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#3 Luol Deng
2016/17 Averages: 7.6 Points, 5.3 Rebounds, 1.3 Assists
Contract Left: Three Years, $54 Million
As if signing Mozgov wasn't bad enough, the Lakers then proceeded to give Deng an absurd contract. It didn't look like a good deal then and it certainly doesn't look good now. You know the contract is pretty bad when an unprotected 1st round pick from the Lakers wasn't good enough for teams to trade for Deng.
The contract that Deng is on would have looked good 6-7 years back when he was a pretty good player but that simply isn't the case now. His jump shot has always been a bit shaky and his advancing age means he isn't the defender that he used to be.
His contract will be the big hurdle for the Lakers to get past before the offseason. They have plans to sign two max contract free agents in 2018, but they won't be able to accomplish that unless they trade away Deng. It's the parting away present from former team vice president Jim Buss, which is likely to hamper the Lakers for the next couple of years.
