Underappreciated Player Too Expensive For Dysfunctional Franchise
Unlike Derrick Rose, Luol Deng is a leader and great humanitarian – and a player the Bulls didn’t care to keep.
1. The Silent Star by Dunkman827.
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2. 28 Points Against The Heat by Dawk Ins.
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3. Dengorous by Mrdjhiphop23.
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4. Luol Deng’s Exit Shows The Callous Nature Of Business.
“But for someone who did so much good for the Bulls and doubled as the NBA’s biggest humanitarian, Deng rarely felt fully appreciated by the organization,” former Beachwood White Sox correspondent Rickey O’Donnell writes for SB Nation. “The way they treated a player and person of his stature was often an embarrassment.”
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“The relationship between the player and team really started to sour in 2009. The Bulls misdiagnosed what turned out to be a stress fracture in his right leg and publicly challenged him to play through it. That isn’t an exaggeration. In the news release announcing the injury was this line: ‘He will be encouraged to challenge himself physically.’ A few weeks later, doctors were advising him not to put any weight the leg.
“It didn’t end there. Deng was issued a spinal tap when doctors suspected meningitis during last season’s playoff run, an injection that had severe repercussions on Deng’s body and glued him to a hospital bed. Once he was there, the Bulls showed little concern for him. Deng didn’t even have a private hospital room, much less visits from team personnel. Tom Thibodeau had the gall to say Deng had ‘flu-like symptoms, whatever‘ when asked about Deng’s illness. It set the stage for another contentious negotiation process. Deng’s impending free agency hung over this season the moment the last one ended.
“It should come as no surprise, then, that the Deng era ends in Chicago with a thud. The Bulls made one final overture to Deng, a three-year, $30 million contract that would have amounted to a hometown discount. Deng does some important things with his money. He wasn’t about to take less to play for an organization that mistreated him on numerous occasions over the years.”
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5. No Autographs by The UN Refugee Agency.
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6. Luol Deng’s Speech At The 2013 South Sudanese Australian National Classic.
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7. South Sudan: How Did The World’s Youngest State Unravel So Quickly?
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Comments welcome.
Posted on January 8, 2014