NBA Rumors: Cleveland Cavaliers may not be able to re-sign Luol Deng

Jan 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng (9) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng (9) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Jan 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng (9) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng (9) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls in the third quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers looked like they were about to pop in the Eastern Conference and become a force to be reckoned with. But despite trading for Luol Deng and stitching together a talented roster, the Cavaliers are once again sinking in the East and aren’t really growing the way fans would like.

To further dampen the mood, it’s starting to look like the Cleveland Cavaliers may not be able to re-sign their huge mid-season acquisition in Luol Deng. According to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald, the Cavaliers may end up too strapped for cash at the end of the season to give Deng the type of extension that he wants.

This creates a few problems for the Cavs, as not only does this mean they’re likely not going to bring back Deng, the money issues call into question the probability of LeBron James returning in the offseason. Obviously, the Cavaliers would cut the entire team if it meant getting LeBron back, and the same can’t be said for Deng.

Still, given the price the Cavs gave up to get Deng, to only use him in a season that leads nowhere and then lose him in free agency seems like a giant waste of everyones time. There’s a chance he could come back, but the Cavaliers will need to make sacrifices to their roster to make that happen.