For Warriors, is there a deal there for Deng?

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LuolDengs name has surfaced in trade rumors, and no team has been more linked tothe Chicago small forward than the Warriors. The Bulls are apparentlyinterested in trading Deng, and the Warriors could be in the market for a smallforward.Butacquiring Deng wont be easy for the Warriors, and according to separatesources in the league the teams have not had dialogue about a possibletrade.AcquiringDeng would most certainly cost the Warriors the No. 7 pick, but its the kindof move Warriors general manager Bob Myers has said he would be open toonethat would yield Golden State a veteran-type player.The mostsignificant obstacle to acquiring Deng would be that the Warriors would have tosend approximately 13 million in salary back to Chicagoor about what Dengwill earn in 2012-13.Thatwould make Richard Jefferson, who will make 10.2 million in 2012-13, or AndrisBiedrins, who is set to make 9 million, the most likely candidate to be in adeal for Deng. Question is, would the Bulls be willing to trade Deng, who ledthe league in minutes last season, in a move for the No. 7 pick and one ofthose two?Remember,were talking about the Bulls here, a team that very much considers itself atitle contender as long as Derrick Rose is on the roster. And were talkingabout Deng, a player whom coach Tom Thibodeau relies on as an important andconsistent defender. Last we checked, defense is pretty importantthere.Jeffersonis five years older than Deng, and is on the downside of his career. Biedrinshas two more years remaining on his deal, and he has been ineffectual in eachof the past two seasons.Deng, 27,has been the Bulls mainstay at small forward over the course of his eight-yearcareer. Despite a poor shooting season in 2011-12, he is considered a very goodmid-range shooter. But what he excels at is defense, which is the Bullscalling card.Its noteasy to see the Bulls trading Deng because they would likely get worse in theshort term, and thats not what their organizational thinking would seem to beas long as they have Rose. Its also unlikely that the No. 7 pick would be ableto contribute immediately for a team the caliber of the Bulls.Deng wasnamed an NBA All-star this past season, and also was all-NBA defensive secondteam. Deng shot just 41.2 percent from the field and averaged 15.3 points pergame. That is five percentage points below his career mark and about two pointsoff his scoring average over the past two years.Dengplayed some of 2011-12 with torn ligaments in his left wrist, and hes informedteam officials in Chicago that he will postpone surgery on it until after theOlympics are over in August.Thatdecision will likely mean Deng will miss at least the first month of theregular season.And thatis one more thing to consider. Do the Warriors want to acquire a player whowill likely miss the early part of the season with injury, when remaininghealthy is going to be such a key to their upcoming season?StephenCurry and Andrew Bogut, the teams starting point guard and center,respectively, are both coming off injuries. Curry missed most of 2011-12 with asprained ankle, and there are questions about whether he can stayhealthy.Ditto forBogut, who has struggled with injury in each of the past four seasons, missing54 games in 2011-12, missing 17 games in 2010-11, missing 13 games in 2009-10and missing 46 games in 2008-09.

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