The agent for Luol Deng said Tuesday that the two-time All-Star forward would “certainly visit free agency” next summer after being informed by Bulls management that contract extension talks will be tabled until after the 2013-14 season.

“Luol has taken the position that he will definitely go through the free-agent process,” said Herb Rudoy, Deng's Chicago-based agent.

CSNChicago.com reported early Tuesday that Deng’s contract extension talks had stalled. They never really began, two sources said, with the sides only talking in generalities and never even exchanging financial parameters.

Rudoy said Tuesday that general manager Gar Forman informed him last week that no further talks will take place this offseason or during training camp.

Forman declined to comment. The general manager said consistently over the summer that the Bulls would like to keep Deng long term. Forman also indicated this summer that an extension for Deng this offseason would be unlikely.

“We value Luol,” Forman said in July at the Vegas Summer League.

The Mavericks and Lakers are two of the many high-profile teams projected to have salary-cap space next summer, when Deng's six-year, $71 million deal expires.

Rudoy said Deng is training in Hawaii with a personal trainer for the next two weeks and will report to training camp just before it opens.

“I was surprised,” Rudoy said of the talks ending. “I thought they would enter negotiations. But that’s what it is.”

Entering his 10th season, Deng, 28, is the longest-tenured Bull. He will join Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Tom Boerwinkle and Jerry Sloan as the only players in franchise history to log at least a decade of experience assuming the Bulls don’t trade him to avoid risking losing him in free agency.

Currently, there are no indications the Bulls plan to deal Deng. But with Mike Dunleavy signed through next season and the emergence of Jimmy Butler, that stance could change closer to February’s trade deadline.

Then again, the Bulls expect to compete for a championship this season with the return of Derrick Rose. And Deng, whom coach Tom Thibodeau long has called the team’s glue, is the Bulls’ best defender and an extremely versatile player.

The Bulls paid a luxury tax for the first time in franchise history this summer, a cost of about $3.9 million. This season, they again are projected to be well over the luxury-tax threshold, a penalty that isn’t assessed until season’s end.

Deng missed the final two games of last season’s first-round playoff series against the Nets and the entire second-round series versus the Heat after experiencing serious complications from a spinal tap administered to test for viral meningitis.

Deng was careful not to criticize the team for his condition when he publicly addressed the situation, which he said had him scared for his long-term health. But sources said some hurt feelings remain over aspects of his care and hospital stay, which Rudoy addressed with management during a meeting early this offseason.

NOTE: Veteran point guard Mike James, 38, who logged 11 games with the Bulls in 2011-12 and started games for the Mavericks last season, has accepted an invitation to Bulls camp. The Bulls need to sign at least one more player to reach the league minimum of 13.

Kcjohnson@tribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop