Luol Deng Trade Rumors: Potential Replacements for Bulls' Small Forward

Luol Deng has potentially played his last game in Chi-Town.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago Bulls have had discussions with a number of lottery teams about trading up in the 2012 NBA Draft. Their bait: Deng. If the Bulls do indeed deal their starting small forward, here are his potential replacements.

3. Ronnie Brewer

If worst comes to worst, Chicago has the option to simply slide Brewer over to the three.

At 6’7”, 227 pounds, he has the size to be able to defend bigger opponents. And while Brewer is an offensive liability, he isn’t that much of a drop off defensively from Deng, if there’s any drop off at all. But if the Bulls are forced to start him, they better acquire a top-notch scorer at shooting guard to make up for it.

2. Grant Hill

Hill isn’t the designated defender Brewer is. Even at 39 years old, he’s good enough offensively to be labeled a poor man’s Luol Deng. Hill struggled with injuries last season, but the year before, he shot a solid 39.5 percent from downtown.

And despite a knee injury, he managed to average 10.2 points per game in the 2012 campaign. Hill is still a capable ball-handler, playmaker and finisher at the rim so he’d be a valuable short-term fix at the position.

1. Jeff Taylor

While Hill will only last one or two more years in the league, Taylor is a long-term solution for the Bulls. Assuming they’d keep their pick at No. 29, the Vanderbilt wing will likely still be on the board.

Taylor is a freak athlete and elite on-ball defender. His senior season with the Commodores he shot 42.3 percent from three-point land. He won’t be able to create his own shot at the pro level, but his strengths will translate into being an ideal role player.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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