Via ESPN: In a move that has the Cleveland Cavaliers thinking about the present and the Chicago Bulls thinking about the future, the two teams executed a major trade late Monday night. The Bulls are sending two-time All-Star Luol Deng to the Cavs for Andrew Bynum, three future draft picks and major salary savings.
The Cavs, looking to end a three-year playoff drought, are attempting to make a run by acquiring Deng to shore up the small forward position. They parlayed Bynum’s favorable contract into a piece to put next to young guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.
Hey Andrew, hold off on the donuts, doc.
Here’s where the Bulls finally admit that they can’t win without Derrick Rose and go cut their loses with a guy who’s been about as solid a player in the NBA as you could ask for. The Bulls will cut Bynum before his money becomes guaranteed and that will cut a big ole chunk of money off the books for next year. It will allow the Bulls to reload next year when they hopefully get a healthy DRose back in the fold. For the Cavs, this ends the Bynum experiment. It was a slick move on their part to only guarantee him $6 million and have an option for 2014-2015. It was a win-win for them and has paid off with a half year of Deng to help solidify a young roster.
P.S. How great are those two photos? Two guys that look about as unhappy as possible getting traded for each other.
