Bleacher Report recently named some players that need to be traded. The choice for the Los Angeles Lakers was an obvious one.
Prior to Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson taking over in the front office, the Los Angeles Lakers made two very poor signings. In an offseason spending spree, the Lakers gave big four-year deals to Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng.
It didn’t take long for the Lakers to realize how bad these contracts were, and they certainly handicapped the Lakers a bit. Quickly after taking over, Johnson and Pelinka worked out a deal to send Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets.
The deal did cost the Lakers D’Angelo Russell, who was a second overall pick, in order to move the contract. However, thanks to some great scouting and drafting, one of the assets the Lakers got in return was Kyle Kuzma.
While moving Mozgov ended up not hurting the Lakers with Kuzma being the player selected with the pick they received in return with Brook Lopez, the Lakers still have Deng’s poor contract hanging over their heads.
Recently, Bleacher Report named Deng as a player that desperately needs to be traded. Surely the Lakers agree.
Last season, Deng played in just one game for the Lakers, as his contract has quickly become one of the worst in the NBA. With two years left on the deal now, the Lakers would have to pair one of their talented young players or likely multiple picks in the first round in order to move him.
While the money from Deng’s contract could result in the Lakers being able to sign another talented player, the team has been patient. With a talented young core that includes Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Kuzma, the Lakers don’t want to lose any of these players currently in order to get rid of Deng’s contract.
In all likelihood, Deng will not be traded this year either. With the waive and stretch provisional still being an option for the Lakers, they are in no rush to move Deng and lose a valuable asset.