No moves from Bulls as trade deadline passes
With less than an hour remaining before the NBA's trade deadline struck Thursday afternoon, the Bulls management duo of Gar Forman and John Paxson were both hanging out in the gym watching the end of practice.
That was a pretty clear sign nothing was happening with the Bulls. Not surprisingly, they didn't make any last-minute moves.
The Bulls were expected to stand pat because they have a small cushion to stay below the luxury tax threshold and want to stay there. With no reason to clear more money off the payroll, they had no interested in unloading Mike Dunleavy or Kirk Hinrich.
Dunleavy is under contract for next season and will probably stick around for Derrick Rose's return, part two. Hinrich is a candidate to return to the Bulls, especially if they don't re-sign D.J. Augustin to be Rose's backup.
The Bulls' bigger moves will happen this summer. They're expected to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer and apply the resulting cap space to sign Real Madrid star Nikola Mirotic. The Bulls acquired the 6-foot-10 Mirotic on draft night in 2011. There may be cap space left over to sign a few value free agents.
This plan doesn't figure to change unless Mirotic decides he doesn't want to jump to the NBA this summer (not likely) or the Bulls get a chance to trade for a superstar, such as New York's Carmelo Anthony or Minnesota's Kevin Love (another long shot).
Cavs, Pacers make deals:
A couple of trade-deadline deals might affect the Bulls down the road. Cleveland added center Spencer Hawes from Philadelphia, a player who has done well against the Bulls in the past.
The Cavaliers have won six in a row. A playoff push could improve their chances of re-signing Luol Deng this summer. There was talk the Cavs tried to trade Deng for a first-round draft pick before the deadline, but nothing happened.
The other interesting move in the Central Division was Indiana acquiring Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen from Philadelphia for Danny Granger.
It's good move for the Pacers. Granger has been beset by injuries the last two seasons, hasn't done much on the court and wasn't going to stay with the team beyond this season. Indiana was able to grab a couple players who might help the playoff push.
With the need to re-sign Lance Stephenson this summer, Turner could end up being a short-term rental. The Chicago-area native was the No. 2 pick of the 2010 draft.
Ignoring the rumors:
D.J. Augustin has played for four teams during his six NBA seasons. He talked about a player's mindset when the trade deadline approaches.
"We try not to worry about it because you've got to stay focused," he said. "But in the back of your mind, it's tough, especially when you have a family. You might have to just up and leave, and move to another city and a new team. So it's always tough around this time, but at the same, time, you've got to try to stay focused and positive."