Carmelo Anthony would prefer to be traded to the Chicago Bulls or the New York Knicks, and the Bulls are definitely listening. If you add Anthony to a team that already features Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer and it would appear the Bulls would have their own Big Three.
Sounds like a good deal, right? Only if you’re comfortable with the idea of losing Joakim Noah.
There has been talk that the Bulls’ offer would include Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, James Johnson and/or draft picks and cash. The problem with this proposal is it doesn’t appear to be too enticing for the Nuggets. Deng has four years and almost $52 million left on his contract, one of the league’s worst, and hasn’t been in the greatest health the past few years.
Adding Joakim Noah to the deal will make it easier to take on Deng’s contract, it may not be the best deal for Denver. They would have to work out a new deal at some point before next summer with Noah, or they could risk losing him after becoming a restricted free agent.
Taking away Anthony and replacing him with an injury-prone Deng (whose contract has been avoided by everyone in trade negotiations with the Bulls) may not be worth Noah to the Nuggets.