Los Angeles Lakers: Luke Walton does not believe Luol Deng is a distraction
By Nick Ziegler
Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng recently stated that he would like to leave Los Angeles. Does Luke Walton think this is a distraction for the team?
Recently, Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng stated that he would like to play elsewhere because of lack of playing time with the Lakers. After a solid career in the NBA, Deng has been a huge disappointment for the Lakers.
In the 2016 offseason, the Lakers signed Deng to a huge four-year deal. After two solid seasons with the Miami Heat, Deng still looked like he had something left in the tank. While the deal to sign him was certainly a bit steep, Deng was figured to still be a starter for the Lakers at the time.
During last season, Deng really struggled in all aspects of the game. He saw his averages go down across the board, and his shooting percentage was extremely poor. Despite the poor season last year, Deng was expected to be part of the rotation for the Lakers this season. However, that has not been the case. Since the first game of the season, we haven’t seen Deng on the floor for the Lakers.
Recently, Walton spoke how whether or not Deng’s situation is a distraction for his young team.
Luke Walton said Luol Deng’s public desire to be elsewhere has not been a distraction for Lakers. “Me and him are good,” Walton said. If it starts to negatively impact team Lakers will address that then.
— Bill Oram (@billoram) November 8, 2017
According to Walton, Deng’s situation hasn’t had any negative impact on the team. This, of course, is good see, as the Lakers are certainly a young team. Deng was expected to be one of their veteran leaders this season, and him demanding to be moved certainly didn’t go unnoticed.
Resolving Deng’s situation is certainly a more difficult task. The Lakers will likely try to move Deng via a trade at all costs before attempting a buyout. However, the bad contract that Deng has makes him nearly impossible to move without pairing him with some young talent.
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The Lakers likely won’t want to part with any of their young players, as they already had to get rid of D’Angelo Russell in order to move Mozgov’s contract. Hopefully, Deng’s situation doesn’t become a distraction for the Lakers, as it more than likely won’t be resolved soon.