There should be a film about the Los Angeles Lakers that opens up with a close-up shot of Luol Deng, occupying the end of the team’s bench, while a narrator recites “You're probably wondering how this team ended up in this situation.”

Deng has been one of the biggest headaches for Lakers’ management of late. It’s not his character that’s the problem, however. It’s his burdensome and untradeable contract.

While Deng has become nothing more than an afterthought on the Lakers’ roster, some of his fans still hold on to the hope that Deng could be a serviceable player again. At least one Deng fan suggested on an Instagram comment box that the Lakers should dedicate some of their free time to watch the forward’s mix tape to rediscover the forward’s worth.

Surprisingly, Deng caught a whiff of that comment and replied in a hilarious, self-deprecating manner by poking fun at his age.

https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1017204731981152256

Despite what he wanted to project with that comment, Deng is not that old. It might surprise some NBA fans that he just turned 33 last April. He’s older than new Lakers teammate LeBron James by a few months.

The last two seasons have been the worst of Deng’s NBA career thus far. Over that span, he averaged just 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. In the 2017-18 campaign, he appeared in only one game, but he still managed to cash in a check worth almost $18 million.  Luol Deng will earn $18 million more next season, and then $18.8 million the year after. Ouch.