It’s no secret that Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng wants out of L.A. in order to get more playing time. The Lakers are trying to accommodate the veteran’s request and are looking for a possible trade. According to the Orange County Register’s Bill Oram, though, that’s proving to be a difficult task, with the current market for the 32-year-old proving “non-existent.”
After starting the season opener against the L.A. Clippers, Deng has not seen a minute of action over the last 10 games, as head coach Luke Walton has taken him completely out of the rotation in favor of younger players like Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma.
While there are likely a handful of teams who would still welcome an able veteran like Deng in their rotation, his onerous contract, which still has two years and nearly $36 million left on it after this season, is likely the main reason there are no willing takers.
The Lakers will have to sweeten any potential Deng trade with one of their younger assets, which they won’t be keen on doing.
A potential buyout could also be tough to settle on given the years and the significant amount of money still owed to him.
But with no suitors for Deng at the moment, the Lakers may have to make a sizable sacrifice if they want to rid themselves of his contract, either via trade or buyout.