The Chicago Bulls are fresh off clearing some of their books after renouncing the rights to guard David Nwaba and are planning to clear around $20 million in cap space in the future, which could pave the way to trade for Carmelo Anthony, according to salary cap enthusiast Albert Nahmad.
Cristiano Felicio's contract is $8.4 million, a salary that would allow them to eat up Anthony's $27.9 million contract in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nahmad's thinking revolves around why the Bulls renounced a player as talented as Nwaba, who played north of 20 minutes under Fred Hoiberg last season, making 70 appearances.
The Bulls have carved up nearly $20 million in cap space and no other team has someone in the trade blocks with a salary surrounding that besides the Thunder, who have been determined to move Anthony this offseason.
While there is a multitude of pathways the Thunder could take, trading might not be as effective unless they waive their return pieces, as they are already facing a whopping $300 million payroll in the near future.
Nahmad's thinking is speculative, but certainly feasible, recently corroborated by Marc Stein of The New York Times.
Buying out Anthony could prove a long-drawn back-and-forth which would result in sides taking possibly months to agree on an amount. Outright waiving him would only pile up a hefty sum for no return.
This trade will be tough to pull off, given Felicio's two remaining years in his three-year contract, but for now, it is one other avenue the Thunder could explore if negotiations with the favored Houston Rockets don't go as smoothly as expected.
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