NBA Trade Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers May Want to Move Luol Deng, But a Deal Still Seems Unlikely
Deng's current contract with the Lakers runs through the 2019-20 NBA season
The Los Angeles Lakers are young and getting better, with rookies Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma as well as second-year player Brandon Ingram serving as the franchise's foundational pieces.
Unfortunately for some members of the Lakers, the ongoing youth movement has made it more difficult for them to get consistent playing time.
Forward Luol Deng is one of those players.
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Speaking recently to The Orange County Register, head coach Luke Walton confirmed that Deng was "not in the rotation as far as consistently penciled in without something happening."
Deng losing playing time was hardly surprising given the franchise's desire to see what they have in their youngsters.
So does that mean that a trade is imminent?
Well, not exactly.
In his prime, Deng was among the finest swingmen in the game - one who was capable of defending against different perimeter players over the course of a single contest while also remaining a positive contributor on offense.
Deng was never a big-time scorer, but his well-rounded game was certainly something to behold on a nightly basis.
Those days are long gone for Deng, and that is part of why it will be very difficult for the Lakers to find any team to trade him to.
There is another reason for why Deng is almost untradeable.
Deng's current contract goes through to the end of the 2019-20 NBA season, and he is due big money over the life of that deal.
A swingman who is past his prime who also comes with a big contract attached is not exactly the most appealing trade asset.
In all likelihood, the Lakers will need to attach some more attractive assets along with Deng if they want to move him, similar to what they did this offseason with center Timofey Mozgov who they were able to trade to the Brooklyn Nets by including him in a package with dynamic guard D'Angelo Russell.
The Lakers could probably do a deal similar to that involving Deng if they really wanted to, but the urgency may not be there at this point in time.
A Deng trade is possible, but it may have to wait until the offseason.
More news about the latest NBA trade rumors should be made available soon.
