"I'm not suing anyone": Luol Deng alleges Bulls’ flu misdiagnosis led to career-altering surgery, explains decision against legal action
During the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the absences of both Derrick Rose and Luol Deng for the Chicago Bulls proved to be too much for the franchise. While Rose was battling injuries, Deng, who averaged 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game in the regular season, missed seven games.
At the time, what started as a headache progressed to flu-like symptoms, which the Bulls medical staff feared could be viral meningitis. They sent Deng to the hospital, where a spinal tap was performed despite other team members dealing with the same symptoms.
Not only did Deng not have viral meningitis, but he wound up dealing with complications from the procedure as spinal fluid leaked into his body. He then struggled to walk and lost a considerable amount of weight. In a 2013 interview with The Chicago Tribune, he said he lost control of his body.
During an appearance on Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles' "Knuckleheads Podcast" on Tuesday, Deng opened up on the situation:
"I ended up missing the playoffs," Deng said. "And what happened was that year there was a dispute going on with the NBPA and so on about me suing the Bulls because of what took place.
"But I knew that if I sued the Bulls, I would either not play basketball ever again in order to win the case, to prove that things didn't go well and this could be career-ending but wanted to hoop so I said, 'Yo, I'm not suing anyone. I'm just going to hoop. I'm just going to come back.'"
Luol Deng shares his perspective on the breakup of the Chicago Bulls
Luol Deng did not file a lawsuit against the Bulls that summer so he could return to action the following season.
With a healthy Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler beginning to come into his own as a budding young star in the league, hope was high among Chicago Bulls fans. However, after Rose went down with a meniscus injury just 10 games into the season, the front office decided to trade Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Deng talked about the 2013-14 season and everything that led up to the trade in January:
"Nothing was the same," Deng said, via the 'Knuckleheads Podcast.' "It just felt like, you know, every game I was given an opportunity to prove that I'm healthy. And as the year went on, like you said, I'm the leading scorer. I'm averaging almost 20 points.
"The next thing I know is I'm traded to Cleveland, and I still believe that move was made, really, because I've played enough games to show that, you know, I was healthy. That's when the team started being broken up, and one by one after I left, you know, you started seeing people being moved, Thibs being moved and so on."
In 2015, the Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau. They then traded Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks and lost Joakim Noah in free agency the following year, signaling the end of an era.