Lakers' Luol Deng: Agrees to sit out rest of season

Deng met with coach Luke Walton last week and agreed to sit out for the remainder of the season, ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne reports.

Analysis:

Both Deng and Timofey Mozgov, who were signed to contracts this summer worth a combined $136 million over four years, will both be shut down in an effort for the Lakers to find more playing time for their younger players over the final 15 games. The report doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering that Deng hasn't seen the court in any of the past seven games with Walton leaning on Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance as his primary small forwards. While Deng's hefty contract will likely keep him in the rotation at the start of next season, he won't stand to see much of an upgrade in fantasy value, as Ingram and Nance's roles are only likely to grow, not diminish in 2017-18. Assuming Walton sticks to his plan to make Deng inactive the rest of the way, the veteran will finish his first season with the Lakers with averages of 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 26.5 minutes per game over 56 appearances.