The entire Los Angeles Lakers community breathed a collective sigh of relief after finally ridding themselves of Luol Deng's atrocious contract via a buyout deal. In light of this recent development, NBA insider Ramona Shelburne has reported that the Lakers are in no hurry to fill the roster spot Deng has effectively vacated.
For a brief back story, Los Angeles signed Deng to an inexplicable four-year, $72 million deal back in 2016. This was right after Kobe Bryant had retired, which sent then-team GM Mitch Kupchak and his entire front office scrambling.
Deng and the Lakers are currently finalizing a buyout deal which will stretch the payment of the 33-year-old's 2019-20 $18.3 million salary into three years. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the $18 million owed to Deng this year will need to be paid upfront.
Nonetheless, this still remains to be an extremely good deal for the Lakers. Not only are they freeing themselves of dead weight, but by forgoing Deng's salary, they have opened up a significant amount of cap space. This gives them the opportunity to sign at least one max player next summer.
In the short term, Deng's departure frees up a roster spot for the upcoming season. However, it looks like the Lakers will take a wait-and-see method before filling out the vacated slot.
Deng was never really part of the Lakers' plans this season, which means that he does not require a replacement. If anything, this allows Los Angeles to take a long look at their roster and see which area needs reinforcement.
There are still around three weeks before training camp officially opens, and another three weeks after that before rosters need to be finalized. This gives Los Angeles ample time to make their decision, and warrants them more flexibility in further bolstering their side for LeBron James' debut season.
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