With the NBA offseason now in full swing for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team’s players and front office will do everything in their power to improve before next season. Apparently, the start of Luol Deng’s offseason began on an operating table.
According to Lakers.com, Deng underwent surgery to repair his right pectoral muscle:
Los Angeles Lakers forward Luol Deng underwent successful surgery this morning to repair his right pectoral muscle. Deng is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the 2017-18 training camp.
According to Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times, Deng suffered the injury lighting weights recently:
Deng's surgery was a quick, outpatient procedure. He hurt his pectoral muscle weightlifting recently. Expected to be fine well before camp.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) May 3, 2017
Last summer, Deng signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Lakers to become the team’s highest-paid player with Kobe Bryant retired. Deng struggled in his first season in Los Angeles as he found it difficult to find his groove in Luke Walton’s system.
Deng’s role with the team could very well be altered in his second season with the Lakers with Brandon Ingram coming into his own at the tail end of his rookie campaign. The Lakers brass may even try to trade Deng over the next few months, but his recent surgery may have complicated things.
Deng is one of the few veterans under contract on the Lakers squad. The 32-year-old joins Timofey Mozgov and Corey Brewer as the only veteran players left with Nick Young likely to opt out and leave the team in free agency and Metta World Peace being told he wouldn’t be brought back.