The Chicago Bulls traded forward Luol Deng for Cleveland Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum and three future NBA draft picks. Chicago is expected to waive Bynum later in the day to bring them under the luxury tax in an effort to begin rebuilding for next season, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Chicago dealt Deng, who's in the final year of his contract, on Tuesday to Cleveland for Bynum and three draft picks. The Bulls will drop Bynum before the Tuesday deadline in his contract, which allows the team to waive him without having to pay the second half of his salary.
The trade gives Chicago a larger arsenal of draft picks and saves the team around $15 million, dropping them under the luxury tax threshold and providing more financial flexibility to begin rebuilding once Derrick Rose returns.
"The moves today will put us in a better position to make the entire roster stronger for the future and to compete for a championship," Bulls general manager Gar Forman told the team website in a statement.
The Bulls received from Cleveland the Sacramento Kings' 2014 first round pick (top-12 protected) and the Portland Trail Blazers' 2015 and 2016 second round picks; Chicago also now has the right to swap 2015 first round picks with Cleveland if Cleveland's pick falls between No. 15 and No. 30, according to Sports Illustrated.
Deng, 28, filled the scoring void for the Bulls this season with 19.0 points per game. He spent all nine of his NBA seasons with Chicago after being drafted No. 7 overall in the 2004 draft.
"We have great respect for Luol Deng, as a player and a person. He has been an incredible contributor to our team on the court, and he has also done great things in the community," Forman said in the statement. "On behalf of the entire Bulls organization, I want to thank Luol for his years in Chicago."
