lot of ifs. I think on other teams-he has more value. An all-around defensive wing is almost redundant on this team.

But I think Deng will get more- 13+ a year.
Teams have cap ready for Lebron and Melo. And we know most of them are not winning that sweepstakes
Rumors in LA that Kobe likes Deng--and they have cap--they think they can go for it now. If Melo/Lebron doesn't go to LA--they will have a ton of cap and probably don't care if they overpay a bit.

Cleveland clings to the hope Lebron might come back--probably not happening--they might want a SF.

Players are not paid purely on valuation--the amount of available money and bidders has a lot to do with it as well. And next year looks to have a lot of cap and hopeful teams--and once the big names are off the table--Deng will be pretty high if not the top of some of the "Plan Bs" IMO.

I just think we have to deal him to make sure we get something.

[HomoSapien]

If Deng always played like this, it'd be a completely different story. You have to wonder why he hasn't played like this for the rest of his contract. Like others, I think his stats are a result of it being a contract year as well as increased usage due to our lack of offensive talent.

He's responded great though.

But it can also mean he is healthy as well.

The last few years he was dealing with Olympics and injuries. This is the first offseason in years that Deng really didn't do anything. And its paying off.

To me, we still have to have a lot of thought about what we do with Deng. He is too good of a player right now just to dump. The 16/6 Deng on 41%fg can go without question. The 19pt 7reb 4ast 46% Deng gives major pause.

The current Deng is a top 3 SF right now behind Lebron and Paul George.

We need to be careful here.

I agree. It's giving me major pause as well but I'm really concerned that it's just fool's gold. Seven out of his 9 seasons were significantly worse than this season. The one that wasn't, was also a contract year. It's awful coincidental for my liking.

[da pmp]

Deng is on the downside when he hits 30- which is soon. Let's try to get a grip on this board, he should never be featured. He should be traded if management is somewhat smart. His stats this season are overrated and will come down- you can bet on a fade.Good players on bad teams tend to have inflated stats.

[The Infamous1]

Last year wasnt a good time to tank because

A. The draft sucked
B. The bulls thought rose was coming back

Neither is true this year... The bulls would be crazy not to trade deng and blow it up in general this year.

[DuckIII]

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

I read that, but I have to believe that he meant he was a top 10 offensive SF and top 10 defensive SF.

It doesn't matter if you agree with Thibs as your opinion is set. But give me a break that Thibs doesn't mean the stuff he says about Deng. I think its possible he's actually adopted Deng, and we just don't know it yet. Saying he doesn't mean what he says is a desperate argument to support your insistence that Deng is an overrated role player. You don't like having one of the best basketball minds on earth disagree with you so blatantly. It doesn't mean you're wrong, naturally. But just accept that Thibs specifically, and NBA coaches generally, think your opinion is of the wrong variety.

Anyway, what Thibs is clearly saying there is that Deng is a top 10 "two way player." I.e., among players that produce on both ends of the court, Deng is top 10. That does not mean, of course, that he's a top 10 player over all. Which he clearly isn't.