In the early 2010s, the Chicago Bulls were one of the best cores at the time, never winning a championship, with stars like Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng. While it is unfortunate that they will be playing in the same conference as LeBron James, history could have been different if not for the mismanagement in Chicago.

While fans will point to head coach Tom Thibodeau’s decision to play Rose in a meaningless fourth quarter of a playoff game as the collapse of that core, Deng revealed he nearly sued the team on the latest episode of the Knuckleheads Podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. franchise during the 2013 playoffs due to misdiagnosis.

In the podcast, Deng talked about how the team misdiagnosed the flu during their first-round playoff game against the Brooklyn Nets in 2013.

“If you remember, we went to the playoffs the year D. Rose got injured,” Deng said. “We were playing Brooklyn and the team had the flu. One of the doctors said I might have meningitis because my fever was so high. They immediately sent me to the hospital. When I got to the hospital, they misdiagnosed me. They said my fever was too high and so on, and they ended up having to have a spinal tap surgery on me.”

Deng said he almost sued the team for misdiagnosis as the Bulls lost to the Miami Heat in the next round.

Deng would be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers the following season in 2014, ending his 10-year career in Chicago. Deng played for a few more teams for a few more seasons before retiring, but now fans are wondering what would have happened if Deng had received the right care in 2013.

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