NBA Trade Rumors: Bulls Must Flip Luol Deng for Lottery Pick in 2012 Draft

The Chicago Bulls are in a tough position. They are just over a year removed from an epic Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Miami Heat, but did not have a real chance to see if they were good enough to get past their rivals this season after Derrick Rose went down with injury.

GM Gar Forman is going to have to decide this summer if he wants to pursue a trade that will bring in some fresh blood or keep most of the roster intact and hope that they can get healthy in time for a serious postseason run in 2013.

Bulls.com’s Sam Smith is reporting that if Forman decides to go the former route, it will likely cost the team swingman Luol Deng. If they were able to find a suitor, it would benefit the team in two distinct ways.

The most important would be landing a top-five pick, which would give them a shot at Harrison Barnes, a young UNC scorer who has a higher upside than Deng. If he is off the board, they would go with Bradley Beal, the explosive shooting guard who can score from anywhere on the floor.

It also clears up some cap room, which Smith says is important “to get a point guard to play much of next season for Rose, someone like Jason Kidd, Kirk Hinrich, Andre Miller, Steve Nash or Ray Felton.”

Rose is recovering from ACL surgery and it’s unlikely that he is back before mid-January at the earliest, and the worst-case scenario is that he misses the entire 2012-13 campaign.

Taking a chance on a future star in the top-five of the lottery and getting a veteran to run the point in Rose’s absence (who would be willing to become the backup upon his return) would be quite a haul for Deng; an above-average 3 with two years and approximately $28 million left on his contract.

Chicago should not hesitate to pull the trigger if they can find a team willing to facilitate this type of trade.

It will be a bit difficult to get a franchise like the Cavaliers or Kings involved, but the Bulls do have a pick late in this year’s draft and Deng would bring a veteran presence to those young, improving organizations.

A potential deal is nothing more than a pipe dream at this moment, but look for talks to heat up as the June 28 draft draws closer.