Luol Deng will return to the Chicago Bulls for his 5th season in the NBA and with the Chicago Bulls after signing a new contract with the Bulls this summer.

Things didn’t always look like they would go well in the Deng negotiations. In mid-July, Luol Deng gave the Bulls an ultimatum. Deng reportedly told the Bulls sign me, or I am taking the qualifying offer and not negotiating with you [The Bulls] next summer. Then two days later, a Greek news source broke a story that stated that the Greek club, Olympiakos, had offered Luol Deng a $23 million over 2 year deal, which Manouselis, the Olympiakos general manager, later refuted.

In he end, Luol Deng agreed to a $71 million contract, that could be worth as much as $80 million after incentives with the Bulls.

Deng then went on to spend the summer under the tutelage of Chris Finch, playing for Chris Finch, for the Great Britain National Team. For awhile, it looked like Deng may never play for Great Britain because of an insurance issue. Deng’s back was one of MetLife’s 14 body part exclusions. Eventually, Deng was cleared to play after Great Britain officials came up with $500,000 to pay for supplemental insurance.

Luol Deng and Great Britain were able to qualify for the 2009 European Championship after winning Group D. They started off the tournament with a disappointing overtime loss to Israel. Deng had 30 points and 3 blocks in this game. Great Britain redeemed themselves by beating the Czech Republic 87-68. Deng finished this game with 21 points. Great Britain won their next game against Bosnia and Herzeogovina 82-74. Deng finished the game with 29 points. Luol Deng scored 21 points as Great Britain beat the Czech Republic 67-63 to claim their spot in the 2009 European Championship.

During the European Championship qualifying games, Deng did a pretty good job scoring the ball for international play, but it is hard to see that transferring over to the NBA. In the European Championships, Deng had turnover problems, often traveling, carrying the ball, and sometimes dribbling it off his legs.

Deng worked hard during the summer to try to become a first option.He worked out at IMG Academy with David Thorpe. He worked on improving putting the ball on the floor and driving to the basket from about 19 feet out. He has worked on his three point shooting, a Scottie Pippen bank shot, and his dribbling. He has been working on moves that will help him become a number one option.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Deng doesn’t have it in him to be a quality first option in the NBA, but that’s alright. The Bulls have Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon who can be the first two scoring options on the team. Deng can play off of those two, and be quite successful in that third option role.

This will be a bit of a redemption year for Deng. Last year, he struggled as a result of a back injury, which came as the result of an achilles injury. Deng will look to make up for his poor showing last season, although Deng has struggled early on in preseason.

The big question is, will Luol Deng live up to his $80 million contract? The answer depends on what you will be looking for out of Deng. If you expect him to be a first option for that kind of money, you likely will be disappointed. If you expect Deng to just be a good second or third option behind Rose and Gordon, than Deng will probably succeed in living up to his contract.

Doug Thonus has released the 62nd episode of the Bulls Beat podcast. This episode is all about Doug’s talk with David Thorpe, who has worked with Tyrus Thomas this summer. Also, Thonus couldn’t escape a podcast without getting into Ben Gordon.

Thomas didn’t get a 2nd session with David Thorpe to work out this summer because Vinny Del Negro requested all of the players to come back and work with the Bulls staff. Tyrus obliged because he wants to be a leader this year and be around the team as much as possible.

Many of people remember that quote from Scott Skiles last year about how Tyrus has to learn to work out like an NBA Player. According to Thorpe, Tyrus is getting it now. Tyrus is not a party guy that goes out and drinks. He gets to bed on time, gets a lot of sleep, and then gets up early. Tyrus has hired a personal chef that prepares him healthy meals all year round.

Tyrus is putting in extra time for strength and conditioning. Tyrus is now up to 230 lbs. Overall, from multiple sources, Tyrus’ work ethic is looking great. Tyrus has learned how to be a professional, who does all the things necessary to put himself in a position to succeed.

Tyrus now understands taht there is no one else to blame except himself now, for where his career goes. The coaching staff is going to give him an opportunity, and it is going to be sink or swim for Tyrus.

Thorpe also said that Tyrus is actually a very good shooter. He said that Tyrus has good technique and form, and with his technique and form, he has good consistency. Tyrus’ problem so far has been not getting the proper number of reps up, not having a defined role in the offense, and having his minutes yanked around.

Tyrus has been working a lot on his face up game. He is working on body control and working on finishing from 5 ft out with either hand.

Also, on a small Gordon note, all of Thonus’ NBA sources are telling him that Ben Gordon will take the qualifying offer.

In the podcast, Thonus also talks about the stupidity of the rumored Heat trade, his theory on Ben Gordon taking the Bulls offer, and some viewer emails.

You can listen to this podcast at Bullsbeat.com

Doug Thonus released the 60th episode of the Bulls Beat podcast, and it is a good one. In this episode, Thonus covers what each player needs to improve on this offeason, and covers their summer work ethic. Like always, Thonus uses his accurate analysis and a great knowledge of NBA economics to make for a great listen.

Here is what our players have been up to, so far this offseason:

Thabo Sefolosha - His wife was 8 months pregnant at the end of the NBA season. He went back to Europe to be with his wife and family for when the baby was born. He hasn’t been around Chicago very much. He has been working with his former coach back home.

Tyrus Thomas - He has been working out extremely hard this summer. His goals have been a little bit more perimeter oriented, and not working so much on the inside stuff and weight training. David Thorpe said previously that Tyrus really wanted to work on his perimeter game, because he thought it would get him more playing time, but Thorpe wanted him to work on his inside game. Tyrus is doing his 2nd session with Thorpe right now. Doug will have an update soon once Tyrus completes his 2nd workout session with Thorpe.

Joakim Noah - Hasn’t really worked out hard. Thonus says it seems pretty normal for guys to do this after their rookie season, like Tyrus last summer. Doesn’t sound to be up to a whole lot and seems distracted. He just hasn’t been working out as hard as everyone would like him to have been.

Ben Gordon - He has been working out really hard. Gordon works out with his own people (who Duhon once referred to as Gordon’s man-slave). Not very surprising that Gordon is working out so hard. Gordon is an absoute machine He is great with his body. He doesn’t drink heavily or do any drugs. Gordon is a complete health nut and an extraordinary workout warrior. He lives and breathes for basketball.

Kirk Hinrich - He has been one of the hardest working guys this offseason. He has been doing heavy weight training and is bulking up. He is up to around 205 pounds now and a lot more muscular. This should allow him to not wear down as much as he has in the past. He has been working on shooting and ball hadnling. He has been putting out a great effort at the Berto Center in front of the Bulls staff. It is very unlikely he is to be traded before the season starts due to his great offseason. He started working out hard before the Bulls got Rose, so it wasn’t in response to the pick. This is in line with something I was told 2 weeks before the draft that Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas were regulars in the Berto in May, and that Gordon and Deng have been in and out of there a lot too.

Luol Deng - Has also been a workout warrior. Him and Tyrus have been two of the hardest working players at IMG Academy. He has been trying to improve putting the ball on the floor and driving from the basket from 19 feet out. he has also been working out on his range. He is working on the Scottie Pippen bank shot and working on his dribbling game. Everything he has been working on has been more individual moves to help him become more of a go to scorer.

Drew Gooden - He has had a very good offseason so far. He has been working out down in Florida. He is in tremendous shape. He is trying to get that humongous offer next offseason, when he is a free agent.

You can listen to the podcast at Bullsbeat.com

Also, Doug is selling tickets at face value at his site, so check that out. The seats are right in the center of the court and range from the season opener against Milwaukee, to games against the Knicks, Magic, Pistons, Cavaliers, Celtics, and Heat.

Tyrus Thomas wrote on his blog today about summer league, the Luol Deng signing, and addressed the issue of his height. Here is what he wrote about his height on his blog:

One question I have been asked repeatedly has been whether or not I have grown an inch or two? Surpisingly I haven’t. I’m still 6′9″.

This solves the great mystery regarding this photo of Tyrus with Luol Deng and David Thorpe that surfaced earlier this year, prompting fans to guess Tyrus’ height to be anywhere from 6′10″ to 7′0″ tall.

You can read the full blog post at TyrusThomas24.com