The Cleveland Cavaliers traded away their future to get rid of their present.
Multiple media outlets reported that the Cavaliers reached an agreement to send enigmatic center Andrew Bynum to the Chicago Bulls for forward Luol Deng. To make the trade happen and avoid paying Bynum the bulk of his contract, the Cavaliers also sent three future draft choices to the Bulls and gave the Bulls the option to swap another pick in 2015.
According to ESPN.com, the Bulls are expected to waive Bynum before his the second half of his $12.3 million contract becomes fully guaranteed. The move will save Chicago more than $15 million in salary and luxury taxes by putting the franchise under the luxury tax threshold this season.
The Bulls also will receive a first-round draft pick - as long as it is not in the top 10 - that the Cavaliers acquired from the Sacramento Kings. Cleveland also is giving away second-round draft picks in 2015 and 2016 that originally belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bynum missed the entire 2012-13 season as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He quickly fell out of favor with the Cavaliers after signing with the team in the offseason.
The 28-year-old Deng is averaging 19.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season. According to ESPN, Deng has been nursing a sore Achilles that has limited his playing time.
The Bulls had been unable to sign Deng to a long-term extension which frustrated him, according to CBSSports.com. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"We are very excited for Luol to join the Cavaliers organization," Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant told CBSSports.com. "We have worked to acquire and maintain flexibility in order to capitalize on opportunities such as this. Luol reflects all that we are striving for in building our team. He's a tremendous defensive player that can impact the game on both ends of the court with a team first mentality and is a high character leader."
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