The Chicago Bulls are dealing with a tough situation with star Derrick Rose out for the season with a knee injury and as that is going on, the team has questions about whether or not they will trade Luol Deng or re-sign him in the offseason and those questions may not be answered for some time by general manager Gar Forman.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Bulls are still hoping to bring back Deng in the offseason when he becomes a restricted free agent despite the fact that two sides could not come to an extension agreement before the season started. The two sides were talking about a new deal before things got tabled and while many thought the Bulls might trade Deng during the season because of that, even more in the media speculated that he could be dealt since Rose was injured. Deng is coming into the final year of a big contract that pays him over $14 million and his expiring deal is something that many teams could be interested in, including possibly the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets, who have their own issues with Omer Asik.
The report says that Forman spoke on the radio on Tuesday about Deng and said that he feels the team has a good chance to re-sign him and that a trade is not a guarantee. Forman explained some issues regarding the CBA that has kept some players from signing extensions and that the issues regarding the two sides and the fact that a deal didn't get done doesn't mean Deng will be gone from the Bulls. The Bulls in fact need Deng to do any damage this season, as he is a very versatile player and is currently leading the team in scoring after doing the same last season while Rose was out and he has developed into a very good defender and shooter.
Deng has said to the media that he wouldn't mind retiring as a Bulls player, but it is also a business and the team would change its mind depending on how the season starts to play out. The Cavaliers have reportedly shopped Dion Waiters to the Bulls for a possible Deng trade and they have also spoken with the Knicks about Iman Shumpert and the 76ers about Evan Turner and any of those deals could go down and the one with New York is interesting since they look likely to shake things up if they keep losing.
The Bulls are currently 7-9 on the season and Deng has been the primary scorer for the team, including in an overtime loss to the Pelicans that saw him score 37 points and he has been the key player and will continue to be for the Bulls. The team is second in the division to the Pacers and it is likely that Indiana already has the central wrapped up with the way they have started. Deng has helped the Bulls rank fourth in points allowed and second in rebounds per game and the team is also ranked 23rd in scoring.
