Luol Deng trade rumors: 3 potential deals for the Los Angeles Lakers
By Jason Elbaum
With the wealth of young talent the Lakers possess, they are positioning themselves to attract a superstar in free agency this upcoming summer. However, they will need to get Luol Deng’s contract off the books if they want to sign the players they want. Let’s see some potential trades for the veteran small forward.
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Luol Deng to a four-year, $72 million contract on July 7, 2013 in one of the most surprising and head-scratching signings in franchise history. The two-time All-Star was 31 years old at the time of the signing, and his best playing days were certainly behind him.
It was not a surprise when Luol Deng did not live up to lofty expectations set by his lucrative contract. He played in 56 games for the Lakers in 2016-17 and averaged just 7.6 points per game, which was lower than his rookie year output of 11.7 points per game. He has played in just one game for the Lakers this season.
Signing Luol Deng to a ridiculous contract was one of the final decisions that led to the demise of former general manager Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss’ control over any sort of basketball operations related to the Lakers. It has been up to Magic Johnson and new general manager Rob Pelinka to clean up the mess that Kupchak and Buss.
Now it will be difficult for the Lakers to find a trade partner willing to take on Deng’s contract considering he still has two years remaining after this season. Los Angeles will have to include one or two of their young assets in order to tempt another team to take the salary cap hit of Deng’s contract. Let’s take a look at some potential deals.