Deng Likely to Stay

As teams with cap space disappear one after another, it appears more likely that Luol Deng will be a Chicago Bull this upcoming season.  One of the last remaining teams with room under the salary cap, the Clippers, used that space to trade for center Marcus Camby.  Los Angeles sent Denver the rights to swap future second-round picks, which basically means that the Nuggets were desperate to cut payroll.  The Clippers may have been the last team that would have offered Deng a contract.  Deng is a restricted free agent and is seeking a long-term deal.

The only team that has enough cap space to offer Deng a substantial deal is the Memphis Grizzlies, but all indications are that they have no desire to sign any free agents and they’ve already got a stud small forward in Rudy Gay.  Most reports have the Grizz holding out for next year’s free agent class, or perhaps the now famous class of 2010.  This bodes well for the Bulls.  They should lock Deng up to a long-term contract now; they should be able to get him to stick around for less money than if they had to match an offer from another club.  Deng has superstar potential and he and Derrick Rose could form the foundation of the franchise.

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