/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/423267/20120419_ter_su8_204.jpg)
Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng spoke openly about his injured left wrist at Bulls Media Day on Monday, defending his choice to forego surgery that would have forced him to miss the start of the season. Deng said it was a "tough decision," but says that the wrist continues to get stronger everyday (via ESPN Chicago):
"It's a lot different (now)," Deng said. "If it was the same as last year I would have gone ahead and done the surgery. It just kept improving. During the Olympics it was a lot better than it was at the end of the (season). I can do a lot more things than I was able to do."
Despite being an All-Star last year, Deng actually struggled offensively, shooting a career-low 41.2 percent from the field. He also shot poorly in the Olympics for host Great Britain, posting a mark just over 31 percent. It's likely that the wrist played a factor in these low numbers, but Deng insists that he will be fine.
Deng did say that surgery has still not been completely ruled out, but if he does need it, it appears it would not happen until next summer.