The Chicago Bulls absorbed another huge setback that could end their title hopes this season as superstar Derrick Rose was ruled out for the rest of the 2013-14 NBA season--one that could force them to trade All-Star Luol Deng.

Rose, who just returned from an 18-month layoff due to an ACL injury, underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee that will keep him out of basketball-related activities in the next four to six months.

With Rose out for the entire season, the Bulls "could accelerate" attempts to trade Deng before the trade deadline, according to KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

The All-Star forward will become an unrestricted free agent after the season after failing to reach a contract extension deal with the Bulls during the offseason.

"Knowing Rose would return, management kept the 2013-14 Bulls intact for one, final championship run. Whether the reshaping of the roster, widely assumed to transpire next summer, will be accelerated could depend on for how long Rose is sidelined," Johnson reported before the news of Rose missing the entire season broke out. "If Rose misses the remainder of the season, attempts to trade Luol Deng, who can walk as an unrestricted free agent next summer, could be accelerated."

The 28-year-old forward, who is in his tenth-year with the Bulls since being acquired in a draft-day trade with the Phoenix Suns in 2004, previously expressed his desire to end his career in Chicago.

However, the Bulls looked set in moving forward with Jimmy Butler as their starting small forward starting next season as proven by their decision to not offer Deng an attractive contract extension to Deng last summer.

"I definitely want to stay here," Deng said in an interview with ESPN earlier this month. "I would love to play here my whole career. I've seen players in the past who wanted to stay with their team and it didn't work out. At the end of the day, I can't control that."

Deng, who is averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds this season, is expected to attract the interest of several title-contending teams before the trade deadline, but teams might also opt to wait for him to become a free agent after this season.