The Los Angeles Lakers have two glaring contracts on their roster. Who would fans rather see traded, Luol Deng or Timofey Mozgov?
During the offseason last year, the Los Angeles Lakers notably gave big contracts to both Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. As the salary cap went up, Deng and Mozgov were two of the biggest beneficiaries of the jump.
Even though Deng has been an All-Star in the past, he clearly was a player on the decline when he left Chicago a few years ago. Despite this, the Lakers gave Deng a four-year, $72 million deal. For the next three seasons, the Lakers will be on the hook for about $18 million per season for Deng.
Like Deng, Mozgov received a four-year deal as well last offseason. While Deng was more deserving of getting big money, Mozgov got a very similar contract, as the Lakers inked him to a four-year, $64 million deal.
While very few will argue that either contract is good for the Lakers, the team would certainly like to get rid of one, if not both players. However, doing so will be very tricky. Recently, we polled Lakers Nation to see who they would prefer to trade this offseason if they could only move one. Here’s what the results were.
If you can only trade one, who would it be? #Lakers #LakeShow
— Lake Show Life (@TheLakeShowLife) June 1, 2017
In a close race, Deng just edged out Mozgov as the player that the fans would prefer to see go. At 32 years old, Deng is two years older than Mozgov, and he is also making a few more million per season. While Lakers fans would like to see Mozgov traded as well, it seems like an impossible task to move both.
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As a former All-Star, moving Deng with another desirable asset like Jordan Clarkson could get that contract off the Lakers’ hands. Due to his decline in play and his large contract, moving Deng is going to be a challenge. With Brandon Ingram waiting at small forward, the Lakers have to try and move Deng to let Ingram properly develop as a starter.