Luol Deng Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Bulls, Dwight Howard An Unlikely Match

March 11th, 2012 at 8:03pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Part of the problem trading Dwight Howard is that the Orlando Magic remain largely underwhelmed with the trade offers presented by the teams on the list of Howard's preferred destinations. The Magic should be seeking a deal not unlike the ones made for Carmelo Anthony or Derron Williams a season ago. Howard is a far more impactful player than both Anthony and Williams so its understandable the Magic have a pretty high ceiling for where the market is set.

It's also understandable that, after watching the Knicks and Nets gut their respective teams, the team receiving Howard would want a long-term commitment. The problem is the teams Howard has said he would be willing to commit to do not have the assets to make the deal.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that the Magic's preferred trade partner remains the Chicago Bulls. The deal listed by Berger would send a combinatino of Omer Asik, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and the Charlotte Bobcats lottery-protected-through-2016 first round draft pick for Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.

A Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard pairing could make the Bulls and even more formidable duo than the Miami Heat's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but there are several reasons preventing the Bulls and Dwight Howard from happening.

The first, as Berger points out, is that the Bulls are doing just fine without Howard and would never risk that without a long-term commitment.

The second: why would the Magic make that deal? Deng, Boozer, and Asik are all above average players. Boozer is a very good post option against certain matchups, Deng can provide a little bit of everything at a better than average level for 35-plus minutes a night, and Asik is one of the most underrated defensive players in the NBA.

But such a deal still leaves the Magic with many of the same problems, most notably lacking a perimeter player that can create shots for himself and others. Furthermore, Boozer and Deng have reached the extent of their talents and Asik is likely not too far from the ceiling of his.

Sheridan On Gasol, Bulls

February 19th, 2012 at 7:31pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Since the moment he was actually traded–only to later have it rescinded by David Stern–there have been many rumors on possible destinations for Los Angeles Lakers big man Pau Gasol.

Over at Sheridan Hoops, Chris Sheridan reports that Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has let his front office know that he would like to play with Gasol should the Bulls be able to build a package around Carlos Boozer and another player.

The Bulls have enviable front court depth and team chemistry, though Gasol might just be the type of player worth the risk of breaking that up. Gasol has a very versatile skill set and off the charts basketball IQ, though is being underutilized in the Lakers offense as almost exclusively a high post option when paired with Andrew Bynum and release valve for Bryant.

On paper Gasol would seem to be a perfect pairing with Joakim Noah. Unlike Bynum, Noah does not need touches to affect a game. This cedes the low block to Gasol to fully utilize his game. The intelligence and passing of both players should make for some interesting high-low passing.

Rose and Gasol would be a dynamic and intelligent pick and roll pairing, and Gasol's ability to draw and pass out of double teams would open up driving lanes for Rose.

The tandem of Gasol and Noah would upgrade an already stingy Bulls defense, consolidating Boozer's offensive game with a quality defender.

The question is why the Lakers would want to trade Gasol for a similar but lesser offensive skill set that diminishes their greatest strength, defense. The Lakers need a point guard, and while steady this season, backup C.J. Watson probably is not a significant enough upgrade at the position to warrant downgrading to Boozer.

A possibility that checks out on the ESPN Trade Machine that makes some sense is a deal sending forwards Boozer and Luol Deng for Gasol and Matt Barnes.

Assessing Stocks: Chicago Bulls

February 12th, 2012 at 6:02pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Portfolio Review: The Chicago Bulls are veritable billionaires in terms of roster quality. Third on ESPN's future power rankings (Insider required), the Bulls are young, deep, and talented. Furthermore, their success hinges greatly on the chemistry established by reigning MVP Derrick Rose and head coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls lack the sheer star power of the Miami Heat, but can close the gap through its defensive system.

That of course means any drastic roster change disrupts that chemistry, and as such the Bulls are amongst the most risk-averse teams during this season.

Prime assets: Rose is untouchable, one of the top five players in the NBA. That leaves Joakim Noah and Luol Deng as the prime trade chips with one caveat. The only deal worth disrupting the Bulls chemistry is one that lands a Dwight Howard-level talent.

Worthless stock: Carlos Boozer has a large contract and enough flaws for other teams to think twice about taking on that contract. But worthless stock does not mean worthless player. In this case it simply means Boozer's value as a player on this roster probably exceeds what he would get in return in a potential trade.

The rest: The rest of the roster features a number of interchangeable parts that fit specific roles on this team. Tweaking on the fringes of the roster would simply bring in other interchangeable parts. One interesting name brought up by our own Daniel Seco is Ray Allen for Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer–a move that would somewhat consolidate the two players' skill sets into one player.

Odds & Ends: Jennings, Deng, Spurs

February 10th, 2012 at 11:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

On this date last year, Jerry Sloan stepped down after 23 seasons as coach of the Jazz. Earlier today we passed along the news that at least six teams are trying to convince Sloan to come back to the bench. Here are some more tidbits from around the league today:

Bucks GM John Hammond told Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he was caught off guard by what Brandon Jennings said about possibly leaving the team for a larger market. While Jennings is under team control until the summer of 2014, Ersan Ilyasova will be an unrestricted free-agent at the end of this season. There's a strong possibility Ilyasova, from Turkey, may favor a return to Europe, as HoopsWorld's Stephen Brotherston examines.
Luol Deng's selection as an All-Star reserve vindicates the Bulls for hanging on to him amidst many trade rumors over the years, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Manu Ginobili's return, set for Saturday against the Nets, creates a rotation puzzle for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to figure out, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
When Tyson Chandler went to the Knicks, the Mavs championship defense supposedly went with him, writes Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News. But, Gosselin opines that the team's ability to play defense even without last year's shot-blocking center will help them defend their title. (Subscription link)
DeMarre Carroll, who was picked up Wednesday by the Jazz, was close to signing with Utah before the season started, Salt Lake Tribune writer Brian T. Smith tweets. Carroll signed instead with the Nuggets, who waived him Feb. 4.
Chicago, the hometown of Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, has also produced Anthony Davis, who is projected as the top overall pick this June, and Jabari Parker, the consensus No. 1 high school player. That makes the Windy City the center of the hoops universe, opines ESPN's Scoop Jackson.
Dirk Nowitzki, who watched Ricky Rubio in Europe, didn't think the Wolves rookie sensation would have quite the impact he's having in the NBA, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Sam Smith on Rose, Deng, Asik

February 10th, 2012 at 6:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Rose, who's been nursing a sore back, is sitting out the Bulls game against the Bobcats tonight. When he's been in the lineup, Rose has been seeing heavy playing time of late, as has Luol Deng and his creaky wrist. Longtime Bulls beat writer Sam Smith of NBA.com answered questions from readers concerned with overuse. Smith says as long as a player is healthy enough to play in the game, he's healthy enough to play a full load of minutes. That's an opinion shared by Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and, according to ESPNChicago.com, GM Gar Forman.

Here are some more highlights from Smith's piece:

The Bulls are unlikely to sign another shooting guard soon, despite the absense of Richard Hamilton. Relief could come closer to the trade deadline. J.R. Smith would not be a viable option.
The success the team's been enjoying this year runs counter to the idea that they should blow it up to acquire Dwight Howard. Smith would like for the Bulls to see how far they can go as currently constituted before making a drastic move.
Omer Asik's minutes are dwindling and he'll be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, but Smith believes there's no reason to consider trading him at this point and hurting the team's depth.
Don't expect to see Chris Kaman in a Bulls uniform anytime soon. Just as there's no need to mess with success to acquire Howard, Smith says, there's no impetus to break up the team for Kaman.