Luol Deng will once again be the man to keep an eye on from a British point of view this season. Deng has emerged as one of the best young talents in the league over the past few years, which is why the Bulls were so keen to tie him down to a long term deal over the summer. Now that his huge six-year, $80 million contract has been signed Deng will be free to concentrate on his game.
If Deng and the Bulls are able to make a good start to the season there is no limit to how far he can go. An All-Star spot is really not out of the question, but it will be difficult considering the strength of the Central Division this time around. However, the Bulls themselves do look stronger as well this year. New coach Vinny Del Negro, number 1 draft pick Derrick Rose, Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden have all been added either late last year or over the summer and they will surely add to the Bulls already young but strong nucleus.
One of the main players for the Bulls this season will once again be Ben Gordon, who as of April this year is also eligible to play for Great Britain. Gordon will be a free agent at the end of this season so look for him to have great year trying to impress prospective employers for next season. Also, with him and Deng on the same team for the opening part of this season at least, this can only be good news for Team GB.
Kelenna Azubuike was born in Britain but raised in the US, and could be a player to keep an eye on. After coming through the D-League with Fort Worth he has found himself on a Golden State Warriors team that will be looking for a new leader after the loss of Baron Davis in the close season.
The Warriors have made good additions though, Corey Maggette, and Ronny Turiaf will add steel to an already physically strong Warrior team.
It would take something very special for the Warriors to pull of a repeat of the upset they caused Dallas in the first round a couple of years ago, but it could be the kind of team to suit Azubuike. He is likely to be offered a lot more minutes then he would be on a contending team, which will give him experience that can only help him.
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