NBA: Deng and the Wolves: From one running gag to the next?

Luol Deng was both a profiteer and a victim of the crazy summer of 2016, and after two disastrous years with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is now hoping for a fresh start with the Minnesota Timberwolves – alongside some old acquaintances.

Actually it would have been Luol Deng to wish that he would not be accommodated with the Timberwolves of all people. Regardless of the sporting situation – this could even fit quite well under certain circumstances. It’s just so hard, given the history, to take it seriously.

The Wolves had Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson in the squad, all acquired by Tom Thibodeau, who is not only Head Coach but also President of Basketball Operations in Minnesota – and who also trained this trio with the Bulls in 2011/12, just like Deng. The running gag of the “TimberBulls” has long since become reality.

Meanwhile, no one would be surprised if Joakim Noah signed up in Minnesota before the new season after his probably inevitable buyout in New York – then the Wolves next season could come up with a lineup exclusively from ex-bulls.

This is not really desirable, but funny in the sense of a running joke, at least for uninvolved parties. Deng knows that pretty well from the last two years.

Let’s turn the clock two years back to the summer of 2016: Deng’s last All-Star participation was three years ago, but he had still been a respected, productive forward with the Heat in the last two years (14 and 12.3 points on average). He was clearly on the way down, no wonder as a 31-year-old with several seasons under Thibodeau, in which he had led the league twice in the minutes. But he still had his value.

But that was quickly forgotten when the Lakers presented him with a grotesque contract on July 1: L.A. offered the Southern Sudanese $72 million over four years in betting against no one. That was just one of many silly contracts this summer. As a reminder, the Lakers also signed Timofey Mozgov for four years and 64 million on the same day.

Looking back, 2016 will go down in history as the summer the NBA lost its mind, and this is not just related to Kevin Durant’s move to the Warriors. The cap spike as a result of the new TV contract was incorrectly calculated by several teams, who assumed that things would always go on like this and that virtually no contract could be too high.

That was wrong, as we know today – teams like the Trail Blazers or Hornets are still suffering from the consequences today and will take years to regain some kind of cap flexibility. The Lakers, on the other hand, are back in good shape, but had to give up a No.2 pick called D’Angelo Russell as a “sweetie” to get rid of Mozgov, and Deng will still get nearly 30 million of them over the next four years.

In principle, it is a gift to the Lakers that Deng has agreed to forego 7.3 million in the buyout. He didn’t have to do that – it’s been forgotten for the last two years, but Deng hasn’t done anything wrong. Nor has he overpaid himself, any more than Mozgov, Noah, Evan Turner or Bismack Biyombo.

Those were the teams themselves, and so Deng could not have been blamed if he had insisted on the full amount and otherwise continued on his quasi paid vacation. However, the buyout shows that the situation has gnawed at him too, which is not surprising.

The first season in L.A. was already a medium disaster for Deng, who did not fit into a new and very young team right from the start. Last season it became absurd: Deng played exactly 13 NBA minutes in 2017/18, all of them in the first game of the season. The Lakers didn’t need him, but the contract made a trade impossible – when Magic Johnson was asked about it before the trade deadline, he laughed openly.

This was certainly not a tactful way of dealing with a well-earned player, but at the same time pity for Deng was limited due to the money. Deng, however, wanted to play while he was transported by the Lakers into a kind of semi-retirement. “It wasn’t my decision not to play. That was a decision by the organisation,” clarified the 33-year-old in August.

“People can say what they want, but I just had to accept the decision. I wanted to play over and over again throughout the year, but I was told that they would rather let the young players play. I couldn’t change that, but it should be clear to the people that I didn’t decide that. I still want to play.”

Whether he can still do that was doubted in the meantime. There were rumours of a career ending, and on August 4th Deng was seen playing again for the first time in almost a year when he scored 14 points at the Africa Game. His situation with the Lakers, however, remained nailed, even though Rob Pelinka had said in the summer that apart from LeBron James all parts of the game were in an “open competition”. Deng should not take part in this competition either.

“I want to play and be a part of something,” he said during the Africa Games. “But I can’t be part of something where people don’t believe in me. “I play for people who believe in me, and I know the level where I can still play.” For everyone else, however, this has been a mystery for over a year.

How bizarre this whole situation is shows that immediately after the buyout, according to Chris Haynes, several Contenders registered their interest in Deng. 18 million dollars a year was only a good idea for the Lakers in summer 2016, but to a minimum – why not?

3 and D forwards don’t grow on trees, and unlike many other NBA players, Deng was at least one. Let’s be surprised – Emeka Okafor was a part-time starter in New Orleans last season after a four-year break (!) from nowhere.

The fact that Deng now wants to “just” try a new beginning in Minnesota is almost a pity in that the “TimberBulls” aspect distracts from the actual story. It was completely predictable that it would happen and once again showed the problems when coaching and management are in the hands of the same person.

Thibs likes what he knows, similar to Doc Rivers, who for years brought players to the Clippers who six to eight years ago were either good at the Celtics or had played them well. No coach has so much time that he can also scout, evaluate and manage conscientiously. That’s why this double role in the NBA probably has no future.

For Deng, Thibs represents exactly what he has missed in recent years – someone who believes in him. Maybe too much. Time will tell if this step can revive his career, or if it was just the jump from one running gag to the next.