This I believe plays into the Sam Cassell deal as well. I am assuming that Sacto added Cassell to match salaries to make this deal work, and then Portland got some kind of trade exception or perhaps 2 out of the deal, which they will then use in another trade. Have to wait and see how it all plays out, unless Derek has a better handle on the details.
Sources: Bulls, Kings pull off deal
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By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
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The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings have reached tentative agreement on a trade sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons, ESPN.com.
One source said the Bulls players were pulled off the team bus Wednesday afternoon and were told they had been traded.
The deal also involved a third team. The Bulls agreed to send Michael Ruffin to Portland, and the Trail Blazers would ship Ike Diogu to the Kings, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.
Another source said the trade was expected to be finalized by Wednesday evening.
Miller is averaging 11.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for the 11-43 Kings. One of the better passing big men in the league, Miller has made two All-Star teams and actually played for the Bulls from 2000-02.
This will be the third team for Salmons in his seven-year career. He is averaging a career high 18.3 points per game, well above his career mark of 8.3.
The gritty Nocioni has played his entire five-year career with the Bulls, averaging 11.7 points and 5.0 rebounds over that time bouncing between the starting five and the bench. He signed a five-year extension in 2007.
Gooden was traded to the Bulls last season in the deal that sent Ben Wallace to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was averaging 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in an injury-plagued year. The number that likely interested the Kings the most, however, is the $7.2 million that will come off their books this summer since he has an expiring contract. Simmons also has an expiring contract, so the Kings basically traded the salaries of Miller and Salmons for Nocioni's.