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The Chicago Bulls have traded point guard Jose Calderon to the Los Angeles Lakers in a salary-cap clearing move, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal helps create room for Dwyane Wade, who agreed to leave the Heat and sign with the Bulls earlier on Wednesday.
The Lakers snuck in to beat out the Brooklyn Nets, who were close to their own deal for Calderon, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Calderon was acquired by the Bulls earlier this offseason as part of the Derrick Rose deal with the New York Knicks. A veteran point guard who can nail three-pointers, he's a liability on the defensive end but should provide the Lakers with a serviceable backup.
The Bulls needed to move Calderon because he's set to make $7.7 million next season. Even with the rising salary cap, Wade's new deal was too much to fit onto the books with the current roster. So with Wade agreeing to make the move from South Beach, the Bulls have gone into motion making sure they have to the money to sign him. Veteran forward Mike Dunleavy, who's set to make $4.8 million for 2016-17, was dealt to the Cavaliers as the team clears space.
Chicago has had an active offseason after missing the playoffs last season. The team traded former franchise player Rose to New York, flirted with the possibility of dealing another All-Star in Jimmy Butler and let key big men Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah walk as free agents. Now the team has signed Wade and Rajon Rondo to form a new backcourt and will go into next season with a good deal of intrigue.
For the Lakers, this deal is about landing a decent veteran on a one-year deal to help stabilize the backcourt behind D'Angelo Russell. Calderon can at least provide good shooting for Los Angeles. The 34-year-old averaged 7.6 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 72 games as a starter with the Knicks last season. He shot 46 percent from the field and over 41 percent from three, which is quite good. He is a poor defender, but can provide solid veteran leadership along with fellow newcomer Luol Deng.