While trade rumors continues to swirl around Luol Deng, it appears we can take one potential suitor out of the running. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Bulls have told Deng there's "no chance" he'll be traded to the Warriors.
The stance isn't surprising, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune points out via Twitter. The Warriors are set to be an over-the-cap team, and would have to send back salary in any deal involving Deng. If Chicago decides to move the 27-year-old, the team will be looking to cut salary, rather than taking on a bad contract like Richard Jefferson's or Andris Biedrins'.
Possible suitors like the Kings, Raptors, and Cavaliers make more sense for Deng and the Bulls. All three teams have lottery picks and the cap space to take on Deng's $12.33MM salary without sending significant contracts to Chicago. If the Bulls were to pull off a deal with one of those teams, they'd be essentially killing two birds with one stone — they'd acquire a top-10 pick, and they'd shave somewhere in the neighborhood of $10MM off their 2012/13 books, giving them more cap flexibility and a better chance to avoid the luxury tax.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com explored potential fits for Deng earlier today, concluding that Sacramento might be the best match, but adding that there's a good chance the Bulls simply hang onto their All-Star forward.
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beans is great bulls, you should really take him. he will lead you to the ring.
Wright Biedrins and 7 for Deng and 29 sounded way too good to be true. I guess it was.