Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng expects to play in the 2012 Olympics for his native Great Britain despite a hand injury, but doing so may prove to be extremely costly for Great Britain basketball. As Rob Dugdale of BBC Sport reports, the insurance cost for Deng's injury over the course of the Olympics could ultimately cost more $470,000.
Deng injured his left hand back in January, but the Bulls forward continued to play throughout the season despite the injury. Chicago wanted Deng to have the surgery when the Bulls' season ended with a first-round upset at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, but he has insisted to wait until after the Olympics to undergo the procedure.
If Deng had the procedure when the Bulls' season ended, he would've missed the Olympics but likely would've been ready for the beginning of the next NBA season. Now that the team has given Deng permission to play for Great Britain this summer, it's likely that he'll miss the beginning of next season while recovering from the surgery.
Back in 2008, Great Britain basketball paid roughly $200,000 over a five-game span to insure a back injury that Deng was dealing with, but officials said that those costs had gone down in recent years. The new insurance fee will apparently cost significantly more. As Great Britain basketball official Chris Spice noted, the organization may have to pay up to $10 million if Deng suffers a career-ending injury while playing for the team.
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