Lakers Rumors: With Money Luol Deng Gave Back In Buyout, Team Has More Than $38 Million In Salary Cap Space For 2019 NBA Free Agency

Matthew Moreno
3 Min Read


Because of contracts doled out under the previous regime, the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have financial flexibility as 2018 NBA free agency loomed. However, president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka quickly began to bring about change.

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They unloaded Timofey Mozgov’s bloated contract by attaching D’Angelo Russell to him in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets. Then, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. were sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline this past season.

That helped the Lakers clear the necessary salary cap space that ultimately would be used to sign LeBron James to a four-year contract. It also left Luol Deng as the final reminder of ill-fated signings by Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak.

The Lakers resolved that matter by coming to terms on a buyout with Deng and using the stretch provision to waive him.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, Deng forfeited more than $7 million in salary, which in turn has put the Lakers in position to sign a max-contract free agent in 2019:

Per CBA guidelines, Deng’s salary for this season is fully guaranteed and not included as part of the stretch provision. Therefore, the Deng’s remaining salary in the buyout will count against the Lakers’ salary cap for only through the 2021-22 season.

More importantly for Los Angeles, they can continue to map out their pursuits of a max-level free agent next summer, when the likes of Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson may be among those available.

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Matthew Moreno is a journalist from Whittier, Calif., who is a credentialed reporter and is currently the Managing Editor of DodgerBlue.com and LakersNation.com. In addition to covering Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angels Lakers games, Matthew has a strong passion for keeping up to date with the sneakerhead culture. It began with Michael Jordan and Air Jordan shoes, and has carried over to Kobe Bryant's signature line with Nike. Matthew previously was the lead editor and digital strategist at Dodgers Nation, and the co-editor and lead writer at Reign of Troy, where he covered USC Trojans Football. Matthew graduated from California State Long Beach University with a major in journalism and minor in communications. Contact: matt@mediumlargela.com
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