NBA: Fix! Lakers part with Luol Deng

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a buyout with Luol Deng. The Small Forward no longer played a role in the Lakers’ plans. The team already announced this in a statement. According to media reports, the Minnesota Timberwolves are now interested in Deng.

“We would like to thank Luol for his time with the Lakers,” General Manager Rob Pelinka is quoted in the statement. “We have made this move so that we have more flexibility under the salary cap and in our squad for the future. “This will help us better realize our vision for this Lakers team.”

Deng signed a four-year contract with the Lakers in the summer of 2016 to earn him $72 million. However, the Forward could not continue its good times with the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat. Deng was used in just one game last season.

Deng collects around 29 million dollars through the buyout, for which the Lakers use the stretch commission to extend the payments over a longer period of time. In the coming season the forward will receive 14.3 million from the Lakers, in the following three years the cap of the Lakers will be burdened with 4.99 million each. It was not until 2022 that the name of the Briton was deleted from the books.

In doing so, Deng even foregoes a little money. Actually, the 33-year-old would have been entitled to another 7.5 million, which the Briton waived in the buyout negotiations.

With the buyout of Deng, the Lakers now have around $38 million in cap space for next summer, which they can offer to the coming free agents. Well-known candidates include Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard.

What will happen to Deng now is unclear. According to Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic), the Minnesota Timberwolves are still interested in the forward. Coach Tom Thibodeau knows Deng from the Chicago Bulls and has already brought old companions like Butler or Derrick Rose to the far north.