Is Loul Deng Hurt? Or is he just a softee?

You know, I almost labeled this article as "Humor" because of the sheer audacity of the Bulls latest press release to the media about Luol Deng's on-again, off-again injury prognosis.

But then I realized that hey, they were serious. Serious about making a statement.


First of all, a little background is in order. Deng, who signed a six-year contract worth a guaranteed $71 million last July, has been out with what is listed on the stat sheet as a "right shin contusion."

Since then, there have been various reports stating that he has a right tibia stress fracture. But, Deng comes out yesterday and in trying to explain the situation, makes things as clear as mud.

''My whole thing is, if I had no pain, I would play,'' he said. ''My other question is: When I play, am I making it any worse? That's where we're at right now.''

But the press release that the Bulls issued in response to all this really takes the cake.

Now, obviously I do not have a copy of the exact release because I am not a member of the media. So I will try and transcribe what it said, based on what I heard on local sports radio this morning.

The title of the release is "Luol Deng Injury Update."

It basically states that the latest medical tests that Deng underwent showed no breaks of any kind. But here's the best part: He will "undergo active rest" and is "encouraged to challenge himself physically."

It goes on to say that the Bulls will allow an expeditious return to play, but that it is day-to-day.

Now, initially, I thought that the team might be covering Deng's butt by giving this update.

But the more I thought about the statement saying that he should "challenge himself," the more I realized that the Bulls were basically calling out their own player and saying that he should be tolerating the pain, and should have his ass back on the court.

Well, that's refreshing.

Of course, no one knows how much pain the young man is really in and this would be a shame if the Bulls ended up being wrong about all this.

And I think the Bulls recognize that risk. So instead of GM John Paxson coming out and directly questioning Deng's desire to play, he cleverly disguised what amounts to the very same thing in a well-worded press release.

At least that's my take. Do you read something else into it?

Look, everyone's pain tolerance is different and far be it for me to judge another player's willingness to do his job.

But when his own team takes the time and effort to carefully craft a message like this, it makes me wonder. Because they know Luol better than we do and they are closer to the situation.

In any event, recently acquired John Salmons played well in Deng's absence, scoring 23 in the Bulls 110-88 victory over the Kings at the United Center last night.

Meanwhile, I still can't help but snicker at the way the Bulls cleverly disguised that press release. How does one undergo active rest anyway? I always felt that either you were resting or you were active.

But both? Now, that's quite a trick.

So, Luol Deng is day-to-day. Hey, aren't we all, come to think of it?