There is no way that Deng has more to offer than Travis Wear right now, he's an undersized 4 that has more rust than the Titanic on him. He is also overweight and probably close to 40 years old.
Absolutely nothing to gain from playing Deng right now, all it would do is create a circus/storyline in the media about how the Lakers gave out one of the all-time worst sports contracts. All it would take is one clip of Deng going viral.
I think we should stop viewing Deng as a player, but as a contract/commitment. That is all he is at this stage.
He's only 32 and he's been normally training the whole year.
When the team is playing, he's running on a separate room. When there's a timeout, he stops.
He is probably rust, but he's in shape and rested.
There is no way that Deng has more to offer than Travis Wear right now, he's an undersized 4 that has more rust than the Titanic on him. He is also overweight and probably close to 40 years old.
Absolutely nothing to gain from playing Deng right now, all it would do is create a circus/storyline in the media about how the Lakers gave out one of the all-time worst sports contracts. All it would take is one clip of Deng going viral.
I think we should stop viewing Deng as a player, but as a contract/commitment. That is all he is at this stage.
He's only 32 and he's been normally training the whole year.
When the team is playing, he's running on a separate room. When there's a timeout, he stops.
He is probably rust, but he's in shape and rested.
He probably meant in terms of his real birth date.
I think Deng can still play though. Maybe not to the level of his salary but better than those 10 day contract guys.
Obviously the coaches see deng day in and day, but with the injuries it would be nice to see him out there....he's pretty un-tradeable, but if he had some run and looked "ok" that could benefit the lakers...if he sucks he's still just a tough contract to move
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
Has to be a management decision for some odd reason. Walton and the players have had nothing but positive things to say about his attitude and engagement all season long.
Deng has been practicing with them, travels with them and if he hit the court I would venture a guess the young guys might get a kick out of it and rally behind him. Similar to when Metta would get mpg his last season.
Likely out of "game shape" but fully capable to stumble around for 10mpg and contribute some defense and a couple rebounds. Would contribute more then Williams at least.
With all the injuries it is odd as hell they refuse to play him. Bench just got even thinner with Caruso at the end of his two way eligibility.
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
Has to be a management decision for some odd reason. Walton and the players have had nothing but positive things to say about his attitude and engagement all season long.
Deng has been practicing with them, travels with them and if he hit the court I would venture a guess the young guys might get a kick out of it and rally behind him. Similar to when Metta would get mpg his last season.
Likely out of "game shape" but fully capable to stumble around for 10mpg and contribute some defense and a couple rebounds. Would contribute more then Williams at least.
With all the injuries it is odd as hell they refuse to play him. Bench just got even thinner with Caruso at the end of his two way eligibility.
Play Deng.
Look at it from the FO's perspective.
If Travis Wear or DWill plays well there might be something there that will help us next year, since we can get these guys on a minimum contract ala Nwaba.
Deng is a total sunk cost. No matter how well Deng plays, in the very unlikely circumstance he still looks like an NBA player he is still not worth the $18m he is owed next season. I'm no salary cap expert but I know Pelinka will be reaching into his entire bag of tricks to make sure that contract is not on the books next season in its entirety.
Last edited by ingle on Fri Mar 16, 2018 6:22 am; edited 1 time in total
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
Has to be a management decision for some odd reason. Walton and the players have had nothing but positive things to say about his attitude and engagement all season long.
Deng has been practicing with them, travels with them and if he hit the court I would venture a guess the young guys might get a kick out of it and rally behind him. Similar to when Metta would get mpg his last season.
Likely out of "game shape" but fully capable to stumble around for 10mpg and contribute some defense and a couple rebounds. Would contribute more then Williams at least.
With all the injuries it is odd as hell they refuse to play him. Bench just got even thinner with Caruso at the end of his two way eligibility.
Play Deng.
Look at it from the FO's perspective.
If Travis Wear or DWill plays well there might be something there that will help us next year, since we can get these guys on a minimum contract ala Nwaba.
Deng is a total sunk cost. No matter how well Deng plays, in the very unlikely circumstance he still looks like an NBA player he is still not worth the $18m he is owed next season. I'm no salary cap expert but I know Pelinka will be reaching into his entire bag of tricks to make sure that contract is not on the books next season in its entirety.
I agree with you on the audition for Wear and the concept that Deng will likely be moved this off-season. Just a matter of how and the assets needed to do so.
Disagree about Williams. Waste of a roster spot and effort to incorporate him into the roster. He has repeatedly proven he is not an NBA player.
Deng will never live up to the contract. When he signed it everyone knew that. It was as much, if not more, for his example of professionalism on a rebuilding roster as his impact on the court. The contract was part of a plan that has been changed. When you change your mind prematurely you sometimes have financial penalties. All the snarky comments towards Deng are unwarranted IMO. He has done nothing to deserve them.
Not sure why the front office continues to dictate he not get playing time. As you state, it has nothing to do with the player it is all about the contract. Another area we agree.
It’s the curse o Mitch and Jim that will haunt us for at least one more year.
Or it is the current FO decision to change plans and they accepted the penalty when they chose a new course of action?
Similar to signing a year long car or apartment lease then having to break it 3 mos in. Or buying a long term investment bond only to change your mind and need to cash out early.
I think they don't want to risk him getting a serious injury, which is far more possible in your 30's. Then you'll have an injured overpaid player who might never physically be the same. Any value as a basketball player at that point would be completely gone and he'd just be a walking contract, nothing more.
I think the day we see Deng on the court as a Laker is the day there's a deal on the table, and the other team wants to see if he has anything left in the tank.
I think they don't want to risk him getting a serious injury, which is far more possible in your 30's. Then you'll have an injured overpaid player who might never physically be the same. Any value as a basketball player at that point would be completely gone and he'd just be a walking contract, nothing more.
I think the day we see Deng on the court as a Laker is the day there's a deal on the table, and the other team wants to see if he has anything left in the tank.
Not a chance, if anything a serious career ending injury is the best possible outcome for the Lakers since insurance will pick up his contract and he is off our books.
He has nothing left, and the Lakers have nothing to gain from playing him. That's likely the truth of it.
Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 18202 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 8:02 am Post subject:
Four Decade Bandwagon wrote:
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
.
Not really. Mozgov has played a total of 80min this year. Ryan Anderson has 9 straight DNP-CDs and we all saw what happened with Noah in NYC.
IMO, it's just a hard line negotiating ploy to push these players who aren't coming close to matching the value of their high-value contracts to take reduced buyouts. In Deng's case, unless a buyout can be negotiated, this will likely be his last NBA contract because he'll be 35 when it expires. _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
.
Not really. Mozgov has played a total of 80min this year. Ryan Anderson has 9 straight DNP-CDs and we all saw what happened with Noah in NYC.
IMO, it's just a hard line negotiating ploy to push these players who aren't coming close to matching the value of their high-value contracts to take reduced buyouts. In Deng's case, unless a buyout can be negotiated, this will likely be his last NBA contract because he'll be 35 when it expires.
I’m a Lakers fan so I do wish Deng contract gone but man, what a (bleep) way to treat your employee. Imagine if non sport company does that to one of their employee
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
.
Not really. Mozgov has played a total of 80min this year. Ryan Anderson has 9 straight DNP-CDs and we all saw what happened with Noah in NYC.
IMO, it's just a hard line negotiating ploy to push these players who aren't coming close to matching the value of their high-value contracts to take reduced buyouts. In Deng's case, unless a buyout can be negotiated, this will likely be his last NBA contract because he'll be 35 when it expires.
Even if he left $10m on the table, it wouldn't be enough for the Lakers to waive and stretch him and sign 2-max players.
Nobody is happy about Deng's situation. Especially Deng and the Lakers FO. The Lakers have chosen to develop there young players. I'm sure some of us here would have been mad if Deng played which would take minutes away from our young players. Now it sounds like they have come to a mutual agreement to not play at all. It is what it is. _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Joined: 14 Apr 2001 Posts: 144461 Location: The Gold Coast
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:06 am Post subject:
ingle wrote:
Ziggy wrote:
I think they don't want to risk him getting a serious injury, which is far more possible in your 30's. Then you'll have an injured overpaid player who might never physically be the same. Any value as a basketball player at that point would be completely gone and he'd just be a walking contract, nothing more.
I think the day we see Deng on the court as a Laker is the day there's a deal on the table, and the other team wants to see if he has anything left in the tank.
Not a chance, if anything a serious career ending injury is the best possible outcome for the Lakers since insurance will pick up his contract and he is off our books.
He has nothing left, and the Lakers have nothing to gain from playing him. That's likely the truth of it.
Right, let’s hope he gets hurt really bad. That would be great! _________________ RIP mom. 11-21-1933 to 6-14-2023.
Joined: 17 Sep 2008 Posts: 21075 Location: In a white room, with black curtains near the station
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:11 am Post subject:
Deng's not going to budge on his remaining contract.
So we're pulling in Williams, who is way too slow to play 3 ball, and Wear, while not having a single wing on the team, and yet having someone who is supposedly this "albatross" who can't play a lick of NBA ball chained to the bench, when in fact he was an NBA All Star 6 years ago and an All Star again 5 years ago, who played a major portion of his career at the 3, and who averaged 14/5 recently, and LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO SCORED 31 POINTS IN A PLAYOFF GAME.
April 17, 2016. 23 months ago folks.
I can see prioritizing Ingram's, Randle's, and Kuzma's development. And Nance too while he was here. Obviously they're worth the investment. But overstating how terrible Luol is sounds like rationalization to me.
So yeah, people come in here and pretend they know all about Luol Deng and how washed up he is. Sure, he's 40. Yeah right. Based on what? Fact is, people don't know jack (bleep) about him. It's a weird situation and, in the absence of better information, people fill in the blanks with their own narratives.
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90306 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:40 am Post subject:
32 wrote:
Nobody is happy about Deng's situation. Especially Deng and the Lakers FO. The Lakers have chosen to develop there young players. I'm sure some of us here would have been mad if Deng played which would take minutes away from our young players. Now it sounds like they have come to a mutual agreement to not play at all. It is what it is.
From what I understand, they came to that agreement at the beginning of the year due to the fact he would only play spot minutes. Since injuries have had them playing scrubs a lot, I think it would have been better to play him, but i'm pretty sure they won't. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 90306 Location: Formerly Known As 24
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 10:41 am Post subject:
numero-ocho wrote:
Four Decade Bandwagon wrote:
Really perplexing that he is not getting any mpg at this point.
.
Not really. Mozgov has played a total of 80min this year. Ryan Anderson has 9 straight DNP-CDs and we all saw what happened with Noah in NYC.
IMO, it's just a hard line negotiating ploy to push these players who aren't coming close to matching the value of their high-value contracts to take reduced buyouts. In Deng's case, unless a buyout can be negotiated, this will likely be his last NBA contract because he'll be 35 when it expires.
And to be fair, if you're him, you hang on to all of that money. _________________ “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ― Elie Wiesel
Joined: 02 Jan 2011 Posts: 36081 Location: 502 Bad Gateway
Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2018 1:06 pm Post subject:
TooMuchMajicBuss wrote:
Deng's not going to budge on his remaining contract.
So we're pulling in Williams, who is way too slow to play 3 ball, and Wear, while not having a single wing on the team, and yet having someone who is supposedly this "albatross" who can't play a lick of NBA ball chained to the bench, when in fact he was an NBA All Star 6 years ago and an All Star again 5 years ago, who played a major portion of his career at the 3, and who averaged 14/5 recently, and LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO SCORED 31 POINTS IN A PLAYOFF GAME.
April 17, 2016. 23 months ago folks.
I can see prioritizing Ingram's, Randle's, and Kuzma's development. And Nance too while he was here. Obviously they're worth the investment. But overstating how terrible Luol is sounds like rationalization to me.
So yeah, people come in here and pretend they know all about Luol Deng and how washed up he is. Sure, he's 40. Yeah right. Based on what? Fact is, people don't know jack (bleep) about him. It's a weird situation and, in the absence of better information, people fill in the blanks with their own narratives.
You seem to have filled in the blanks that he's not playing for something other than basketball reasons (not sure what we'd have to gain from that). The fact is his last successful season, and I hesitate even on that description, was for a team that was 26th in pace whereas the one he's on now is 1st.
Simple question, who would people rather have running the floor and shooting 3's: Wear, Williams, or Deng? The last two I'll concede as debatable.
Wear has actually impressed me with his athleticism on defense.
With Lakers depth issues on the wing, Luke Walton said team revisited possibility of minutes for Luol Deng. However, after conversations with “several people,” including Deng, they decided to keep him where he is.
With Lakers depth issues on the wing, Luke Walton said team revisited possibility of minutes for Luol Deng. However, after conversations with “several people,” including Deng, they decided to keep him where he is.
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