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LeBron’s Lakers Looking to Dump Deng? The Hawks Can Help

By Chris Guest

CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 08: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the Golden State Warriors during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 08: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the Golden State Warriors during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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After the Twitter-shattering news came across the transom that LeBron James had to decided to take his talents to Los Angeles as a member of the Lakers, anyone and everyone had hot takes, including LeBron’s soon-to-be teammates (unless they’re traded of course).

LeBron (or perhaps LA-Bron now) signed an immense 3+1 deal with the Lakers worth $154 million, and the team should become and immediate Western Conference powerhouse (especially since they added the mercurial Lance Stephenson on a one-year deal).

Still though, LeBron would almost certainly prefer a high-level veteran talent to join him on a team that is flush with young assets – a player type The King has never enjoyed playing with in his lengthy career.

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There is one player already on the Lakers roster that meets the veteran part of that criterion: Luol Deng. Deng signed an excessively rich 4-year/$72 million deal in the summer of 2016 with the Lakers, one of two appalling deals the team inked that offseason (Timofey Mozgov being the other).

Though it’s unknown whether Deng can still play in the NBA, the Lakers would almost certainly like to be free of his titanic salary in order to pursue better players in free agency and via the trade market. That’s where the Hawks come in.

The Hawks have roughly $22 million in cap space still available, and the team should be willing to take on as much dead money as possible in order to accrue more draft assets and young talent. Atlanta will also be bargaining from a position of power as the Lakers will likely be very eager to make room for as many top-tier free agents as possible on the team.

The Hawks should look to nab multiple major draft assets from the Lakers in order to take on Deng’s deal, and the Hawks could perhaps send back a useful, talented player like Kent Bazemore to the Lakers in return.

With LeBron in the fold for at least 3 years, the Lakers will look to be as good as possible in the near-term, meaning they might be more willing to attach future draft assets in order to make themselves as competitive as possible until James’s player option arises.

Though Deng’s salary (all $36.8 million left of it) is about as harmful as any salary in NBA history at this point, if the Hawks can obtain multiple picks or promising young players from the Lakers in exchange for it, that will work out exceptionally well for the franchise.

Next: Atlanta Hawks 2018 Free Agency Wish List

Either way, there are many more dominoes to fall in free agency, so keep it locked to Soaring Down South for all of your Hawks free agency news and updates. The NBA is great!