Cavs send Bynum to Bulls for Deng, picks

CHICAGO(AP) – The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded Andrew Bynum and three future draft picks to the Chicago Bulls for All-Star forward Luol Deng late Monday night.

Just days after suspending Bynum in his only season with the team, the Cavaliers were able to unload the center before having to guarantee his contract – and got back an All-Star the last two seasons in return.

Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant called Deng “a tremendous defensive player that can impact the game on both ends of the court” in announcing the trade.

Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Dennis Rodman said Monday that a game he and other former NBA players are planning in North Korea will be a “birthday present” for one of their most unlikely fans: leader Kim Jong Un.

 Rodman’s squad – featuring ex-All Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson and Vin Baker – will play against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday, which is believed to be Kim’s birthday. The former NBA players, who arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, also include Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, guard Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith, who played for the New York Knicks. Four streetball players also are on the squad.

 Rodman told The Associated Press he was glad to be in North Korea for the game, though he said he has gotten death threats for his repeated visits. He said proceeds from the game would go to a charity for the deaf in North Korea.

“The marshal is actually trying to change this country in a great way,” Rodman said of Kim, using the leader’s official title. “I think that people thought that this was a joke, and Dennis Rodman is just doing this because of fame and fortune.” Instead, he said, he sees the game as a “birthday present” for Kim and his country.