The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls are discussing a trade-and-waive deal of Andrew Bynum for Luol Deng.

The Bulls would save in excess of $20 million in salary and taxes by trading Deng while waiving Bynum.

The Bulls maintain that they believe they will be able to re-sign Deng in the offseason.

The Chicago Bulls remain determined to keep Luol Deng and hope to re-sign him in the offseason.

Deng will be a free agent in the offseason and the two sides broke off extension talks before the start of the season.

Deng has been mentioned in trade rumors with several teams.

Derrick Rose could become a fixture on the Chicago Bulls' bench by mid-January.

Rose has already started the rehab process.

“Well, he can lift upper-body, do all his rehab stuff, so he is starting to move around a little bit now,’’ Thibodeau said. “He can go in the pool.’

Rose is not expected to return to game action until the 2014 preseason.

Luol Deng is already receiving interest from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets among others, according to sources.

The Bulls have reportedly decided they will try to re-sign Deng in free agency.

“I’ve moved around a lot, but this is the longest I’ve been in one place my whole life and I came here at 19," Deng said. "I’m 28 now. I pretty much grew up here. So for me to think about being somewhere else, it’s a weird feeling. But at the same time, I don’t know what it’s like to be somewhere else. I’ve been here my whole career. Maybe it’s better, maybe it’s not. I don’t know that. The best thing I can do is play, be the best I can be and hope it works out. I don’t know if it will be here, if it will be somewhere else. I don’t know that.

"But right now, I can’t hang on to that. I can’t control that. I think when the season’s over and everything is done, then you sit down and you go through that stuff. But for me to think about it now, it’s just a waste of energy because I don’t even know — what am I supposed to think about? I don’t know what city. So it’s just a waste of time.”

The Chicago Bulls have assigned Marquis Teague to the Iowa Energy of the D-League.

Teague has appeared in 19 games with the Bulls this season.

Teague was the 29th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but has struggled to find consistent playing time.

The Chicago Bulls are beginning to get healthier again.

Kirk Hinrich and Jimmy Butler both practiced on Tuesday and are expected to start against the Brooklyn Nets.

Tom Thibodeau expects to play Hinrich together with D.J. Augustin.

‘‘Kirk has done a good job for us since he’s been here, other than the injury part of it,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘D.J. has been a very good player in this league prior to getting here. . . . He wasn’t in the rotation this year in Toronto and got short minutes last year in Indiana, but he started for a couple of years in this league. You can’t do that without being talented. I think he’s a good fit for us. He can shoot, run the pick-and-roll. He’s smart. so he fits.

‘‘I think they can play well together. That was one of the things about bringing Kirk back. His versatility, the ability to play [shooting guard], start or come off the bench at [either guard spot], you can play him with anybody. Having a second guy who can break the defense down off the dribble is a big plus. Every year, Kirk will end up around 38 or 39 percent from three[-point range]. I think shooting is important to open up the floor for our big guys.’’

The Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls discussed a deal in the offseason that would have centered around LaMarcus Aldridge for Joakim Noah, according to several sources.

Whether the deal reached a serious point or which team initiated discussions is unclear.

"Aldridge was available," one league source noted.

The Bulls had the opportunity to draft Aldridge in the 2006 NBA Draft, but instead consummated a draft night trade with the Blazers that led to Tyrus Thomas.

Aldridge has been one of the NBA's best players this season as the Blazers have had an excellent first third of the season.

The Chicago Bulls are determined not to trade Luol Deng before his impending free agency, according to sources.

Teams have inquired with the Bulls about Deng in a potential trade.

Trading Deng is not in the team's plans, however.

The Bulls are optimistic about re-signing Deng in the offseason.

After the Oklahoma City Thunder's win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, Joakim Noah accompanied Thabo Sefolosha into the Thunder locker room where the center was involved in a heated exchange with Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins took exception to Noah's presence in the locker room. Noah is friends with Sefolosha.

“They let anybody into the locker room, huh?” Perkins shouted after spotting Noah at the entrance of the dressing room while seated at his locker.

Noah then addressed Perkins directly, asking if he wanted him to leave and saying if Perkins wanted him out he would leave. Perkins, still seated, responded with an obscenity-laced retort, which he capped by saying “Get yo' (expletive) up out of here.”

The situation was then broken up by officials and security but Perkins and Noah briefly exchanged words in the hallway when they crossed paths.

The Chicago Bulls are receiving inquiries about the availability of Luol Deng and he has come to accept the possibility of a move.

“Maybe some guys dwell on that or would be bothered by it, but, honestly, I really don’t care,’’ Deng said. “I know that I want to be here. I’ve always wanted to be here.

‘‘But I’m mature enough to understand that I can’t worry about things I can’t control. If I wake up tomorrow, they call me and they tell me otherwise, then that’s what it is. I can’t control that. That’s their job, and they’ve got to do their job. That’s a decision they have to make on what they feel is best for the team.’’

The Bulls and Deng were upwards of $5 million per season apart on an extension before breaking off talks.