Los Angeles Lakers: Realistic predictions for team’s 2017-18 season
3. Lakers fail to trade away Luol Deng before deadline
We all know that one of Magic’s main goals this season is finding a taker for Luol Deng and his albatross of a contract. However, finding someone willing to absorb the remaining three years and $54 million is going to be a very tall task.
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In fact, it’ll be so difficult that Johnson simply won’t succeed. Between now and the Feb. 8 trade deadline, the Lakers will not be able to convince another team to acquire Deng. It’s a disappointing development for the team’s plans for the 2018 offseason, but that doesn’t mean something can’t be done later.
Los Angeles pulled off a miracle this past offseason when they tricked the Brooklyn Nets into taking on Timofey Mozgov‘s similarly ugly contract. It cost them D’Angelo Russell to do so, but it also yielded them an extra first round pick and a quality veteran center in Brook Lopez.
Are the Lakers going to get that lucky a second time around? Probably not. More than likely, it’ll cost them more and they’ll get less in return. Deng doesn’t offer much in terms of talent or dependability, and his contract can be crippling depending on the team. Still, I’m sure Johnson can figure it out — he’s got a knack for making magic happen.
Until next offseason, though, it appears we’ll have to watch Deng taking the court in purple and gold. The Lakers will just be hoping they don’t have to give up too much to unload him.