He’s against the entire Bulls, except maybe Rose.

i asked what people thought about deng’s future back in 2006:
http://www.blogabull.com/2006/5/13/0652/62390

back then, most people thought he would be a future all star.

As is this McGraw blogpost that talks about it.

POSTGAME UPDATE: Luol Deng discussed his leg injury after the Bulls’ win over Golden State, the second straight game he’s skipped. I don’t think this is as controversial as some reports will make it out to be, though it was handled in a strange way.

To recap, Deng felt something early in Saturday’s game against Houston. X-rays suggested a possible stress fracture in his right tibia, but after an MRI exam came back clear the next day, the Bulls felt confident the injury was minor.

When Deng didn’t feel right on Tuesday in Charlotte, he decided to get another opinion, which is not unusual. Something did show up on a CT scan and now it appears Deng has the early stages of a stress fracture in his right tibia. According to a statement released by the team, there is no actual crack in the bone.

Is this diagnosis any different from the original view? Yeah, it seems to have changed a little, but that’s why doctors run further tests. After reading the statement and hearing Deng’s explanation, the two sides appear to be on the same page.

The team statement mentioned that decisions on Deng’s progress will be made on a day-to-day basis. But if his leg shows early signs of a stress fracture, logic suggests he needs some time off to get it headed in the right direction. My guess is Deng will be out at least two weeks.

John Salmons (23 points) played well against Golden State, so a quality replacement is available. The Bulls lost some depth by trading away Thabo Sefolosha, though. If Tim Thomas can return from a knee injury in a few days, they should be OK. If not, they’ll probably need to sign a forward to a 10-day contract.

UPDATE, 7 P.M. WEDNESDAY — The Bulls released an ambiguous statement about Luol Deng’s health status before Wednesday’s game against Golden State. The only thing I can gather definitively about this is the team does not think he has a stress fracture and does not expect him to miss the rest of the season.

Deng consulted his own doctor in the last day or two and had a CT scan, fearing that he might still have a stress fracture in his right tibia, even though the Bulls doctors determined after an MRI on Sunday that he did not.

I will say that if his leg has been bothering him for two or three weeks, like Deng said, I would think it’s more serious than a bruise. So who knows?

Dr. Brian Cole, by the way, is the Bulls’ team physician. And by "active rest," I assume they mean he won’t be playing, but won’t be sitting on the couch, either. Officially, he’s still day-to-day.

Deng was in the locker room before the game, but did not speak to reporters and coach Vinny Del Negro deferred to the team statement, which had not yet been distributed when he spoke. Here’s the full release:

"Luol Deng had an examination today by Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush Medical Center. A review of a repeat MRI, and CT scan of his tibia, indicate that this represents an early anterior tibial stress fracture. All of the information to date points to some mild inflammation along his tibia, with a small irregularity within the cortical bone, with no obvious break in the inner or outer layer of bone.

Symptoms, developing Saturday, when the Bulls played the Houston Rockets, prompted this recent evaluation. He has been restricted from high-level activity since then. At this point, he will undergo "active rest," meaning that he will be encouraged to challenge himself physically, and if symptoms remain minimal, he will be allowed an expeditious return to play. These decisions will be made on a day-to-day basis."

So, McGraw’s post is titled “Bulls and Deng seem to agree on leg”, which, I guess, can mean a couple things. It seems to me they agree now after Deng went out on his own for further testing the Bulls didn’t think was necessary. Which might explain some of the weird negative vibe emanating from the team about Deng. Or maybe it just means they “seem” to agree without looking at the hale of somewhat contradictory statements.

I dunno, but I’d be happier if this were made less strange. But then, it wouldn’t be how the Bulls do things.

he’s being paid like the team’s top player. he’s not being paid anywhere close to max money. he’s being paid like a 2nd or 3rd option. if rose comes out as we all expect, he’s going to be paid well more than deng…

Rose and Tyrus are (hopefully in TyT’s case) future stars, but of course are on rookie scale contracts. If the Bulls get a star through a trade or free agent signing (e.g. Bosh, Wade, J. Johnson), Deng will no longer be the highest paid player.

bq .At best, he is a third option on a good team but he is paid like he’s our team’s best player.

He’s a ninny.

Are in relation to the comments made by Bulls staff…. not my own feelings.

But the fact that the Bulls are calling out there 70 mil dollar man speaks volumes to me about their opinion of the nature of his injury.

especially after seeing t-mac limp through games this year. if deng is really banged up, then he should get healthy. because right now, he’s not playing as good as salmons. deng at 80% is not good enough. he needs to be at 100% to really be effective.

nice work!

Hanley’s a dweeb. Luol gets a bad rap. That said, he IS pretty soft. He’s been injured almost every single season. Hard to stick up for that.