Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman finally gave some clarity on offseason rumors that All-Star forward Luol Deng would be moved before the start of the season, saying that there's no plans to deal him and that he's staying put for at least one more season, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"Well, we love Luol,'' Forman, who arrived into Vegas on Monday to watch Summer League play, said. "We see Luol as a valuable member of this team moving forward, so the window is open to talk about an extension. We've had some conversations. Whether something gets done, I don't know. But whether it's this summer or next summer, those are conversations we'll continue to have.''
Deng is scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season. There have been rumors around the league that the Bulls were shopping him around earlier this summer, but Forman said that was never the case.
"I mean our goal has been to bring this group back, and I know [Deng's] name was floated out there [in trade rumors], but we didn't initiate calls,'' Forman said. "We've gotten calls on some of our guys, but our goal has been to bring this group back healthy.''
Should the core group be unsuccessful in another season together, Deng would be allowed to test the market and power forward Carlos Boozer could be amnestied with just one more year remaining on his contract. Should that happens the Bulls will have financial flexibility that they haven't had in years.
"Here's the thing: We put this team together and then the new CBA came out,'' Forman said. "The new CBA is very restrictive in your ability to improve your basketball team because it's taken away a lot of the avenues there are to continue to build your team. So I've talked about it as almost a stock market correction.
"We like our team, we have a good group of guys, but we haven't had flexibility. Next summer will be the first chance we have to have some level of flexibility in order to add to the team."
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