LONDON -- Luol Deng could be forced to miss Great Britain's qualifying campaign for the 2009 European Championship because the team can't find an insurer to cover the forward's lucrative six-year contract with the Chicago Bulls.
The national team is exploring solutions to the problem with the NBA and the Bulls, who gave Deng a new deal last month reportedly worth up to $80 million.
"We have encountered problems with his insurance and are currently looking at different possible ways of working around that," British Basketball performance manager Ron Wuotila told the Associated Press on Friday. "It is still early days and we are determining the next steps with the NBA and the Bulls."
Great Britain begins qualifying for the European Championship next month, with games against Israel, Bosnia and the Czech Republic.
Deng, 23, made his competitive debut for Britain in August 2007. The Sudanese-born player moved to London as a child to escape the conflict in his homeland.
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