Jan. 26--More than two hours before tipoff Monday, Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler shared a laugh at center court after their pregame routines.
It's no surprise both were working so early. Butler consistently has cited Deng and former Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin as instrumental in helping shape his work ethic, which has helped fuel Butler's ascension.
"The first thing I always ask him is, 'Are you still coming early?' He's still doing the same drills," Deng said. "That makes me really happy."
Two years ago this month, the Bulls traded Deng to the Cavaliers to avoid the luxury tax after Derrick Rose's first torn meniscus. Deng's words still hold sway because of his longevity and success in Chicago, not to mention the Heat forward's continued tight bond with former teammates.
Joakim Noah needed a week to address reporters after Deng's trade.
"We still talk," Deng said. "It's been a tough year for him and tough to see that he's going to miss the rest of the season, as competitive as Jo is. He's been dealing with a lot of stuff, in and out of the rotation. It's clear his mind wasn't clear.
"I was pretty sure as the year went on, he was going to do well. But he'll bounce back."
Deng also revealed Warriors coach Steve Kerr contacted him about spinal fluid leakage, which Kerr suffered after offseason back surgery. Deng missed the 2013 playoffs when doctors botched a spinal tap that was administered to test for meningitis and that caused life-threatening complications, including leaking spinal fluid.
"I told him it's probably the worst thing he's ever going to go through. It was the worst thing I've ever been through," Deng said. "I told him to really take his time because I remember just living my normal lifestyle took a while. You get headaches randomly. You're throwing up randomly. Your body is just off balance. The worst thing was the migraines."
Deng was traded the next season.
"Going back, I think people understood what I was going through," Deng said. "After being here so long, it was tough. There were some questions of, 'Is he really sick?' That's always been the case. But by then, I really didn't care. It was, 'Enough is enough.'
"But I have a lot of good memories here that I try to always keep in my mind besides that."
