Deng gives Bulls deadline; Knicks monitoring
Ken Berger

http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/basketball/nba/blog/2008/07/deng_gives_bulls_deadline.html

Luol Deng, who turned down a five-year, $57.5 million extension last year, has given the Bulls a two-week window to sign him to a new deal. If not, he will sign a one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Word is, the Bulls aren't offering close to what Deng turned down previously. Deng says he wants the situation resolved before he goes overseas to play for the British team in the European Championships qualifying tournament.

UPDATED 1:23 p.m. A person with knowledge of the situation says the Knicks are one of several teams monitoring Deng's situation closely, hoping things will deteriorate and Chicago will be forced to consider a sign-and-trade. The Knicks don't have cap room this year or next, so a sign-and-trade is their only chance of getting Deng. Several teams with cap room next season are hoping Deng takes the Bulls' qualifying offer and will be unrestricted next summer, including Miami, Memphis, and Portland, according to the source.

The Bulls' position is that Deng turned down a fair offer last year, and they are making a lower offer this year that they also believe is fair based on Deng's production going down. Deng believes that the Bulls have as much information now as they will have two months from now to work out a long-term deal, and he will refuse to accept any more offers from them after Aug. 4. At that point, he'll decide whether to sign their $4.45 million qualifying offer or set a deadline for a sign-and-trade.

A couple of things to remember that could result in negotiations ending better than they did last November, when deadlines for Deng and Ben Gordon to sign extensions passed with no deals. The Bulls have expressed a willingness to get Deng signed long-term, and the dialogue with Deng's new agent, Jason Levien, as been more cordial than it was with his previous representative, Leon Rose. Plus, team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is more hands-on with the basketball operations than he was a year ago, which theoretically will raise the sense of urgency to resolve Deng's situation. The Bulls have leverage in the restricted tag, but they also can't make any more moves until Deng's status is resolved.

Interesting to say the least. Deng is a high fg% player and although he had a down year last year, he's only 23 and has 20/8 potential. My question is, what are we doing with all these SFs?

The idea of a sign and trade is real interesting though. We'd have to trade either Zach, Eddy(not happening back with Chi) Malik, Marbury. I hope it's not malik or marbury obviously, but who knows. I know the bulls have always loved Lee, but there'd have to be considerable contracts sent over with him.

Deng would def. be a great option as long as we are not giving away any more picks.. Or ruining our chances for lebron!

Posted by TMS:

it would take Malik's expiring, D Lee & Chandler to have any shot at Deng... they won't be interested in Curry or Zach... the contracts still don't match up if u'r looking at signing him to a $12 mil per extension... personally i don't think he's worth that much... Josh Howard is a better player than he is & is making significantly less.

[Edited by - TMS on 07-23-2008 9:07 PM]

I dunno dude, I think Deng is better than Howard in almost every facet of the game except 3pt shooting. Deng is also 5 years younger and still has 5 years before he even enters his prime.

Posted by VDesai:

I like Deng a whole lot, but it seems our best young prospects are now suited to SF...

So do I Des, but I think in MikeD's system, you can easily plug Deng into PF. I say that knowing pretty much full well that Lee would be traded in any trade to get Deng so, it would open up a spot. Play him and Randolph (unless we can trade him) together upfront with Wilson at SF.

Posted by TMS:


the only thing Deng is better at than Howard is being 5 years younger... that doesn't mean he's gonna improve exponentially in the next 5 years to surpass 20 & 7 type stats... i think they're pretty similar but i would not pay him $12 mil per if i could potentially land a guy like Josh Howard in a S&T for less dollars.

[Edited by - TMS on 07-23-2008 9:15 PM]

I don't think you're going to get Howard THAT much cheaper then Deng. As it stands now, Howard is set to make just 10mil this year, which isn't really a large difference and Deng is 5 years younger, which means he still has plenty of time to grow. Plus I think Deng is a shoe-in for PF in Mike's system.

Posted by TMS:

yeah i think he'd be a nice fit in D'Antoni's system but dunno if i'd invest the dollars into him he's looking for... i can't believe he'd turn down $57.5 mil over 5 years... that's some serious cash.

anyway, if u put Deng at the PF that pretty much makes Gallo an afterthought unless u plan on starting him at the 3 or using him as part of the package to land Deng to begin with.

In a perfect world, I'd love to experiment with this lineup..
PG-Jamal
SG-Wilson
SF-Gallo
PF-Deng
C-Randolph (if he's still there)

I think offensively that team can really play and defensively would be interesting. Jamal/Wilson/Deng are capable defenders.

agreed- we need to stop getting Chicago's rejects. I think Chicago offered him a solid contract- they should let him take the one year deal and if he plays better, Chicago ultimately can offer more money than anyone else and if he merits, they can offer it then.

Who knows if any teams next summer will necessarily want Deng, and Chicago can still be in a position to offer a S&T anyway.

new york = second city...

Deng is realy good but he's not Shawn Marion.. what Chi offered his was fair

offer up deng for ok4. they're better off re-signing ben gordon for $15 mil cheaper since his skill (jumpshooting) is harder to find. an above average sf as your best player isn't going to get you far in the playoffs.