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skyler — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:23:00 GMT

The Luol Deng Story: Reports yesterday suggested that Chicago Bulls' forward Luol Deng and his agent were ready to issue an "ultimatum" to the Bulls, basically saying if Luol did not have a deal done by September 1st, that he would back away from negotiations and not negotiate again with the Bulls. The Reports suggested if Luol did not get a deal he's comfortable with, he'd sign the Bulls' $4.4 million qualifying offer sheet and become an unrestricted free agent next year and walk. After spending the bulk of the day on the phone talking with Bulls and league sources and a couple of agents, there is some truth to this stance. First, let's not call it an ultimatum, the parameters of the negotiations have been established. That's how the agents frame it. The Bulls have had several discussions with both Luol Deng and Ben Gordon and are basically offering both players the same kinds of packages they offered last year. In Luol's case, $57 million is not enough for a number of reasons. First other teams are offering sign and trade packages that Chicago seems lukewarm on exploring. Those sign and trade packages could get Luol in the $13 to $14 million a year range, which is substantially more than Chicago's offer - roughly $9 million per year. Some teams are telling the agents of the restricted class to take the qualifying offer this year and get radically paid next year as unrestricted free agents; this includes Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. League sources suggested that the Lakers, Pistons, Heat and Jazz have all had discussions with Luol Deng's camp about the framework of a sign and trade. Luol's camp would not comment on the situation, stating they did not want to negotiate in the media, but did confirm that talks were on going and that Luol, after the first round of talks, wants to remain "loyal" to the Bulls. One veteran agent not involved in talks with the Bulls explained that there are limited things a player can control in this process; one of them is choosing when to talk. The belief in both Ben Gordon and Luol Deng's case is the Bulls have had two years of talks to get to a deal, and if at this point they are not ready to make the kind of investment both players are seeking, then it's not going to happen for them. The question remains will the Bulls get serious in contract talks, or will they look to cash Luol out in a sign and trade and get an asset for him. It will be interesting to see who blinks first in this high stakes game of chicken, it seems Luol's camp is ready to move on if Chicago does not get serious about Lou, the question really is can the Bulls afford to lose a player of Luol Deng's caliber next year without compensation?

No Deal In Charlotte: Our good friend Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer is reporting that contract talks between Emeka Okafor and The Bobcats are at a standstill. The Bobcats have lowered their contract offer from the $12 million offered last year and Okafor's camp is now asking for a sign and trade. The Bobcats maintained for weeks that re-signing Emeka was a priority, now it seems that reality has set in for the Bobcats. $12 million a year for Okafor is a lot of cash for a middle tier front court player, if Okafor is getting better offers in the sign and trade market the Bobcats should call that a blessing in disguise and trigger the deal. The Bobcats have declined to comment on the situation.

Moving Iverson?: There has been a lot of talk about the Denver Nuggets possibly trading Allen Iverson, and there is some basis for this belief. The Nuggets have made it clear they are "open for business". The team is not sold that as constructed they can compete for a top playoff spot, let alone an NBA championship. The Nuggets have also been pretty vocal about wanting to get below the luxury tax threshold for 2008-2009. The good news for Nuggets fans is luxury tax is computed based on what's on the books at the end of the season not the beginning so the Nuggets have time to decide what to do. Trading Carmelo Anthony was thoroughly explored before the draft, and ultimately the Nuggets found that they were better off as a ball club keeping Melo, and have assured him and his agent he is staying. After moving Marcus Camby last week to the Clippers, a move that left many scratching their heads, the Nuggets now have flexibility. The Nuggets could use that $10 million exception to add a very serious piece, a complimentary piece via sign and trade, or an outright trade for a veteran. If the Nuggets turned Marcus Camby into say Emeka Okafor via sign and trade, or Vince Carter from New Jersey the public view of the Camby swap would be different. Moving Iverson on the other hand means the Nuggets are scrapping the plan and moving towards rebuilding. Miami might be an interesting trade partner, how would Shawn Marion look in Denver? Or Iverson next to Dwyane Wade and Michael Beasley, that team would score a ton of points. The Nuggets are exploring options right now because they have to, they understand where they are in the grand scheme of the western conference and Iverson and his $20 million ending contract is a very attractive chip to cash, teams eyeing a shot at the 2009 free agent class could do worse than talking with Denver.

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