Deng's Contract might be finalized by Lakers

Lakers owe Luol Deng till 2022 season and if they end up finalizing Deng’s contract they will end up freeing up $5 mn in salary this offseason, according to reports Lakers are requesting the career-ending injury as the means for removing Luol Deng’s salary from books. Lakers and Deng agreed to a buyout in 2018, he played a total of 22 games for Timberwolves until he retired in Oct 2019 but Lakers still owe him salary till 2022, removing such an expense would free up funds for Lakers as well as bring tax relief. A similar request was placed by Orlando Magic with Timofey Mozgov in October 2019 which was approved. The two-time All-Star put in his 15 years in League in 902 NBA matches and averaged 14.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.