Under the proposed deal the Bulls would further enter the luxury tax this coming season as Okafor’s contract is larger than Deng’s and the third round draft pick would at least secure a $3 million per year deal having been drafted so highly. Ultimately this would not affect the rumored 2014 plan as Okafur’s $14.5 million contract would come off the books at the close of the season.

Since the departure of Omer Asik last year the Bulls have been looking for a new big man to play behind Joakim Noah. Most mock drafts have the Bulls filling this role by drafting a big man with their currently owned 20th pick. With this trade the Bulls would be able to fill the need for another center while also being able to draft a rookie replacement for Deng. Who they would draft at this spot is anyone’s guess, but it’s safe to say that a small forward or shooting guard who can create his own shot and/or shoot the three point shot respectably would be drafted.

Ultimately the likelihood of this trade going through is pretty slim. The trade wouldn’t give the Wizards any more cap relief than they’re already set to have nor would their be any guarantee that Deng would stick around after the 2013-2014 NBA season. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune via Twitter, “Cant see Wizards giving up No. 3 and Okafor for Deng… unless Deng says he’ll resign. Which I also don’t see.”

Stranger trades have happened in the past so while unlikely, this trade is not completely out of the realm of possibility. As the story continues to develop, we at BBTH will keep you updated.

UPDATE: According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, the Wizards have stated they have no interest in trading the third pick in this year’s draft for Luol Deng.

The post Trade Rumor: Luol Deng to the Washington Wizards for the Number 3 Pick and Emeka Okafor appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Washington Injury Report:
Nene: out (sore foot/ankle)
Trevor Ariza: out (sore knee)
Bradley Beal: out (stress reaction)
Emeka Okafor: left Monday’s game (sprained ankle)
Martell Webster: out (strained abdominal)

Overview:
Final game of the season and it all comes down to this—well sort of. It’s not quite miss or make the playoffs, but with the Hawks loss to Toronto last night, the Bulls now control their own seeding destiny.

It’s hard to tell if the Hawks were tanking, during their 113-96 loss to Toronto, but it’s up to Chicago whether or not they face Indiana or Brooklyn in the first round. No Atlanta starter played more than 22 minutes.

The match-ups have been broken down here before but quickly: If the Bulls win or both teams lose, Chicago gets the fifth seed. That would mean a first round date with the Nets. The Bulls are 3-1 against the Nets this season. The bad news about that five seed is that, if you win, you have to face the Heat in round two. In the six seed, you take on Indiana. Chicago is 1-3 against the Pacers this season. Obviously, you would avoid the Heat until the conference finals in that scenario.

If I had to choose, I’d take the Nets. I’d actually favor the Bulls over Brooklyn in the series, if Chicago is relatively healthy. Plus I am of the mindset that you take it one round at a time. I don’t really think the Bulls have a chance to win it all, but if they do, they’re going to have to get past the Heat at some point. So why not take an easier round one opponent?

Whichever road the Bulls end up having, they have to square off with Washington to get there.

The Wizards are currently riding a five game losing streak, their longest skid since early January. Four of those five losses came against playoff teams, with the outlier being Philadelphia (although Miami and Brooklyn were resting starters). Washington is 2-6 in April, after a solid 16-13 record over February and March.

The Wizards are giving up 99.0 points per game in April, four more points per game that they allowed in March and nearly six more than they allowed in February.

A part of these struggles are from injuries. Trevor Ariza has missed their last four games, Nene missed the game against Brooklyn, while Emeka Okafor had to leave that game because of a sprained ankle. Bradley Beal has played just once in April, scoring eight points in a 90-86 win over the Bulls. Martell Webster has missed the last two games. Ariza, Beal, Nene and Webster are out against the Bulls. That is three starters missing for Washington, something the Bulls can relate to.

Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson returned last game, with Noah playing poorly. Apparently, Jo may have a minutes limit entering the playoffs. I wonder why he is out on the floor at all right now, when the Bulls don’t really need to win games. And why he played in the April 7 game against Detroit. He could have rested for nearly a month and been at his best for the playoffs, instead he has now played two somewhat meaningless games, and could play another tonight.

“I’m just happy that my foot held up,” Noah said. “I think we’re a pretty deep team. We just need to play together and get our chemistry right. The last game is important.”

I know that the plantar fasciitis only gets better with rest, and really it won’t fully heal until the offseason, but it seems counterintuitive to bring Noah back before it is necessary. I would take a rusty Joakim Noah over a less healthy one every single time.

The Bulls are 1-2 against the Wizards, dropping the last two games in the series. However, Washington is just 7-33 on the road this season and has last seven straight away from home.

It’s been a very up-and-down year for the Bulls. Losing to the Wizards would fit with their less than impressive record against lottery teams, but it’d be nice if Chicago ended this odd season with a win.

The post Wizards-Bulls Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Washington Injury Report:
Nene: questionable (sore knee/wrist/shoulder)
Leandro Barbosa: out (knee)

Overview:
With ten games remaining schedule, playoff positioning is something to keep an eye on. Chicago is currently sitting in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, half a game back of Atlanta and three games ahead of Boston.

As of this moment, the Bulls would match up with the Knicks in the first round. If I had my choice, New York would be the first round opponent I would take. The Bulls are 3-0 against the Knicks this season with the last contest coming up on April 11.

Indiana, the two seed, has beaten up on the Bulls most of the season, going 1-3. And if Chicago moves up to fifth, they would have to take on Brooklyn. Even though I can’t see the Bulls advancing far in the playoffs, it would be better if they were on the opposite side of the bracket as the Heat.

Of their final ten games, the Bulls play just three playoff teams (Nets, Knicks, Heat). The other seven come against Wizards (twice), Magic (twice), Pistons and Raptors (twice). That should be seven pretty easy wins. Who knows if the Bulls will get those wins, and who knows what those wins could mean to their playoff positioning.

I guess we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. I say that those seven wins should be relatively easy, but the last time the Bulls and Wizards met, Chicago lost by 13 points. The only player to score in double figures in the game was Nate Robinson, who dropped 19 off the bench. The Bulls starters only managed to score 40 points combined, led by nine points from Jimmy Butler, Joakim Noah and the always durable Rip Hamilton.

Butler started this game in place of Luol Deng, who was missing with a hamstring injury.

If Noah could’ve managed just one more point he would have had another triple-double, as he finished with ten assists and 17 rebounds.

Noah had a nice duel with Emeka Okafor going, as the UConn grad recorded 15 points and 16 boards. John Wall also had 15 points, while Nene poured in 16. Nene will be a game-time decision tonight, as he seemingly is listed as having a “sore everything.”

Since Wall came back the Wizards have been a good team. Their defense is fifth in the league, higher than the Bulls, who are sixth and they’ve won seven straight home games.

Stat of the night: He’s averaged 27.8 points on 63.5 percent shooting and 9.5 assists in the last four games in Washington, according to STATS LLC. Good luck Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson.

The post Bulls-Wizards Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Stats from Basketball-Reference

Wizards Injury Report:
Cartier Martin: out (hyperextended knee)

Overview:
The Bulls had been struggling at home all season, with a record just over .500 and losses to some sub-par teams. Coming off a hard-fought win against the Pistons, the Bulls were expected to have their hands full against the Warriors. That was far from the case though, as the Bulls jumped all over Golden State from the beginning and cruised to a 16 point victory.

In the first quarter, Chicago held Golden State to 22.7 percent shooting, while the Bulls hit at a 53.8 percent rate. Kirk Hinrich had eleven in the first quarter and hit two treys. Before last night, he had hit more than two three-pointers in a game just twice. And those eleven first quarter points would have tied for his sixth highest scoring game of the season. He ended up with a season-high 25 points and connected with 6-7 from deep (he hit eight threes in all of November). Things were working for the Bulls early, and although the lead shrunk to 13 at half, Chicago maintained control throughout.

Jimmy Butler got his first double-double, recording a career-high 12 rebounds to go with 18 points. Carlos Boozer (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (14 points, 16 rebounds) also joined the double-double party. Those three guys owned the glass, and the Bulls out-rebounded the Warriors 56-37. Chicago grabbed 16 offensive rebounds against the best defensive rebounding team in the league. Golden State had been giving up 11.3 O-boards per contest.

Nate Robinson was Good Nate last night, scoring 22 points on 16 shots. Even Daequan Cook hit a three. It was a dominating all-around performance (The Warriors did get to the line 33 times, and hit 29 of them, which was one of the few negatives).

From one of the better teams in the leagues to the second worst, Chicago’s attention now turns to the Wizards. The Bulls topped Washington in late December in what was an ugly contest as neither team shot 40 percent. The Wizards won the rebounding battle 56-49, but the Bulls turned it over just nine times and allowed only eight points off those giveaways to make up for the difference.

Marco Belinelli led the Bulls in scoring in the first match-up with the Wizards, scoring 17. It was Rip Hamilton’s first game back after missing 12 contests, which forced Belinelli back to the bench. The fear was that the he couldn’t duplicate the same numbers he had as a starter. It looked promising after that game, but hasn’t been so great since. Since Belinelli returned to the bench, the 17 he scored against Washington are his high. He is averaging just 8.9 points in the month of January, hitting double digits just five times.

Emeka Okafor dominated the glass, grabbing 18 rebounds, including six offensive ones. The way the Bulls cleaned the glass like Windex against Golden State, Okafor shouldn’t be allowed to duplicate that high number.

The biggest difference in this one (other than Luol Deng possibly being out) will be the presence of John Wall. At least one team in this match-up will have their franchise point guard. Wall is averaging 14.0 points and 6.9 assists in eight games since his return from a knee injury. Washington is 5-3 with the Kentucky-grad in their line-up, topping the Hawks and Nuggets among others (all of their losses were single digits as well).

They got a double-digit win last night over the very injured Timberwolves though. Minnesota, who was without Kevin Love, Nikola Pekovic and Alexy Shved, allowed the Wiz to shoot 57.8 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep. Six Washington players scored in double figures and ten guys had at least six points, all led by Jordan Crawford’s efficient 19 (7-10). Bradley Beal dropped 16, while Wall and Okafor each chipped in 14.

It was the second highest point output for the Wizards this season. They rank last in offensive rating (97.6) and second to last in effective field goal percentage (.461). For as bad as their offense has been, and it has improved with Wall back in the line-up, their defense has been impressive. Washington ranks seventh in defensive rating (103.3) and ninth in opponent eFG (.483). The Bulls managed just 87 points against the Wizards on December 29.

Washington has won four straight at home, and is 6-3 in their last nine, while the Bulls have won five straight on the road. Chicago is 4-5 on the second night of back-to-backs and the Wizards are 1-10.

The post Bulls-Wizards Preview appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Beat the Nuggets at the United Center, fall to the Pacers at Conseco Field House. Defeat the Magic at home, lose to the Nets and Wizards on the road. Overcome the Rockets in Chicago, get overrun by the Bobcats in Charlotte.

See a pattern here?

The Bulls have developed a tendency to rock it at home and then play poorly when away, and they were truly terrible in last night’s 96-80 road loss to the Bobcats. They couldn’t shoot (39 percent), couldn’t defend (the ‘Cats connected about 49 percent of their field goals), couldn’t hold onto the ball (18 turnovers), and couldn’t seem to grasp that they were facing a team that’s suddenly competing for the same playoff spot they’re looking up at with hungry eyes. Hungry when they’re playing at home, that is.

Young teams struggle on the road. I get that. The Atlanta Hawks pull the same Jekyll and Hyde routine. But Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich are veterans now, and John Salmons and Brad Miller are 29 and 32, respectively. So we have guys who should know when it’s time to play with a sense of urgency.

And whereas the offense exploded in that 23-3 end-of-game run against the Rockets, it imploded while they were trying to fight their way back against the Bobcats. The following ugly possession — at which point Chicago was down 92-75 — sort of sums up the Bulls’ fourth-quarter futility:

5:18: Ben Gordon misses 24-foot three point jumper
5:16: Tyrus Thomas offensive rebound
5:11: Ben Gordon misses 25-foot three point jumper
5:11: Brad Miller offensive rebound
5:00: Ben Gordon bad pass (DeSagana Diop steals)

Welcome to Vinny Del Negro’s “fail from behind” playbook.

It’s hard to think of something that went right in this game. The Bulls couldn’t control the paint: Charlotte connected on 15 layups and two dunks. (Emeka Okafor may have scored only 14 points, but he basically did whatever he wanted down low.) Their perimeter defense was lax too: Raja Bell burned them for 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting (including 2-for-2 from downtown) in the first half…despite an injured bicep that made it difficult to even lift his right arm.

Jumping back to Vinny for a second, you might have read that John Paxson basically gave him a “Play Derrick Rose Or Else” edict. Well, Vinny, as you may remember, is Italian, so he had a chippy retort when asked about his conversation with Paxson: “That’s between us. I’ll make decisions on the team on what I see fit for players and when they should play and when they don’t. I know my players better than anybody. Derrick is going to be out there in the fourth quarter. Everyone is going to be held accountable defensively. If I feel there’s an advantage for us to do certain things in the fourth quarter, those are the decisions I have to make as a head coach. And I’ll make them.”

Reading between the lines, Vinny seemed to be saying: I will do what I think is best, regardless of what my boss tells me, even if that means benching our franchise player in the fourth quarter. Rose was subbed out of the game with 4:03 left, but by that time the Bulls were down 17 and there wasn’t going to be a comeback. Not that it really mattered either way, because Rose played like garbage: He was 3-for-11, finished with only 5 assists and had the second-worst plus-minus score on the team (-17).

And if you think that’s an aberration, you’re wrong. Rose’s play on the road has mirrored the team’s woes. Check out his game log. In the last four roadies, Derrick has scored 3, 9, 10 and 13 points while shooting a combined 12-for-39. Compare that to 22 PPG on 21-for-41 shooting in his last two home games, which included that 16-point fourth-quarter explosion against the Rockets. Maybe it’s the rookie wall, maybe he’s getting caught up in the team’s lackadaisical road play. Maybe he’s even at the root of the problem, because if Derrick isn’t making things happen…who is?

It was just a bummer of a night, and Aaron Gray almost getting into a fight with Alexis Ajinca was the perfect punctuation mark. I just don’t know whether it was an exclamation point, a question mark, or ellipsis points.

Player notes: Not much good to report here. Tyrus Thomas had a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) to go along with 3 steals and 3 blocks, but he also committed 3 turnovers and got treated like a sack of feathers on defense when he wasn’t swatting shots. John Salmons got his first start in place of the injured Luol Deng, and he responded with his worst game as a Bull (9 points, 4-for-13, 1-for-7 from downtown, 3 turnovers). Joakim Noah compiled an uninspiring stat line of 4 points (1-for-3), 5 rebounds, a turnover and 3 blocked shots while getting pushed around under the basket by Okafor. Noah also beat out Rose for the team’s worst plus-minus score (-19). Ben Gordon didn’t hit a three-pointer and finished with 14 points on 15 field goal attempts and a game-high 5 turnovers. Brad Miller scored 13 points (5-for-10) and snared 7 offensive boards, but he committed 3 turnovers (to only 2 assists) and looked frozen on D. (Brad also grabbed one lonely defensive rebound.) Kirk Hinrich had 10 points (4-for-10) and 2 assists in 25 minutes.

I should have seen this one coming: The Bobcats, believe it or not, are a pretty good defensive team. They came into the game ranked 9th in Defensive Efficiency, while the Bulls were ranked 18th. If defense wins championships, it’s certainly going to decide games between two sub-.500 teams.

Bottom line: The Bulls are now 1.5 games behind the Bucks for the East’s eight seed. They’re tied with the Nets (although Chicago has the tiebreaker in that series) and are only one game up on the Bobcats, who won the season series with last night’s victory. So, you know, uh oh.

Extras: Recap, Box Score, Play-By-Play, Shot Chart, Photos.

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