Deng’s Next Move
Deng signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for four years and $72 million. At the time, Deng was 31, still young enough to be a worthy contributor, but old enough to know his days were numbered.
That summer, which marked the Lakers’ first free agency period with a roster devoid of Kobe Bryant, was a wake-up call for Los Angeles. Luke Walton had signed on to become the Lakers’ new head coach, trying to guide a team still bathed in the afterglow of Bryant’s final, 60-point performance.
Deng’s inclusion in such a situation was quizzical. His presence was immediately met with talk of his positive, veteran presence.
However, regardless of intentions with Deng, the Lakers’ roster was skewed towards youth. Then guided by D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles knew they had a year or two before contending for playoff appearances.
Despite his relative old-age, Deng got some run in his first Laker season.
He played 56 games, started 49 and earned about 26.5 minutes per contest, more than fellow old heads Nick Young and Lou Williams.
But by his second year in Los Angeles, Deng’s potential contributions were dumped. The Lakers revamped their roster with even more young pieces in Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma, leaving Deng on the end of the bench and out of luck.
"“As of now he’s not in the rotation as far as consistently penciled in without something happening,” Walton said of Deng’s disappearing act. He added, “We’ve talked. It’s 82 games. There’s a lot that’s going to change, but for right now we’ve asked him to stay sharp, to keep working to stay ready for when he gets called on and continue mentoring our young players.”"
When Walton said those words, it was only five days into the 2017-18 season. After starting the Lakers’ first game, Deng missed just two contests with “DNP: Coach’s Decision” before Walton spoke up.
Unfortunately, the trend continued. Deng spent the remainder of the season on the bench, watching the Lakers build and grow without him.
Immediately, Deng’s exclusion reeks of “old-man NBA” syndrome. Some could say he came to Los Angeles injured and was too old to fit with the Lakers’ youth movement.
In actuality, Deng’s benching was no fault of his own. He was the victim of a terrible contract.