Lakers waive Deng, $72M contract

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers waived forward Luol Deng on Saturday, just over two years after signing him to a four-year, $72 million free-agent contract.

The Lakers didn’t disclose the details of a probable buyout with Deng, but they announced the move on the first day in which the final season of Deng’s mammoth deal could be stretched over a three-season span of the Lakers’ cap limit.

“We made this move to further our future salary cap and roster flexibility as we continue to build this Lakers team according to our current overall vision,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.

The 33-year-old Deng’s deal is a remnant of the administration of former Lakers basketball boss Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak. The duo handed a pair of generous free-agent deals in 2016 to Deng and center Timofey Mozgov, who got a four-year, $64 million contract.

Buss and Kupchak were dismissed seven months later, and Magic Johnson’s administration went to work ridding itself of lengthy commitments. The Lakers gave up guard D’Angelo Russell in a trade with Brooklyn last summer because they could include Mozgov’s contract.

Deng appeared in 56 games during his first year with the Lakers, but he played just one game last season with Johnson and Pelinka in charge of the Lakers’ front office.