Luol Deng quickly went from the veteran influence a young Los Angeles Lakers team needed to the unwanted contract no one would trade for — all in the course of one season, as rookie Brandon Ingram came into the forefront as a potential starting-caliber prospect.

The London-born Sudanese player only saw the court for 13 minutes all season, making his only appearance in purple-and-gold during the season-opener, posting two points and one assist in his short stint.

“I don’t know (where I fit in at the Lakers) I went with what they wanted,” Deng told The Independent Online. “There has been a lot of talk. Me not playing was not my call. This is an organizational decision. People can say whatever they want to say I respected what they were telling me. Throughout the year I tried to play and every time they said they wanted to play the young guys, so that’s their direction.”

The Lakers had chosen the route of growing strictly through their youth and therefore chose to phase out Deng from the rotation, making him one less player to worry about as far as minutes distribution.

Yet Deng made a beefy $17.2 million last season and is bound for a lucrative $18 million this season after securing a four-year, $72 million deal back in the splurge-happy offseason of 2016.

The money made is far from Deng's concern, as the defensive wing is looking to get back on the court before it's time to hang them up for good, having already lost a full season for the sake of being a professional.

“I don’t know what’s going on now, hopefully soon I will know, I would like to know the answers,” said Deng, pondering what sparked the Lakers' decision to oust him completely.

“I know the level I can play at and the decision is something they came up with, whatever the criticism or the plan is, none of it was my decision, people need to understand that. They can say whatever they want, I know I can play the game, they see me at practice every day. If it was a game thing then come out and say it, but the honest truth, it’s the decision they made.”

Deng has been the consummate pro, never getting on the way of the team's plans or asking for a trade, but that has cost him a valuable year of his career and at 33 years old, he likely can't afford the same fate in 2018-19.

The 6-foot-9 forward is only two years removed from averaging a serviceable 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game with the Miami Heat and could likely still provide depth for any team willing to take on his inflated contract.