Luol Deng, Cleveland barely knew ya.
The Cleveland Cavaliers traded for the two-time All-Star midway through the regular season. No one was quite sure if he would want to stay in Cleveland, playing for a Cavs team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010. It was supposed to come down to money. Deng rejected a nice, fat contract from the Chicago Bulls that was worth roughly $10 million annually. If the Cavs exceeded that offer, perhaps he would consider staying. Or maybe he would leave.
Or maybe the Cavs themselves want him to leave.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Jounral says the Cavs aren’t intent on keeping Deng, which should surprise no one who has been paying any sort of attention:
Yahoo Sports reported Thursday that the Cavs could increase their chances of retaining free agent Luol Deng should they hire Griffin to be their coach, but the Cavs tried trading Deng at the trade deadline three months ago and haven’t expressed much interest in bringing him back.
Obviously the Cavs don’t want him back. Forget that they tried to trade him. Forget that he was another one of then-general manager Chris Grant’s pet gambles. That doesn’t matter as much as LeBron James and Cleveland’s No. 1 pick.
The Cavs have the opportunity to draft Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker to become their small forward or stretch 4 of the future. If they’re smart, they’ll roll with Wiggins. Parker is fine too. Joel Embiid is not. This team cannot afford to roll the dice on a 7-footer with back issues. Doesn’t matter how similar to Hakeem Olajuwon he may be. The NBA isn’t a center’s league anymore. It values—you guessed it—floor-spacing forwards, point guards and general playmakers.
Keeping Deng doesn’t make sense if the Cavs are going to draft one of those two. It also doesn’t make sense if they plan to pursue LeBron whenever he hits free agency.
LeBron can play alongside anyone. Don’t get me wrong. He could coexist with Deng, who spends most of his time at the 3, while LeBron can play, well, wherever the hell he wants, most notably as a point forward or power forward.
Once you re-sign Deng, though, you most likely lose the ability to offer LeBron a contract. Kyrie Irving is eligible for an extension—though we’re not sure if he’ll get one—and the Cavs have other areas of need they must address. Investing $10-plus million annually in Deng restricts their spending power now, and costs them LeBron later.
Not that Deng even wants to stay in Cleveland. Multiple reports had him baffled by the loose-cannon, dysfunction-ridden atmosphere at some point last season. Such hearsay usually has a hint of truth to it.
At this point in his career, Deng likely wants to play for a contender as well. The Cavs aren’t there yet. Winning the lottery is a step in the right direction, and they can elevate their standing in free agency, but they’re not contending for any titles in the next two years unless LeBron comes back.
All of which is to say: Goodbye, Lu.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
