Gar Forman has said that the Chicago Bulls have not ruled out agreeing a contract extension with Luol Deng.

The forward is due to become a free agent at the end of the current NBA season, and has been linked with a trade away from the team.

The team's general manager told ESPN: "We value Luol a lot, and Luol is a big piece of the success we've had the last several years though we haven't gotten to our ultimate goal.

"We think Luol is going to continue to be a big piece, a big part of what we're doing. I know a lot was said about that we couldn't come to an extension last summer but if you guys really study the NBA, especially since this new [collective bargaining agreement], going into the CBA and since the new CBA has been in effect, it's very, very rare that extensions get done so the fact that one didn't get done was not an indicator of where we're at with Luol at all."

Deng has averaged 19.4 points per game so far this season.