# Luol Deng signs with the Lakers for 4 years/$72 million



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/749235137263480832


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

Once again a little expensive, but solid vet presence and still pretty productive. Great mentor for Ingram as well, another Duke guy. 

Not thrilled, but okay with the signing. We needed somebody, and we're obviously just banking on our young guys to show out this year. We don't have much of a choice. Only question is does this mean Ingram doesn't start to start the season? I'd assume so.


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

People are gonna come with sticker shock again. Believe me, half of his salary is for his presence in the locker room. Not one teammate he's played with, not one community he's been a part of has a bad thing to say about this guy. High character, great leader. And still pretty productive. Get Swaggy P as far away from our young guys as possible.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Luol Deng!! Good signing. Giving it a solid B! Deng still has enough left in the tank to be a legitimate contributor both offensively and defensively but he won't hinder the growth of the young core. Great character guy.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

At these new salaries Im totally good with this deal. Solid pickup considering the Lakers situation.

Evidently the Lakers offered Bazemore the exact same deal before Deng but he declined to take two million less and stay in ATL


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## MojoPin (Oct 10, 2008)

At least this deal has a degree of logic supporting it, unlike the Mozgov move. Luol will be a good mentor in the locker room and can take pressure off of Ingram. 

Nick Young needs to go asap. I doubt anyone will trade for him, which means he will get cut by the end of summer.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

DaRizzle said:


> Evidently the Lakers offered Bazemore the exact same deal before Deng but he declined to take two million less and stay in ATL


To be fair, $70 million is Georgia is _a lot_ more than $72 million in the greater LA area.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

Bogg said:


> To be fair, $70 million is Georgia is _a lot_ more than $72 million in the greater LA area.


True, good point...6% highest tax bracket in Georgia...13.3% in CA...and of course cost of living...and hes on a competitive team...and he doesnt have to deal with LA media....makes a lot of sense framed like that


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## arasu (Jan 18, 2013)

> Luol Deng - If Whiteside stays in Miami, it could make it easier to sign Deng. His veteran influence and focus on defense could help get the young roster headed in the right direction.


I wrote this in the other thread, and it still applies.


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## Cris (Jun 18, 2003)

arasu said:


> I wrote this in the other thread, and it still applies.


Nice call. 

I like this move. We needed a good veteran presence that can shoot and score.

Will be interested to see if Deng or Ingram is the 6th man off the bench. Regardless, for Ingram I think this is a fantastic mentor to learn from in a multitude of different ways.


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## arasu (Jan 18, 2013)

Uncle Drew said:


> Only question is does this mean Ingram doesn't start to start the season? I'd assume so.


That would make sense. Deng's versatility provides extra flexibility to mix and match in the front court, whether he starts or not.


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## PauloCatarino2 (Jul 2, 2016)

Solid signing. Like it.


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

Bless you lot. You are more positive than I am. If you win more than 35 games next year, I'll be shocked. 35 might even be too much.


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## Uncle Drew (Dec 16, 2013)

Well, 35 would more than double our win total from last year, sooo, yea, I'd be pretty shocked too. 30-32 is probably a good goal.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

HB said:


> Bless you lot. You are more positive than I am. If you win more than 35 games next year, I'll be shocked. 35 might even be too much.



I don't think anyone is expecting to win 35 games. But nothing wrong with finding the positives in something.


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## King Sancho Fantastic (Jul 19, 2005)

Sam Amick saying no options on Deng's deal. Straight 4 years.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

Im on the fence with this one as well. I like Deng as a player, but his best position now is at PF. He's a fine piece but he is not a difference maker, and the length of this deals pretty much guarantees we will not get great value. It hamstrings flexibility going forward and he won't have enough impact to move the needle for future FA's. 

Again, I just don't really get it.


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## DaRizzle (May 22, 2007)

elcap15 said:


> Im on the fence with this one as well. I like Deng as a player, but his best position now is at PF. He's a fine piece but he is not a difference maker, and the length of this deals pretty much guarantees we will not get great value. It hamstrings flexibility going forward and he won't have enough impact to move the needle for future FA's.
> 
> Again, I just don't really get it.


Now that you have seen what other players have signed for what would you have preferred over Deng and Mosgov? Im not saying youre wrong, just curious of what you thought was better out there?

I tend to agree with the sentiment that the Lakers had to slightly overpay for player to come


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

Just off the top of my head I would rather have Pau, Bogut, Al Jefferson, Ezeli, Biyombo, Pachulia, or Mahinmi for what they signed for. I understand that we would have had to pay more for Pachulia and probably Pau and Jefferson. Jefferson is the only one I am a little on the fence about. I would have loved to see a 2 yr $40M deal for Pau to come back. More than anything it was the speed of the signing the length of the contract that gets me. Was there really a bidding war for Timofey? Could we not wait and see what else was available i.e Bogut for a future 2nd round pick?

I like Deng but another 4 year contract hinders future flexibility. I don't think its a bad contract, I just don't see how it makes sense for us. I think a more specific 3 and D guy like Dudley (3 yrs $30M) makes sense. I wouldnt mind Dellavedova either. Don't get me wrong, I think is Deng is better than those guys, Im just not sure how he fits with this team.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Deng is a good signing, it just doesn't make sense to me with how the Lakers are currently made up. The Lakers are a young team trying to build their core. It's nice to have a quality vet on the team, but Deng is going to want to start when you should have Ingram and Randle starting at the 3 and 4.


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## arasu (Jan 18, 2013)

elcap15 said:


> Just off the top of my head I would rather have Pau, Bogut, Al Jefferson, Ezeli, Biyombo, Pachulia, or Mahinmi for what they signed for.


I don't think Pau was a realistic target, despite any rumors. Bogut would have been a better option in the short term, but maybe not worth giving up any assets. I'd pass on Jefferson. Ezeli's price turned out reasonable, but could the Lakers afford to wait so long? Pachulia is a poor shot blocker. I wrote before that Biyombo and Mahinmi would be solid acquisitions, more so for the salaries they were paid. So I agree on those two.



> More than anything it was the speed of the signing the length of the contract that gets me.


The Lakers clearly were not a premier destination, and with a hole in the middle, it seems they wanted to make sure Hibbert wasn't their only free agent option.



> I like Deng but another 4 year contract hinders future flexibility. I don't think its a bad contract, I just don't see how it makes sense for us.


Deng may have trade value during the first two seasons of the contract, and he certainly has value as a mentor. One big factor that holds back young teams is a lack of veteran leadership.



> I think a more specific 3 and D guy like Dudley (3 yrs $30M) makes sense.


Dudley would have been a nice fit as a SG/SF/PF, but I think he was set on going to the Suns, at least for that price.



> I wouldnt mind Dellavedova either.


He may surprise and become a very good PG this season, but I don't think he is worth the price as a back up PG.


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