Last season, Luol Deng played 13 minutes on the opening night of the season, then sat on the bench for the next 81 games, never to touch the court again. The Lakers regretted the 2016 signing of Deng, Magic Johnson wished they could find a way to trade him, and Deng wanted to play or be traded/bought out. Finally, the Lakers and Deng have agreed to buyout where the team will waive and stretch his contract, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic.