Bulls Block Luol Deng's British Play

You knew it would come to this eventually: the Bulls, who agreed to pay Luol Deng a handsome sum of money through 2014, have decided the player, who missed several months of 2008-09 action with a leg injury, is not healthy enough to play with Great Britain's national team this summer. The Daily Mirror reports the Bulls won a struggle to keep Deng off the nation's roster for the Eurobasket 2009 tournament.

It also may effectively end Great Britain's chances to field a team at the 2012 Olympics in London. Host nations are typically granted automatic bids, but that supposes a reasonable level of competitiveness in the sport. The Queen's roster is not exactly loaded without Deng (Pops Mensah-Bonsu is the top player remaining), and Great Britain sits in a tough group at Eurobasket in September, one featuring Olympic runner-up Spain, talented Slovenia and Serbia. Without Deng, a good showing here -- and momentum for a 2010 FIBA Worlds berth -- seems unlikely.