The Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday morning agreed to a contract buyout with veteran forward Luol Deng after months of speculation concerning his long-term future.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Deng walked away from $7.5 million of the $36.8 million left on the final two years of his deal to become a free agent.
ESPN reporting with @ramonashelburne: In buyout with Lakers, Luol Deng walked away from $7.5M on the $36.8M left on his contract. With waive and stretch provision, Lakers have cleared $38M in salary cap space in 2019 free agency.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 1, 2018
This decision shows a great desire from Deng to move on from his situation in Los Angeles along with the confidence that he can make it back with another team. He is set to enter the open market just weeks ahead of the start of training camp, which should give him plenty of time to latch onto another team before then.
Deng has been sparsely used over the first two years of the deal that saw him play in only the season opener this past season on taking the court in the season opener against the L.A. Clippers where he started scoring two points on 1-of-2 shooting from the floor with an assist and a steal in 13 minutes played. Los Angeles had elected to sit him for the rest of the season with their game plan give their young forwards Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma the bulk of the playing time at the position.
This move also allows for the Lakers to have enough salary cap space next summer to offer a max contract to one of the top-tier players available. It is a move that could greatly benefit both sides with Deng getting the change to get his career back on track while Los Angeles can use that additional financial flexiblity to build a team that can contend for an NBA title with another All-Star level talent aboard. It is a major pill to swallow for the Lakers, but it should help them out in the long run.
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