The Clipperblogger Summit - Part Four
Clips Nation — ... That leaves Kaman.  As I said, I'd rather keep Kaman, but he may be the logical one to move this off-season.  His contract doesn't make him a pariah, and seven-footers with skills remain a pretty limited resource.  Wouldn't Chicago, desperate for a post presence, take the oft-injured and sometimes underachieving Kaman for the oft-injured and sometimes underachieving Luol Deng?  We've also seen chatter (none of it substantiated, from what I can tell) of Kaman for ...

The Clipperblogger Summit - Part Five
Clips Nation — ... ’s deal isn’t a toxic asset, but that he might be the best candidate to be traded to clear some room in the frontcourt, because the other contract down low – that belonging to Zach Randolph – is a millstone. As much as I’d like for the Clips to move Randolph, I wouldn’t do it for Luol Deng, a player I like a whole lot more than Randolph. Deng has a huge deal that runs through 2014, and my dislike for Randolph isn’t more unyielding than my strong belief that rebuilding requires payroll flexibility. If that means ...

More Worries About Rajon Rondo
Sactown Royalty — ... your starting power forward -- and you'd have to re-sign him. Rondo is up for a contract next summer. Thompson is up for a contract in 2012. The No. 4 pick is up for a contract in 2013. Unless the team thinks it can upgrade its defense around Rondo, Martin and Hawes -- that'd mean small forward and the newly vacant power forward -- I'm not sure how it makes sense. How easy will it be to pull one of the great defenders at small forward this summer or next? I'm talking Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, (cough) ...

Gar Forman at the podium for pre-draft media scrum
Blog a Bull — ... Well done. I for one will never (ok, maybe sometime...eventually) get over how the Bulls previous (now promoted) GM rankled at the sight of any media obligation, with the possible exception of giving out the 47th 'Luol Deng: great man!' award of the year. No doubt that a big part of Pax's distaste for his well-paying high-profile job was dealing with the media and the dreaded 'misinformation' they churned daily. ...

NBA Draft Rumors: A Round Up
Ridiculous Upside — ... deal. This deal has been shelved for now, because the Suns want young players or picks coming their way as well... There was also talk (though I haven't heard anything since) of an O'Neal for Luol Deng deal. ...

Are the Phoenix Suns trading away another draft pick?
Fanster.com — Are the Phoenix Suns going to trade away another draft pick? The Phoenix Suns have been known for their draft day blunders throughout the last few years. Some picks the team have given up are Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trailblazers, Rajon Rondo of the Championship winning Boston Celtics, Luol Deng of the Bull or Andre Iguodala who was also available with Deng’s pick, and Marcin Gortat just to name a few. They are known for trading their draft picks for cash which has led the franchise to where it ...

Chad Ford's Mock Draft 7.0
Blog a Bull — ... Blair is the most physical. Casspi isn't far behind. Hansbrough is the most NBA-ready. Mullens has the most upside. Johnson is somewhere in between. I'm not sure exactly how Johnson fits in Chicago with Luol Deng on one side and ...

Making Sense of The Draft
Blazersedge — ... and Luol Deng.  Forman immediately sang Gordon's praises and said the Bulls were highly interested in retaining him.  He mentioned that Deng was almost fully recovered from injury and was back in the gym.  He didn't forget Deng or answer only half of the question, mind you.  He specifically, and seemingly consciously, failed to mention his commitment to keeping him. ...

Don't Expect July Fireworks From the Clippers
Clips Nation — ... (or maybe Luol Deng).  Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld has been talking about the possibility of Hinrich to the Clippers for awhile.  But if Gordon bolts, Hinrich will likely stay in Chicago. ...

Ben Gordon is a Piston. We're stuck being Bulls fans.
Blog a Bull — ... Even if this contract, in a vacuum, is overpaying Gordon, this is what the Bulls risked by not signing him the previous two seasons. They talk all the time about the benefits of signing early extensions to hedge against injury (hello, Luol Deng!) or poor play (Kurt!). Well it goes the other way too: if the team doesn't get the extensions done early, they risk getting outbid. And apparently Ben Gordon is worth $11m a season, as it only takes one team to make it truth. And this isn't a true market where the Bulls can just go out and pay for a ...

Official Salary Cap and Luxury Tax figures for your Chicago Bulls
Blog a Bull — ... agents to sign deals with teams. The luxury tax level also dropped to $69.92 million. Any team whose salary exceeds that will have to pay $1 for every $1 it goes over. (emphasis mine, and emphasis of the Bulls franchise) I'll just copy the work of RealGM poster Tommy Udo 6, who figured how close the Bulls actually are to the tax threshold: Signed: Brad Miller – $12,250,000 Luol Deng - $10,365,000 Kirk Hinrich - $9,500,000 Jerome ...

One Simple Rule for Andray Blatche
Bullets Forever — ... him in a very mixed, and arguably elite, company.  Here are the players with at least 1,000 minutes who managed a better than 14.5 PER last season while shooting a worse than 52% true shooting percentage: Anthony Randolph, Tracy McGrady, Louis Williams, Roy Hibbert, Derrick Rose, Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, Russell Westbrook, Andray Blatche, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Rodney Stuckey, and Luol Deng. That puts Blatche with an interesting mix of ...

Team evaluations: Better, same or worse?
Pounding The Rock — ... but they will be getting Luol Deng back, who missed about half the season including all of their epic playoff series against the Celtics, and they have another season to gel with their midseason additions of ...

14 Worst NBA Contracts
Sactown Royalty — ... Bargnani: 6 years, $56.5M Comment: That's a pretty major gamble for a perimeter scoring big man who doesn't play defense. Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett: 3 years, $56.6M Comment: If KG is healthy? A bargain. If not? Ouch! Milwaukee Bucks Andrew Bogut: 5 years, $60.0M Comment: Like Toronto, certain teams don't want to believe that the first overall pick might not deserve first overall money. TBD. Chicago Bulls Luol Deng: 5 years, 61.7M Comment: Bit of a gamble there. Especially ...

Your 2009-10 Bulls Roster by 6-Year Adjusted-Plus Minus
Blog a Bull — ... and weighted greater for the most recent years of the remaining 30%). I decided to look through the current Bulls remaining on the team to get a sense of what we might be able to expect from this team next year. Player, 2008-09 Minutes, Off. APM, Def. APM, Std. Error, Total APM 1. Brad Miller, 2100, 1.96, 3.00, .98,  4.96 2.  Joakim Noah, 1911, .89, 2.87, 1.1, 3.76 3. Kirk Hinrich, 1338, 1.12, 2.38, .96, 3.50 4. Luol Deng, 1627, -.48, 2.35, 1.03, 1.87 5. Ben ...

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Chicago Bulls- Ring Around the Rose-y
Golden State Of Mind — ... (but don't count on it- the Bulls have repeatedly shown a complete inability to pull off a trade for an All-Star caliber player the past few seasons even when it seemed like the player was theirs for the taking) or some in-house development (but we've been hearing that for years from guys like Luol Deng, ...

Competition Discussion: Chicago Bulls
Bullets Forever — ... record: 40-42) Playoffs: Lost to Boston 4-3 in first round Offensive Rating: 108.4 (14th) Defensive Rating: 108.7 (18th) Pace: 93.1 possessions/game (9th) In: Jannero Pargo, James Johnson, Taj Gibson Out: Ben Gordon, Tim Thomas, Linton Johnson Projected starting lineup: Derrick Rose, John Salmons, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah ...

EuroBasket 2009 Update
Clips Nation — ... and Luol Deng on the roster.)  In the process, the tournament loses it's leading scorer, Israeli Lior Eliyahu, whose draft rights belong to the ...

EuroBasket 2009 - Spain are the Champions
Clips Nation — ... in 2007 seemed to be a non-starter.  After all, Russia rode to the title on the back of an NBA star in Andrei Kirilenko, and in the 2009 edition, most of the players who seemed capable of carrying a team either played for Spain or decided not to come to Poland. Russia's Kirilenko didn't play. Germany's Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman didn't play. Turkey's Mehmut Okur didn't play. Great Britain's Ben Gordon and Luol Deng didn't play. Slovenia's Beno Udrih didn't ...

Deng not 100%
Blog a Bull — ... in reacting to the news that Luol Deng sat out of a practice this week. While nothing to get that nervous about, Deng is, by definition, not 100%. But that said, I'm all for precaution in training camp and preseason. It's just another reminder how tenuous predictive success is for this team...a lot of things have to go right. ...

Training Camp Invites - Chicago Bulls
Ridiculous Upside — ... looks.  He doesn't rebound or get to the free-throw line consistently, and he's not the quickest guy, but he can definitely score and he's a decent passer for a swingman, and he generally makes smart decisions.  Byars averaged just under 17 points per 36 minutes in Bakersfield last year, and he shot just over 38 percent on three-pointers.  He also does a pretty good job of staying out of foul trouble.  I think Chicago would do well to sign Byars, in part because Luol Deng's health is still somewhat tenuous, and because he would give ...

Bulls win thriller in London, rookies impress those with little expectations (i.e. me)
Blog a Bull — ... Luol Deng was able to thrill his hometown crowd with a solid game, and just like in the opener it was just nice to see him playing without a broken leg. What was different than the opener was Luol showing something different, a couple of post-up plays. If he can use it to exploit certain matchups, it'd be a nice complement to his game. I'm not sure he'll ever be able to dribble-drive by many defenders. He hit a three-pointer in this game as well, the other thing we all wish Luol could do more often. Though  ...

Game Thread: Bulls/Bucks
Brew Hoop — ... Kirk Hinrich SG Michael Redd Luol Deng SF Carlos Delfino Taj ...

Recap: Bucks 98, Bulls 86
Brew Hoop — ... also didn't hurt his cause in his first start, though we do know that he won't be starting on opening night--word came down before the game that he will be suspended for the opener as a result of his skirmish with Austin Daye on Wednesday.  I'll be happy with Delfino so long as he defends respectably and buries threes, both of which he accomplished tonight.  He made 3/5 threes en route to 12 points in 27 minutes, while also helping limit John Salmons and Luol Deng to a combined 4/17 shooting night. ...

NBA Blog Previews - Chicago Bulls
Blog a Bull — ... The Bulls should be able to compensate for the loss of Gordon to maintain their ultimately average level, through the addition of Salmons, a healthy season from Luol Deng, and steps up in the careers of ...

Gar Foreman: still full of it
Blog a Bull — ... And that doesn't mean he needs to tell the truth, or that it effects his job performance. Though it's not a good sign when your crowning achievement in the front office was taking over the Luol Deng negotiations, I'm willing to give him a shot. ...

GameThread -5: vs. Bulls
Canis Hoopus — ... the Celtics to Game 7 in what may have been the greatest playoff series in NBA history, the Bulls let Ben Gordon leave via free agency and brought in Taj Gibson, James Johnson and Jannero Pargo. Johnson looked quite good in Summer League and could develop into a very versatile small forward. Even with a strong backcourt rotation of Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and John Salmons, I think the Bulls will miss Gordon's scoring. Luol Deng is coming off a lost season after sitting 33 games due to ...

Central Division Preview
Blazersedge — ... last year, but they were still a great team, and the Bulls, in a very thrilling series, took them to seven games.  One of the big heroes of that series was Ben Gordon who left for Detroit.  The Bulls are betting on the return of Luol Deng at small forward, and then pushing John Salmons to the two.  It works in theory, and I like John Salmons, especially when he went to Chicago and helped make them better.  Early in the season is when Salmons and Deng will need to prove they can play together, otherwise the Bulls may not return to the ...

Open Thread: Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls, Preseason Game 9
Bullets Forever — ... Kirk Hinrich Mike Miller SG John Salmons Caron Butler SF Luol Deng  Fabricio Oberto ...

Bulls elect captains, and more Bulls season predictions
Blog a Bull — ... ) from Luol Deng about his progress this preseason. It sounds like Luol acknowledges the lack of 'lift' he's shown, but feels it's a form of rust and conditioning, not some lingering aspect of the injury. What I do quibble with is this insistence (from no less of a source than Deng himself) that he needs 'rhythm' and a 'system' to be effective. If that is true, that's not a $70m player, even when healthy. But that contract's long done, so I'll settle for him being mildly overpaid as a 'system' player than wildly overpaid as a jumpless one. ...

NBA Eastern Conference Predictions
CelticsBlog — ... wants to go restricted next season. Rose and Noah will continue to get better. They must find a way to get a healthy Luol Deng involved more. Hinrich and Salmons will help make up for the loss of ...

BaB official (and a couple days late) Eastern Conference predictions
Blog a Bull — ... nothing' acquisition, and I think him knowing from the outset he's the 6th man will help him finally get to the playoffs. Joe Smith was another solid ex-Bull addition, and the rest of the 46-win team of last season is not only intact from last year, but with several main pieces still approaching their prime. On the other hand, there's also the possible coach-fatigue collapse looming. Washington Wizards - It's one thing to look forward to the return of Luol Deng, but the Wizards getting back not only Gilbert Arenas but ...

Game Preview #2 - Chicago Bulls at Boston Celtics
Blog a Bull — ... And while I'll never concede that a first round loss to a team losing its best player is anything to build on, what I did get out of that series was an intense hate of the Celtics. And the players likely aren't too fond of eachother either, which will bring a fun subplot to the game, even if principalslike KG and Luol Deng (and Gordon missing) making the 'rivalry' not quite the same in terms of the actual basketball. ...

Boston Aims for 3-0 Against Pesky Chicago
CelticsBlog — ... in Chicago in their first game of the season last night, 92-85. Chicago saw six players score in double figures last night, including 17 from a healthy Luol Deng. ...

Game #6 - Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Night Open Therad
Fear The Sword — ... Anthony Parker Taj Gibson SF LeBron James Luol Deng PF Anderson Varejao Joakim ...

Gameday Preview at Chicago Bulls
Rufus on Fire — ... Finally, the Bulls have three guys that, in my pre-Rufus days, I trashed and predicted the team would regret picking: Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, and ...

Game Preview # 6: Bulls vs Charlotte Bobcats
Blog a Bull — ... vs. Luol Deng: Wallace normally would win this one running away [not only is he good, but Deng would be on the bench!], but Deng's had a pair of good performances and looks to be fully recovered from the stress fracture that had him playing so poorly in the preseason and last year before he shut it down. Hopefully this continues. He didn't exactly 'shut down' LeBron, but he stopped him on the last possession, and LeBron's stats were only 25 points [on 17 shots], 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. ...

Game Preview #10: Bulls at Sacramento Kings
Blog a Bull — ... stars of the Kings team are Tyreke Evans and Jason Thompson (especially since Kevin Martin went down), which makes this matchup more intriguing.   If I haven't lost you by now, see you after the jump. Also, I apologize for the length of this in advance. Starting lineup's for the Bulls:              Derrick Rose John Salmons Luol Deng Joakim Noah Taj Gibson Starting lineup's ...

Preview: Bulls at Kings
Sactown Royalty — ... Luol Deng 9 38.6 7.0 15.6 45.0 0.3 0.6 60.0 3.2 4.2 76.3 3.0 6.2 9.2 1.7 1.6 0.8 0.8 1.6 17.6 ...

Game Preview #10: Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Blog a Bull — ... -How will Luol Deng respond knowing that the man across from him on the court may be criminally insane? Win? Lose? Go crazy? Both? Neither? ...

Game Preview # 12 - Bulls @ Nuggets
Blog a Bull — ... point total they can hold the Nuggets to.  And as we are all undoubtedly aware, the Bulls have scored 100 points or more only once this season, a 101-point effort against the Kings.  Average points scored is a nearly meaningless stat in and of itself, but it is symbolic of the Bulls offensive struggles this season - plus, I can't help but laugh that the Nuggets points average is higher than the Bulls best scoring game of the season.  The Bulls are led by Luol Deng with 16.4 points, Joakim Noah with 12.6 rebounds, and ...