Luol Deng ready to defy trainer by fulfilling national duty

[jax98]

I feel the sentiment in this thread is 100% correct.

'No one wants to deny Luol the chance of playing for GB, however...'

This is exactly right. He did sign for $71 million which has to be honoured. If GB comes first in his book, I see no reason why the Bulls should honour his contract and they might as well void it. That is if he's injured of course. If he's fully healthy, I have no problem with him participating. But as it seems right now, he needs an entire off-season to get back to 100% - So no, I don't approve.

[lostonbase]

Maybe the Bulls can work out a deal ala Beckam? Can we sell him for part of the season to Arsenal? He makes a damn good arse if you ask me.

[Tommy Udo 6]

Maybe the Bulls can work out a deal ala Beckam? Can we sell him for part of the season to Arsenal? He makes a damn good arse if you ask me.

Arsenal is a football (soccer) team.

Deng is playing for the NATIONAL team which is a government sponsored team - not a private club.

the national team only plays in summer, when other leagues do not play. That is why teams can release their players to the national team.

The only complication with Deng is that he doesnt have full insurance so GB must purchase it - and the fact that Deng wants to play even though his trainer & team doctors are advising rest.

[lostonbase]

I guess I should of typed it in green.

[DASMACKDOWN]

Its been a tough year for Deng, but you know how national duty and pride goes.

How do you think the Rockets feel about Yao every year. They dont like it right? Yao seemingly has been hurt every year and he still has to go back home and play for the national team.

I mean sure, we all want Deng to sit out and get healthy but it looks like its not going to happen for a while.

If Deng was a rock of health and energy it would be different. But in 5 seasons now, he has only really been healthy for 2 of them.

If it were say Joakim Noah or Tyrus, guys that need extra game play, we would probably have no issue with them playing.

I do worry a little bit about Deng and his physical makeup though.

Mainly because he isnt a physical player.

He isnt like a Rose who is always going through contact.
He isnt like Kirk or Gordon who always has to phyically overcome bigger players.

He he basically a jumpshooter that has to deal with very little contact.

Yet he is the one with the most nagging injuries.

[coldfish]

OK, I haven't seen this mentioned here and I kind of feel like I am missing something. Can't Chicago just say no? Or more specifically, tell Deng that if he plays for GB, he will be cut?

All kinds of crazy permutations:
- For trade purposes, he becomes a non guaranteed contract. He could be traded and then cut by another team which opens up a ridiculous number of possibilities.
- He can be just outright cut by the Bulls, saving them a ton of money.
- The Bulls could decide he isn't worth the hassle and trade him to a team who thinks he is
- The Bulls could decide he is worth the hassle and tell him no GB this summer
- The Bulls could be big hearted and not cut him and allow him to play for GB

I'm not going to bash Deng. As others have noted, he has been trying to play through injuries for two years now. This isn't TMac. He is also being noble in his desire to get GB in a good position for the olympics. He is basically trying to push an entire sport in GB. That being said, him playing for GB clearly isn't in Chicago's best interest. This is a guy who will be taking up 15 to 20% of the salary who may not be available at 100% due to injuries. That's a huge problem for a team trying to win some games.

[dougthonus]

The Bulls had to write a release for Deng to go last year because Deng isn't part of the NBA group insurance policy. I wonder if that release covered all future years or only that year. If it only covered that year, then the Bulls could deny him this year (and IMO, they should do so even if it engenders bad feelings).

[Tri_N]

Great, this scrub is going to break his leg and cripple us for years. If this franchise has any vision, they would ship this loser out for expiring contracts and a bag of chips right now. Dung's value is becoming more toxic day by day.

[Rerisen]

If Reinsdorf was the one making the ultimate decisions about which players to resign and their value, hopefully he has learned a lesson about leaving the basketball stuff to his GM. It always seemed Paxson valued BG quite a lot, but that never mattered or came through in the negotiations, which were probably above his head and dictated by the salary cap realities that existed after Deng was taken care of 'face to face' with doofus.

[Tommy Udo 6]

The Bulls had to write a release for Deng to go last year because Deng isn't part of the NBA group insurance policy. I wonder if that release covered all future years or only that year. If it only covered that year, then the Bulls could deny him this year (and IMO, they should do so even if it engenders bad feelings).

Logically, the release was good only as long as Great Britain had the insurance covered.
I would think Great Britain only bought insurance for last summer - not all the way until the 2012 Olympics.
In that case, the release would have only have been good for last summer & he would have to be released again for this summer.

Now, are the Bulls REQUIRED to release him if GB produces full insurance? I dont know. In soccer, the club does NOT need to release a player for national team duty if they feel it is to the detriment of the team. I'm not sure about the NBA contract with FIBA.

[Tommy Udo 6]

Great, this scrub is going to break his leg and cripple us for years. If this franchise has any vision, they would ship this loser out for expiring contracts and a bag of chips right now. Dung's value is becoming more toxic day by day.

As I wrote above: what GM will trade for an injury prone $62 million dollar contract - who insists on playing all summer for his national team (thus increasing risk of injury).

One good thing about the Bulls - they do admit they make mistakes & they correct them. There are many examples - most recent being Wallace & Nocioni.

YET - the Deng contract will very very hard to trade. even if the Bulls are admitting they blew it with Deng, trading him will be extremely difficult

[Red Larrivee]

It is kinda funny isn't it? During this summer, Gordon was straight up Satan himself for a month or so, with Deng being the saint. Now things have reversed. If you thought it was bad now, just wait and see how the board is about to turn on Mr. Deng.

Seems like just yesterday. I still can't grasp that this is the player that the Bulls undervalued Gordon in favor for. Ben probably won't get the payday but if he leaves this team in the offseason, management is going to look like dupes for being stuck with the contract of the regressed Kirk and Deng.

As for Deng saving up so he can play for Great Britain, big slap in the face. It'd be great if there was some way to void his deal from this, but probably not the case. Either way, you have to question Deng's passion to play NBA Basketball.

[treis]

I actually don't have a big problem with this. The important games for GB are Sept. 7-9, which is 3 weeks before training camp starts. By that time, he should be gearing up for the NBA season anyway. Three games isn't a big deal, and if Deng starts resting now he can get 6+ months of rest in. I'd imagine that's plenty of time to heal.

[dougthonus]

Now, are the Bulls REQUIRED to release him if GB produces full insurance? I dont know. In soccer, the club does NOT need to release a player for national team duty if they feel it is to the detriment of the team. I'm not sure about the NBA contract with FIBA.

Based on the link suckfish sent me which was a British basketball site discussing Deng playing for GB, no. They aren't required to release him. The FIBA/NBA agreement only requires teams to release the player if they are covered on the NBA group insurance policy.

[Balance-a-Bull]

I am not the least bit surprised by Deng's assertion to play for GB this summer.

Reinsdork displayed poor judgment in overvaluing Deng and undervaluing BG, considering BG has been the best player on the team they were both drafted the same year.......and Deng gave him a sign about his allegiance when he played hardball during contract negotiations last summer.

The writing was on the wall...but JR was to blind to see it.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

Deng might deliver one-and-done edict to Bulls

AS VEGAS – Unless the Chicago Bulls can reach an agreement for a contract extension with restricted free agent Luol Deng before he departs to join the Great Britain national team in two weeks, he will end talks and tell management that he plans to leave the organization as a free agent next summer, a source close to Deng told Yahoo! Sports.

Deng is determined to come to terms on a long-term contract, but he has set an Aug. 4 deadline to reach an agreement. Once Deng, 23, leaves the country for the European Championship qualifying tournament, he will sign a one-year qualifying offer for $4.5 million and become an unrestricted free agent in 2009.

The message to the Bulls promises to be implicit: Unless the two sides come to terms soon, Deng will never again negotiate with them. He will not let the uncertainty over his future hang over another basketball season, and unless a sign-and-trade is worked out, Deng will play out his final season in 2008-09 and sign elsewhere next summer.

When reached on Sunday, Deng’s agent, Jason Levien, would only say, “We continue to talk to the Bulls and remain hopeful that something can be accomplished.”

Recently, negotiations with the Bulls’ restricted free agents, Deng and guard Ben Gordon, took a dramatic turn when owner Jerry Reinsdorf decided to take over the talks himself. The Bulls made offers of $57.5 million and $50 million to Deng and Gordon last summer, but both players turned down those deals. Deng changed representation and hired Levien, who scored a five-year, $55 million extension for Sacramento’s Kevin Martin last year.

So far, the Bulls haven’t returned to that $57.5 million figure and the sides have remained significantly apart. If the Bulls believe Deng is serious about leaving next year, they may have no choice but to broker a sign-and-trade with one of the numerous suitors around the league. The Utah Jazz and Miami Heat are expected to be two of the most aggressive pursuers.

After a breakthrough 2006-2007 season, Deng’s production dipped to 17 points per game this past season. After the contract unrest of last summer, Deng and Gordon were part of months of trade talks with the Lakers involving Kobe Bryant, and the Bulls never seemed to be past it all. Nevertheless, Chicago’s basketball executives have long wanted Deng as the franchise’s cornerstone. At 6-foot-9, he’s still considered one of the NBA’s most versatile and skilled young talents.

After meeting with new coach Vinny Del Negro, Deng has developed a renewed enthusiasm about staying with the Bulls this summer, the source said. Nevertheless, it appears time is of the essence for Deng’s future in Chicago. Once Deng gets on that flight for England, that could be the beginning of the end for him with the Bulls. Two weeks and counting now.

[Ben Wilson25]

As I wrote above: what GM will trade for an injury prone $62 million dollar contract - who insists on playing all summer for his national team (thus increasing risk of injury).

Kevin Pritchard has used a strategy in the draft of taking guys who he feels have highly rated talent but have dropped in value for injury or other concerns. LMA (injury concerns), Roy (injury concerns), Fernandez (contract concerns), Bayless (position concerns), etc.

We've always heard KP loves Deng. Maybe he thinks these injuries will blow over and Lu will return to form. He did take a lot of heat for standing pat at the deadline. Maybe he's ready to take another chance this summer on someone he perceives to have an artificially low value.

[DuckIII]

anyrate, for those who pointed out there was no evidence Deng has Great Britain as his priority can now rest assured

I'll rest assured that there is still no evidence that Deng prioritizes the GB team over the Bulls. None. I will concede, as I always have, that he values them both and perhaps values his committment to his national team more than, say, Michael Redd does. But this story absolutely does not validate the baseless opinion, stated by you and TommyUdo, that the GB team is where Deng's committment lies and that the Bulls is something he just does on the side.

This story evidences a player committed to playing for his national team as well as his professional team, with some very unique reasons why as stated by both Dantown and coldfish. Indeed, the story explicitly states that Deng will be balancing his committment to both teams by significantly reducing his role with the GB team this summer, to something quite a bit less than what they were hoping for. Its just that Deng isn't going to forsake that committment altogether.

Is Deng's sense of committment to GB more than I, as an American Bulls fan who doesn't give a rat's ass about British basketball, would like it to be? Absolutely. Selfishly, I don't want him playing for the national team and, in fact, openly rooted against Hinrich making the Olympic squad for the same reasons. I will not, however, allow my personal bias and preference to cloud my objective view of the choices these players make.

A number of you are saying that Deng should return part of his contract amount to the Bulls, or that he's not honoring his contract, or even that the Bulls should waive him for this. Here's the news: None of this violates Deng's contract. None of it. Cuban explored what he could do to limit Dirk and Nash in their international committments and realized, damn, it doesn't breach an NBA contract to play for a national team. And with Dirk the inquiry was injury related (ankle issue, I believe), just like with Deng. The Spurs came to the same conclusion.

Deng is honoring his committment to both organizations. Not prioritizing one over the other. A lot of you want Deng to openly prioritize the Bulls over GB, by disregarding the latter committment altogether. I want that to. But his decision to honor both is not evidence that he values his national team first.

Nonetheless, as a Bulls fan I am definitely disappointed in his decision.

[AAU Teammate]

We're all jumping on Luol for risking injury here

Whereas a big chunk of the posts on sites like these talk about the modern athlete's greed and lack of passion for the game.


Here a guy is trying against all odds to play in games for free, and we're all turning into Reinsdorfs in disgust. Talking about what he 'owes his employer'


Without even looking at specifics, or my viewpoint on whether or not he should play, it's just a weird turn of events where we have a guy who loves the game, and we still find a reason to hate on him.

[dougthonus]

A number of you are saying that Deng should return part of his contract amount to the Bulls, or that he's not honoring his contract, or even that the Bulls should waive him for this. Here's the news: None of this violates Deng's contract. None of it. Cuban explored what he could do to limit Dirk and Nash in their international committments and realized, damn, it doesn't breach an NBA contract to play for a national team. And with Dirk the inquiry was injury related (ankle issue, I believe), just like with Deng. The Spurs came to the same conclusion.

Deng isn't covered fully by the NBA group insurance policy. To my knowledge, Dirk and Manu were covered completely by the group insurance policy.

Thus there is a large distinction between those two things as the FIBA/NBA agreement requires the team to release their player if they aren't covered by the NBA group insurance policy according to here

[DanTown8587]

I will point at that training playing in the Olympics made Dwyane Wade a remarkably healthy player this year and he rose to third best player in the league.

Kobe Bryant went ahead and didn't have surgery on a finger that gives him pain every day and limits his dribbling, yet LA didn't seem to mind when he played for Team USA.

Yao Ming broke his leg, missed the end of the 07-08 season and rushed back as soon as he could to play for the Chinese national team and Manu Ginobli play hurt last year and got hurt again. So you never know how injured guys will react when they play international ball.

And like someone said, its three games about a month before training camp. This isn't some month long tournament. Sure there is risk, but the risk has never changed.

And my final point: its not like Deng waited to get some big deal before starting to play international basketball and deceived the Bulls into giving him that money thinking he would never play internationally and then bam, there he goes. He always has stated how much he loves GB basketball and wanted to represent them. So how could the Bulls be surprised he wants to play for them every summer he can?