Luol Deng ‘African’ comment was actually written in Hawks scouting report

Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry’s story is that he was relaying information off a free agent scouting report when he told team owners that Luol Deng had “some African in him.” That report has now come to light, thanks to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB Channel 2.

Here is the full five-page report, thanks to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The comment in question is on the second page and comes from a former member of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office.

He’s a good guy on the cover, but he’s an African. He has a little two step in him = says what you like to hear, but behind closed doors he could be killing you. Con isn’t bad, but it’s there. African-like, store front looks great but there’s a black market section in the back.

The comment was preceded by a paragraph about how “Chicago had run him into the ground” before “we” got him. Later, the front-office member said Deng “kind of treated Cleveland like a pit stop after the trade” and “said some things privately to media, but denied them publicly.” He concluded that the issue was “not terrible, but you’ve got to know that stuff is there with him.” Deng was traded from the Bulls to the Cavaliers in January.

It remains to be seen how this affects Ferry’s future. The Hawks have publicly said they will not fire him, though they have punished him internally. NBA commissioner Adam Silver also said he saw no reason for the Hawks to take any further action to fire Ferry.

But this likely won’t let Ferry off the hook. The audio of the conference call illustrates that he was speaking off the cuff, not just reading the exact words of this report. He endorsed the words even if he didn’t initially write them and did not censor himself in any way.