It looks like the Minnesota Timberwolves’ president of basketball operations and coach Tom Thibodeau is set on turning this team into his Chicago Bulls roster from the 2012-2013 season. After already bringing three former Bulls’ players from this period – Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson, and Jimmy Buttler- Thibodeau will be adding Luol Deng as well.
According to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, Deng and Thibodeau met on Monday, and the 33-year-old forward agreed to a one year deal with the Timberwolves. This comes after Deng agreed to a contract buyout with the Los Angeles Lakers last week in order to find more playing time with another team.
Free agent forward Luol Deng met with Minnesota president/coach Tom Thibodeau today and sides are finalizing a one-year deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 10, 2018
It looks like Tom Thibodeau, however, didn’t promise Luol Deng plenty of regular minutes. According to sources, Deng didn’t get any reassurance about his role on the team but will get a chance to fight to get into the team’s rotation.
Luol Deng played some of the best basketball in his career under Thibodeau, who coached Bulls from 2010 to 2015, earning two All-Star selections and receiving NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors during that time. Deng left the Bulls in 2014, having two shorter stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat before signing a four-year, $72 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After one season, in which he received regular playing time, Deng found himself benched and out of favors in Los Angeles. He played just one game in the last season, and the two sides decided it was time for a split.
