NBA Rumors: Luol Deng calls Cleveland Cavaliers a mess, says he misses Chicago Bulls

Jan 20, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng reacts in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng reacts in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 20, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng reacts in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 20, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng reacts in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Luol Deng at the beginning of February and all looked like it would be well and good for the time being. But less than a month after he was traded, a new report from Mitch Lawrence suggests that Deng’s days in Cleveland are numbered due to the fact that he hates playing with the team.

Lawrence writes that Deng told a friend not long after he was traded to the Cavs that the team was a mess and they were doing things that would have made coaches and executives back in Chicago cringe.

"Deng recently told one close friend, “the stuff going on in practice would never be tolerated by the coaching staff or the front office back in Chicago. It’s a mess.”"

If this report from Lawrence is true, it pretty much kills any notion that Deng would consider re-signing in Cleveland but it also has ramifications beyond that.

If Deng, who was a standup guy in Chicago, came in and immediately began hating the Cavaliers, we can only imagine what Kyrie Irving has been feeling. Deng’s quotes, if true, certainly help Irving’s cause when it comes to fans understanding why he’d want to get out of Cleveland.

If things are as bad as Deng implies, then there’s virtually no hope of LeBron James returning this summer either.