Luol Deng‘s four-year, $72MM contract that he signed in 2016 has become one of the NBA’s biggest albatross contracts. The Lakers signed the 32-year-old to essentially become a more expensive version of what Metta World Peace was to last year’s team.
Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times writes that Deng, who spent parts of his first 10 seasons with the Bulls, no longer wants to play for the Lakers. He has played in just one game this season, recording 2 points and 1 assist in 13 minutes of action. As he awaits a resolution on his future, Deng told Ganguli he does not regret his contract.
“I just know that for me, I never really [took] the contract and said I just want to shut it down, I just don’t want to do anything,” Deng said. “I’m still working as hard as I can trying to figure it out and trying to be the best player I can be. It was never, let me go and relax and not do anything. That was never the case. So I don’t regret it at all.”
The Lakers are heavily invested in a youth movement, highlighted by their first-round picks from the past seasons in Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. Deng could help the team as a mentor to the upstarts but minutes will be hard to come by unless he is traded.
Check out other news from the Pacific Division:
- A sore right knee has sidelined Clippers’ point guard Patrick Beverley, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Despite initial concern, Rivers said the team expects their catalyst to miss about one week. “It’s the same thing that kept him out of the second half of camp,” Rivers said. “But he’ll be fine, that’s the good news. We were worried that it could be worse and it’s not. But he’s still probably going to miss a week of games. So, it’s just another guy out.”
- Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee writes that Zach Randolph, who endured a tough offseason that included an arrest for marijuana possession, is slowly getting back into shape. The Kings’ hoped the veteran would bring his toughness and grit to a young team and he spoke highly of the team’s core and what he can teach them.
I’ve been playing around with trade scenarios involving Deng and came up with an interesting one. Plus or minus a few pieces of course but Deng + RAndall + Clarkson to Phoenix for Knight + Monroe + bender…. i think it makes sense. Randall can play pf for suns who need a pf that produces. Clarkson can be there new pg. the lakers can stretch knight instead of deng and save about 1.2m per year over the course of 5 vs doing the same on deng. Also Monroe comes off the books at the end of the year, giving them all the space they need. Bender would be a project for a couple years. Thoughts?
Also from Phoenix Standpoint, Knight is signed for 3 years just like deng is. Deng can play, Knight is always injured (hasn’t played at all this season). Plus they get two pretty good, young starters to play alongside Booker at positions of need. The lakers get a decent project piece in bender. And salary cap relief in Monroe and the slight savings in stretching Knight vs deng.
This trade sounds fantastic i like your thinking.
Make it happen magic and pelinka!!
Go Lakers!!
Laker Fan For Life!!
Who cares? 2 awful teams…this is shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
A team be a fool to take clarkson
The lakers couldn’t figure out how to use Deng, despite the obvious answer in their face from his 2 years in Miami. He is not a 3 anymore. He is a 4 now, can even play some super small 5. Their rotations are still bad, so it’s not even just Deng.
Don’t think it’s about how they don’t properly use Deng.
We can all see the direction of the usage of our newer players to build around and then determine what future player fits with us where we are deficient