The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has waived guard JamesOn Curry.  Curry (6-3, 190), was selected by Chicago in the second round (51st overall) of NBA Draft 2007.

The Bulls have discovered some interest in guard Larry Hughes with the obvious caveat of exchanging troublesome contract for troublesome contract.

Since the Bulls need to thin out their backcourt, some possibilities could include Portland's Joe Przybilla, New York's Jared Jeffries, Dallas' Erick Dampier, or Denver's Kenyon Martin.

The Bulls believe a contract in the neighborhood of $60 million over six seasons is fair for Ben Gordon.

"We will continue to talk to Ben's representative (Raymond Brothers) and look for ways to get him signed," General Manager John Paxson said in an e-mail statement.

"Every contract and negotiation is different, but we value Ben and respect the part he has played for us the past four seasons and certainly want him to be a part of our future, as well."

The issue with Gordon isn't so much whether he deserves more than $9.9 million per season but whether he can get a better contract from another team, either in the NBA or Europe.

So far, the sign-and-trade interest in Gordon has been minimal.

The Chicago Bulls announced today that the team has re-signed forward Luol Deng to a multi-year extension. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

?Signing Luol has always been a priority for this organization and we have always felt that he was a big part of our future.  We are very happy that Luol will now be with us long term as we continue to grow as an organization,? said Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson.

With Jerry Reinsdorf and director of player personnel Gar Forman taking a greater role in contract negotiations, Bulls GM John Paxson has been freed up to talk trades with other teams, according to a report by Mike Mcgraw of the Daily Herald.

According to the report, the Bulls have had discussions with Sacramento about center Brad Miller while guard Larry Hughes has been attracting some interest.

Some options, according to McGraw, include include Portland's Joe Przybilla, New York's Jared Jeffries, Dallas' Erick Dampier, or Denver's Kenyon Martin.

Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls have agreed to six-year contract that could be worth as much as $80 million.

Deng has been a restricted free agent this summer.

The Bulls e-mailed a news release Wednesday afternoon announcing the "contract signing of Luol Deng." No details on the deal were released.

The new deal was reported earlier by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN.com, which said the contract would include $71 million in guaranteed money.

Ben Gordon, sources said, is seeking a deal that is at least equal to Luol Deng's.

Deng is set to sign a $71 million contract.

That's now impossible unless the Bulls enter luxury-tax territory.

Front-office sources told ESPN.com that Luol Deng and the Bulls are on the verge of completing a six-year, $70 million deal.

The Bulls slowly but surely increased their offer to a higher annual average that Deng turned down in October, when Chicago was limited to offering him a five-year extension and presented Deng with a five-year package worth $57.5 million.

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf intervened and personally handled the majority of the negotiations with Deng's camp as opposed to the standard practice of Bulls general manager John Paxson serving as lead negotiator.

The restricted free agency process is extending for longer than what Ben Gordon was anticipating.

"It's kind of unpredictable right now. The team is going to pretty much determine what happens from here."

Gordon said there have been talks with other NBA teams about a sign-and-trade scenario, but he doesn't expect anything to happen soon.

"I really don't know what their plan is - if they want to keep all these guards we have now or if they plan on moving guys. In an ideal world I'd like to come back and be a part of this team and do what I've been doing in the past here. But I realize with the amount of guards we have, anything is possible."

Gordon, who was born in England, has considering playing in Europe.

"Definitely, it's a possibility with the Euro being so strong. Josh did it. It just depends on what the individual wants or what he can put up with. I'm from London, so it's definitely something that seems like it would be interesting. But ideally, I'd like to be here playing in the States for the team that drafted me."

At one point, the Grizzlies were offering a package that included either Kyle Lowry or Javaris Crittenton for Nenad Krstic.

The Bulls have a $5.2 million trade exception from the Ben Wallace/Larry Hughes trade and were contemplating throwing in a future first-round pick.