Luol Deng signed a one-day contract recently to retire as a member of the Bulls following a 15-year NBA career. The Bulls quickly traded Deng to Miami for Dwyane Wade, who retired last year as a member of the Heat.
“Luol had a great career and we’re honored he wanted to retire with us,” said VP of Basketball Operations John Paxson. “But when you have a chance for a retired guy like Dwyane Wade to be a member of your team, you have to go after it.”
Deng — who was scheduled to be honored at the United Center Wednesday evening — was incensed by the meaningless trade but not surprised.
“I was reluctant to accept the Bulls’ invitation to sign with them and be honored at the United Center, but how did I expect they’d handle this?” asked Deng. “After all, this is the franchise that almost killed me six years ago.”
