Los Angeles Lakers: Luol Deng and the worst contracts in franchise history

1. Luol Deng: Four years, $72 million (2016-20)

There may never again be an albatross of a contract as big as Luol Deng’s. It was Buss’ final shot across the bow of an already-sinking ship.

When he was signed, Deng was 31 years old. His best days as an NBA player were well past him. No sane NBA general manager or shot-caller would have agreed to pay someone so far past their prime that type of money. And yet, Buss and Kupchak did.

That’s part of why they were fired a few months later.

Luckily for the Lakers, the end is almost here. As a result of his recent waiving via the stretch provision, Deng is officially off the team. The books still show that awful contract for another four years, but the number drops from $14.3 million in 2018-19 to only $5 million for the next three seasons. Unfortunately, it’s the price Magic has to pay for his predecessors’ sabotage.

It wasn’t just the numbers that made this contract worse than Mozgov’s, though. In the center’s case, he at least played some semi-respectable basketball and was able to be dealt the next offseason. The ghost of Deng’s contract will haunt the franchise for years to come.

This deal was one of the worst of a 2016 offseason characterized by absurd overspending on average players. Just ask teams like the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies, who are also still paying the price for their poor decisions.