Chicago Bulls: Selecting franchise’s 2010 All-Decade team
Small Forward of the decade: Luol Deng
The Bulls acquired the rights to Luol Deng via a trade with the Phoenix Suns in 2004. After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, Deng, along with Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich, helped guide the Bulls to four playoff appearances in five seasons.
During the 2010s, though, Deng became an integral cog of Chicago’s rotation under Tom Thibodeau. Deng played four seasons with the Bulls and during that stretch and never averaged less than 15.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.
During his last season in a Bulls uniform, he was averaging 19 points and 6.9 boards per contest before he was dealt to the Cavaliers.
Under Thibodeau, Deng was a two-time All-Star that led the league in minutes played for two consecutive years. Long before Jimmy Butler became a staple on the defensive end of the floor, it was Deng who had the unenviable task of defending the opposing team’s best player while remaining a threat from an offensive standpoint, and he did so at a high level.