Los Angeles Lakers: Could Luol Deng help this season?

After descending to the depths of the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench, could Luol Deng serve a role on the court for the Lakers this season?

With five new free agency signings and two rookies in line to join the rotation, the Los Angeles Lakers should be among the NBA leaders in terms of new faces logging minutes. Because of this amount of talent coming to the Lakers, combined with the young players already on the roster, there figures to be plenty of competition for the four spots alongside LeBron James.

One name that seems to remain at the end of the rotation is veteran forward Luol Deng, who only appeared in one game for a grand total of 13 minutes last season for the Lakers. He is beyond his best days in the NBA and played for a Lakers team that rightfully wanted to play their young players. But with contention on their minds now, could Deng see the court more than we expect this season?

The biggest knock on Deng during his tenure with the purple and gold has been the contract he signed in the cap boom of 2016 for four years and $72 million. I understand the outcry of stupidity geared towards the Lakers in this deal, but I don’t fault Deng for jumping at this contract, especially since he signed this deal in the latter half of his career at age 31. It’s not like he was coming off a terrible showing the year he signed that contract either.

Luol Deng played a vital role for the Miami Heat in the 2016 NBA Playoffs, averaging 13.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 35.4 minutes per game. He was very efficient as well, knocking down 42.1 percent of his 4.1 3-point attempts per game during their run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

His role for the Heat was being deployed at the 4, which opened up the floor for Dwyane Wade and other members of the Heat while offering plenty of versatility on the defensive end. He’s always been a high IQ player that doesn’t hold the ball, cuts really well and understands how to maneuver space to open up lanes for himself or his teammates.

Deng received a fair amount of playing time his first year with the Lakers, notching 49 starts and playing 26.5 minutes per game. His shooting numbers declined (30.9 percent on 3-pointers, 38.7 percent on all field goals) which resulted in him averaging under 10.0 points per game for the first time in his NBA career.

I know that he remains low on the totem pole heading into this season, but with LeBron’s history of playing with veteran players that he trusts, Deng could see an uptick in minutes, which isn’t saying much. We all know LeBron is best used at the 4, but he doesn’t seem to enjoy playing there much, preferring to play at the 3 with a floor-spacing 4 and 5 sharing the court with him (think Shane Battier or Richard Jefferson).

Deng hasn’t been a knockdown shooter throughout his career, but he’s played in seven different playoffs and can do the little things that fit well next to LeBron. Deng is behind Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and probably Michael Beasley in the pecking order on the wing, but only Beasley has played in the postseason, and he’s never made it past the first round.

Ingram and Kuz have the personalities to be unaffected by the bright lights of the playoffs, but if they are overwhelmed, turning to Deng is not the worst backup plan in the world. It’s only an exhibition, but Deng’s basketball instincts and ability to get to the basket were on display in the 2018 NBA Africa Game.

I’m smart enough not to overreact to these limited clips in a meaningless game, but I would take a flier on giving Deng minutes this season. He clearly has a desire to play, and in recent quotes at this game stated that he wants to play, but “not in a place where you don’t believe in me.”

The Lakers probably would have offloaded his contract if it wasn’t so untouchable and could avoid attaching an asset to him, but until they find a solution, why not play him? He’s not the athlete he once was, but deploying him for spot minutes with the bench unit or next to LeBron gives them another smart player to mix in with their already high-IQ team.

He would fit in with their style of play, too. He isn’t a high assist guy, but he would keep the ball moving, is effective attacking the rim and doesn’t need the ball to make a difference. I’m a fan of high-IQ players that do the simple things and know where to be on the floor, so I’d turn to Deng over Beasley and some other wings if he reports to camp in great shape.

It’s a long shot, but if Deng shows some value, it would be easier to find a trade partner for him in the summer when he’s on an expiring deal. Maybe you net a decent return, but regardless, that contract would be off the books and , as we’ve seen, plenty of teams are willing to take expiring deals off your hands, especially when they have no intentions of immediate contention.

I am aware the Los Angeles Lakers may not be able to rely on Luol Deng for 82 games, and wouldn’t advise that. But I’ve always been a fan of his, and playing one game the whole season shouldn’t happen again. He could be a calm presence in the postseason and does more positive than negative when on the court at all times. Why not give him some minutes over the course of a regular season and see how he performs?