Luol Deng: Should the Bulls Push Back Surgery so He Can Play in the Olympics?

Despite tearing a ligament in his left wrist, Chicago Bulls' forward Luol Deng still intends to compete for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympics in London, ESPN's Nick Friedell reported earlier this week.

The controversy arises because Deng needs surgery on the aforementioned wrist during the summer, and will take about three to four months before he can return to a basketball court. If Deng waits until after the Olympics, he will miss the first part of the season. If he were to complete the surgery after the playoffs, he would likely be back to start the season. 

We need to start off the argument by saying that Deng will be paid $13,326,700 next year to play basketball for the Chicago Bulls, according to Hoops Hype—not to play for Great Britain but to play for the Bulls. 

Knowing that, Deng still should play for team Great Britain. When he signed this contract, the Chicago Bulls knew that Deng was a player who was going to play overseas during the summers, even though it could potentially cause him injury during the regular season. That's who Deng is as a player and as a person. 

His back story of being a Sudanese basketball player playing for Great Britain is well known. When Deng was young, he was first given refuge in Egypt and then the United Kingdom. This is Deng's way of giving back to the country that let him in. 

Deng is also the face of the UK's basketball program. He has worked hard for years to get the team to the Olympics in their home city of London. He has been on the cover of the English version of NBA Live. There was even a special edition Brixton pound note that came out with Deng on it.

If Deng waits until after the Olympics to have surgery, he will likely not be back until around December. The Bulls will absolutely struggle, especially since Derrick Rose will be out for that long as well. However, Deng's wrist injury happened while playing for Chicago. He played throughout this season with the injury and will still be inhibited for the Olympics because of it. 

Deng has done his part for Chicago by playing through the pain, and the Bulls should be understanding and let Deng represent his country in the Olympics. Not only will it keep Deng happy and motivated to come back, but it also allows Deng to be a good role model.

We hear players like Dwyane Wade say that Olympic athletes should be paid for their talents, not for the honor of representing their country. When we see players like Rose, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng want to represent their country for the love of it, it promotes an atmosphere in the locker room that the Bulls should encourage.