The Los Angeles Lakers would love to be able to trade away Luol Deng, but it does not sound like they even think that is possible.
Deng was signed prior to last season as part of a disastrous offseason by the front office. The Lakers signed Timofey Mozgov to a four-year, $64 million deal. They were able to move him by packaging him with D’Angelo Russell in a trade to the Nets. They also signed Deng to a four-year, $72 million contract, but they’re unlikely to find any takers for him.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on “Full Court Press” that the Lakers have essentially given up on the possibility of trading Deng.
“You talk to teams around the league, no one is bailing the Lakers out with Deng’s contract. They’re not,” Wojnarowski said, via Lakers Outsiders. “Teams have asked for multiple first-round picks. They’ve asked for Brandon Ingram. They’ll ask for Kyle Kuzma. The Lakers have essentially given up on the idea that they can trade Deng.”
Deng is still under contract for two more seasons after the current one at around $18 million per season. That’s a lot of money. The Lakers could waive him via the stretch provision, but the bottom line is they have a bad contract on their hands that they are unlikely to get rid of via a trade.
