This would certainly be a deal that I couldn't see happening until the trade deadline looms, but if Cleveland stays in the hunt for a 7th or 8th seed and the Bulls are in a similar position, I could see a deal like this shaking down --
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kjh9b26
Cleveland acquires:
Luol Deng, SF ($14.275M expiring)
Kirk Hinrich, PG ($4.0M expiring)
Marquis Teague, PG ($1.07M with team options)
Chicago Bulls 2014 first-round pick (top 10 protected in '14, top 6 protected in '15, unprotected in '16)
Chicago acquires:
Anderson Varejao, C ($9.0M, deal expires in '15)
Dion Waiters, SG ($3.9M, rookie deal with team options plus qualifying offer for 5th year)
Tristan Thompson, SG ($4.0M, final year of rookie deal in '14 plus qualifying offer)
CJ Miles, SG ($2.25M, expiring deal)
This deal gives both teams drastically different opportunities for the future. In Cleveland, they get a chance to add veterans around Kyrie Irving. Luol Deng adds perimeter defense and consistent scoring and rebounding. Hinrich would give the Cavs a backcourt mate for Jarret Jack on the second unit. Unloading Waiters also gives them a chance to give Sergey Karasev more playing time. Irving and Waiters have contrasting styles of play on offense, and since Karasev is a much more pure shooter, it will help the Cavs chance the dynamics of their offense. Adding Teague will give them another guy to slide in next year on the second unit when Hinrich's deal expires. The Bulls will also hand over a first-rounder (protected for two seasons) as a peace offering. Anthony Bennett would also see an increase in playing time, and with Thompson out of the picture, the Cavs will have a chance to try him out both at the three and four to see if he's able to make the stretch role work with his abilities.
The Cavs are also giving themselves tons of cap relief going into the offseason. Adding Deng and Hinrich increases their expiring cap dollars by about $7 million, which could help land them another piece to put around a core of Irving and Bennett. Couple that with their own first-rounder and one from the Bulls and they could replenish their roster with young talent. while still giving themselves the financial flexibility of cap space and a slew of rookie scale deals.
For the Bulls, it gives them a chance to rebuild on the fly and actually get some value for Deng and Hinrich. What excites me the most would be adding Waiters to the fold. Butler could slide into the three spot and the Bulls could swing start either Mike James or CJ Miles at the point guard spot. The point guard spot would be bare, but the Bulls could even attempt to start Waiters at the point, given his ability to create off the dribble and drive to the basket. During the draft, everyone raved about how unstoppable he was in traffic, and the Bulls could, at the very least, experiment with his role. Waiters would have good size at the point and he's the kind of guy that will only get better with increase minutes.
I also like adding Thompson and Varejao to the fold. Both guys would really add some stability to the second unit, providing interior defense and rebounding. I've never been a fan of having the undersized Taj Gibson anchor the second team's defense, and both Thompson and Varejao will both be upgrades over him and Nazr Mohammed. The other thing working in the Bulls favor is the massive expring deals they'd have going into the '14-15 season. Between Boozer and Varejao, the Bulls would have almost $27 million in expiring deals. You don't think a team would like the chance to jump on that? And even if the Bulls rode next season out with that roster in tact, they'd go into the 2015 season with a core of Rose, Gibson, Waiters, Thompson and potentially Jimmy Butler if he signs an extension, plus Nikola Mirotic is rumored to be available as early as next season. You couple that core with the flexibility to add guys VIA the expiring deals or letting them walk in free agency and having the cap space to sign guys -- I'm all in.
