All U Can Heat
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Miami Heat: Luol Deng is the victim of an awful contract

By Brandon Johnson

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 6: Luol Deng #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers greets Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat on January 6, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 6: Luol Deng #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers greets Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat on January 6, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 6: Luol Deng #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers greets Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat on January 6, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 6: Luol Deng #9 of the Los Angeles Lakers greets Udonis Haslem #40 of the Miami Heat on January 6, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Since leaving the Miami Heat, cash rules every thing around Luol Deng.

One of the last shots Luol Deng hit in a Miami Heat jersey came in the 2016 NBA Playoffs.

In the second round against the Toronto Raptors, Deng slashed to the hoop for a layup. A routine bucket midway through the first quarter, that basket would prove to be one of Deng’s most impactful baskets of the last two years.

The layup, which came off of a Tyler Johnson feed, split the Raptors’ Patrick Patterson and Serge Ibaka at the rim. Deng attacking the basket was his new normal. In Game 5 he sustained an injury to his left wrist which completely derailed his 3-point stroke.

From the start of the playoffs and until Game 5, Deng hit 47 percent of his triples. Taken with Dwyane Wade’s unusual, sniper-like proficiency, Miami was putting up a fight in their first playoff appearance since the departure of LeBron James.

In the last two games of the series, Deng went 0-for-6 from 3. With his shot permanently frozen, Deng had to resort to layup attempts to keep Miami afloat.

The Heat eventually faltered in Game 7, outscored by 19 points and sent away with not so much as a consolation medal.

Though the Raptors would get utterly decimated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals, the loss marked a turning point for Miami’s roster, and specifically, their next move with Deng.

Exactly one day after the 2016 NBA free agency period began, Deng parted ways with the Heat. A benefactor of the great salary cap boom of 2016, Deng took his talents to South Los Angeles, matching equally nice weather with a pleasant paycheck.

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