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It goes without saying.....signing Deng was a terrible decision, something that the current FO had nothing to do with. Considering the Lebron signing, let me just start out and say that the new FO has done a great job, so this isn't a thread to discredit them by any means.


Deng, by all means, has been a 4 before we even signed him. We signed him to be a three, which was wrong, but Luke continued to play him at the three, which didn't help either. Of course, last year, we had massive depth at the four and he wasn't really a priority. And it was assumed that Deng would be stretched anyways, so I see why Luke didn't bother with making him part of the rotation.


But now, we are in a situation where we didn't have to stretch Deng, while we significantly decreased our depth at the 4 and in our front court. Deng, also, is more trad-able than ever, with only two years on his contract left. We are also in a situation where we can use veteran leadership and stability. So I wonder....was Beasley really needed when we had Deng? Deng, even at this age, is a better defender, and is probably a better fit next to our ball handlers on offense. More importantly, a decent season by him could mean we can trade him next year with minimal assets attached,and that Beasley money could have gone to an Alex Len type.


Again, I love luke and the fo has done great, but certain moves simply haven't made sense to me....like benching Julius when we needed to trade him last year, or signing Lance when we have Hart this year. These are minor moves in the big picture, but to me it's poor asset management and decision making. I like the Rondo signing and focus on grittiness and defense, but I can't help but to think that certain moves have simply been overdoing it.

Deng will be an asset after this year (1 year at $18 million) due to his contract, period... Deng is a 4 & we needed to give Kuzz & Randle his minutes last year (worked out great) & LBJ & Kuzz will take this year...

FO has done well with Russell, Clarkson & Nance trades & drafting Hart, Kuzz & Ball plus grabbing LBJ but this post LBJ signing offseason has been interesting... I would have preferred Evans (PG), Cousins (C) over Rondo, Lance & Beasley... McGee is $2.4 so Is fine...

Lakeshow Baby...

Clarity = "You're getting paid a **** ton of money to go on vacation... STFU."

That said, he might work in a small ball lineup next to LeBron. Why not let him play.

Leave Deng right where he is. As a sign. A signal. A clear notification of the idiocy if Jimmy Buss. And inadvertently Mitch who went with him. Leave Deng there for all to see. To let everyone know. Jimmy and his crew he dragged with him... DOESN'T KNOW ****! Let the Mozgov and Deng signings hanging over his head, and that he and his boys should never, ever be allowed close to basketball operations ever again.

i'm curious what a healthy year layoff has done for a guy that was top of the league in usage for a startling number of years.

I would guess he's a decent 4 option, but i don't see him pulling off 5, so the question is play him spot min or try to break his will ruthlessly and drive him towards buyout?

Kilroy wrote:Clarity = "You're getting paid a **** ton of money to go on vacation... STFU."

That said, he might work in a small ball lineup next to LeBron. Why not let him play.

I know he's being paid a lot of money, but it doesn't sound like he's trashing the Lakers organization, he just wants to spend the last productive years of his career actually contributing. Not an unreasonable request, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the "He's being paid a lot so **** him" mindset a lot of fans subscribe to. Those guys are still people who have goals/dreams beyond money.

LAKESHOW wrote:Leave Deng right where he is. As a sign. A signal. A clear notification of the idiocy if Jimmy Buss. And inadvertently Mitch who went with him. Leave Deng there for all to see. To let everyone know. Jimmy and his crew he dragged with him... DOESN'T KNOW ****! Let the Mozgov and Deng signings hanging over his head, and that he and his boys should never, ever be allowed close to basketball operations ever again.

lol Jim is gone.....and there is no way in hell he'll ever be back...rightfully so. We don't need to send anyone a signal. This is a business...there is no room for pettiness affecting business decisions.

It was a full blown coup. Hostile attempt at a take over. Jimmy almost permanently, had tried to take away Team from jeanie. That was real. That was a major milestone for this franchise. That milestone needs to be reminded of. Or else be doomed to repeat the ugliness that could have been...

Jstock12 wrote:

Kilroy wrote:Clarity = "You're getting paid a **** ton of money to go on vacation... STFU."

That said, he might work in a small ball lineup next to LeBron. Why not let him play.

I know he's being paid a lot of money, but it doesn't sound like he's trashing the Lakers organization, he just wants to spend the last productive years of his career actually contributing. Not an unreasonable request, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the "He's being paid a lot so **** him" mindset a lot of fans subscribe to. Those guys are still people who have goals/dreams beyond money.

And yet... Deng has 13yrs in the league and at the best of cases has one foot in retirement... If he hasn't achieved his basketball goals by now, he's never going to...

He was perfectly fine sitting out and collecting a paycheck last season when we sucked.. Now we got leBron, he wants to be a part of something...

Have zero concern for Deng's dreams at this point.. He can fill a hell of a lot of buckets on his bucket list with all the time and money he has...

Here's an idea... Retire... And sign a 1yr minimum deal... Then I'll have a little more compassion.

Jstock12 wrote:

Kilroy wrote:Clarity = "You're getting paid a **** ton of money to go on vacation... STFU."

That said, he might work in a small ball lineup next to LeBron. Why not let him play.

I know he's being paid a lot of money, but it doesn't sound like he's trashing the Lakers organization, he just wants to spend the last productive years of his career actually contributing. Not an unreasonable request, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the "He's being paid a lot so **** him" mindset a lot of fans subscribe to. Those guys are still people who have goals/dreams beyond money.

Ok....but he's gotta be a little realistic about it. He's wildly overpaid. Of course the Lakers have tried to trade him. They've prob tried 50 variations of a 2nd-round pick, or some lesser player as a bonus for taking him off our hands, and nobody's interested. Does he really want the Lakers to give up their first round pick this offseason so he can go and do the things he wants to do in life? If so....he can bite me. He knows he overpaid. You don't think his agent hasn't shopped him? Everyone in the Lakers camp and his camp have probably scoured the league the last 2 years looking for someone. What's that tell ya? That's right....it tells you, your massively overpaid.

So if you want out from the "iron fist" of the Lakers organization, then do what you gotta do. We all know what it is. Making you waste your career is the only SLIGHT leverage the Lakers have. The rest is on him.

If he REALLY does have goals/dreams beyond money....then take an $18mil buyout. Go peddle your wares on the free market again, and see what you can get. <-------------he knows the answer to that one. So maybe his dreams aren't really beyond $$$ are they?

In any event....he's needs to stop crying every offseason. Every team knows your available. Every team knows we'd be more than happy to throw a 2nd-rounder or something your way to take him.

Man...sit yo ass down and shut up Dung...

Can't wait until this guy is off the books and gone from the team...

I wonder if anyone ever bought a deng or mozgov jersey

10 minutes a game and if he does well, increase a bit by bit - in those blowout wins (will happen) give him playing time

too many cooks, not enough kitchen

If he is that eager to play just renounce to your contract, void it and then sign with another team...

If he competes and earns minutes, let him play. He’s a very reliable defensive player with starter caliber offense, just grossly overpaid.

If the message to him last year was, we really want to get the young guys minutes but now this year we bring all these vets in I can understand why he wants clarity. The directing of the team has changed since we got LeBron. Best man wins the job. He should be allowed to compete.

He should play , you can't blame him for signing that deal

anybody watching team africa vs team world? just saw a short clip. is that Deng wearing no. 9?

Jstock12 wrote:

Kilroy wrote:Clarity = "You're getting paid a **** ton of money to go on vacation... STFU."

That said, he might work in a small ball lineup next to LeBron. Why not let him play.

I know he's being paid a lot of money, but it doesn't sound like he's trashing the Lakers organization, he just wants to spend the last productive years of his career actually contributing. Not an unreasonable request, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the "He's being paid a lot so **** him" mindset a lot of fans subscribe to. Those guys are still people who have goals/dreams beyond money.

He’s already living the dream: To get paid a metric crap ton and do nothing.

Our stupidity isn’t his fault. But neither is the fact that, barring injuries, we have no use for him. Nor do I blame us for effectively banishing him in the hopes he’d take a buyout or whatever. We don’t need him and we could desperately use that money elsewhere, so that’s a no-brainer.