The remnants of the Jim Buss era are finally coming to a close, as the Lakers have agreed a buyout with Luol Deng, who will now become a free agent, as part of the stretch-and-waive clause. The buyout confirms that the Lakers will have enough money to bring in another max player next summer, as stated below:
With questions still up in air on if the Lakers will try and trade for Jimmy Butler during the season, or for anyone else, using their plethora of one year contracts, their future with Deng is finally settled.
Deng signed his four year, $64 million dollar deal in summer 2016, along with Scorum's own Timofey Mozgov, who was later traded with D'Angelo Russell to Brooklyn.
Deng only played once during the 2017/18 season, before he was sat in favour of some of the younger players on the team. Now, the British international can finally get back to playing regular basketball, as he's already reported to expect interest from other teams.
The $38 million dollars in cap space is enough to bring in any player that may be on the market next summer, whether that be Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and others.
Now the Lakers can turn to training camp, as they prepare for their first season with LeBron James. What hopes to be an exciting season ahead, now has great implications for the next summer, as a package of the Lakers brand, LeBron, young talent and a max contract is surely going to be enough to bring a major star in.
The dark days are coming to a close, and the LA sun can finally start to shine on the Staples Center.
Laker fans, how do you feel about the buyout? Rival fans, are you starting to worry? Leave a comment below!
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