The Carmelo Anthony trade-drama continues as his agents are attempting to drag the Chicago Bulls into the fray according to various sources. With a complicated trade involving the Nuggets, Nets and Pistons now off the table Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, and William Wesley have decided to begin talks with Chicago. Sources say that the Bulls have wanted the Nuggets to take on the rest of Luol Deng’s three-year, $40 million contract but are unwilling to part with Joakim Noah.
Anthony has long been enthusiastic about a possible trade to the Bulls, but Denver and Chicago officials had been previously unable to come to terms on a deal. Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman have investigated the possibility of acquiring Anthony, but thus far haven’t been willing to include the one player the Nuggets most covet: center Joakim Noah.
Anthony’s agents are under pressure to make a deal happen for the All-Star forward, who sources said has become an increasingly unhappy client. The Nuggets need to agree on a package with a team in which Anthony’s willing to sign a contract extension. Talks with New Jersey and Anthony’s preferred choice, the New York Knicks, have dragged on since Anthony asked for a trade in August.
Nevertheless, William Wesley – Worldwide Wes – is expected to travel to Chicago for Bulls games on Thursday and Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, a source said. Wesley unsuccessfully pushed LeBron James to sign with the Bulls as a free agent, and now has an interest in Anthony ending up there. Wesley represents Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau for CAA.
As recently as this past summer Chicago’s desire to add Anthony hasn’t been subtle. While their interest remains high they are unwilling to part with center Joakim Noah and I can’t say I blame them. Noah is a dynamite defensive force and underrated offensive player when called upon. Let’s get real here - you do not trade a franchise center in this day and age, especially one as young and versatile as Noah, unless you are acquiring someone who you know for certain is going to lift you to a title. That being said, would Anthony be THAT MUCH of an upgrade over Luol Deng in the Bulls offensive system?
Deng is averaging 17.8 points on .452 shooting and 5.9 boards for the Bulls this season, displaying much of the form that earned him an enormous contract a couple of years ago. He’s an excellent defender, solid rebounder for his position and can drain the three. The Bulls have reportedly told the Nuggets that they want Denver to take on his contract in any deal with Anthony but is this such a magnificent idea if they have to part with Deng and a few others?
Look, I don’t believe Carmelo Anthony is a transcendent “franchise superstar” like Kobe, LeBron and Wade. He’s a supreme scorer and a much better rebounder than folks give him credit for but he’s not an elite, game-changing talent in my eyes.
And let’s not forget that Deng can be an explosive scorer himself - in just the third game this season he lit up the Blazers for 40 points on just 19 shots.
How do Anthony and Deng compare statistically this season? Check out the stats below:
PLAYER
PPG
FG%
FT%
TS%
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PER
ORTG
DRTG
ANTHONY
23.1
.433
.805
.522
8.1
3.0
0.9
0.7
19.9
104
107
DENG
17.8
.452
.720
.540
5.9
2.4
0.8
0.5
14.8
108
103
Deng may be averaging fewer points but his true-shooting percentage and three-point shooting are higher and he’s scoring more points and allowing less points per 100 possessions than Anthony right now. Plus, Derrick Rose handles the ball most of the time (with good reason) and Anthony simply needs to dominate the ball to be effective. Not only that, Anthony would need to nail the trey when called upon and he’s made just 18 of 67 long-range bombs this season.
For the record, Anthony has drained a much better percentage than his current .269 over the course of his career, peaking at .371 percent in 2008-09. Deng is hitting .347 percent of his long-range shots this year and made .386 and .400 the previous two seasons, respectively.
Is it worth trading away a player who is at least competitive statistically and has proven that he can play (and score) within your system without dominating the ball? Wouldn’t it be prudent to let Noah come back and watch all the pieces operate before making a drastic change?
Look, I know Anthony is a big-name marquee player but to me the Bulls should stand pat on this one. They have proven that with Boozer, Deng and Rose alone Chicago can defeat the league’s elite. When Noah returns, look out.
Besides, does Chicago really want the drama-queen attitude that Anthony flaunts around for the next five years? I don’t think Coach Thibodeau would approve of his antics, personally.
What do you think? Would this be a wise move for Chicago? Am I simply an idiot and not seeing the bigger picture?
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/Buckets17